As with all national or global events, the low-lives seem to spring out of every crack and crevice to defraud well intended souls who will be caught off guard. Today’s earthquake and following tsunami will be no exception. And considering the size of the news coverage, computer users should be expecting fraud attempts in every facet of the internet and telephone communication. Even if you don’t intend on donating to some form of relief fund, protect yourself NOW by updating definitions. I’d even increase the frequency of updates that you can get if your software will allow it.
Expect attacks from search engines, emails, web site links and legitimate web sites with syndicated advertisement feeds. Expect fake anti-virus popups, dramatic unsolicited “news” by email (i.e., “Charlie Sheen seen on Japanese beach moments before wave hits…click here for the video”), or the likes of realistic looking web sites or phishing emails involving the Red Cross.
It’s too early to tell what disaster relief organizations needs are. Surely, money will be at the top of the list but there’s no need to hastily enter a credit card number on a web site or respond to an SMS on your phone to text “1234” with the text “donate”.
In the next few hours, we’ll post some tips for keeping yourself safe for online relief assistance.
OSG: Bits, Bytes and Packets 