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AG Warns: Beware of Bogus Government E-mails
MADISON — A new Internet phishing scam is making the rounds in Wisconsin.
Phishing is a scheme in which Internet scammers send consumers e-mails disguised as memos from well-known retailers, banks, credit card companies and government agencies, according to a press release from the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office.
These unsolicited messages often convey a sense of urgency or warn of account termination. They encourage the consumer to click on their Web address which links directly to the Web site of the business or agency. Consumers are then redirected to a fake Web site that has probably been cut and pasted from the legitimate Web site. Subtle changes are made to these sham Web sites to lure consumers into entering sensitive information or to allow a computer virus to be downloaded.
A phishing campaign has been detected designed to trick computer users into clicking on a malicious link. Clicking this link would cause a computer to become infected with the Zeus malware.
The e-mails would have appeared to come from various governmental agencies. However, the actual Web site users are asked to click on is not a government (.gov) site.
Opening phishing e-mails and clicking onto their counterfeit Web-links also poses the danger of infecting the computer with a virus. Some viruses contain spyware programs that can track personal computer use and monitor Web surfing. Hidden spyware programs can also covertly change computer settings, promote unwanted pop-up ads, cause your computer to malfunction, lose data and even crash.
"It is important to use caution at all times while dealing with unsolicited e-mails," said Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. "In the same way scammers use fake e-mails claiming to be from credit card companies, they now use e-mails claiming to be from government agencies. It is important to keep in mind that you cannot trust any unsolicited e-mails, even if it claims to be from the government."
Any unexpected e-mails from the government asking for personal information should be thoroughly checked before response. Verify that e-mail addresses match those listed on official government agency Web sites, or call the agency in question.
Reports of these scams can be made to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection—Consumer Hotline at 1-800-422-7128.
Click here to read the original story on the Fond du Lac Reporter website.
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Paid for by Van Hollen for Attorney General, Jack MacDonough, Treasurer
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