Advisen

Hurricane Harvey may bring flood of cyber scams, feds warn

By Erin Ayers, Advisen

The destructive path of Hurricane Harvey through Texas and Louisiana has prompted charitable gestures and compassion from all over the nation – compassion that cybercriminals hope to exploit, warned federal agencies this week.

The US Department of Homeland Security’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) issued an alert this week warning citizens to investigate before donating to disaster relief organizations, especially if pleas for aid come via emails.

“Users are advised to exercise caution in handling any email with subject line, attachments, or hyperlinks related to Hurricane Harvey, even if it appears to originate from a trusted source. Fraudulent emails will often contain links or attachments that direct users to phishing or malware-infected websites. Emails requesting donations from duplicitous charitable organizations commonly appear after major natural disasters,” stated US-CERT in its alert. The agency explained that emails could open up recipients to phishing scams or malware.

The Federal Trade Commission also warned consumers to watch out “for charities that seem to have sprung up overnight in connection with current events” and offered a guide to sensible giving.

“Scams often follow the news – especially when there’s a natural disaster, like Hurricane Harvey, in the headlines,” the FTC said. “Case in point: Colleagues at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) tell us homeowners and renters are getting robocalls telling them their flood premiums are past due. In order to have coverage for Hurricane Harvey, consumers are told they need to submit a payment immediately.”

The warnings of cyber scams following Harvey are not without precedent. The FBI reported that following Hurricane Katrina, one faux charity scammed consumers for $48,000.

Editor Erin Ayers can be reached at eayers@advisen.com.