Hurricanes Rita & Katrina Spur Online Scams

With the final results of Hurricane Katrina unknown, and initial surveying of Hurricane Rita's disaster yet to begin, scammers across the globe are targeting those with a sense of responsibility...those that donate to relief efforts of such catastrophic events. After Hurricane Katrina, over 1,100 URL domains with the word "Katrina" were registered according to the washingtonpost.com article on the matter.

In fact, Attorney General Gonzalez recently addressed FBI officials as well as Dept. of Homeland Security officials in regards to the matter of properly prosecuting 'fraudulent domains' so that the owners and operators of these websites can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

This is a travesty to the spirit of the USA. People, companies, and countries from around the globe have donated countless millions of dollars in cash, relief, and supplies to help those affected by these disasters begin to recoup. Unfortunately, there are those that not out to help anyone but themselves. I urge you to please, if you stumble upon a site you believe to be questionable, please report it to the following address.
http://www.us-cert.gov/nav/report_phishing.html (Please follow the directions exact so that the agency receives all pertinent information about the website or email.)