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| The scam email claims to come from a medic
treating a victim of the disaster. |
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have warned of
an email scam that attempts to fool computer users into thinking
they are giving money to the sole survivor of the Sago mine
disaster in West Virginia. Worries that scammers may attempt to
defraud internet users who were touched by news of the tragedy has
lead the FBI to issue a warning on its
website.
The emails, which claim to come from physician caring for Randal
McCloy, the only survivor of the mining disaster, ask for money to
fund the patient's treatment.
Part of the message, which claims to come from Dr Lawrence
Roberts of West Virginia University's Ruby Memorial Hospital, reads
as follows:
We needed your generous financial assistance to our beloved
citizen, brother and friend Mr. Randal McCloy to enable him undergo
all the Surgical Operations and Medical treatments which will cost
Several Millions of Dollars in serving his life and bringing him to
his normal state of life.
The messages go on to say:
no amount is too small or big for us to undergo the surgical
operation.
However, authorities have confirmed that Dr Roberts did not send
the emails and his name and that of Randal McCloy are being used
without their permission. Mr McCloy remains in a critical condition
in hospital.
"Sick criminals are deliberately using the mining disaster in an
attempt to steal from others, without a thought for the families of
the victims, who have surely been through enough anguish," said
Graham Cluley,
senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Everyone should be wary
of emails such as these, as it is a common trick used by fraudsters
to steal money and bank account information."
Agents at the FBI's Pittsburgh bureau are investigating the
origin of the messages.
"This is not the first time that scammers have exploited human
tragedy in their attempt to steal money from innocent people,"
continued Cluley. "Last year we saw scams associated with the
Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the terrorist bombings
in London. These internet criminals are trying to fill their bank
accounts on the back of an outpouring of sympathy from the general
public."
Sophos recommends companies automatically update their corporate
virus protection, and run a consolidated
solution at the email gateway to defend against viruses and
spam.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.