Online scams emerge in tsunami's wake

WASHINGTON - Scam artists are posing as tsunami victims on the internet in a bid to divert some of the millions of dollars flowing to relief efforts, security experts have warned.

Crudely written appeals for help have begun to appear in email inboxes, asking for donations through a website or an offshore bank account, the analysts said.

"It's only a matter of time before ... we have fully fledged websites that spoof well-known charities, for example," Paul Wood, chief information security analyst at MessageLabs, an internet security company, said.

Aid organisations have collected millions of dollars through the internet since a tsunami claimed an estimated 150,000 lives from Indonesia to Africa on December 26. Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. alone has collected US$14.4 million ($20.8 million) for the American Red Cross through its website.

Similar scam attempts surfaced after the September 11, 2001, hijacking attacks on the US.

"It's a good opportunity for the criminals out for a quick buck, and it's something that people are going to respond to," Forrester Research analyst Jonathan Penn said.

The fraudulent appeals are patterned after two existing scams: "phishing" attacks that direct people to legitimate-looking websites in order to trick them into giving up their credit card numbers, and 419 scams, messages that promise great riches in exchange for a bank account number.

One message provided to Reuters asks for help freeing up a bank account in the Netherlands, a common 419 tactic. Another claims to be from a small village in Indonesia but asks recipients to route donations through a bank account in Malta.

"We have been rendered homeless and have lost all we have in life. ... We will be very grateful if you can assist us with any amount of money to enable us to start a new lease of life," the message says.

Ken Dunham, malicious code intelligence manager for the internet security company iDefence, said such scams can be very effective.

"It's a get-rich-quick thing, and it makes perfect sense in light of the disaster. Everybody's heard of it, they all know lots of people have died off, maybe whole families have died off, and monies truly are available," Dunham said.

The US Federal Trade Commission said it has received no complaints about tsunami relief scams so far. The agency urged donors to contact legitimate aid organisations and disregard phone and email solicitations.

- REUTERS