E-mail “breaking news” alerts are the latest method scammers are using to obtain personal information from Internet users, a local prosecutor’s office said Thursday.
Internet users are being warned to be extra careful with e-mails delivering breaking news about the Republican and Democratic national conventions and the Olympics as well as any other breaking news about a major event.
The warning comes from Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers, who says the phishing scammers are using the new con not only to obtain personal information but also potentially to disable computers by packing their e-mails with malicious software.
Chambers said that one recent example of an e-mail scam appeared to be an MSNBC Breaking News Alert.
Anytime there are major news events — such as the Olympics or the national conventions — scammers will be trying to pass their bogus e-mails as legitimate news from real and well-recognized organizations, the prosecutor warned.
The district attorney recommends that computer users not open e-mails from unknown sources, regardless of the e-mail titles. Users should also know which “news alerts” they’ve signed up for and should be cautious if they receive an “alert” from an organization they didn’t sign for.
If the news alert appears to contain important information, the recipient should go to the sender’s website to read the news.
For instance, said Chambers, if the e-mail says it is from , type in MSNBC on the Web browser and read about it there.
The user must type in the address; don’t click on a link in the e-mail.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
