FTC Releases Alert on Louisiana Flood Disaster Scams

["US-CERT" <US-CERT () ncas us-cert gov>]

U.S. Department of Homeland Security US-CERT

National Cyber Awareness System:

 

FTC Releases Alert on Louisiana Flood Disaster Scams [ 
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2016/08/23/FTC-Releases-Alert-Louisiana-Flood-Disaster-Scams ] 08/23/2016 
07:48 PM EDT 
Original release date: August 23, 2016

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released an alert on scams that cite the recent flood disaster in Louisiana. 
These charity scams take many forms, including emails containing links or attachments that direct users to phishing or 
malware-infected websites. Donation requests from fraudulent charitable organizations commonly appear after major 
natural disasters.

US-CERT encourages users to take the following measures to protect themselves:


  * Review the FTC alert [ 
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/helping-victims-flooding-louisiana-make-sure-your-donations-count ] and its 
information on Charity Scams [ https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0011-charity-scams ]. 
  * Do not follow unsolicited web links or attachments in email messages. 
  * Keep antivirus and other computer software up-to-date. 
  * Check this Better Business Bureau (BBB) list for helping Louisiana flood victims [ 
http://give.org/news-updates/news/2016/08/wise-giving-wednesday-helping-flood-victims-in-louisiana/ ] before making any 
donations to this cause. 
  * Verify the legitimacy of any email solicitation by contacting the organization directly through a trusted contact 
number. You can find trusted contact information for many charities on the BBB National Charity Report Index [ 
http://give.org/charity-reviews/national ]. 
  * Refer to Security Tip ST04-014 [ https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST04-014 ] – Avoiding Social Engineering and 
Phishing Attacks – for more information on social engineering attacks. 
________________________________________________________________________

This product is provided subject to this Notification [ http://www.us-cert.gov/privacy/notification ] and this Privacy 
& Use [ http://www.us-cert.gov/privacy/ ] policy.

________________________________________________________________________

A copy of this publication is available at www.us-cert.gov [ https://www.us-cert.gov ]. If you need help or have 
questions, please send an email to info () us-cert gov. Do not reply to this message since this email was sent from a 
notification-only address that is not monitored. To ensure you receive future US-CERT products, please add US-CERT () 
ncas us-cert gov to your address book. 

OTHER RESOURCES: Contact Us [ http://www.us-cert.gov/contact-us/ ] | Security Publications [ 
http://www.us-cert.gov/security-publications ] | Alerts and Tips [ http://www.us-cert.gov/ncas ] | Related Resources [ 
http://www.us-cert.gov/related-resources ]  

STAY CONNECTED: Sign up for email updates [ http://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSUSCERT/subscriber/new ]