Hurricane Katrina and ID theft
The reports of devastation and tragedy coming out of the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina have dominated the news for the past week and a half now. Many of the stories have centered around the outpouring of aid and personal efforts to rescue and restore survivors to some semblance of normalcy. Amidst these efforts, however, have cropped up some stories about the risk of identity theft and the efforts of some to defraud the victims of the storm.
Last week, experts (such as the FTC ID theft program head) were already warning the public of the high risk of identity theft tied to the hurricane’s aftermath. An AP story noted that “Social Security cards, driver’s licenses, credit cards and other personal documents are literally floating around New Orleans.” The risk of credit card fraud and identity theft is clear, as the information leakage was certainly not the first thought of survivors escaping their homes and being rescued from rooftops.
The same article notes that some 2,000 web sites popped up related to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, but about a dozen are under investigation for potential fraud. Not only is there a risk from completely fraudulent web sites, but also from phishers spoofing major relief efforts such as the Red Cross or Salvation Army. This article notes the email scams already observed and the risk of such phishing attacks increasing in the coming weeks. According to the article, VeriSign has gotten involved in hunting down such phishing efforts and took down two such sites already as of last week.
Some unscrupulous individuals have already been arrested for attempted ID theft. Three people in Mississippi went to a shelter and posed as FEMA officials in an effort to obtain personal information - such as names, birthdates, and SSNs - from evacuees. The AP broke this story on Saturday.