Chicago, IL-December 2, 2009 - The Better Business Bureau is warning of fake H1N1 emails that began hitting email boxes on December 1 regarding a state vaccination program supposedly sponsored by the Center of Disease Control. The fake emails are suspected to be a means of spreading computer viruses and “phishing” or improperly obtaining personal information.
The message states that anyone who is age 18 or over must complete a vaccination profile on the CDC’s website www.cdc.gov whether they intend to be vaccinated or not. They are then instructed to click on the supplied link and provide the required information.
Users who click on the link are at risk of having a malicious virus installed on their computers.
“As we understand it, the virus is a version of the Banker trojan, which steals usernames and passwords when you are online doing your banking,” says Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois.
To avoid becoming a victim the BBB reminders users:
- Do not follow unsolicited links and do not open or respond to unsolicited email messages.
- Use caution when visiting unfamiliar websites.
- Always use caution when entering personal information online.
A copy of the fake email is supplied below:
From: CDC [mailto:info@cdcmails.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 3:07 AM
To:
Subject: Your personal Vaccination Profile
You have received this e-mail because of the launching of State Vaccination H1N1 Program.
You need to create your personal H1N1 (swine flu) Vaccination Profile on the cdc.gov website. The Vaccination is not obligatory, but every person that has reached the age of 18 has to have his personal Vaccination Profile on the cdc.gov site. This profile has to be created both for the vaccinated people and the not-vaccinated ones. This profile is used for the registering system of vaccinated and not-vaccinated people.
Create your Personal H1N1 Vaccination Profile using the link:
