Watch Out for Online Attacks and Scams Related to Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

In the aftermath of the unfortunate and wretched events that took place at Sand Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT, hackers have taken up their own arms to conduct scams and phony solicitations over the Internet targeting charity donations.

This is not the first time, and it won't be the last, that we witness hackers taking advantage of unfortunate events and news stories in a post climatic endeavor to conduct scams. It is already bad enough that the families, friends and fellow countrymen of the 26 Sand Hook shooting victims have to endure such unfathomable pain and distraught. Now, hackers have exacerbated the situation by taking to the Internet in what the BBB warns of phony charities where funds are asked to be paid through unsolicited emails, texts phone calls and even social media outlets.

The BBB (Better Business Bureau) has recently sent out a stern warning of such scams related to the Sand Hook shootings where fake charities have been put in motion as a ploy to collect money for the families affected.

During the time of popular news events or in the case of heinous Sandy Hook incident, hackers are always at the forefront of being the ones to seek egotistical gain from such dire situations. Even still, we have noticed in many past situations where hackers have went as far as to poison Internet search results with their filth of false or hacked sites closely related to a popular event. Sometimes the event could just be a hot Internet search top such as the time that purported topless pictures of Kate Middleton were circulating the Internet. Not only do the scammers want to use poisoned search results, fake charity websites or Facebook spam to steal donations from unsuspecting donors, but they may use this opportunity to distribute malware such as the Ukash Virus, Home Malware Cleaner or Google Redirect Virus. It is evident as revealed in the Google Trends chart below for term 'Sandy Hook', that related keywords have become hot Internet search terms in the recent days as the healing process begins for such an atrocious act.

The BBB has urged those with the willful heart to give to Sand Hook charities, to simply do their homework before donating. Cheaters and hackers will use every method at their disposal to set up shop on the Internet to act as a viable charity but is, in fact, one that will take funds for their own personal gain.

On Monday, December 17, 2012, the SANS Internet Storm Center (ISC) issued a warning about scam websites related to the Sandy Hook shooting that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut. The ISC states that many new domain names associated with the Sandy Hook shootings have been registered. You can assume that some of those domain names registered are likely owned by cybercriminals attempting to scam PC users with scams such as fake charities.

What can you to ensure a safe donation if you plan to give to a Sand Hook Charity?

There are a few simple tips that you may follow to help ensure your generosity is not taken in vain by mistakenly giving to a charity cheat group.

1. Contact charities directly - Avoid clicking on links to charities on unfamiliar websites, emails or even text (SMS) messages. Many times hackers will purposely create a site designed to mimic one from a legitimate charity and sneak the malicious link into an email or hacked web page. Additionally, it never hurts to either pick up the phone or email a charity to verity their legitimately.
2. Select a charity yourself - By selecting a trusted charity, one that you may have given to before, you can go directly to the source instead of relying on other parties or sites to redirect you to your chosen charity. As an example, if your choice charity is the Red Cross, you may visit their actual site at redcross.org.
3. Confirm text codes and numbers - In today's technological word, there are many means of donating money and one popularized way is to pick up your smart phone and text a simple code to a specific number to give. Many times these numbers can be miss-matched or worst, fabricated by some hackers who have setup a scheme to charge your phone bill unknowingly. It is best that you verify the text numbers and codes before sending the message to give to a charity.
4. Check out a business or charity through the BBB site - the BBB has done an excellent job with keeping a current database of legitimate charities in the Connecticut area for donating to victim's families of Sand Hook/Newtown, CT. You may visit this directory and search at ct.bbb.org.