September 1, 2005 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Con artists have launched fake Web sites and are sending out spam emails to dupe people who believe they are donating their money to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. According to SANS Internet Storm Center's Web site, Katrinahelp.com, Katrinarelief.com and Katrinacleanup.com are all suspected to be illegitimate sites.
The security center has contacted the hosting companies of some of the suspect sites, but they refuse to take the sites down over just a hunch. Katrinahelp.com claims to offer its visitors the facility to make donations to the hurricane victims through the online payment provider PayPal.
But when visitors click on the link to PayPal's Web site, they are directed to a page hosted by the makers of katrinahelp.com. The service was set up to steal usernames and passwords, says SANS.
Meanwhile, many others are exploiting the disaster by registering domain names related to the hurricane and offering them for sale. The owners of Aboutkatrina.com and Katrinaphotos.com are asking $10,000, while the seller of the intentionally misspelled Katrinareleif.com says that the domain "will provide a pipeline of traffic for years to come."
