Hurricane Sandy to Bring Strong Winds, Flooding Rains and... Internet Scams?

Hurricane Sandy is bringing a lot to the table: 90+mph winds, heavy rain, floods, and even a foot or three of snow in certain areas.

While those within the storm’s path have taken the necessary precautions to protect their family & homes, there are dangers that will pose danger to those who are far beyond the storm’s designated area.

“If the past repeats itself, Facebook postings, tweets, emails, and websites claiming to have exclusive video or pleading for donations for disaster relief efforts will appear shortly after the storm hits,” Deborah Salmi of Avast! Antivirus warned in a Monday blog post. “These messages often include malicious code that attempt to infect computers with viruses, spyware, or Trojan horses.”

It's true. Cybercriminals often use major news events – such as natural disasters or celebrity deaths – to lure users to malicious sites rigged with drive-by-downloads serving malware or phishing scams to steal personal/financial information.

The more tenacious scammers may even part-take in what’s referred to as “black-hat SEO” (search engine optimization) to help their booby-trapped websites appear near the top of search engine rankings.

Don't Fall Victim to Hurricane Sandy Scams

Users are advised to follow these tips to avoid falling for Hurricane Sandy internet scams:

• Be wary of unsolicited emails that urge you to download files or click links to view pictures of the disaster area. There’s a pretty good chance that the attached file will contain malware and embedded links lead to malicious websites.


• Do not respond to unsolicited emails asking for donations to relief efforts. If you want to make a donation to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy, go directly to the website of the charity you wish to donate to. You can also review BBB ratings to make sure you are contributing to a legitimate cause.


• If you're making a donation online, always double-check the URL in your browser's address bar before supplying any personal or financial information.


• Keep in mind that the majority of legitimate charity websites end in .org versus .com.


• Use a URL expander to investigate shortened URLS before following them.


• Proceed with caution when searching for disaster videos; cybercriminals often create fake video pages that ask you to download malware disguised as an Adobe Flash plugin/update. (Hint: You can use the Adobe website to verify you have the latest version of Flash installed in your browser.)

Did we leave any tips off the list? Feel free to share your words of wisdom the comment section below.

Stay safe, everyone!

Update: Hurricane Sandy Spam Has Arrived!

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