Virginia Tech Hoaxes
By Bob McDonnellWhen Virginia Tech suffered the most tragic massacre in college history, the world united in support of the Commonwealth.
Along with that generosity, unfortunately, came scam artists wasting no time adding to the heartache.
Virginia’s Office of Consumer Affairs is warning about Tech-related scams that may mislead well-intentioned citizens.
In one scam, an e-mail entices the recipient to click on photos of the massacre, which triggers a virus in your computer. Please don’t open e-mails from strangers and click on any links or open any attachments. Report spam to your internet service provider or office IT manager.
Another Tech-related scam features Web sites posing as charities for the victims. Most of the domain names haven’t gone public yet because they’re currently being sold to the highest bidder on eBay auctions, although the company is trying to pull down the listings.
The names range from the innocuous-sounding www.vatechvictimsfund.com to more inappropriate addresses. “The fact that 450 of these domain names have popped up in a matter of weeks is frightening,” said Mike Wright, manager of regulatory programs at the Va. Office of Consumer Affairs. “We learned after Hurricane Katrina that a lot of these sites that sprung up were fraudulent.”
If you want to safely give to Virginia Tech for the support of the victims, I recommend the official “Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund,” administered by the school’s Foundation, at www.vt.edu/tragedy/memorial_fund.php. You can designate your donation in a certain victim’s name or give to a general fund which provides counseling and medical benefits. If you have any questions, e-mail give.to.vt@vt.edu or call 1-800-533-1144.
To see if a charity or non-profit is registered to solicit in Virginia, visit the Va. Office of Consumer Affairs’ charity database at www.vdacs.virginia.gov/consumers or call 1-800-552-9963. You may then search the group’s financial statements at www.Guidestar.org, to see how it uses the money raised.
Consumer protection is an important statutory duty of the Office of the Attorney General, and our staff can help. In an age of increased consumer scams, we must all continue to be educated and vigilant.