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Beware of Swine Flu Scams
05/04/09 - 02:00 PM
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Jerry Brown - bio
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Bay County, Fla:

As the swine flu continues to capture world attention, scammers are trying to get your attention as well.  According to the Better Business Bureau, the scam artists are using web sites to possibly get your personal information and your dollars.  Details in this on your side Problem Solver.
In these days of immediate information via the internet, the Better Business Bureau says it did not take long for hundreds of web sites with the term “swine flu” to be registered.  However, there is a warning for consumers to be aware of some sites that may want to do more than just provide information on the swine flu.  The Better Business Bureau says the site, noswineflu.com, was reportedly selling a swine flu survival guide for $19.95.  But, after the BBB issued an alert last week, the site now offers the information for free.  It also promotes use of certain Chinese and western herbs to guard against the swine flu. 

The Better Business Bureau says beware of how you search.  Karen Szulczewski, Communications Director for Better Business Bureau of Northwest Florida says, “Obviously it is a huge newsmaker…then there is the sponsored ads on the side where sometimes these web sites aren’t even related to the swine flu. They are just trying to get your attention and get you on to their sites.  There are definitely some things that are questionable…unethical…we just want to get this info out there we want to be pro active.  We want to make sure people are not falling victim this.”
The BBB offers the following advice to avoid swine flu scams:

-Avoid opening e-mail from an unknown source and do not click on any links in the body of the e-mail or open any attachments.
(instead, delete the e-mail or report it to the federal trade commission by forwarding the e-mail to spam@uce.gov.)

-Don’t believe online offers for vaccinations against swine flu because a vaccine does not exist.
(for more information on swine flu and updates on progress in fighting the outbreak, go to www.cdc.gov/swineflu)

-Make sure your anti-virus and anti-spyware software is up to date and all operating system security patches have been installed. (if your computer becomes infected as the result of a spam e-mail about swine flu, you can report it to the internet crime complaint center at www.ic3.gov.  For additional information and advice you can trust, start with bbb.org.)

And again, the information you need about the swine flu can be obtained ... absolutely free of charge.
The state of Florida is making it easy for you by establishing a toll-free phone number about the swine flu.  It is 1-800-342-3557.
The Department of Health line will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily until further notice.  Any after hour’s calls will be handled by an automated service.

You can also get information online by going to the Florida Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Better Business Bureau web sites.

Http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

http://nwfl.bbb.org/article/10230

 
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