shaw capital management financial: Fraud Alert: That letter is not from DOT!

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=179677&catid=81
Carolyn Dolcimascolo 9 hrs ago
Washington, DC — The U.S. Department of Transporation has issued a fraud alert warning all current DOT or potential DOT contractors of a phishing scam.
According to the agency, these fraudulent letters request that current or potential contractors register by submitting their company’s financial information on a release form entitled, “Authorization to release financial information.”
Please be aware that DOT does not require any financial information to be submitted in order to be eligible for procurement.
Following is a list of fraudulent letters which have been faxed out to current or potential contractors:

• December 29, 2005, signed by “Frank M. Orell”
• February 8, 2006, signed by “Randy Cohen”
• April 27, 2006, signed by “Dan Jacobs”
• July 28, 2006, signed by “Dan Jacobs”
• November 8, 2006, signed by “Lisa Johnson”
• February 26, 2007, signed by “Lisa Johnson”
• March 26, 2007, signed by “Jason Scarlett”
• May 10, 2007, signed by “Jason Scarlett”
• July 11, 12, and 20, 2007, signed by “George Mason”
• August 27 and 28, 2007, signed by “Julie P. Wenzel”
• September 10, 2007, signed by “Julie P. Wenzel”
• October 12, 2007, signed by “Julie P. Wenzel”
• October 21, 2007, signed by “Julie P. Wenzel”
• January 28, 2008, signed by “Julie P. Weynel”
• February 7, March 3, March 31, 2008, signed by “Bradley K. Wash”
• April 1, 2008, signed by “Bradley K. Wash”
• April 28, 2008, signed by “Bradley K. Wash”
• June 3, 2008, signed by “Robert Dal”
• June 4, 2008, signed by “James Buchanan”
• September 5, 2008, signed by “David Jacobson”
• October 20, 2008, signed by “Jennifer Donaldson”
• December 8, 2008, signed by “Jennifer Stewart”
• December 19, 2008, signed by “Jeffrey Steinberg”
• January 27, 2009, signed by “John Steinberg”
• February 17, 2009, signed by “Joshua Greenberg”
• April 1, 2009, signed by “Jason Wallace”
• April 20, 2010, signed by “Julie P. Wenzel”
• August 23, 2010, signed by “Julie P. Wenzel”
• August 25, 2010, signed by “Julie P. Wenzel”
• January 19, 2011 signed by “Julie P. Wenzel”
• January 19, 2011 signed by “Julie P. Wenzel”
• February 3, 2011 signed by “Julie P. Weynel”
• February 7, 2011, signed by “David Hoffman”

Click here for an example of the latest letters being sent out to contracting personnel.
If you receive one of the fraudulent letters, please report it to the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General Hotline at 1-800-424-9071.
OnGuard Online suggests these tips to help you avoid getting hooked by a phishing scam:

• If you get an email, fax or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply. Legitimate organizations or companies don’t ask for this information by email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization mentioned in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new internet browser session and type in the company’s correct Web address yourself. In any case, don’t cut and paste the link from the message into your internet browser – phishers can make links look like they go to one place, but that actually send you to a different site.
• Area codes can mislead. Some scammers send emails that appear to be from a legitimate business and ask you to call a phone number to update your account or access a “refund.” Because they useVoice over Internet Protocol technology, the area code you call does not reflect where the scammers really are. If you need to reach an organization you do business with, call the number on your financial statements or on the back of your credit card. And delete any emails that ask you to confirm or divulge your financial information.
• Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall, and update them all regularly. Some phishing emails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the internet without your knowledge.
  Anti-virus software and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files. Anti-virus software scans incoming communications for troublesome files. Look for anti-virus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older ones; that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates automatically.
  A firewall helps make you invisible on the internet and blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. It’s especially important to run a firewall if you have a broadband connection. Operating systems (like Windows or Linux) or browsers (like Internet Explorer or Netscape) also may offer free software “patches” to close holes in the system that hackers or phishers could exploit.
• Don’t email personal or financial information. Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide your personal or financial information through an organization’s website, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a URL for a website that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for “secure”). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons.
• Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.
• Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other software that can weaken your computer’s security.
• Forward phishing emails to spam@uce.gov – and to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the phishing email. Most organizations have information on their websites about where to report problems. You also may report phishing email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a consortium of ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies, uses these reports to fight phishing.
• If you believe you’ve been scammed, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission atwww.ftc.gov/complaint, and then visit the FTC’s identity theft website at ftc.gov/idtheft. Victims of phishing can become victims of identity theft. While you can’t entirely control whether you will become a victim of identity theft, you can take some steps to minimize your risk. If an identity thief is opening credit accounts in your name, these new accounts are likely to show up on your credit report. You may catch an incident early if you order a free copy of your credit report periodically from any of the three major credit reporting companies. See www.annualcreditreport.com for details on ordering a free annual credit report.