US Census Bureau halts Internet 'phishing' scam

Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON -- The US Census Bureau said it was able to shut down a scam using e-mails directing people to a fake website in a bid to collect credit card numbers.
The scam, known in the Internet field as "phishing," began with e-mails offering a five-dollar cash reward to participate in a bogus online "Operation Iraqi Freedom 2005 Survey."

The e-mail included a link that took users to a "spoof" or fake Web page that appeared to be the official Census Bureau Internet site, where they were asked to answer questions and then provide their bank card number and authorization code to receive the reward.

The Census Bureau said the site was shut down Wednesday, within hours of the first reports, and that the FBI was investigating.

Recent surveys have shown growing use and sophistication of these types of schemes.

The security firm Websense said its survey of IT professionals said four percent of employees admitted that they had "fallen for a phish" and clicked through a link to a phishing website at work.

But because the sites appear authentic, 50 percent of the IT decision-makers surveyed do not believe that employees can accurately identify phishing sites