Assembly
Member Warns of Fraudulent Email |
By Jorge Casuso
October 31 -- If you receive an email from the Internal
Revenue Service asking for a donation to aid victims of the recent
Southern California fires don’t open it. It’s a scam.
The email, which appears to be originated from outside the U.S., appears to
be a message from State Assembly member Julia Brownley urging people to help
in the wake of the wildfires that swept Southern California this month, according
to a statement issued by Brownley’s office Wednesday.
The email uses the text of a brief radio address delivered by the legislator
last weekend, according to the statement. The address was transcribed and posted
on the Assembly’s Democratic Caucus website.
“I was stunned and horrified by what is clearly an e-mail scam,”
said Brownley, whose assembly district includes Santa Monica.
“My immediate goal is to do everything possible to get the word out that
the e-mail did not come from me or anyone associated with me, and that no one
should open the ‘IRS’ link,” Brownley said.
Given in the wake of the wildfires that destroyed more than 2,000 homes and
buildings across the region, the address provided information on how people
could help and donate via the Assembly website, Brownley’s office said.
The email, Brownley said, “has taken my original posted remarks, and…
has deleted the Assembly website and replaced it with a phony website address
that appears to go to an IRS ‘help’ site that does not exist,”
Brownley said
“It is another ugly side to the tragedy of the Southern California wildfires,
where some anonymous person is attempting to exploit the generosity of Americans
to support one another in a time of crisis for personal gain and pure greed,”
Brownley said.
Brownley’s office learned about the scam when a staff member received
a copy of the email sent by a concerned resident of Delhi, New York.
Staff received a second email from a consumer reporter in Florida who also
had received the email.
“We jumped right on it,” said Louise Rishoff, a spokesperson for
Brownley’s office. “It’s everywhere, as is the case with things
on the net.”
Brownley’s office has sent a copy of the email to the IRS and forwarded
the information to the Assembly’s Rules Committee and its sergeants at
arms, its law enforcement branch.
“We sent out an advisory statewide and to local papers in our district
offices,” Rishoff said. “We’re hearing that people are forwarding
them to their contacts, which is great.”
Rishoff urged those who receive the email not to open it.
“We don’t know if there’s a virus,” she said. “We
hope people don’t open it.”
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