Current Activity - Malicious Actors May Take Advantage of Boston Marathon Explosion

[Current Activity <us-cert () us-cert gov>]

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National Cyber Awareness System
Malicious Actors May Take Advantage of Boston Marathon Explosion


Original release date: April 17, 2013

Historically, scammers, spammers, and other malicious actors capitalize
on major news events by registering domain names related to the events.
Malicious actors may attempt to exploit the April 15, 2013 explosions at
the Boston Marathon in this way. Some may use fake domains to take
advantage of those interested in learning more details about the
explosions, or target individuals looking to contribute to fundraising
efforts.

In addition to fake domains, malicious actors may also create fake
social media accounts with similar intent. For example, Twitter account
@_BostonMarathon was created shortly after the explosions took place.
The account stated it would donate $1 for each retweet, and was crafted
to closely resemble the legitimate Boston Marathon Twitter account
(@BostonMarathon). This account has since been suspended by Twitter;
however, the likelihood that similar social media accounts will surface
remains high.

US-CERT recommends that all persons looking to donate money in support
of those affected by the events rely on official fundraising charities.
Exercise caution when clicking on links or interacting with social media
accounts that claim to represent the best interests of those involved in
this incident. Additionally, when searching for updates on the story, it
is safest to go directly to trusted news sources rather than conducting
general search engine queries.

Relevant URL(s):
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   Produced by US-CERT, a government organization.
____________________________________________________________________

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http://www.us-cert.gov/privacy/notification/

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http://www.us-cert.gov/privacy/

This document can also be found at
http://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2013/04/17/Malicious-Actors-May-Take-Advantage-Boston-Marathon-Explosion

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