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WASHINGTON - The Federal Trade Commission, which has declared war on internet scams, warned consumers not to open a bogus email that appears to come from its fraud department because it carries an attachment that can download a virus.
The email says it is from "frauddepftc.gov" and has the FTC's government seal.
But it was not issued by the agency and has attachments and links that will download a virus that could steal passwords and account numbers, the agency said.
"It's a treasure trove for identity theft," said David Torok of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "We're concerned. The virus that's attached to the email is particularly virulent."
The agency, which is one of several government agencies investigating cyber fraud, did not know how many people had received the email.
"We've received hundreds if not thousands of calls and complaints, this one may have had a large distribution," he said.
Recipients should forward the email to spamuce.gov, an FTC spam database used in investigations.
Nine per cent of people surveyed in a poll conducted in August and September reported having had their identities stolen, Bari Abdul, a vice president at security software maker McAfee Inc, said at a cyber security conference on Oct 1.
- REUTERS
