URGENT!! CDC H1N1 E-Mail is a SCAM!!
By anniepa
@anniepa (27955)
United States
December 3, 2009 11:47am CST
First of all, to anyone who thinks this doesn't belong in the politics interest, I apologize; I put it here because I trust all of you who visit here regularly to spread the word.
Yesterday I came across an e-mail in my own inbox, which I deleted so I can't show it to you, but it was supposedly from the Center for Disease Control regarding the H1N1 vaccination. I read it but I did NOT click on any of the links or follow any instructions. What it said was that anyone over 18 years old must set up their own H1N1 file in order to get vaccinated. A red flag popped up immediately for me and I deleted it but I heard about it moments ago on "Dr. Nancy" and it IS a scam, the CDC hasn't nor does it ever send out these types of e-mails and in this one they ask for your personal information.
They didn't say who the scammers are or what their intent may be but just be on the lookout. Anyone reading this who would like to start their own myLot discussion on this topic should do so because the more the word gets spread the better. I don't know if there may be a virus attached to this e-mail, if identity theft may be the goal or if they're just a bunch of spammers looking for "victims" but let's not let them get anyone from myLot!
Annie
5 people like this
11 responses
@rosepedal64 (4188)
• United States
3 Dec 09
Thanks annie
I hope that the word gets out about this scam. People are scared and want to get the shot so I can see where people might think that it would be a for sure thing to do. Lets just be thankful for people like you to tell us of such scams. I know I also found another scam last night dealing with puppies. Thanks again and have a nice day.
Keep smiling.
@rosepedal64 (4188)
• United States
4 Dec 09
Hi annie
I started a discussion on it but the main thing is I was about to get scammed over a Yorkie puppy. They wanted me to send shipping money but there was no puppy. Thank goodness that I realized before I sent money out.
1 person likes this
@coolcoder (2018)
• United States
4 Dec 09
I haven't seen any e-mails like this in my inbox so far, but I'll keep a sharp eye out. Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention; you've probably saved the identities of many people with this heads-up. 
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
4 Dec 09
Thank you Annie! I always appreciate any info on new scams or phishing emails that are going around.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
4 Dec 09
It's amazing and DISGUSTING how many are out there! I've gotten e-mails supposedly from different banks that I've never done business with asking for my SSN and other info in order to log into my account - which doesn't exist. However, I've also gotten them from banks I have done business with and thankfully I never took the bait because something didn't look quite right. Beware of those kinds of scams, too, everyone!
Annie
1 person likes this
@Latrivia (2878)
• United States
3 Dec 09
That was a very smart decision. You should never open attachments from sources that you don't know or trust. If the CDC wants personal information they wouldn't need to send it out in an email, they would have it on their website. My families not big into the Swine Flu scare but I'll pass the information along to those who aren't technologically savvy.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
4 Dec 09
Thank you for passing it along! I'm hoping that most people would "know better" than to open an attachment or giving personal information to a site like this but the fact is there are new people to the internet all the time and it doesn't mean they're not intelligent if they fall for a scam like this. I could definitely see myself doing it ten years ago!
Annie
1 person likes this
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
4 Dec 09
Thanks annie, apreciate the heads up. I would have probably deleted it with out reading it anyways, as I am pretty uptight about emails in general, but thanks all the same. I won't even chastise you for posting this in politics, at least this discussion didn't contain the word "palin". 
reposting to facebook.
reposting to facebook.1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
3 Dec 09
If there was an attachment, it probably had a virus in it. I never open attachments anymore, even from my family. But those links to set up your own file were probably ruses to get personal information.
Thank you for posting this! There seems to be nothing that bad people will not do, no emotion they won't play on, in order to ruin good people and take what they have worked so hard to get.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
4 Dec 09
I never open attachments either. You just never know! I hope whoever is or was doing this hasn't gotten many people to "bite". I've been online for years now and I know it's not normal to receive an e-mail like that from an agency like the CDC or any organization like that but I'm sure there are some who aren't aware of that and who maybe did think it was legitimate and necessary to do in order to get vaccinated.
Annie
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
4 Dec 09
Phishers are constantly updating their scams to try to rope people in before someone discovers it. They use IRS tax rebates, real FBI cases and write in the names of lots of other real institutions trying to get info they can use to steal identities. I suppose it was just a matter of time before they used the flu epidemic for a phishing scam.
What you've done is the best way to deal with these scams - spread the word. There are sources on the net as well for keeping up with the latest internet scams. Everyone should take the attitude of ALWAYS being suspicious. Good call on this one.
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
3 Dec 09
Hey annie! And thanks for the heads up! I would probably have
been suspicious too! Good catch! It is getting to the point
that I am afraid to open any emails anymore! It isn't funny
how many scammers there are out there and if people don't spread
the word quickly who knows what will happen! I appreciate you
getting the word out on this latest scam! Why do these people
think that we are so stupid? Things just keep getting worse
every day!
1 person likes this
@smartjack (520)
• India
4 Dec 09
Hey thanks for that information. There are lot of scamsters there trying to get some thing out of their victims. I ususlly dont open such mails. i just delete them from my inbox. There are chances that there can be some virus attached to the mails. So it is better to delete such mails rather than opening them an causing harm to your pC.
@riribhakti (136)
• Indonesia
4 Dec 09
hai anniepa,
Thaxk or your informations, it is really important, because many people will get misunderstanding about a lot of news in net and don't know who is right or who is just scam.
