You've Got Mail Forgery

TITLE: YOU'VE GOT MAIL FORGERY 8-00-05 (Three Part Version)

ANCHOR LEAD

THEY'RE CALLED E-MAIL SPOOFERS…BUT ANYONE WHO'S BEEN A VICTIM OF THESE ON-LINE PRANKSTERS CALLS THEM ANNOYING…OR WORSE. THEY CAN SEND E-MAIL MESSAGES THAT APPEAR TO HAVE COME FROM YOUR ACCOUNT…EVEN THOUGH YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM. _________ REPORTS ABOUT THE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES OF ON-LINE FORGERY.

#1 Length :41

WRAP ONE Length :11
IMAGINE COLLEGE PROFESSOR ALAN THARP'S SURPRISE WHEN HE CAME ACROSS AN UNFLATTERING E-MAIL MESSAGE HE SUPPOSEDLY HAD WRITTEN TO ONE OF HIS BEST FACULTY MEMBERS. THE TROUBLE IS…HE DIDN'T WRITE IT,

ACT :Dr. Alan Tharp, Professor Length :06
"I've been aware of people doing it, but didn't really consider it as much of a problem until it actually happened to me."

WRAP TWO Length : UNIVERSITY COMPUTER MANAGER LOU HARRISON DISCOVERED THAT A COMPUTER HACKER HAD MANAGED TO GET INTO THE SCHOOL'S SERVER TO SEND THE BOGUS MESSAGE.

ACT :Lou Harrison, Former Computer Operations Manager Length :09
"When the Internet was set up, it was set up as an academic environment, and people were generally thought of as being trusted. It's changed a lot since then."

WRAP THREE Length :08
FORTUNATELY, LOU HARRISON CAUGHT THE PERSON WHO FORGED DR. THARP'S E-MAIL. BUT MOST GO UNCAUGHT. WHEN WE RETURN, COMBATING E-MAIL SPOOFING.

#2 Length :40

WRAP FOUR Length : 20
E-MAIL SPOOFERS DON'T JUST SEND FALSE MESSAGES…THEY'VE BEEN KNOWN TO SUBMIT AN E-MAIL ADDRESS TO HUNDREDS OF E-MAIL LISTS. THE RESULT…THE VICTIM RECEIVES JUNK E-MAIL. COMPUTER SYSTEMS CRASH. INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE OVER-BURDENED. WHILE E-MAIL SPOOFING IS NOT YET ILLEGAL, BETSY BRODER OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION SAYS LAWS MAY HAVE BEEN VIOLATED.

ACT :Betsy Broder,Federal Trade Commission Length :05
"That person may have broken some civil laws with respect to your privacy and using your name."

WRAP FIVE Length :15
THE FTC IS WORKING TO PROTECT CONSUMERS IN CYBERSPACE WITH AN INTERNET LAB FOR EDUCATING AGENCY LAWYERS ABOUT ON-LINE FRAUD AND "SURF DAYS" WHERE THE COMMISSION SEARCHES THE 'NET FOR ON-LINE SCAMS. COMING UP…WHAT YOU CAN DO TO DEFEND YOURSELF FROM E-MAIL SPOOFERS.

#3 Length :32

WRAP SIX Length :12
INTERNET SECURITY CONTINUES TO IMPROVE…BUT E-MAIL SPOOFERS STILL FIND WAYS TO BEAT THE SYSTEM. LOU HARRISON, WHO NOW WORKS IN UNIVERSITY LEARNING TECHNOLOGY, SAYS NOT TO TAKE EVERY E-MAIL MESSAGE AT FACE VALUE.

ACT :Lou Harrison, University Learning Technology Length :04
"If it doesn't sound like it's from them, then maybe it's not legitimate."

WRAP SEVEN Length :16
EXPERTS ALSO RECOMMEND ENCRYPTION SOFTWARE THAT WILL WEED OUT SPOOFERS.OTHER TIPS…CALL THE SENDER AND ASK IF THE MESSAGE IS LEGITIMATE…OR FORWARD IT BACK TO THE SENDER. WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, YOU MAY NEED TO CLOSE YOUR E-MAIL ACCOUNT AND OPEN A NEW ONE UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME.

WRAP EIGHT Length :
Local Talent Wrap

LOCAL ANCHOR LOCKOUT

E-MAIL SPOOFING IS JUST ONE PROBLEM IN THEON-LINE WORLD, IF YOU THINK YOU'VE BEEN A VICTIM OF E-MAIL SPOOFING, YOU CAN REPORT IT TO THE FTC.... CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE AT www.ftc.gov

TITLE: YOU'VE GOT MAIL FORGERY 8-00-05A (Single Part Version)

ANCHOR LEAD

WHETHER AT HOME OR IN THE OFFICE…PEOPLE RELY ON E-MAIL ABOUT AS MUCH AS THEY DO THE TELEPHONE. AND THEY ASSUME THAT THEIR E-MAIL ADDRESS IS PRIVATE AND SECURE. UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S NOT ALWAYS TRUE. E-MAIL FORGERS ARE OUT THERE…AND IF YOU DON'T WATCH OUT, THEY MAY BORROW YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE. . _________ REPORTS ABOUT THE PROBLEM OF E-MAIL SPOOFING.

WRAP ONE Length :11
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF SOMEONE RECEIVED A NASTY E-MAIL THAT APPEARED TO COME FROM YOU…EVEN THOUGH YOU NEVER WROTE THE MESSAGE? THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO COLLEGE PROFESSOR DR. ALAN THARP.

ACT :Dr. Alan Tharp, Professor Length :06
"I've been aware of people doing it, but didn't really consider it as much of a problem until it actually happened to me."

WRAP TWO Length : 12
THE PHONY MESSAGE WAS SENT TO A NEWLY HIRED FACULTY MEMBER…AND THE RESULTS COULD HAVE BEEN DISASTOROUS. FORTUNATELY, COMPUTER MANAGER LOU HARRISON CAUGHT THE E-MAIL SPOOFER. HARRISON SEES INTERNET SECURITY AS A GROWING PROBLEM.

WRAP THREE Length :12
E-MAIL SPOOFERS CAN ALSO FORGE YOUR SIGNATURE ON MEMOS… CALL OFF DEALS… EVEN PUT YOU ON JUNK E-MAIL LISTS. THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 'S BETSY BRODER SAYS THE AGENCY IS TRYING TO CRACK DOWN ON SPOOFERS.

ACT :Betsy Broder,Federal Trade Commission Length :04
"That person may have broken some civil laws with respect to your privacy and using your name."

WRAP FOUR Length:06
HOW TO DEAL WITH SPOOFING? LOU HARRISON SUGGESTS DOUBLE CHECKING WITH THE SENDER IF AN E-MAIL MESSAGE IS QUESTIONABLE.

ACT :Lou Harrison Length :04
"If it doesn't sound like it's from them, then maybe it's not legitimate."

WRAP FOUR
Local Talent Wrap

LOCAL ANCHOR LOCKOUT

E-MAIL SPOOFING IS JUST ONE PROBLEM IN THEON-LINE WORLD, IF YOU THINK YOU'VE BEEN A VICTIM OF E-MAIL SPOOFING, YOU CAN REPORT IT TO THE FTC.... CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE

Contacts:

Betsy Broder
Federal Trade Commission
Attorney, Bureau of Consumer Protection
Washington, DC 20580 202-326-2968

Ms. Broder works in prosecuting on-line offenders and has worked in the area of unsolicited mass e-mail (spam) which may involve consumer fraud.

Dr. Alan Tharp
Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Science
North Carolina State University
226 Withers Hall Raleigh, NC 27695-8206
919-515-7435
alan_tharp@ncsu.edu

Lou Harrison
Associate Director of Learning Technology Service
North Carolina State University
Box 8206 Raleigh, NC 27695-8206
919-515-7279
harrison@csc.ncsu.edu

Localization Tips:

Call around to local universities and corporations to see if they've had any spoofing cases and find out how they dealt with them.
Talk to one of their technical specialists about how it works and how one can try to prevent it.