State panel says state's biggest Y2K concern may be fraud

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State panel says state's biggest Y2K concern may be fraud

The Associated Press      
Web-posted: 10:37 p.m. Oct. 20, 1999

ORLANDO -- A task force appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush to study the impact of Y2K says the state's biggest concern may be scams, not possible food, cash or power outages.
    Members of Team Florida 2000 discussed the Y2K issue on Tuesday at an awareness symposium on the state's efforts to eliminate the "millennium bug."
    Industry and government experts gave briefings on their progress in solving Y2K, the programming flaw that could cause many computers to misread 2000 as 1900 and malfunction or shut down on Jan. 1.
    State officials are increasingly focusing on potential fraudulent schemes intended to take advantage of Y2K concerns.
    "We have identified at least a half-dozen Y2K scams going on in the U.S.," said Scott McPherson, executive director of the task force. "This is one of the few areas remaining that we are still concerned about."
    One scam involves door-to-door "salesmen" offering to use a hand-held mechanical device to scan homes for Y2K problems. They collect a $25 to $50 fee for their service, and scan for valuables.
    In another grift, a caller gets one's personal information by offering to set up a "Y2K-safe account" in the bank.
   Officials also warned about people posing as pollsters who call asking personal questions about preparation for Y2K. The callers are looking for people hoarding cash -- likely targets of burglary.
    Industry and government computer experts are also tracking "millennium viruses" -- rogue programs designed to disrupt PCs.
   
     




-- Bomer Heanfang (hats@inthehelfry.com), October 21, 1999

Answers

* * * 19991022 Friday

Y2K red herrings:

"Beware Y2K fraud/scams." : Instills fear and distraction.

"Your money is safe in the bank" : Quells bank run fears of TPTB.

"Prepare for a 3-7 day 'storm'": Instills mass psycho-quiescence.

Prudent ears will be at ground!

Regards, Bob Mangus

* * *

-- Robert Mangus (rmangus1@yahoo.com), October 22, 1999.


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