| Some
PBGC employees are receiving e-mail from a firm called OEMCD,
Inc. This firm offers high priced OEM software at extremely
low prices.
What
is OEM? OEM stands for “Original Equipment
Manufacturer,” which is the common reference for computer
software that comes with a new computer. Is this what the
OEM-named companies are selling?
The
Scam. Take a closer look and you'll learn that only
three enterprises and an assembly of affiliates are responsible
for selling pirated software on the Web. OEMCD
seems to be operating from China while OEMCD Inc
has most of its servers in Brazil, but many of the “spamvertised”
domain names are registered by Romanian or Russian citizens.
OEMCD claims that the software is shipped from Eastern Europe.
Soft-For-Sale.com is another dubious outfit, most likely situated
somewhere in the Ukraine. People ordering from OEM software
vendors usually do receive their software, according to several
reports, but it comes without the manufacturer's packaging,
manuals or customer support, making it very difficult to check
authenticity. Some, however, never get the software and some
have problems with added charges to the credit cards they
used. More importantly, by ordering the software from these
vendors you are very likely subsidizing enterprises with fingers
buried deep into organized crime.
What
do you do if you receive one of these e-mails? Forward
the e-mail to zigan.frederick@pbgc.gov, and then delete the
file. Under NO circumstances should you respond or contact
these individuals.
How did these “scammers” get your e-mail
address? They likely got your PBGC address because
of your Internet usage and sharing e-mail outside the Corporation.
If you order personal items from your government computer,
or access a Hotmail (or other free Internet mail) program,
your address is open for these types of contact. Be very cautious!
For more
about Internet Scams, call Assistant Inspector General for
Investigations Tom Zigan at ext. 3104.
For information
about reporting suspected fraud, waste or abuse to the Office
of Inspector General, please call an OIG investigator, Cornelia
Green at x 3315 or Tom Zigan at x 3104. (TTY/TDD Users: 202-326-4115).
We also invite you to visit our Web site at http://oig.pbgc.gov
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