Fake Election Web Sites Plague Candidates
Politics is a dirty, dirty game. Just ask Michael Dukakis or John McCain. But just as the Internet has emerged as one of the most potent tools of the modern day election cycle, push polling has given way to an even more blatant form of deception -- fake candidate Web sites.
According to 'Wired,' the phenomenon seems to be particularly targeted at high-profile Republican candidates, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney. The sites feature "quotes" from the candidates espousing support for extreme positions they've never endorsed and supposed supporters letting loose with over-the-top tirades on forums. One poster called "Chuck Manson" expresses his confidence that a Thompson White House would employ IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) in Iraq, like those that insurgents use to ambush Western convoys.
Lower-tier Republicans aren't free from these deceptive attacks, either. Big-on-the-Net candidate Ron Paul's campaign was tarnished by misleading spam mails that seemed to genuinely support his political run, but were more likely intended to discredit him through the use of illegal spam-bots.
Christopher Soghoian, a grad student studying Web psychology and fraud techniques at the Indiana University School of Informatics, believes that the fake forums and spam are just the beginning, "The Internet will increasingly be used for dirty tricks."
Even online security company Symantec is saying that the online element of this election campaign will see its share of Internet-related threats, and expects possible phishing attacks sent in the guise of an e-mail from your favorite candidate.
From Wired
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