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Run on Jackson Memorabilia Triggers Scams
Photo courtesy flickr user "Alan Light" under a Creative Commons 2.0 attribution license.
Tracy Turner, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
Interest in Michael Jackson memorabilia has soared since the singer’s death last week. But those tempted to buy a keepsake are being warned that counterfeit items are showing up and some vendors are engaging in price-gouging.
The Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio also says phishing scams have arisen, trying to lure unwitting consumers to open e-mails that include Jackson’s name but contain malware, software that can be used to steal consumers’ identities, said BBB spokeswoman Joan Coughlin.
Websense Security Labs, an Internet security firm, put an alert on its Web site this past weekend about spam e-mails that promise to link to unpublished videos and photos of Jackson. Instead, the e-mail links to password-stealing malware that is installed on the consumer’s computer.
“We see it all the time,” Coughlin said. “Any time a lot of media attention surrounds an event, you’ll see a host of scams popping up.”
Sales of Jackson memorabilia have spiked on some online commerce sites since his death.
At one point yesterday, more than 53,000Jackson-related items were on sale on eBay, up from 20,000 on Friday, according to SmartMoney.com, a financial publishing site.
Some of the items on sale included a Michael Jackson-autographed Rolling Stone magazine for $61; a Thriller LP in factory seal for $455; an autographed fedora hat sealed in a glass case for $5,155; and a framed “artist of the year” award for $5,900.
