California takes down 10 fake Obamacare websites

[Coyotl]

California takes down 10 fake Obamacare websites
Sharon Bernstein Reuters Nov. 14, 2013 - http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/california-takes-down-10-fake-obamacare-websites-2D11591128

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Authorities in California shut down 10 fake Obamacare websites, amid nationwide concern among law enforcement officials about potential fraud during the program's rollout, the state's attorney general said on Thursday.

The sites, which mimicked the official "Covered California" affordable health insurance website, were removed from the Internet in an effort to stop fraud connected to the rollout, said a spokesman for California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who ordered the sites to close after a month-long investigation.

"These websites fraudulently imitated Covered California in order to lure consumers away from plans that provide the benefits of the Affordable Care Act," Harris said in a statement. "My office will continue to investigate and shut down these kinds of sites."

The extent of fraud related to the Affordable Care Act is not yet clear. But ..............

[Nye Bevan]

1. When you are told to wire your first month's premium via Western Union, to Nigeria,

that raises definite red flags.

[arely staircase]

2. hopefully prosecutions are to follow nt

[Whisp]

3. I really hope so too.

Jail!

All the obstacles for ACA, it's just heart breaking. Espcially when the same things we hear RWers say, get said here! We know that the ACA website has been DoS attacked, now we know there are fraudulent websites, but still, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN WORKING PERFECT RIGHT AWAY! Nevermind that any large undertaking like that is Never flawless on launch.

I need an aspirin. Maybe a beer. I'll get a beer instead. yip.

[ReRe]

4. K&R

To be sure this is viewed by as many as possible!

[JEFF9K]

5. Now they should take down fake political talk orgainizations like Fox News and talk radio.

[loudsue]

10. That would be a major step in the right direction. n/t

[Spitfire of ATJ]

6. Here ya go...

HTH.

[Lifelong Dem]

7. Not just California but all states should be on the ball for this

Consumers who used Internet search programs such as Google to find the Covered California site were presented with ads for the fake sites instead, some of them using the exchange's logo and using its name.

But instead of directing users to the site of the state's insurance exchange, where they could purchase policies approved under the new law and possibly qualify for a federal subsidy, the ads took consumers to the websites of private insurance companies and brokers.

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/california-takes-down-10-fake-obamacare-websites-2D11591128

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Probably also Republican / Tea Denial of Service scheme. nt

[demigoddess]

9. Maybe they should have worked through a real company

in this ACA thing. Someone like Amazon or PayPal would have provided a base to work from. And some recognizable base, that would have deterred this kind of problem. and all those.

[proReality]

11. K&R

This needs to be seen by everyone. I wonder how many other states may have the same thing going on.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. Kamala harris is a great attorney for CA

[winstars]

13. And will make a great Senator for us here in California; shortly... nt

[rhett o rick]

14. This is outrageous. The President should allow people to use the fake sites if they want to.

[spanone]

15. i wonder how much sabotage was involved with the ACA rollout?

[Coyotl]

16. How many redneck racists downloaded the DoS app?

The URL was going around in e-mails and was an easy web download. I assume someone took that down??

[ProSense]

17. Evidently, quite a bit:

Right wing cyber attacks on Healthcare.gov website confirmed
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024052320

Right still pushing ‘don’t enroll’ crusade

By Steve Benen

Of all the things conservatives have done to sabotage and derail the Affordable Care Act – and good lord, is this a long list – nothing seems quite as offensive as the right’s campaign to encourage those without coverage to stay uninsured, on purpose, to advance an ideological cause.

Regular readers may recall that we covered this quite a bit over the summer. Conservatives launched organized efforts to convince the uninsured to voluntarily “refuse to enroll” – because if fewer people participate in the system, costs would soar, and in theory the system could become unsustainable. Struggling families will of course be completely screwed in this scenario, but for the right, that’s a small price to pay – and a sacrifice they’re willing to see others make.

Eric Lach, referencing a report from the Alaska Dispatch, noted yesterday that the campaign is still very much underway. Indeed, it appears far-right Floridians are now lobbying Alaskans to stay uninsured on purpose.

The websites, dontenrollalaska.org and knowthefactsalaska.org, strike different tones and do not identify their creators, but they share similar layouts and were created on the same day in September. Facebook pages for both groups were also created on the same day, and, according to the Dispatch, television ads for both groups have been running during the same commercial breaks in Alaska.

And while the websites don’t identify the creators or backers of either group, a representative from the Alaska chapter of the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity told the Dispatch that a group called the Foundation for Government Accountability was “directly involved” in both websites.

Based in Naples, Fla., the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit that “promotes public policies that achieve limited, constitutional government and a robust economy that will be an engine for job creation across the states.” One of the foundation’s directors is Robert Levy, the chairman of the board of the Cato Institute, the Washington, D.C. think tank with a long and complicated relationship with the Koch brothers.

Even by the standards of contemporary conservatism, there’s something morally bankrupt about wealthy far-right forces targeting struggling Americans and telling them to go without access to basic health – on purpose – apparently because they don’t like the president.

- more -

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/right-still-pushing-dont-enroll-crusade