Oregon Department of Justice

Attorney General John Kroger is warning consumers about a deceptive website posing as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The website is: http://bailout.hud-gov.us/

This website tries to dupe people into giving out personal information. The Web site is designed to look like an official U.S. government website, so some people may fall prey to this scam. This method of operation is called "phishing" and is mostly used by identity thieves to obtain personal financial information such as Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers, birth dates and credit card numbers.

The Federal Trade Commission offers tips on how to avoid falling prey to Web sites that seek personal information.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt127.shtm

Consumers and retailers seeking information about scams should contact the Attorney General's consumer hotline at 1-877-877-9392. Justice is online at www.doj.state.or.us.