FAKE INS WEB SITES TRICK IMMIGRANTS
Green card lottery applicants targeted by imposter pages
By Bob Sullivan
November 6, 2002
MSNBC
Each year, some 10 million hopefuls enter the American Dream drawing - the annual
Green Card lottery. Only 50,000 Green Cards are awarded, but the scant 200-to-1 odds
don't deter many. Today was the last day to submit applications for the 2004 lottery,
leading to a flurry of last-minute research by would-be American workers. Lottery
tickets, and access to the American dream, are supposed to be free. But applicants who
searched the Web for Green Card lottery information this time around often found
themselves at a gallery of for-profit sites posing as U.S. government Web sites, charging
$50 or more for applications that are supposed to be free.
The sites have tempting names, such as "USA Immigration Services," and "United States
of America Foreign Immigration Services." The Web addresses are convincing, too, such
as USAIS.org. They are laced with bald eagles, American flags, White House logos - one
even sports a mailing address on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, near the White
House. But none of those sites are affiliated with the U.S. government, and all of them
are looking to profit off the confusion of would-be immigrants desperately seeking a way
into this country.
RB, a Toronto resident interested in moving to the United States, told MSNBC.com he
was pointed toward USAFIS.org by a banner ad this weekend. He wasn't sure what to
think.
"The site looks like a U.S. government Web site you know, not too high tech, " he e-
mailed. "The site's main page says 'Welcome to the United States of America Foreign
Immigration Services.' It has the Statue of Liberty on it, and an American eagle in their
logo," he wrote.
The site also includes a link to "FirstGov.gov" logo on the bottom, which is supposed to
be the federal government's seal of approval for government services Web sites.
Attempts to contact a representative of the site through contact information s