Do Not Open Swine Flu Email

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning the public about false emails asking people to register for a CDC-sponsored mandatory vaccination program. 

“Users that click on the email are at risk of having malicious code installed on their system,” according to the CDC announcement.

The fraudulent e-mails claim to be from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They claim the CDC has set up a state vaccination program to prevent the H1N1 flu virus. They direct the user to create a vaccination profile on the CDC Web site and say this is required for anyone 18 and older.

The CDC has established no such thing. The phishing emails, which ask people to create a personal profile on the CDC website so they can get vaccinated, could cause your computer some serious trouble, the agency warns.

“As we understand it the virus is a version of the Banker trojan, which steals usernames and passwords when you are online doing your banking” said Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois, in a statement.