The discovery of several Internet-based Hurricane Katrina-related scams is important for a number of reasons. First, this discovers illustrates that phishing scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, nuanced, and timely in their attacks. This trend is evidenced by the coining of the phrase ?spear phishing?, which reflects the evolution of phishing scams into attacks against a specific set of users. ?Spear phishing? attacks work because their precise nature fools the target population into divulging personal information. A spear phisher might target a specific organization by impersonating a member of that organization. The members of this organization may not question the authenticity of such an email because it targets such a small set of users or because it appeared to be sent from a person of authority. Therefore, the unsuspecting users may reveal sensitive personal information.

In the context of Hurricane Katrina, the attackers took advantage of individual compassion and willingness to aid those in need with the more common phishing attack ? one that targets a large swath of user. However, the timely nature of these fraudulent sites ? many of which were registered the day after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast ? illustrate the increasing sophistication of even the classic broad-based phishing attack.