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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCalifornia takes down 10 fake Obamacare websites
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
(25,406 posts)that raises definite red flags.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)Whisp
(24,096 posts)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.
To be sure this is viewed by as many as possible!
JEFF9K
(1,935 posts)loudsue
(14,087 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)HTH.
Lifelong Dem
(344 posts)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
(48,773 posts)demigoddess
(6,640 posts)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
(1,628 posts)This needs to be seen by everyone. I wonder how many other states may have the same thing going on.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)winstars
(4,213 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)spanone
(135,627 posts)Coyotl
(15,262 posts)The URL was going around in e-mails and was an easy web download. I assume someone took that down??
ProSense
(116,464 posts)http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024052320
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 rights 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, thats a small price to pay and a sacrifice theyre 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 dont 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 foundations 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, theres 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 dont like the president.
- more -
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/right-still-pushing-dont-enroll-crusade