FederalDaily - August 1, 2006

GSA Warns of E-mail Scam

The General Services Administration (GSA) is alerting the public of online schemers who send intended victims bogus e-mails purportedly from the FirstGov online portal operated by the agency. The email tells recipients that -- because of fraudulent activities on Money Access Online – they should confirm that their accounts have not been stolen or hacked by clicking on a provided link and entering information pertaining to their personal credit card accounts. GSA warns that the fraudulent e-mails –which do not originate at FirstGov or GSA – only appear to be sent from a FirstGov e-mail address. GSA, which is investigating the matter, advises users to delete unsolicited e-mails without opening them.

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DOJ Reaches Accord on Pa. Absentee Voters

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced July 28 it had reached an agreement with Pennsylvania officials to ensure military and overseas voters have a chance to vote in federal elections held in the state. The agreement resolves a 2004 lawsuit filed by DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to enforce the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). That lawsuit alleged that some Pennsylvania county election officials did not mail absentee ballots to citizens living overseas in time for them to vote in that year’s federal primary. Subject to approval in federal district court, the new agreement calls for the state to monitor and report on the timeliness of counties’ absentee ballot mailing through the 2008 federal general election season. In May, Pennsylvania also enacted remedial legislation to allow election officials to accept ballots cast by UOCAVA voters up to seven days after the election, provided they are postmarked by the day before the election.

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Online Veterans Training Effort Debuts

The Military Order of the Purple Heart has launched a new online job training program to help returning disabled and combat-wounded veterans join the workforce, the organization announced at a July 27 press conference. The new Veterans Business Training Center will provide online virtual job training and placement services to help move qualified veterans into information technology careers. The program’s coursework will maximize veterans’ military training and reengineer those skills to serve the information industry, the group said. Collaborating with federal and local agencies, the training center hopes to serve as a national model for programs that support and train disabled and combat-wounded vets returning from war and in need of employment.

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