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'Phishing' Scams Rampant on Net; New TV Network Hopes to Improve Image of Muslim-Americans

Aired December 01, 2004 - 14:27   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, when con artists go phishing, it isn't to relax. It's to rip you off. Here's CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg with today's disturbing installment in our series on privacy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSANNA TROTTER, VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT: I don't have high speed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome. You've got mail.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Susanna Trotter of Richmond, Virginia, bought her first computer in 1999. Within three months, her credit card number was stolen.

TROTTER: I got an e-mail from AOL saying that they needed to check my billing.

SIEBERG: Though the message looked real, it was not from AOL, a corporate sister of CNN, by the way. It was from an online con artist and when Susanna clicked on a link inside the e-mail, it directed her to what appeared to be a customer service page, complete with legitimate links, logos and all the right language. It even had drop down menus to select her choice of credit card. She was being duped by a very clever identity thief.

TROTTER: Well, the first thing I noticed was on my credit card that there was a charge that I didn't recognize.

SIEBERG: The thief had used the stolen credit card number to purchase some rather lewd content online.

TROTTER: And I called and it was a company out in California. And after much cajoling, I got the girl to tell me that it was an adult entertainment site. And I knew I hadn't signed up for that.

SIEBERG (on camera): The company, of course, was tricked, too. It had nothing to do with Trotter's stolen credit card information. The scheme is called phishing, spelled with a PH, not an F. And scammers cast wide nets in the form of mass e-mails, hoping to reel in unsuspecting victims who think the messages are legitimate.

Sometimes, however, their tactics backfire and they hook the wrong guy. (voice-over): An FBI agent in the Norfolk field office received the same phony AOL message as Susanna. His name is Joe Vuhasz, but we can't show you his face for investigative reasons.

JOE VUHASZ, FBI AGENT: I think there is some sort of irony in the fact that they were sending the e-mail messages out in such abundance that it just happened that I had to get one. And one of the things that I specialize in is cyber crime. So I think there is some sort of poetic justice.

SIEBERG: The phishers had hooked an FBI agent and he had the means to track them down. Helen Carr and George Patterson are now serving time in federal prison. Their lure of choice was AOL, but other common phishing e-mails purport to be from eBay, PayPal, Citibank and U.S. Bank, among others.

EILEEN HARRINGTON, FTC CONSUMER PROTECTION BUREAU: Phishers send out huge volume of e-mail to people who may or may not have accounts with the companies that they pretend to be on the theory that these companies do so much business that some of the people who receive these e-mails are bound to have accounts or have done business with them and will bite.

SIEBERG: According to one study, 57 million U.S. adults believe they've received a phishing attack e-mail. It's estimated that 11 million of those people actually clicked on the e-mail's links to the fake Web sites. And the trend is on the rise. According to the Anti- Phishing Working Group, with a 52 percent average monthly growth rate through June 2004.

The Federal Trade Commission operates the largest consumer complaint databases in North America. Eileen Harrington says phishing is becoming a huge problem, but it's a crime that's completely preventable.

HARRINGTON: Do not ever provide account information, a PIN, a social security number, any kind of personally identifiable information like that in response to an e-mail, even if you think it's from a legitimate and reputable company, because that's not the way that these companies do business.

SIEBERG: Susanna was able to reverse the charges on her credit card, but was rattled by the whole experience.

TROTTER: I had felt like I was safe. I didn't know enough to realize I wasn't safe. And sure, ever since that happened, I'm very, very careful.

SIEBERG: On the Internet, seeing is not believing. The logos, language and look of anything online are very easy to copy. If you think your billing records need updating, don't take the e-mail's word for it. Contact the company independently and directly yourself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: And often the best way to do that is by phone. Type in the company's Web site from scratch. Don't go there from a link within an e-mail message and look up the number of the company on the site and call them. Even then, remember that real companies will not ask you to update your billing information in this way.

The bad news, recent statistics do show that phishing e-mail scams are on the rise as we enter the holiday season and more people are buying gifts online. So it's going to take a sharp eye not to get hooked.

Our five-part privacy series continues tomorrow with a look at workplace privacy. What does your boss know about you while you're at work and what should you know about what they know? Spying on employees at work, or is it legal? We'll tell you all about it tomorrow on LIVE FROM.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening "Now in the News," CNN has learned the Pentagon is sending 1,500 soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Iraq for up to four months now. Those troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will help secure the planned January 30th elections. Formal announcement is expected in just about 30 minutes.

The State Department says there was an exchange of gunfire today outside Haiti's presidential palace, where Secretary of State Colin Powell was meeting with Haitian leaders. Officials say that Powell was not injured, nor were any of his aides.

President Bush asking Canada for more help in fighting terrorism. Mr. Bush made the plea in Halifax, Nova Scotia, today, as he thanked the city for caring for stranded Americans after the 9/11 attacks.

As protests continue in Kiev, rival parties in the disputed presidential elections say that they'll wait for that Supreme Court ruling. Parliament has dismissed the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who accused the stealing -- or he was accused of stealing the election, rather. He calls parliament's move illegal.

WHITFIELD: Well, you may have thought there was a cable TV channel for everything and everybody. Well, there wasn't one specifically for and about Muslim Americans until now. CNN's Maria Hinojosa reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're pretty much your typical American family, raising kids in suburban Buffalo, New York.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HINOJOSA: But Mo Hassan and his wife are bringing up their four kids to follow Allah and Islam, just five miles away from Lackawanna, where in the fall of 2002, six Muslim men were accused of operating a sleeper al Qaeda cell.

Listening to their car radio one day, the Hassans heard derogatory statements about Muslims in America, and they had an idea -- create a cable TV network that would be about and for U.S.-based Muslims.

MUZZAMMIL HASSAN, FOUNDER, BRIDGES TV: When you read the papers or listen to the news, almost the two words that go together, it's either Muslim extremists, Muslim terrorists, Muslim insurgents, Muslim militants, whereas all the stories about Muslim service, Muslim excellence, Muslim tolerance, Muslim contribution, you know, they are not out there. And yet those are the people that we know.

HINOJOSA: On Tuesday, Bridges TV had its national premiere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Bridges TV.

HINOJOSA: There are the usual flashy graphics and dramatic music. But this network's target audience is one of the country's fastest growing, with estimates as high as seven million Muslims living in the United States.

African-American Muslims, immigrant Muslims, women Muslims, children who will watch Muslim cartoons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, mommy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, sweetheart.

HINOJOSA: And, yes, given that Bridges TV calls itself a lifestyle and entertainment network, there are Muslim comics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys have it easy. When you guys get to the airport, you guys get there an hour, two hours before your flight. Takes me a month and a half.

HINOJOSA: It was a dream, but Mo Hassan knew there would be challenges.

HASSAN: The thing is, you know, let's be real. You have got the word Muslim in there, so when people first hear it, they're like, oh my God.

HINOJOSA: But the country's largest cable carrier, Comcast, has agreed to distribute Bridges TV. American Muslims are so desperate to support this venture that for the past year, 10,000 supporters have been paying monthly fees, even before the network was on the air.

Jamilah Fraser used to produce news for local TV; now she is Bridges TV program director.

HINOJOSA (on camera): What is the one stereotype that you hope this network banishes?

JAMILAH FRASER, BRIDGES TV PROGRAM DIRECTOR: That the women are (UNINTELLIGIBLE), that the women are uneducated, and it shows us that we are -- we're a little bit of everyone, we are doctors, we're lawyers, we're teachers, we're producers.

HINOJOSA (voice-over): So on Bridges TV, which hopes to bridge the gaps between Muslim and non-Muslim, you see Muslim women dealing with a hate-based attack alongside cooking shows.

But this is not a political network. Bridges TV says it will stay away from anything overtly political. The leader of the country's largest Muslim sect will host a show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't all agree. You know, Shiite has a different view than the Sunni, and then there are so many others everywhere. So that would make for confusion.

HINOJOSA: So if you sign up to watch Bridges TV, don't expect a crash course on the complexities of Islam. What you can expect is to see what American Muslims like the Hassan family want to wear, eat or do on a family vacation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And thanks to Maria Hinojosa for that report. And with us now is the Bridges TV founder and CEO Muzzammil Hassan, good to see you.

HASSAN: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Mo for short, as we also heard in the piece...

HASSAN: Sure.

WHITFIELD: ... as being referred to you. What are the images right now that are portraying Muslim Americans on television programming that's been available until Bridges came along?

HASSAN: Well, I mean, what we keep hearing in our focus group research as well as regular media is a lot of negative words are associated with the word Muslim. And what we find in our community, living a daily life, most American Muslims have the same kind of priorities that an average American family has from family issues to economic issues to education to health, career and so forth. So part of the key purpose of Bridges is also to help portray those real-life images of Muslims living their daily lives and inviting mainstream America into our living rooms and you know, opening it up and having people take a good look.

WHITFIELD: And the emphasis is primarily on lifestyles. You won't be tackling news events or politics per se. Why not? At least for now?

HASSAN: Well, the whole focus, as you said, is lifestyle, cultural and entertainment. There is going to be daily news. We're, you know, we're putting together daily world news, followed by daily current affairs type of a show. So news is a part of it. But it's not the central piece of it.

WHITFIELD: But is it true you're avoiding politics for a particular reason?

HASSAN: We're not avoiding politics. I mean, we're addressing it on a daily news basis and a daily current affairs basis and it will be a weekend show, kind of a week in review type of thing, as well. But we also feel there's so much of -- like the key purpose of Bridges is to just to get to know people at a human level, like, you know, whether it's building bridges through humor or through some great South Asian dishes or finding hot spots in Morocco or some great foreign films. I mean, it's trying to build that human connection so that getting to know your next-door neighbor at work and at play in natural situations.

WHITFIELD: And so where did the idea and the funding come from? Because this is, you know, a colossal venture to get a television network...

HASSAN: It's very expensive.

WHITFIELD: ... on the air. It's very expensive. How did you do it?

HASSAN: Well, fortunately, I have no background in TV. I come with a finance background. I'm a banker with an MBA in Finance. So that kind of helped out with the funding process. But the idea itself actually belongs to my wife, who came up with the idea and then put me to work, saying you have an MBA, why don't you write a business plan? So I started learning about TV...

WHITFIELD: And it's through private donations? People started making contributions and so you were able to get it on the air?

HASSAN: Right. This is 100 percent funded in America by Americans with no foreign funding. And it's purely an American Muslim network.

WHITFIELD: It's been on the air now 24 hours. What's the response been like?

HASSAN: Overwhelming. We have been receiving a huge amount of e-mail and phone calls. We really didn't expect that, kind of. We were not properly staffed for it. I've had very sleep in the last three days. And...

WHITFIELD: And I imagine it's going to be that way for a while. Muzzammil Hassan, thanks so much. Bridges TV. And folks can find it on their cable channel, particularly, depending on which geographical era they're in right now.

HASSAN: They can call their local cable company and they can add that on.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Good luck to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, if you want to really splurge this holiday season, here's an idea. How about a car you can drive on land and water? Or you could move into one of the ritziest addresses in the Big Apple. We're going to show you the top of the line gift ideas.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: And in Hollywood, I'm Sibila Vargas. The network race for TV viewers is getting tighter. I'll tell you who swept the competition when LIVE FROM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

"RU+", a World AIDS Day special with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You don't want to miss it. You can see it at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, just about 15, 16 minutes from now. And again, tonight, at 11:00 Eastern.

PHILLIPS: Well, America's game show champion is no longer in "Jeopardy." For details on that and more showbiz news, let's check in with CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas in L.A.

Hi, Sibila.

VARGAS: Hey, Kyra. Here's a little "Jeopardy" question for you: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white collar employees work only four months a year." Well, if you watched "Jeopardy" yesterday, you know the answer is H&R Block. Too bad the reigning champ didn't.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "JEOPARDY")

ALEX TREBEK, HOST: And his final response was FedEx. His wager was 5601. He winds up in second place with 8799 and Nancy Zerg...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: This is Ken Jennings finally ending his incredible winning streak on the game show. He's won just over $2.5 million. But in the end, it was a tax question that did him in. Just to prove that there are no hard feelings though, H&R Block is offering Jennings free tax preparation for life.

Well, it used to be that NBC was the reigning champ in the ratings game. But with the help of the ladies of Wisteria Lane and some crime scene investigators, ABC and CBS are giving the peacock network a run for its money. ABC's "Desperate Housewives" had its biggest night yet this Sunday with 27 million viewers watching. And the network's other new drama, "Lost", is also scoring high with some insiders calling it the biggest cult hit since "The X-Files" -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: What are the other networks saying about all of this?

VARGAS: Well, you know, NBC says their best is yet to come, but the network recently had to cancel two of its freshman shows both "LAX" and "Hawaii". But the even bigger story is that CBS is projecting an overall win for the November sweeps period, thanks largely to its popular CSI franchise. Now this would be the first time the network has accomplished this feat in 24 years.

Well, in music news, singer Brian Wilson is feeling some good vibrations. The Grammy-nominated composer is being honored as Musicare's 2005 "Person of the Year." Wilson was chosen for his accomplishments as a singer and a humanitarian. Musicare's tribute is one of the most prestigious events held during Grammy week.

Kyra, are you a big fan of Brian Wilson? Something tells me that you are. PHILLIPS: Yes. As a matter of fact, I am.

(CROSSTALK)

VARGAS: All right.

PHILLIPS: Oh, I guess we have to leave now. I'm sorry.

VARGAS: We do.

PHILLIPS: I was feeling the good vibration. All right. We'll feel it again tomorrow, Sibila. All right. We've got some breaking news. Go ahead.

WHITFIELD: All right. Some videotape just now coming into CNN. This involves a shooting that took place earlier today in Port-au- Prince outside the palace, the same palace where U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was visiting with Haiti's president and prime minister. Well, apparently some assailants, a group of them who our Andrea Koppel had been reporting earlier may have been supporters of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

And you can hear some of the gunshots right there that were being exchanged and Andrea Koppel had been reporting earlier today that after those alleged assailants opened fire, not knowing whether they were targeting the building or targeting any persons, that apparently then the Haitian police then were in the middle of exchanging gunfire there.

And there are some of the new images we're just now getting in to CNN. And of course, when we get more information and more videotape, we'll be sharing that with you. And of course, the most important thing, no reported injuries, that of Colin Powell or any members of his entourage.

PHILLIPS: All right. Very good. We're on that story.

All right. Straight ahead, we're going to definitely change gears here. Much different. How's your budget, because if you can spend extra cash, we're going to show you -- I'm talking top of the line holiday gift ideas.

Also a bitter fight between two of the biggest sugar substitute companies. Sink your teeth into this when we check Wall Street.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, if you're stumped about what to get for that hard to buy somebody on your list, we've got some amazing ideas for you. Expensive, too. Whose eyes wouldn't light up if there was a million dollar street ready Maserati like that race car waiting under the Christmas tree or how about just in the garage on Christmas morning or maybe a $300,000 fly fishing trip to Alaska and Wyoming would be just the thing to make your loved one's wish list complete.

Well, if you could even consider buying one of these, then you're the high dollar shopper that this month's "Robb Report" is aiming to please. The issue features 21 ultimate gifts. And I mean the emphasis on ultimate. The magazine's senior editorial director Brett Anderson joins me from our Los Angeles bureau. Good to see you and happy holidays, Brett.

BRETT ANDERSON, "ROBB REPORT": Thank you, Fredricka. Also to you.

WHITFIELD: These are some fabulous ideas. And you know, some folks like to fantasize of being 007 Bond-like or at least have that kind of lifestyle, and you know, folks who just plunk down a couple mil. and get a taste of it. Let's begin with this Bond-like car that is called the Rinspeed Air Land and Sea vehicle.

This one particularly is one that goes -- transitions from land to water, right?

ANDERSON: That's correct. Actually it will also -- in theory it has a hydrofoil so it's land, air and water. And this is one of a cache of cars from Rinspeed, which is a Swiss after-market company. They've been producing a one-of-a-kind car, unique car every year since 1995. We asked them if we could offer to our readers eight of these vehicles, the Splash which you're seeing something one of them which is -- goes about 124 miles an hour on land, about 31 miles on water and then it hydrofoils two feet above water at 49 miles per hour.

WHITFIELD: That is remarkable. And you said you've had a version of that since '95. So were there ever any takers in previous years?

ANDERSON: They've been producing the car since '95. We're offering all eight vehicles for $4.5 million for Christmas this year for the boy who loves toys.

WHITFIELD: All right. Maybe for the boy or the girl who loves to golf, here's a beautiful package taking you to Pebble Beach for you and 23 of your closest buddies.

ANDERSON: Yes, this is a special private tournament. We do a golfing package every year and often it's at Pebble Beach. This year we did something interesting where you and 23 guests can participate in a private golf tournament where you have three of Pebble Beach's most beautiful golf courses, golf links, Spanish Bay and Spyglass Hill all to yourself. You also get -- each participant gets custom Calloway clubs and at the end of the tournament, everyone gets a Lexus SC.

WHITFIELD: Oh, god, this is making me sick.

ANDERSON: The host gets a special Pebble Beach edition SC.

WHITFIELD: And a windbreaker. Don't forget the windbreaker.

ANDERSON: Windbreakers, too, yes.

WHITFIELD: And some spa treatments I understand, too. And that is for a cool $1.9 million. Is that right?

ANDERSON: That's correct.

WHITFIELD: I forgot to mention that the Splash was for $4.5 million. A plug now for the Time Warner Mandarin Oriental private residence. Perhaps you don't want to just visit some place. You want to live there. This is a top of the line penthouse, brand spanking new. Tell us about it.

ANDERSON: Well, this is in, as your viewers may know, the AOL Time Center, Time Warner Center in New York which is one of the most spectacular pieces of urban architecture to emerge on the American landscape in the last few years and the Mandarin Oriental which is one of the world's premier luxury hotel chains has a series of residences as part of their hotel there. This is -- this residence occupies the entire 78th floor of the hotel. And so you have some pretty spectacular views of Central Park at Columbus Circle there.

WHITFIELD: And that's available for $31 million.

ANDERSON: 31.6.

WHITFIELD: That's all. All right. Uh-huh?

ANDERSON: Go ahead. I was going to say, it includes meals prepared by six of nation's top chefs who have restaurants in the Time Warner Center there.

WHITFIELD: So you don't have to lift a finger. Just press the elevator button and get up to the penthouse. Brett Anderson of the "Robs Report." Thanks so much. We're out of time. There are some incredible ideas in this "Robb Report" issue if you are looking for that special something for that special someone.

All right. Let's check in with Rhonda Schaffler and get a check on...

(CROSSTALK)

Rhonda, I'm going to send this to you.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I can't decide which of those gifts looked the best there out of what that...

WHITFIELD: I'll take the diamonds du jour.

PHILLIPS: We're going to start with knowing what stocks to buy.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

WHITFIELD: I see you're making out your little Christmas list for your honey.

PHILLIPS: This is ridiculous. That does it for us. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a special for us now.

"RU+", that's coming up next.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired December 1, 2004 - 14:27   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, when con artists go phishing, it isn't to relax. It's to rip you off. Here's CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg with today's disturbing installment in our series on privacy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSANNA TROTTER, VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT: I don't have high speed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome. You've got mail.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Susanna Trotter of Richmond, Virginia, bought her first computer in 1999. Within three months, her credit card number was stolen.

TROTTER: I got an e-mail from AOL saying that they needed to check my billing.

SIEBERG: Though the message looked real, it was not from AOL, a corporate sister of CNN, by the way. It was from an online con artist and when Susanna clicked on a link inside the e-mail, it directed her to what appeared to be a customer service page, complete with legitimate links, logos and all the right language. It even had drop down menus to select her choice of credit card. She was being duped by a very clever identity thief.

TROTTER: Well, the first thing I noticed was on my credit card that there was a charge that I didn't recognize.

SIEBERG: The thief had used the stolen credit card number to purchase some rather lewd content online.

TROTTER: And I called and it was a company out in California. And after much cajoling, I got the girl to tell me that it was an adult entertainment site. And I knew I hadn't signed up for that.

SIEBERG (on camera): The company, of course, was tricked, too. It had nothing to do with Trotter's stolen credit card information. The scheme is called phishing, spelled with a PH, not an F. And scammers cast wide nets in the form of mass e-mails, hoping to reel in unsuspecting victims who think the messages are legitimate.

Sometimes, however, their tactics backfire and they hook the wrong guy. (voice-over): An FBI agent in the Norfolk field office received the same phony AOL message as Susanna. His name is Joe Vuhasz, but we can't show you his face for investigative reasons.

JOE VUHASZ, FBI AGENT: I think there is some sort of irony in the fact that they were sending the e-mail messages out in such abundance that it just happened that I had to get one. And one of the things that I specialize in is cyber crime. So I think there is some sort of poetic justice.

SIEBERG: The phishers had hooked an FBI agent and he had the means to track them down. Helen Carr and George Patterson are now serving time in federal prison. Their lure of choice was AOL, but other common phishing e-mails purport to be from eBay, PayPal, Citibank and U.S. Bank, among others.

EILEEN HARRINGTON, FTC CONSUMER PROTECTION BUREAU: Phishers send out huge volume of e-mail to people who may or may not have accounts with the companies that they pretend to be on the theory that these companies do so much business that some of the people who receive these e-mails are bound to have accounts or have done business with them and will bite.

SIEBERG: According to one study, 57 million U.S. adults believe they've received a phishing attack e-mail. It's estimated that 11 million of those people actually clicked on the e-mail's links to the fake Web sites. And the trend is on the rise. According to the Anti- Phishing Working Group, with a 52 percent average monthly growth rate through June 2004.

The Federal Trade Commission operates the largest consumer complaint databases in North America. Eileen Harrington says phishing is becoming a huge problem, but it's a crime that's completely preventable.

HARRINGTON: Do not ever provide account information, a PIN, a social security number, any kind of personally identifiable information like that in response to an e-mail, even if you think it's from a legitimate and reputable company, because that's not the way that these companies do business.

SIEBERG: Susanna was able to reverse the charges on her credit card, but was rattled by the whole experience.

TROTTER: I had felt like I was safe. I didn't know enough to realize I wasn't safe. And sure, ever since that happened, I'm very, very careful.

SIEBERG: On the Internet, seeing is not believing. The logos, language and look of anything online are very easy to copy. If you think your billing records need updating, don't take the e-mail's word for it. Contact the company independently and directly yourself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: And often the best way to do that is by phone. Type in the company's Web site from scratch. Don't go there from a link within an e-mail message and look up the number of the company on the site and call them. Even then, remember that real companies will not ask you to update your billing information in this way.

The bad news, recent statistics do show that phishing e-mail scams are on the rise as we enter the holiday season and more people are buying gifts online. So it's going to take a sharp eye not to get hooked.

Our five-part privacy series continues tomorrow with a look at workplace privacy. What does your boss know about you while you're at work and what should you know about what they know? Spying on employees at work, or is it legal? We'll tell you all about it tomorrow on LIVE FROM.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening "Now in the News," CNN has learned the Pentagon is sending 1,500 soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Iraq for up to four months now. Those troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will help secure the planned January 30th elections. Formal announcement is expected in just about 30 minutes.

The State Department says there was an exchange of gunfire today outside Haiti's presidential palace, where Secretary of State Colin Powell was meeting with Haitian leaders. Officials say that Powell was not injured, nor were any of his aides.

President Bush asking Canada for more help in fighting terrorism. Mr. Bush made the plea in Halifax, Nova Scotia, today, as he thanked the city for caring for stranded Americans after the 9/11 attacks.

As protests continue in Kiev, rival parties in the disputed presidential elections say that they'll wait for that Supreme Court ruling. Parliament has dismissed the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who accused the stealing -- or he was accused of stealing the election, rather. He calls parliament's move illegal.

WHITFIELD: Well, you may have thought there was a cable TV channel for everything and everybody. Well, there wasn't one specifically for and about Muslim Americans until now. CNN's Maria Hinojosa reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're pretty much your typical American family, raising kids in suburban Buffalo, New York.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HINOJOSA: But Mo Hassan and his wife are bringing up their four kids to follow Allah and Islam, just five miles away from Lackawanna, where in the fall of 2002, six Muslim men were accused of operating a sleeper al Qaeda cell.

Listening to their car radio one day, the Hassans heard derogatory statements about Muslims in America, and they had an idea -- create a cable TV network that would be about and for U.S.-based Muslims.

MUZZAMMIL HASSAN, FOUNDER, BRIDGES TV: When you read the papers or listen to the news, almost the two words that go together, it's either Muslim extremists, Muslim terrorists, Muslim insurgents, Muslim militants, whereas all the stories about Muslim service, Muslim excellence, Muslim tolerance, Muslim contribution, you know, they are not out there. And yet those are the people that we know.

HINOJOSA: On Tuesday, Bridges TV had its national premiere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Bridges TV.

HINOJOSA: There are the usual flashy graphics and dramatic music. But this network's target audience is one of the country's fastest growing, with estimates as high as seven million Muslims living in the United States.

African-American Muslims, immigrant Muslims, women Muslims, children who will watch Muslim cartoons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, mommy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, sweetheart.

HINOJOSA: And, yes, given that Bridges TV calls itself a lifestyle and entertainment network, there are Muslim comics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys have it easy. When you guys get to the airport, you guys get there an hour, two hours before your flight. Takes me a month and a half.

HINOJOSA: It was a dream, but Mo Hassan knew there would be challenges.

HASSAN: The thing is, you know, let's be real. You have got the word Muslim in there, so when people first hear it, they're like, oh my God.

HINOJOSA: But the country's largest cable carrier, Comcast, has agreed to distribute Bridges TV. American Muslims are so desperate to support this venture that for the past year, 10,000 supporters have been paying monthly fees, even before the network was on the air.

Jamilah Fraser used to produce news for local TV; now she is Bridges TV program director.

HINOJOSA (on camera): What is the one stereotype that you hope this network banishes?

JAMILAH FRASER, BRIDGES TV PROGRAM DIRECTOR: That the women are (UNINTELLIGIBLE), that the women are uneducated, and it shows us that we are -- we're a little bit of everyone, we are doctors, we're lawyers, we're teachers, we're producers.

HINOJOSA (voice-over): So on Bridges TV, which hopes to bridge the gaps between Muslim and non-Muslim, you see Muslim women dealing with a hate-based attack alongside cooking shows.

But this is not a political network. Bridges TV says it will stay away from anything overtly political. The leader of the country's largest Muslim sect will host a show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't all agree. You know, Shiite has a different view than the Sunni, and then there are so many others everywhere. So that would make for confusion.

HINOJOSA: So if you sign up to watch Bridges TV, don't expect a crash course on the complexities of Islam. What you can expect is to see what American Muslims like the Hassan family want to wear, eat or do on a family vacation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And thanks to Maria Hinojosa for that report. And with us now is the Bridges TV founder and CEO Muzzammil Hassan, good to see you.

HASSAN: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Mo for short, as we also heard in the piece...

HASSAN: Sure.

WHITFIELD: ... as being referred to you. What are the images right now that are portraying Muslim Americans on television programming that's been available until Bridges came along?

HASSAN: Well, I mean, what we keep hearing in our focus group research as well as regular media is a lot of negative words are associated with the word Muslim. And what we find in our community, living a daily life, most American Muslims have the same kind of priorities that an average American family has from family issues to economic issues to education to health, career and so forth. So part of the key purpose of Bridges is also to help portray those real-life images of Muslims living their daily lives and inviting mainstream America into our living rooms and you know, opening it up and having people take a good look.

WHITFIELD: And the emphasis is primarily on lifestyles. You won't be tackling news events or politics per se. Why not? At least for now?

HASSAN: Well, the whole focus, as you said, is lifestyle, cultural and entertainment. There is going to be daily news. We're, you know, we're putting together daily world news, followed by daily current affairs type of a show. So news is a part of it. But it's not the central piece of it.

WHITFIELD: But is it true you're avoiding politics for a particular reason?

HASSAN: We're not avoiding politics. I mean, we're addressing it on a daily news basis and a daily current affairs basis and it will be a weekend show, kind of a week in review type of thing, as well. But we also feel there's so much of -- like the key purpose of Bridges is to just to get to know people at a human level, like, you know, whether it's building bridges through humor or through some great South Asian dishes or finding hot spots in Morocco or some great foreign films. I mean, it's trying to build that human connection so that getting to know your next-door neighbor at work and at play in natural situations.

WHITFIELD: And so where did the idea and the funding come from? Because this is, you know, a colossal venture to get a television network...

HASSAN: It's very expensive.

WHITFIELD: ... on the air. It's very expensive. How did you do it?

HASSAN: Well, fortunately, I have no background in TV. I come with a finance background. I'm a banker with an MBA in Finance. So that kind of helped out with the funding process. But the idea itself actually belongs to my wife, who came up with the idea and then put me to work, saying you have an MBA, why don't you write a business plan? So I started learning about TV...

WHITFIELD: And it's through private donations? People started making contributions and so you were able to get it on the air?

HASSAN: Right. This is 100 percent funded in America by Americans with no foreign funding. And it's purely an American Muslim network.

WHITFIELD: It's been on the air now 24 hours. What's the response been like?

HASSAN: Overwhelming. We have been receiving a huge amount of e-mail and phone calls. We really didn't expect that, kind of. We were not properly staffed for it. I've had very sleep in the last three days. And...

WHITFIELD: And I imagine it's going to be that way for a while. Muzzammil Hassan, thanks so much. Bridges TV. And folks can find it on their cable channel, particularly, depending on which geographical era they're in right now.

HASSAN: They can call their local cable company and they can add that on.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Good luck to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, if you want to really splurge this holiday season, here's an idea. How about a car you can drive on land and water? Or you could move into one of the ritziest addresses in the Big Apple. We're going to show you the top of the line gift ideas.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: And in Hollywood, I'm Sibila Vargas. The network race for TV viewers is getting tighter. I'll tell you who swept the competition when LIVE FROM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

"RU+", a World AIDS Day special with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You don't want to miss it. You can see it at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, just about 15, 16 minutes from now. And again, tonight, at 11:00 Eastern.

PHILLIPS: Well, America's game show champion is no longer in "Jeopardy." For details on that and more showbiz news, let's check in with CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas in L.A.

Hi, Sibila.

VARGAS: Hey, Kyra. Here's a little "Jeopardy" question for you: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white collar employees work only four months a year." Well, if you watched "Jeopardy" yesterday, you know the answer is H&R Block. Too bad the reigning champ didn't.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "JEOPARDY")

ALEX TREBEK, HOST: And his final response was FedEx. His wager was 5601. He winds up in second place with 8799 and Nancy Zerg...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: This is Ken Jennings finally ending his incredible winning streak on the game show. He's won just over $2.5 million. But in the end, it was a tax question that did him in. Just to prove that there are no hard feelings though, H&R Block is offering Jennings free tax preparation for life.

Well, it used to be that NBC was the reigning champ in the ratings game. But with the help of the ladies of Wisteria Lane and some crime scene investigators, ABC and CBS are giving the peacock network a run for its money. ABC's "Desperate Housewives" had its biggest night yet this Sunday with 27 million viewers watching. And the network's other new drama, "Lost", is also scoring high with some insiders calling it the biggest cult hit since "The X-Files" -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: What are the other networks saying about all of this?

VARGAS: Well, you know, NBC says their best is yet to come, but the network recently had to cancel two of its freshman shows both "LAX" and "Hawaii". But the even bigger story is that CBS is projecting an overall win for the November sweeps period, thanks largely to its popular CSI franchise. Now this would be the first time the network has accomplished this feat in 24 years.

Well, in music news, singer Brian Wilson is feeling some good vibrations. The Grammy-nominated composer is being honored as Musicare's 2005 "Person of the Year." Wilson was chosen for his accomplishments as a singer and a humanitarian. Musicare's tribute is one of the most prestigious events held during Grammy week.

Kyra, are you a big fan of Brian Wilson? Something tells me that you are. PHILLIPS: Yes. As a matter of fact, I am.

(CROSSTALK)

VARGAS: All right.

PHILLIPS: Oh, I guess we have to leave now. I'm sorry.

VARGAS: We do.

PHILLIPS: I was feeling the good vibration. All right. We'll feel it again tomorrow, Sibila. All right. We've got some breaking news. Go ahead.

WHITFIELD: All right. Some videotape just now coming into CNN. This involves a shooting that took place earlier today in Port-au- Prince outside the palace, the same palace where U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was visiting with Haiti's president and prime minister. Well, apparently some assailants, a group of them who our Andrea Koppel had been reporting earlier may have been supporters of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

And you can hear some of the gunshots right there that were being exchanged and Andrea Koppel had been reporting earlier today that after those alleged assailants opened fire, not knowing whether they were targeting the building or targeting any persons, that apparently then the Haitian police then were in the middle of exchanging gunfire there.

And there are some of the new images we're just now getting in to CNN. And of course, when we get more information and more videotape, we'll be sharing that with you. And of course, the most important thing, no reported injuries, that of Colin Powell or any members of his entourage.

PHILLIPS: All right. Very good. We're on that story.

All right. Straight ahead, we're going to definitely change gears here. Much different. How's your budget, because if you can spend extra cash, we're going to show you -- I'm talking top of the line holiday gift ideas.

Also a bitter fight between two of the biggest sugar substitute companies. Sink your teeth into this when we check Wall Street.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, if you're stumped about what to get for that hard to buy somebody on your list, we've got some amazing ideas for you. Expensive, too. Whose eyes wouldn't light up if there was a million dollar street ready Maserati like that race car waiting under the Christmas tree or how about just in the garage on Christmas morning or maybe a $300,000 fly fishing trip to Alaska and Wyoming would be just the thing to make your loved one's wish list complete.

Well, if you could even consider buying one of these, then you're the high dollar shopper that this month's "Robb Report" is aiming to please. The issue features 21 ultimate gifts. And I mean the emphasis on ultimate. The magazine's senior editorial director Brett Anderson joins me from our Los Angeles bureau. Good to see you and happy holidays, Brett.

BRETT ANDERSON, "ROBB REPORT": Thank you, Fredricka. Also to you.

WHITFIELD: These are some fabulous ideas. And you know, some folks like to fantasize of being 007 Bond-like or at least have that kind of lifestyle, and you know, folks who just plunk down a couple mil. and get a taste of it. Let's begin with this Bond-like car that is called the Rinspeed Air Land and Sea vehicle.

This one particularly is one that goes -- transitions from land to water, right?

ANDERSON: That's correct. Actually it will also -- in theory it has a hydrofoil so it's land, air and water. And this is one of a cache of cars from Rinspeed, which is a Swiss after-market company. They've been producing a one-of-a-kind car, unique car every year since 1995. We asked them if we could offer to our readers eight of these vehicles, the Splash which you're seeing something one of them which is -- goes about 124 miles an hour on land, about 31 miles on water and then it hydrofoils two feet above water at 49 miles per hour.

WHITFIELD: That is remarkable. And you said you've had a version of that since '95. So were there ever any takers in previous years?

ANDERSON: They've been producing the car since '95. We're offering all eight vehicles for $4.5 million for Christmas this year for the boy who loves toys.

WHITFIELD: All right. Maybe for the boy or the girl who loves to golf, here's a beautiful package taking you to Pebble Beach for you and 23 of your closest buddies.

ANDERSON: Yes, this is a special private tournament. We do a golfing package every year and often it's at Pebble Beach. This year we did something interesting where you and 23 guests can participate in a private golf tournament where you have three of Pebble Beach's most beautiful golf courses, golf links, Spanish Bay and Spyglass Hill all to yourself. You also get -- each participant gets custom Calloway clubs and at the end of the tournament, everyone gets a Lexus SC.

WHITFIELD: Oh, god, this is making me sick.

ANDERSON: The host gets a special Pebble Beach edition SC.

WHITFIELD: And a windbreaker. Don't forget the windbreaker.

ANDERSON: Windbreakers, too, yes.

WHITFIELD: And some spa treatments I understand, too. And that is for a cool $1.9 million. Is that right?

ANDERSON: That's correct.

WHITFIELD: I forgot to mention that the Splash was for $4.5 million. A plug now for the Time Warner Mandarin Oriental private residence. Perhaps you don't want to just visit some place. You want to live there. This is a top of the line penthouse, brand spanking new. Tell us about it.

ANDERSON: Well, this is in, as your viewers may know, the AOL Time Center, Time Warner Center in New York which is one of the most spectacular pieces of urban architecture to emerge on the American landscape in the last few years and the Mandarin Oriental which is one of the world's premier luxury hotel chains has a series of residences as part of their hotel there. This is -- this residence occupies the entire 78th floor of the hotel. And so you have some pretty spectacular views of Central Park at Columbus Circle there.

WHITFIELD: And that's available for $31 million.

ANDERSON: 31.6.

WHITFIELD: That's all. All right. Uh-huh?

ANDERSON: Go ahead. I was going to say, it includes meals prepared by six of nation's top chefs who have restaurants in the Time Warner Center there.

WHITFIELD: So you don't have to lift a finger. Just press the elevator button and get up to the penthouse. Brett Anderson of the "Robs Report." Thanks so much. We're out of time. There are some incredible ideas in this "Robb Report" issue if you are looking for that special something for that special someone.

All right. Let's check in with Rhonda Schaffler and get a check on...

(CROSSTALK)

Rhonda, I'm going to send this to you.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I can't decide which of those gifts looked the best there out of what that...

WHITFIELD: I'll take the diamonds du jour.

PHILLIPS: We're going to start with knowing what stocks to buy.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

WHITFIELD: I see you're making out your little Christmas list for your honey.

PHILLIPS: This is ridiculous. That does it for us. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a special for us now.

"RU+", that's coming up next.

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