State govs saying 'No thanks' to mystery laptops

Even during the difficult budgetary situation of the times, proving a growing handful of governors to pay attention to laptops, which have shown in their offices this month, accept unsolicited.

Officials in West Virginia, Vermont, Wyoming and the United States have reported receiving the state of Washington, between three and five laptop computers, each in two separate feeds - but nobody should be ordering any of them.

"They immediately raised a red flag," says Matt Turner, spokesman for West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin. "Nobody said, 'Hey, we have a gift."

The laptops were from Hewlett-Packard or Compaq from its mark. Major PC manufacturers in the world took a load of at least one other state, according to a bulletin of the National Association of Governors in response to suspicious shipments delivered.

"HP is aware that fraudulent orders state government had recently spent a small amount of HP hardware. HP has provided prompt remedial measures for the fraudulent purchase orders and works with the police personnel on the criminal investigation "The Palo Alto, California - express company in a statement, a further decline.

Hewlett-Packard has signed contracts to supply computer hardware, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The warning also said the National Governors Association, laptops Vermont have been issued with a credit card on behalf of Governor Jim Douglas has been - but it was not really considered Douglas received or issued by this state .

Officials in Washington and Wyoming, said the computer had been purchased with credit cards, account numbers did not match any in the possession of these countries. West Virginia State Police Sgt. Mike T. Baylous refused to comment on how the phones were delivered in May, he was paid.

"The state police and FBI are working together on why these computers were sent to West Virginia to access," said Thursday Baylous.

Agent Jay Bartholomew, the senior supervisor of the FBI agent in Charleston, declined to comment Thursday.

Frank Dorman, a spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission, who said beware of identity theft and other fraud, the Agency has not heard of such a case, and asked who would benefit.

But government officials were also on what might be hidden in the affected laptops.

"I do not know what, but I guess we do not receive this as a goodwill gesture," said Kyle Schafer, West Virginia's Chief Technology Officer. "We take very strong measures to protect us from the outside world."

Following the review, none of the offices of the governor of one of the machines running. Instead, they either returned or she gave to police.

"After the first shipment arrived, we realized they had erred and has begun the process to return to the company," said Cara Eastwood, spokeswoman Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal. "When we heard the second show, we're not on the investigators. "

West Virginia has been particularly susceptible to potential fraud.

Earlier this year, someone ran to 475,000 $ on the phone a licensing authority to state the bill after they have been unduly restricted in his conference call codes online account. The State Auditor was created in the diversion of nearly $ 2 million for the sellers in bank accounts from which to say that scientists are mistaken for a Kenyan, a network of fraud.