A scam unfolds

I have read about this scam and it seems that locally it was targeting older people, pretending to be a grandchild and asking for money because they are stuck in some place. This too was mentioned and exactly as per Gonzy's email. I believe one of the news networks even did a report on it.

Gonzy,

The creativity of these scammers is unbelievable! One thing that would be a concern, is how did they learn the name of your friend and how did they get your E-mail address? Being able to tie a particular name to an E-mail would suggest they have some degree of information about you?

I wonder if there's any possibility they could have placed "sypware" in your computer and had a look at your E-mail address book?

Thanks for the warning. Good luck!

Hi Ken,

That is a concern. I keep my anti virus up to date (McAffee) I tend to think that it might be on my friends end since he has a particular signature.*** I just talked to him and evidently someone has gotten into his email account and has sent this to all of his contacts. I think I will contact everyone in my conctact list via bcc, and alert them to this possibility when I take my upcoming trip. I'll also let them know that if the situation were to arise, I would give them a local contact number to confirm any request. Can't be too careful with all the crooks out there.

Gonzy,

Might be an idea for your friend to update his anti-virus software as well. It seems his computer has been "mined" and his E-mail addresses compromised.

Cheers!

I saw an article in the newspaper here recently that someone's Facebook account got hacked into and a friend of his got scammed into sending $1000 to the UK...

There is also a low-tech version of this scam. Somebody may approach you on a street and ask you to sign a petition, or join the mailing list for a charity with your name, hometown, and email address. All they need to do now is do a google search, or call information so they can scam your friends and family. Someone attempted to do this to me in Tokyo a few months ago in the guise of raising money for earthquake victims in China. I was a bit suspicious because the group was only approaching western tourists, and suspicions more or less confirmed when I looked down at the clipboards and noticed some Brits had written "wanker" in the spaces.

My brother's email account was broken into a few months ago. A very similar email was sent to everyone in his address book stating he was stranded in England and needed money. Funny thing, the hacker sent an email to his wife. They were able to send emails to everyone informing them of fraud before anyone lost money.

I forget to mention that some the these scams were also attempted by telephone.

Yep, the Facebook one got reported on the news here as well. In this age of telephones and cell phones, I'd NEVER send money via western union until I had a voice conversation with the friend claiming to be stuck, especially if I didn't know he was in Europe.

I too have read of at least a couple of people falling for this scam. In one case, the person was traveling but had no idea any of this was occuring. In another case, the person wasn't currently away from home.

The key to beating the scam is not to rush into anything. Check things out carefully. Verify that the person you know is actually traveling and having difficulty. Call their home, work, parents, siblings or kids. Don't take the word of a third party you don't know regardless of whether they say they are a bank official or police officer. Insist on talking to them directly before you send anything.

Yes, this is one more reason why THIS website needs to fix their GRAFFITI WALL section, where it has peoples emails addresses on it. I posted something over there and forgot to click no email posting, and now my email is there for everyone to see. I would remove it, but you cannot edit it.

Scammers can get your email in many ways:

-From websites where you posted your email address.
- If you have one of free ones like yahoo or gmail those sites sell your email.
-if you have a virus on you PC, it might collect your email and passwords.
-also some web sites might share your email address with other so called third parties. You always have to read the privacy policy, if you don't want this to happen.

Jo,

I didn't know that happens on Graffiti wall. I thought that if you don't put your email at all, it will leave the field blank. I agree, it shouldn't happen.
I am sure that the web master can remove your post.
Well, I see this like a sort of violation of your privacy. hmmmmm
Has anyone told them about it?

Yes, the webmaster knows about this problem. We had a lot of people not too long ago get hit with a lot of spam because of this. I must have been asleep the day I posted those suggestions, and put my email on there accidently.