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Computer Support For Individuals And Small Business |
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2/28/11 |
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Please Help! Email Scam - Stranded In Foreign Country |
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What would you do if one of your good friends was stranded in a foreign country, injured with no money? Help him out, right?
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That's what the author of the Please Help! email scam hopes for. Here's how it works.
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Sitting at your computer you receive an email from your friend stating he is out of the country on vacation or business, but has suffered some tragedy. He has no access to money or a phone (his cell phone is stolen or lost) and desperately needs a loan. You will be paid back when he returns.
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Your immediate impulse is to find out how to get money to him, so you send him an email asking how you can help. You get an email back from his email address telling you where to send the money, but the email is actually from the scammer.
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What has happened is that the scammer has hacked into his email box. He now has control of it and can respond to any emails. In some cases the scammer may change the password, erase the address book, erase the sent box, erase the inbox, etc. He may change settings, such as having all incoming emails sent to him at another email address.
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So what do you do? If you are the recipient of such an email, don't reply with an email to that email address. Contact your friend some other way, such as by phone. He needs to know this has happened (of course, he will likely get inquiries from a number of people who have received the email).
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If you are the person whose email was hacked, change your password immediately. Be sure to use a strong password (for one way to do this see our article on creating strong passwords). Contact your service provider to let them know this has happened and for any other suggestions they may have (they have probably encountered this before). If you have any further problems deactivate your email address and set up a new one. |
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If this was a paid account, and the scammer has access to your credit card information, cancel your credit card as soon as possible. Contact your credit card provider and let them know this has happened. |
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Even after securing or deactivating the account it is imperative to be alert. The scammer has had access to your personal information that was available in the account. This can be problematic, as even after you secure or deactivate the email account the scammer may have retained this information, your email address book, and the information contained in any emails that were stored in your email folders. |
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Here is an actual example of this scam received in the fall of 2010 with the subject of "Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!." Notice the odd wording and shaky grammar:
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"I'm writing this with tears in my eyes,my family and I came down here to London,United Kingdom for a short vacation unfortunately we were mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed,all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.We've been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all and our flight leaves today but we're having problems settling the hotel bills, and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the bills,I'm freaked out at the moment.wondering if you could help us with a quick loan,we can pay you back in a couple of days once we get home.i promise"
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Here is another version with the subject line of "Please Be Of Help!!." This was brought to our attention by two different individuals who had received it during February, 2011:
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"I had to send this message to you, due to an unforeseen circumstance that I encountered. I traveled with my family for a Vacation to the United Kingdom and unfortunately for us, we had an accident of which I dislocated my right arm and my head got bruised. The driver of the cab passed on due to internal bleeding and the injuries he sustained on his head.
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"I have not been able to reach any one due to the fact that I misplaced my mobile phone during the accident.Thank goodness, my family are safe and presently I am in a hospital, due to the injuries I sustained and I need your urgent assistance to enable me pay up the hospital bills so that I will be discharged immediately.
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"I also need your help to enable us get back home as we have our passports with us, and that's the only reason why I am still hopeful of getting back home. We don't have any money with us, and all we need presently is some fund to enable us reschedule our flight and then sort out my hospital bills to enable us get back home.Please I need your assistance financially to enable us get back home. I will be very grateful if you will be able to assist us financially."
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Notice that in both cases the friend supposedly had lost his cell phone but still had a passport. Don't fall for this, but do contact your friend (not using the hacked email address) because he needs to know this has happened.
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