OK, so who has gotten the latest e-mail scam - friend's passport stolen, needs $$$

[Deb in IA]

I just love this one.

I have gotten this one at least 3 times now.

Usually it is from someone who I may have e-mailed a couple of times several years ago. Or someone on a mailing list.

The story is always the same - "I was travelling overseas/in Europe/in England over the holidays and someone broke into my hotel and stole my passport! Could you please wire some cash so that I can get back home?"


Yeah, sure . . .

 

[java]

I was the victim of it recently. It went to most of my email contacts. And surprisingly 2 of my friends almost fell for it! Mine was we were robbed in London and needed $2000 to get home.

Hello one of the 2 had seen me the day before. When I mentioned that she said yeah I was thinking wow she went all the way to London for the night?

It's so annoying. And I got calls for days.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

I had that one several times over the years... not lately, though.

We also got one by phone, saying our next door neighbor was in a car accident, and she didn't have insurance, and the ambulance company needed a credit card to authorize taking her to the hospital..... and my neighbor had just left my home about 5 minutes prior.

 

[powellrj]

My DSIL got it and I recieved the email. I had just talked to her the day before so I knew she hadn't gone to Spain, but I called her to let her know I had gotten it. She said she had phone calls all day!

 

[threecrazykids]

Hey, count yourself lucky those are the spam's you get...I sometimes get the ones from the people who are apparently sexually deprived and are "waiting for me."

WHOOWHEEE...I tell ya the description in the subject line alone makes me wonder who is behind these emails.

 

[Geoff_M]

Gee, you guys have all the fun! I haven't won an International Sweepstakes, been contacted by a son of a deposed African president, been asked to do photography for a rich foreigner's daughter's wedding, or had any friends robbed overseas in a long time!!!

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

Hey, count yourself lucky those are the spam's you get...I sometimes get the ones from the people who are apparently sexually deprived and are "waiting for me."

WHOOWHEEE...I tell ya the description in the subject line alone makes me wonder who is behind these emails.

There was a story a few weeks back on yahoo about a guy getting arrested. I think he was Russian. Anyway, they said he was responsible for about 70% of all email scams on the internet.

 

[lakelandgal70]

I have never gotten one of these. I would hope no one would fall for it but I have a feeling probably someone would.

 

[Geoff_M]

There was a story a few weeks back on yahoo about a guy getting arrested. I think he was Russian. Anyway, they said he was responsible for about 70% of all email scams on the internet.

No, that was 70% of spam e-mails, not scam e-mails (though a lot of spam is about scams of another sort).

There are some great "scam the scammer" web sites out there that actually have gone to far as to work with "in country" counterparts to get photos of some of these idiots. One the best was probably the case of a guy that knew that someone in the UK was scamming him in the sale of a Mac laptop. He sent him a bogus package and made the scammer actually pay duty on it! http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

 

[PollyannaMom]

I just love this one.

I have gotten this one at least 3 times now.

Usually it is from someone who I may have e-mailed a couple of times several years ago. Or someone on a mailing list.

The story is always the same - "I was travelling overseas/in Europe/in England over the holidays and someone broke into my hotel and stole my passport! Could you please wire some cash so that I can get back home?"


Yeah, sure . . .

Glad to know this a "real" scam. I got it from someone I had only met once (on each other's e-mail list from our children's activities) and was kind of freaked out, thinking maybe she was just nuts.

 

[disneypofq05]

I got this last year from a former student's parent. I hadn't heard from the mother in a little over a year. I didn't respond because I figured it was a scam as she would never travel to Europe and leave the kids at home!

 

[laurie31]

I have gotten that one several times.

My favorite time was when it appeared that it came from our Youth Minister, and I had just walked in the door from dropping the kids off at church for an activity- with him!! Unless he had just invented the transporter like on Star Trek, I was pretty confident he was NOT in London!

And of course, the language is so bad and so odd, that you can't imagine the person that you know talking that way. It sounds like someone who has learned English as a second language and doesn't yet understand the sentence structure. Or maybe it's from Yoda. "Lost my passport, I have. Your money I need. Wire it quickly, I beg."

 

[johnnymo99]

No, that was 70% of spam e-mails, not scam e-mails (though a lot of spam is about scams of another sort).

There are some great "scam the scammer" web sites out there that actually have gone to far as to work with "in country" counterparts to get photos of some of these idiots. One the best was probably the case of a guy that knew that someone in the UK was scamming him in the sale of a Mac laptop. He sent him a bogus package and made the scammer actually pay duty on it! http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

One of the best "scam the scammer" websites is 419eater dot com. The trophies section and message boards are hilarious. I've been having fun messing with these scamming dolts for years over there.

 

[Deb in IA]

Glad to know this a "real" scam. I got it from someone I had only met once (on each other's e-mail list from our children's activities) and was kind of freaked out, thinking maybe she was just nuts.

I wonder how many people think that when they get these!
"Why would someone I have not had contact with for years suddenly e-mail me for money??"

I have gotten that one several times.

My favorite time was when it appeared that it came from our Youth Minister, and I had just walked in the door from dropping the kids off at church for an activity- with him!! Unless he had just invented the transporter like on Star Trek, I was pretty confident he was NOT in London!

And of course, the language is so bad and so odd, that you can't imagine the person that you know talking that way. It sounds like someone who has learned English as a second language and doesn't yet understand the sentence structure. Or maybe it's from Yoda. "Lost my passport, I have. Your money I need. Wire it quickly, I beg."

 

[Witch Mountain]

No, that was 70% of spam e-mails, not scam e-mails (though a lot of spam is about scams of another sort).

There are some great "scam the scammer" web sites out there that actually have gone to far as to work with "in country" counterparts to get photos of some of these idiots. One the best was probably the case of a guy that knew that someone in the UK was scamming him in the sale of a Mac laptop. He sent him a bogus package and made the scammer actually pay duty on it! http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

Oooh, I have a couple of laptops that are doorstops (over ten years old) and a couple of macbook boxes. That's a lovely way to get back at these jerks. If only the scams I got weren't of the 'Nigerian princess' variety.

 

[eliza61]

I just love this one.

I have gotten this one at least 3 times now.

Usually it is from someone who I may have e-mailed a couple of times several years ago. Or someone on a mailing list.

The story is always the same - "I was travelling overseas/in Europe/in England over the holidays and someone broke into my hotel and stole my passport! Could you please wire some cash so that I can get back home?"


Yeah, sure . . .

LoL, I get them all the time. I got one which said my son who was in the house with me at the time was stuck in Germany.

I replied for them to go to the embassy and work it out.

 

[phamton]

I got this message sent to me via email from a dear friend:

"I'm writing with tears in my eyes,my family and I came down here to cardiff-wales(UK) for a short vacation unfortunately we were mugged at the park of the hotel we stayed,all cash credit cards and cell were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us, Jane was Traumatized at the incident and she's currently at the hospital.

I have been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all and our flight leaves pretty soon from now but we're having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the bills. I need your help financially to settle the bills then head straight to the airport. Please be so kind to reply back so I can tell you what to do and how to get some cash to us, also i need you to check you mail from time to time today as its the only way i can reach you.

I'm under pressure at the moment.
Joe (Jane's husband)"

I then got on facebook to send her a heads up and they have hacked her facebook account. Jane suddenly showed up on Facebook chat. I told her that her email had been hacked and "jane" replied it's not hacked it's all true and a terrible nightmare for us. I asked "Jane" for the name of her first grandchild and what we taught together. They immediately stopped chatting with me. I knew it was the perpetrator and not my friend, Jane. I reported the hack to yahoo mail and facebook.

Apparently, facebook closed her account right away so no one wired any money but now she can't get Facebook to reinstate her old facebook account even with a new password and she had to re-register and lost all her work on Farmtown and Farmville.