You’ve probably heard about this phishing scam on the news, or you may have fallen for it. A scammer sends an innocuous looking e-mail. You open it, click on a link, and the scammer steals your password. No attachment downloading required.
The scammer pretends to be you and sends an e-mail to your contacts. You’re in a foreign country, and you’ve lost your wallet and need cash fast. Someone hacked into an LBC reader’s e-mail account and sent this to his contacts:
“My Predicament!!
Thursday, November 5, 2009 7:32 AM
From:
This sender is DomainKeys verified
REDACTED
Add sender to Contacts
To:
undisclosed-recipients
This had to come in a hurry and it has left me in a devastating state,I’m writing this with tears in my eyes,I came down here to London,England for a short vacation to visit a resort and got mugged at gun point last night at the park of the hotel where i checked in.All cash,credit cards and cell were stolen off me.My flight leaves today and i’m having problems settling the hotel bills.
The hotel manager won’t let me leave until i settle the hotel bills($1,940) now am freaked out.Please reply and let me if can you have the money wired to me through western union i promise to pay back as soon as i get back home.”
Most people are smart enough not to fall for this, but just in case…
