Email scam

[LittlePants]

How gullible are you? Would you spot this? It seems so obvious to me, and yet......

My DH had an email yesterday apparently from a very old friend who we haven't seen for about 25 years. The friend is very comfortably retired, has a large family and lives in Italy. DH (who is internet incompetent ) called me down, and said "********* is in a pickle. He's in Limasol and has had his bag stolen, and the hotel are holding him because he can't pay his bill. He's also had his passport and wallet stolen. He needs 850€ urgently, and wants it sending by Western Union - how do I send euros by Western Union - I'd like to help him out"

I told him absolutely not to send it - that it was a typical SCAM. Had he checked the full headers on the email (He didn't even know how to.) Why would ***** ask him (in UK) for help, when he has family in Italy with € accounts? Why did DH need to send help, when he had family and much closer friends around? Why did he not phone, or email G to phone him, if he had no money?

DH was 'certain that it was from ******** because of the way it was written. DON'T DO IT, I said. Or at least try ringing him before you do. 'OK' he said, 'but I'm sure it's genuine.' So he rang ******** and got through to an Italian answerphone (he doesn't speak Italian) He didn't understand the message of course, so hung up. He was still insisting that this gave further evidence that the email was genuine, as this proved ******* was not at home. Anyway, I finally persuaded him to email his friends wife, and sure enough he had a reply that the email address had been hacked into.

Then he actually said that he wouldn't have sent the money until he'd checked anyway! But I wonder. The sad thing is that so many people may just be caught that way.

 

[Jade--x]

Honestly I'm not gullible enough, as no one I know would ask me for money, and I don't check my emails anyway

I always get them saying my bank account details have been stolen and to confirm them from places like 'halifax' and 'lloyds TSB' when I don't even have accounts with them so they're pretty obvious.

Its getting scary how good they are it it though and the different ways they're finding to try and make people fall for it. There's a website you can use to forward any scams to as I've done it a few times but I can't remember what it is.

ETA: Here it is https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/help-disrupt-fraudsters-by-reporting-scam-emails-feb11 I'm not sure if its still the same one but worth a try

 

[blueskai]

The majority of scam emails i get all request you send money to Western Union bank, it's weird. You know the likes of 'some nigerian lawyer wants to leave you their fortune to the amount of £500,000,000' etc.

Anyonr offering/asking for money thru email is most likely a scam, and as PP said you can search for recent scams too thats may be similar

xo

 

[Kate&Lucas]

I won't lie I'd be a bit convinced but in the end you know anyone who needs something 'urgently' won't be emailing you about it, they'd just call.

 

[C_baby]

I'm a massive sceptic I don't believe most of what I read full stop!

I once had a phone call from the people who pretend to be from Windows and try to get you to log in to your computer, he hung up pretty quickly when I started laughing at him!

Hopefully your OH will be a bit more cautious now.

 

[suzib76]

firstly western union - HUGE red flag

secondly even if it was genuine i would not hand over money to someone i hadnt seen for 25 years based on an email

i think you should google some scam info for oh x

 

[smokey]

This scam was all over the tv back last year, one of those crime wstch type shows so I wouldnt fall for it as I know about it.
But even if I hadnt of heard about it im a extreme sceptic with anything like this and just delete the emails.

 

[lindseymw]

I'm a massive sceptic I don't believe most of what I read full stop!

I once had a phone call from the people who pretend to be from Windows and try to get you to log in to your computer, he hung up pretty quickly when I started laughing at him!

Hopefully your OH will be a bit more cautious now.

I've had a few phonecall like this.....I've asked them 'what's the internet?', pretended to do what they say (they get a bit frustrated when you tell them you are getting 'errors' on your computer), told them I don't have a computer, told them I'm running Linux...

I'm the biggest skeptic ever. Any email that would be sent to me asking me for money is automatically deleted. If any friend was stuck, they would ring.....or probably not as they know I don't have €850

 

[Mazzy17]

If i see emails like that i automatically delete

I go on this website called thechive anda few years back one of their followers got sent a similar email from Africa and told so he told the scammer he will send money if they posed in wedding dresses with signs for thechive...funny pics were taken of big manly Africans in wedding dresses and veils and no money was sent.

 

[Lief]

I'm very skeptical about anything like this and would double and triple check before I'd even consider sending anything.

One of my cousins actually fell for this scam a few years ago. I remember his mam telling em about it and right away the alarm bells were ringing and I was thinking scam scam big fat scammmm. He had already sent some money though before his brother told him it was definitely a scam. I think it was done through his credit card though, not western union so he recovered the money.

 

[C_baby]

Wow, wish I had more friends like you guys. If I actislly emailed my friends asking for money they probably just reply with links to lolcats!

Oh noes she didunt!

 

[calm]

Someone asking for money through western union in an email... for me that spells out scam. The whole email reads very fishy, I would be pretty sure it couldn't be genuine, I agree with you and I am surprised your hubby couldn't see that. However, no-one is free of being conned or scammed.

 

[Ceejay123]

My sister had her email account hacked - EXACT same thing. Except it was canada... And they emailed all of her contacts. Three people phoned her trying to send her cash..

But she did live in Canada before.. haha.

 

[hayz_baby]

I'm a massive sceptic I don't believe most of what I read full stop!

I once had a phone call from the people who pretend to be from Windows and try to get you to log in to your computer, he hung up pretty quickly when I started laughing at him!

Hopefully your OH will be a bit more cautious now.

I've had a few phonecall like this.....I've asked them 'what's the internet?', pretended to do what they say (they get a bit frustrated when you tell them you are getting 'errors' on your computer), told them I don't have a computer, told them I'm running Linux...

I'm the biggest skeptic ever. Any email that would be sent to me asking me for money is automatically deleted. If any friend was stuck, they would ring.....or probably not as they know I don't have €850

We used to get these so often in our old address I would tell them no Internet so how would you know? We have a mac blah blah blah, they always rang, I was told by someone that if u r really horrible they will put a flag on your name so you when your name pops up they will just go to the next caller. Now I understand everyone has a job to do but those calls were obviously fraudulent even if I don't know what to do so I had a massive argument with the guy told him it was a scam question how he knew out computer was running errors when it hasn't been on, told him we did t have windows 7 but windows xp so he's wrong there, I even went how do you sleep at night knowing u r scanning people?!

He hung up and they never called again.....

 

[summer rain]

My FIL unfortunately did get scammed by something like this, though the scammers were from Florida not any of the usual suspects. They pretended to be in the middle east and wanting to sponsor and make a donation to the community centre he does voluntary work for, it was really elaborate. Then they pretended that they had flown to the US from the middle east but were stuck in Miami airport and the only way they could fly on to London was if FIL sent them £1200, unfortunately he believed them and sent them the money by western union. We told the FBI and they didn't seem to give a monkeys to be honest even though we played on the 'these people could potentially be terrorists' angle. xx

 

[smokey]

If i see emails like that i automatically delete

I go on this website called thechive anda few years back one of their followers got sent a similar email from Africa and told so he told the scammer he will send money if they posed in wedding dresses with signs for thechive...funny pics were taken of big manly Africans in wedding dresses and veils and no money was sent.

A fellow chivette, KCCO

 

[Mazzy17]

If i see emails like that i automatically delete

I go on this website called thechive anda few years back one of their followers got sent a similar email from Africa and told so he told the scammer he will send money if they posed in wedding dresses with signs for thechive...funny pics were taken of big manly Africans in wedding dresses and veils and no money was sent.

A fellow chivette, KCCO

Chive On!!!

 

[solitaire89]

I'm a massive sceptic I don't believe most of what I read full stop!

I once had a phone call from the people who pretend to be from Windows and try to get you to log in to your computer, he hung up pretty quickly when I started laughing at him!

Hopefully your OH will be a bit more cautious now.

I love these ones - I string them along for so long playing the dumb blonde (oh really, you must help me sir! Thank you so much for saving me, I don't know what I'd do without you, etc, etc, etc)

And then inform them (rather technically) that I've tracked their IP and location from the information they've given, that I work for MS and that I'll be passing their details onto the fraud team and to the police... hehe I LOVE being a blonde woman!