A major scam warning

[MaggieMae]

I leave it to a mod to move this, but I think it's important enough to grab immediate attention. My son, who lives in Houston, got hit with this yesterday which went out to everyone in his address book.

He traced the hacker to [email protected], Tennessee zip 07043. That's all I know so far. Here was what we all received:

Hi,i am sorry I didn't email you about my traveling to England for a Contract Seminar.i would have love to call you to tell you this by phone,but there was no other way of communication here that i am except the internet emailing,that was why i decided to contact you through this email.It as been a very sad news and bad moment for me, the present condition that I found myself is very hard for me to explain.I am really stranded in UK because I forgot my little bag in a Taxi where my money and documents were kept on my way to a Hotel that am staying.I have no more money left with me. I am now owning an hotel bill of $700 and they wanted me to pay the bills soon else they will have to seize my bag and hand me over to the Hotel management,please I need some help from you urgently to help me back home,and I need you to help me with the hotel bill and i will also need $850 to feed and help myself back home so please can you help me with a sum of $1550 ? to sort out this problems here I need this help so much and on time because i am in a terrible and tight situation here,please understand how urgent i need your help.
I am sending you this e-mail from the UK. I will appreciate what so ever you can afford to send me for now and I promise to pay back your money as soon as i return home, you need to transfer the money through Western Union, So below is the details to use in sending the payment to me through Western Union and i promise to refund the money back to you as soon as i get back to the state okay and i will love to leave here as soon as possible because am really going through hell here okay.. So below is the information please do act fast.Hope to read from you soon..

INFORMATION:

NAME: [my son's first/last name]
City: Manchester
COUNTRY: ENGLAND

So as soon as you make payment at the Western Union you would be given some information,You would have to get back to me with the information below that i will use to receive the money so i can sort out my bills and get back to the state.

Full sender's Name:
Mtcn(control number):
Amount sent:

 

[Dr Gregg]

Who is still dumb enough to fall for these stupid scams or even bothering reading emails from people they don't know?

If they are dumb enough, sadly they deserve to be scammed

 

[MaggieMae]

Who is still dumb enough to fall for these stupid scams or even bothering reading emails from people they don't know?

If they are dumb enough, sadly they deserve to be scammed

This is not a "dumb" one. It appeared to be a valid email from my son, not a stranger. Fortunately, it arrived in my spam folder, but I wouldn't have fallen for it anyway. He knows I don't have any money. In fact, HE'S the only one in the family who DOES. He also travels a lot. It's the 20+ other people that he immediately had to notify because you can't trust everyone to be as savvy as, say, you and me.

Ironically, Clarke Howard (HLN's home finance guru) took a call last Saturday from a woman who fell for the exact same scam. Only she sent the money!

 

[blastoff]

I'm careful to only respond to legitimate email requests such as the guy in Nigeria who's promised to send me $26 Million after I sent him $1,500 and my bank account number so he can transfer the money to me. I'm excited as it should be here any day now.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Right now I am getting three emails a day with viruses attached asking me to pick up my UPS package.

I haven't ordered anything on line since September. Scams are less effective if everyone is doing it.

 

[WillowTree]

Who is still dumb enough to fall for these stupid scams or even bothering reading emails from people they don't know?

If they are dumb enough, sadly they deserve to be scammed

This is not a "dumb" one. It appeared to be a valid email from my son, not a stranger. Fortunately, it arrived in my spam folder, but I wouldn't have fallen for it anyway. He knows I don't have any money. In fact, HE'S the only one in the family who DOES. He also travels a lot. It's the 20+ other people that he immediately had to notify because you can't trust everyone to be as savvy as, say, you and me.

Ironically, Clarke Howard (HLN's home finance guru) took a call last Saturday from a woman who fell for the exact same scam. Only she sent the money!

and she called Clark Howard and publicized her humiliation?? she is dumb as a donkey.

 

[MaggieMae]

Right now I am getting three emails a day with viruses attached asking me to pick up my UPS package.

I haven't ordered anything on line since September. Scams are less effective if everyone is doing it.

I don't know why I'm not a target, then, because I do order stuff online. When I got my first computer with Internet capability (JUNO!), I got one of those Nigerian letters, but that was way back in 1999 and haven't seen anything similar since. I have, however, had two virus attacks just since January which are even more annoying.

 

[xsited1]

So are you saying I'm not going to get my $1550 back?

 

[Conspiracist]

I'm careful to only respond to legitimate email requests such as the guy in Nigeria who's promised to send me $26 Million after I sent him $1,500 and my bank account number so he can transfer the money to me. I'm excited as it should be here any day now.

He only offered me 15 mill! oh well, pay day's a comin! *dry washes hands*

 

[MaggieMae]

Who is still dumb enough to fall for these stupid scams or even bothering reading emails from people they don't know?

If they are dumb enough, sadly they deserve to be scammed

This is not a "dumb" one. It appeared to be a valid email from my son, not a stranger. Fortunately, it arrived in my spam folder, but I wouldn't have fallen for it anyway. He knows I don't have any money. In fact, HE'S the only one in the family who DOES. He also travels a lot. It's the 20+ other people that he immediately had to notify because you can't trust everyone to be as savvy as, say, you and me.

Ironically, Clarke Howard (HLN's home finance guru) took a call last Saturday from a woman who fell for the exact same scam. Only she sent the money!

and she called Clark Howard and publicized her humiliation?? she is dumb as a donkey.

She was warning people, just as I am here.

Not everyone is as bright as you are.

 

[saveliberty]

Yes, I got offered a health care package that would make coverage affordable and help my neighbor get covered too. Did anybody finally catch the SOB.

 

[Big Black Dog]

I've seen this one before, or at least different versions of it. Most of the time, if I get an e-mail from somebody I don't specifically know, I delete it and never even open it - especially if it has an attachment. If it says it's from a bank, I automatically delete it because I don't use any sort of electronic banking. I've only got $23.96 and I'll be damned if I let somebody cheat me out of it!

 

[Zoom-boing]

So are you saying I'm not going to get my $1550 back?

Send me a check for $500 and I promise I'll track down your money and get it back to you.

 

[Meister]

I'm careful to only respond to legitimate email requests such as the guy in Nigeria who's promised to send me $26 Million after I sent him $1,500 and my bank account number so he can transfer the money to me. I'm excited as it should be here any day now.

My father-in-law fell for the Nigerian scam, he sent 700 and told no one until he figured out it was scam, and his wife asked where the money was.
He is always looking for an angle for easy money.....and those are what these scams prey on

 

[Meister]

I used to email them back and tell them that I'm the luckiest man in the world because everyone sends an offer like that. I tell them that I have so much money from it, I'm finding it hard to park the money, and it has become a full time job. Then I end it by telling them to get back to me in a couple of years, I should have gone through all the money by that time.

 

[saveliberty]

So are you saying I'm not going to get my $1550 back?

Send me a check for $500 and I promise I'll track down your money and get it back to you.

Wow! You guys are lucky. In my scam, they threatened to fine me $700 for not having health coverage.

 

[xsited1]

So are you saying I'm not going to get my $1550 back?

Send me a check for $500 and I promise I'll track down your money and get it back to you.

The check is in the mail. Thanks a bunch!!!!!

 

[Baruch Menachem]

I used to email back telling them I would be in Lagos on Tuesday and they should meet me at the Intercontinental hotel, room 1386 at 2:30 Tuesday afternoon.

They never responded after that.

 

[Old Rocks]

Who is still dumb enough to fall for these stupid scams or even bothering reading emails from people they don't know?

If they are dumb enough, sadly they deserve to be scammed

This is not a "dumb" one. It appeared to be a valid email from my son, not a stranger. Fortunately, it arrived in my spam folder, but I wouldn't have fallen for it anyway. He knows I don't have any money. In fact, HE'S the only one in the family who DOES. He also travels a lot. It's the 20+ other people that he immediately had to notify because you can't trust everyone to be as savvy as, say, you and me.

Ironically, Clarke Howard (HLN's home finance guru) took a call last Saturday from a woman who fell for the exact same scam. Only she sent the money!

and she called Clark Howard and publicized her humiliation?? she is dumb as a donkey.

Obviously a true Conservative.

 

[Harry Dresden]

So are you saying I'm not going to get my $1550 back?

Send me a check for $500 and I promise I'll track down your money and get it back to you.

The check is in the mail. Thanks a bunch!!!!!

yes.......i will intercept it tomorrow and personally make sure it gets there....