Don’t Fall for This E-mail Scam

There’s a relatively new e-mail scam going around that you should be aware of. Unlike others that appear to come from strangers, these e-mails appear to come from people you know who have some type of emergency situation. This is the e-mail I received the other day:

“Sorry for not inform you about our trip,I'm writing this with tears in my eye,Todd and I came down here to London,United Kingdom for a short vacation unfortunately we were mugged at the park of the hotel were we stayed, all our cash,credit card and Cell Phone were stolen off us at gun point but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.Todd was beaten up by the mugged because he was trying to project us,he his current receiving treatment at the hospital.

We've been to the embassy and the police over here are not helping issues at all and our flight leaves soon 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.”

It was very clear to me that this was not an authentic e-mail, because it came from the owners of the camp my son attended last summer. I have not seen them since then. These were some other red flags:

 

• This e-mail has a lot of grammar and punctuation mistakes. I don’t know this person well, but I know her well enough to know she wouldn’t send such a sloppy e-mail.
• The e-mail says their flight leaves soon. About two sentences above that, it says her husband is in the hospital. Which one is it?
• If this person was truly in trouble, she would have placed a collect call to a close friend or family member who could wire her some money.

Interestingly enough, this particular e-mail does not give instructions for sending money, but many do. So, what do you do if this type of e-mail comes from someone you know well?

 

• Start by calling them, even if the e-mail says their cell phone was stolen. If they answer the phone, you know they didn’t send the e-mail.
• Do not send or wire money to a hotel or any other location unless you have spoken to this person first.
• Forward the e-mail to the person who supposedly sent it so they know their e-mail has been hacked.
• You can also check snopes.com, which keeps up with all kinds of e-mails scams.

Don’t let crooks get the best of you. Use common sense and follow-up with people before sending money or giving out your personal information.