Scam

[Kogarashi]

AccountingDrone, that's hilarious.

I've gotten the e-mail version of this twice, once each from two of my sisters, both claiming to be in London but without cash or phone. And all I could think the first time was "since when did you go to the UK? And how did you get e-mail access but not be able to borrow someone's phone and call home? Let alone call Mom instead of your sister with the long and convoluted e-mail address you'd never actually remember?"

The first time, I suspected scam, and texted said sister who texted right back that she was fine. The second time, I knew it was a scam and sent the heads-up to that sister.

[Andara Bledin]

This has been trolling around since 2006.

I only know because I looked it up on Snopes on Monday because my workplace got one to a non-personal email account (we think it was culled from the email list of one of our eBay customers).

It's probably going to be around forever, just like the Nigerian scam.

It's particularly important that people with adult grandchildren or children than they don't see very often make some effort to confirm that the person on the other side is who they say they are. And don't ask easy stuff like birthdays or relatives or pets - people who do phone calls are more likely to have done some homework before dialing.

^-.-^

[MoonCat]

That's an old, old scam. I suggest that anybody who receives a call like that call the last known number for the person in question, or their parent, or a sibling--anybody who can verify where the person actually is.

[Pixilated]

Quoth Andara Bledin

*snip*
It's particularly important that people with adult grandchildren or children than they don't see very often make some effort to confirm that the person on the other side is who they say they are. And don't ask easy stuff like birthdays or relatives or pets - people who do phone calls are more likely to have done some homework before dialing.

^-.-^

This last part is very important, because yes, a lot of these people have gathered a considerable amount of information before they make the call.

I got an email from an aunt, about how she was in England and had been mugged and they got all her money and the British police were no help and the Canadian embassy was no help and sheneededmoneyrightawaypleasesendmoneyrightaway ...

I found this more than a little curious since I'd spoken to her on the phone not 24 hours earlier and she hadn't mentioned anything about going to England ...

This same aunt has gotten at least one call like that, allegedly from a grandson, but luckily she twigged to the fraud very quickly. I look forward to getting calls like that in the future, from my "grandchildren" ... since I have no kids. I anticipate having a lot of fun.

[AlmightyALT]

Code Words/Passwords. I've heard of this scam before (big news in Japan back in 2007) and worked out a system with my parents. If they get the call they'll ask for the password, three guesses. So far hasn't needed to be used.

My Karate Sensei's email got hacked and they sent the 'I'm in London, been mugged, blah blah blah' email to his contacts. Most of them mailed back, "Yeah... mugged.... Right..... You know you've hacked the account of a Karate Black Belt?"

[Pixilated]

Quoth AlmightyALT

Code Words/Passwords. I've heard of this scam before (big news in Japan back in 2007) and worked out a system with my parents. If they get the call they'll ask for the password, three guesses. So far hasn't needed to be used.

My Karate Sensei's email got hacked and they sent the 'I'm in London, been mugged, blah blah blah' email to his contacts. Most of them mailed back, "Yeah... mugged.... Right..... You know you've hacked the account of a Karate Black Belt?"

Hacker: " ... oops ... "

[auntiem]

This scam is really popular around this time of year - spring break and graduations. There is a greater chance that the scammer will reach a relative that would have someone they know in Mexico.
The Travel Channel "When Spring Breaks go Wrong" (or something like that) profiled a particularly evil rendition of the scam:
The scammer called around on a spoofed number and told the person that they were a cop in Mexico and that there had been an accident and they were calling from the loved one's phone. The scammers then proceed to keep calling to "update" the loved ones and each update gets worse and worse. Finally they say they have contacted a medivac unit that can transport the loved one to a facility in the states that can handle the much needed surgery (because the hospital they are in is woeful) and to wire the money to the broker. The loved one does it of course because by now they are completly freaked out.