Ex-Commissioner Bob Stewart gets Victimized with E-Mail Scam

A phishing e-mail hit the inbox of Bob Stewart an ex-Commissioner in Travel and Tourism Department of Kentucky that subsequently got distributed to each of the e-mail ids within his list of contacts. Says Stewart he's unable to understand the entire situation. State-journal.com reported this on April 18, 2011.

Expressing an apology, the fake electronic mail supposedly from Bob states that he regrets the way he's contacting the recipient, elaborating that when he was touring London, England during the past weekend, his bag, which contained his credit cards and passport, got stolen. While the embassy had allowed him to take a flight despite his passport, he only required clearing the hotel bills and buying a ticket.

Unluckily he couldn't withdraw money with his credit card gone. Meanwhile, he'd contacted his bank, which said that it'd take some more time for opening a fresh account. So he thought that he'd ask his friend (e-mail recipient) for giving some money immediately as loan, which he'd repay soon on return, while he urgently required taking the next airplane.

Worryingly, it's the "Nigerian advance fee scam" also known as the "419 scam" that targeted Stewart in its "stranded traveler's" version.

The mode-of-operation of these scams involves the scammer impersonating as a friend while really hacking into the victim's account as well as dispatching an impulsive e-mail from a foreign country. The scammer writes that he's been robbed therefore needs assistance so he can settle his hotel bills as well as catch an airplane to home similarly as in the instance of Stewart. The e-mail seems as arriving from the recipient's friend so it makes the message appear genuine.

Meanwhile, owing to the maliciousness associated with these kinds of e-mails, security specialists recommend end-users that they should maintain caution prior to sending money for avoiding getting victimized with a scam e-mail. The scammers actually hope that at least one person from the friends address book will become convinced and subsequently wire them money. Essentially, incase anybody receives an e-mail of this kind he should directly write to that person or call him and enquire of his well-being.

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» SPAMfighter News - 5/2/2011