Calderdale Councilor Becomes Victim of Online Scam

Keith Hutson Councilor of Calderdale has been victimized with an online fraud, according to the news from halifaxcourier.co.uk published on July 9, 2011.

Situated in Pennines' foothills, Calderdale essentially is a place inside West Yorkshire (England).

Actually, on July 8, 2011, e-mails started doing the rounds asserting that robbers attacked Hutson while he was holidaying in Greece so he urgently required money. The fraudsters hijacked Hutson's private e-mail account followed with fast scattering alarm amidst all the contacts in his address book.

Remarking about the above mentioned fraudulent e-mail, Hutson stated that he'd had many phone-calls from friends and acquaintances anxious regarding the possible troubles he might be in. Obviously, the e-mail was part of a scam, however pretty frightening and Hutson wasn't sure as to what he required doing next, he further stated. Halifaxcourier.co.uk reported this.

Moreover, the scam artists gave a phone-number apparently of the hotel where Hutson supposedly was staying in order that his well-wishers could wire-transfer the money in that address.

Unluckily the scam, according to security researchers, which trapped Hutson, is called the "stranded traveler scam" also referred to as the "advance fee fraud, and an incarnation of the notorious 'Nigerian scam' or '419 scam.'

To work, this scam involves a hacker who hijacks the target user's Web-based e-mail account by stealing his password. Then, by using that account, he dispatches an e-mail to everybody within his contact list. Imploring for help, the so-called e-mail sender asks for money because he's in a terrible situation like in the aforementioned instance where Hutson is allegedly stranded in Greece, penniless. Meanwhile, since the e-mail sender's address is found to be of a friend, there's a good probability that one individual if not more from the victim's address book will reply favorably i.e. send financial assistance, security researchers observe.

Eventually, the researchers along with Police remark that during 2010, more than 3,000 people reportedly got ensnared with the scam, however, they doubt that a number of others too might've been conned, who felt so awkward that they couldn't admit the incident before the authorities which is why their cases went unreported.

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