Friday, May 14, 2010

Hacking Spammer

The other day I received a very strange email. It came from a guy I knew at college who I had a mini crush on and who I hadn't talked to in over a year. It was so strange, I read it out loud to everyone in the room. It stated,

I'm sorry for this odd request because it might caught you unaware but due to my current situation i've got no choice than sending you an email since i do not have access to a phone at the moment.
I am currently stuck in Wales,United Kingdom right now, I came down here on a short visit it was fun but unfortunately I got mugged and robbed last night and lost all cash,credit cards and other stuff. It was such a terrible experience and this has left me in a critical condition financially,I need help flying back home...I do not have enough money to get a return ticket, the authorities are not being 100% supportive but the good thing is that i still got my passport and already my staying in the hotel expires on Saturday and this has also made me have some bills to clear with them,all i need right now is a quick loan to get my return ticket back home and some cash to get a cab to the airport.
Please i need you to loan me some money, will repay you as soon as i am back home.
 
All our immediate thoughts were "wow, that is a weird email," "most likely spam," "would he even be in that country."
 
I decided it was possible he could have been mugged. It is also possible he could be in Wales. But the chance of him writing an email with such bad grammar and punctuation was slim to none. But just to double check he wasn't in trouble, I checked his Facebook. And a message was there from his brother saying that no his brother was not in trouble and yes it was spam.
 
Be careful everyone. If you have any doubts, no matter how much you want to help someone who might be in trouble, ask questions and triple check before you do anything.

2 comments:

  1. got the same exact email from someone I knew

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  2. ahah I'm so glad you didn't fall for that. I've learned all about that stuff...and have heard of that same email before.

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