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OAP loses £16,000 in e-mail scam

Shaun.P

Shaun.P

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 14, 2003
1,601
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Omicron Persei 8
An 80-year-old widow was conned out of £16,000 and almost remortgaged her home after falling for an e-mail scam.
The pensioner, from Bridgend, believed she would inherit $30m (£14.6m) after receiving an e-mail saying she was the only relative of a dead businessman.

It said the wealthy German and his wife had died in a Concorde crash in 2000 about which she was later sent faked BBC news website reports.

Detectives from South Wales Police are investigating the scam.

Pc Steve Carpenter was contacted by the woman's daughter when she learned about the scam.

He said: "It said she had inherited $30m from a relative which was a wealthy German businessman and his wife who were killed in a Concorde crash in 2000."


You get a sick feeling in your stomach and loathing of these people
Pc Steve Carpenter
An e-mail said the crash in which the woman's "relative" had died had happened in Monchengladbach, Germany. The actual Concorde crash in 2000, in which 113 people died, happened in Paris.

Pc Carpenter said the pensioner who was drawn into a dialogue with the scammers resulting in around 300 e-mails wanted to remain anonymous.

He said: "She's 80 years old but was quite internet aware, aware of junk mail but this one was quite well written, well presented and got her attention."

Over a month, the woman, who lives in Brackla in Bridgend, was told she had been traced as the only relative of the dead couple who had left her $30m in their will, said Pc Carpenter.

He said: "She sent various amounts totalling £16,000.The thing is she's drawn the money out willingly from her own bank so from the bank's point of view there is not a lot they can do."

After she had paid the scammers £16,000, she was told £10,000 more was required but the widow said she did not have the money.

Date-of-birth

Pc Carpenter said: "They asked her could she remortgage her house. She said 'I need to tell my daughter' and they said 'don't tell your daughter, keep it quiet'."

However, the woman did tell her daughter who then contacted the police.

"You get a sick feeling in your stomach and loathing of these people" said Pc Carpenter. "I believe they did know her age as she had to pass on her date-of-birth and details to carry on the deception."

Pc Carpenter urged people not to fall for similar scams and said: "My advice is if in doubt, leave it out. If you suspect anything, don't open it, delete it.

"If it's suspect, it's suspect. If there's any element of doubt, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is."

He also advised anyone who receives a scam e-mail to contact Crimestoppers.
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I have never heard of someone falling for these scams! Very unfortunate for the woman involved :(.
 
You can't really blame her for falling for it, though. The large, large majority of people outside of these forums know less about the internet, and its dangers, than us. Add to the fact that she's 80 years old and has only embraced the internet for a short time near the end of her life, and the dangers of the internet are probably quite foreign to her. Sure, the "Enlarge your Penis" junk mail is obviously a scam, but things like phishing for your bank details does pose a real danger to people who haven't gotten used to this new world of danger.
 
HOW IRONIC! I inherited €5.5 million when one of my relatives died in a plane crash in Egypt!

......It's sad that people send out scams like this and it's even more sad people fall for them.
 
I had an email sent from someone claiming they had a job offer for me if I wanted it (I've signed up for several jobs websites) however, the email said if I wanted the job I'd have to send over a form of ID as well as my bank details.

Nice to know that totaljobs, retailchoice.com or reed.co.uk has given out my details to god knows how many sources despite ticking the box saying they shouldn't.

EDIT: since typing this I've just recieved another asking me if i want to earn up to $4000 a month.... :|
 
While I haven't received any actual phishing e-mails with this new technique, my work sent out a message concerning them. I guess they are now sending a message saying to call an 800 number to reset your information. Of course, the 800 number is a fabrication by the scammers to collect your information.

They just stay one step ahead...
 
hustlerg3.jpg

You can't cheat an honest mark.
 
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