Remember That Resolution?

New Years 2011 Resolution

Well, it happened today to someone that I kinda know and happened to a good friend a while back.  This is serious stuff people.  This just isn't the Nigerian King smuggling money out of the country and wants your assistance (and your bank account number) nor the Powerball Lottery scam, nor the Unclaimed funds account of Siberia Russia.  Nope, this is serious and it needs your attention.  The internet is really a Wild West Web.

Here is the text of an email I received today, names withheld obviously...  Note how both her email account and Facebook account were breached - one has to wonder what else was breached.

Hey All:

By now many of you have received the e-mail from my old hotmail account lamenting about my trip to Wales and how I got mugged there.  Very fortunately for me, I was home snug in my bed when this sorry tale made its way to your e-mails.  I have never been to Wales (tho I do suppose it would be a good trip) and it has been a very long time since I even passed thru Wells, Texas.  Thanks for all the calls tho.  As some of you know, my Facebook account was compromised also…so if you see any off-color posts or such on there…it wasn’t me!!!  Hopefully, I will be up and running again in a few days.

I am so thankful that I have friends and family like you guys who would have been there to help me had I really been mugged in Wales!

All I can say is – I have the best family and friends!! 

When I received the first call this morning about my “distress email” I laughed it off and finished my breakfast.  Little did I know that I have friends who love me so much that without even stopping to think about the enormous fallibility of it all  they came to “my rescue.”  I love you for that! I love you for loving me so much!!

Please share this story with all of your address book.  If you get a “distress email” from friend or family, please first check with mutual acquaintances to see if the person “in distress” is really out of the country.  If there are no mutual acquaintances, check with their employer to see if they are off work.  I don’t want to deter anyone from helping out friends or family but just make sure that it is a legit.

If you responded to the first email, you know you will receive a second email to send funds.  In this case, my friend was instructed to send funds to Glenda Barnes at Western Union.  I am not familiar with Western Union but it seems like the thief would have to have an id that has my name on it.  Obviously, in this information age with social networking that would be easy enough to do… obviously the thief did have some proof because the money was picked up.

I am sorry this happened but it has a good outcome….my friend is getting her $2,000 back (thank goodness it was a credit card transaction). And…as I said before… I have the best family and friends!!