Lee got a very...interesting e-mail this week. I share it with you, in all it's unedited glory, for entertainment purposes. It was from our former landlord, a person we haven't had reason to communicate with for close to a year now. Knowing that should help you appreciate it all the more. Here it is:
Hi,
Just writing to let you know our trip to Manila Philippines has been a
mess. I was having a great time until last night when we got mugged and
lost all my cash,credit card cellphone It has been a scary experience, I
was hit at the back of my neck with a Gun Anyway..I'm still alive and
that's whats important. I'm financially strapped right now and need your
help. I need you to loan me the sum of $1,950 I'll refund it to you as
soon as i arrive home.Email me back so i can tell you how to get it to
me.
Best Regards,
[Name respectfully redacted]
As an astute reader, I hope you noticed a few things. First off, lots of odd typos, spelling errors, and grammatical mistakes. Second, I love that it starts off "just writing you let you know our trip..." as if we had a) known they were on a trip and b) kept up a regular correspondence. Thirdly, I love the oddly specific amount of money. Why not make it an even 2 grand? Fourth, maybe this is nit picking, but if I were going to tell a mugging story, the first part I would mention is the "I was hit at the back of my neck with a Gun Anyway.." That wouldn't be an after thought. That would be the whole story. And finally, why would you be e-mailing about this? What is the first thing you would do if you had been mugged? I would get in touch with some police, then get to a phone and start canceling credit cards just as fast as I could. I would not, for any reason, send a polite e-mail to a distant acquaintance to ask them for money.
Given all this information, as well as a big red warning label from Google, I hope you have come to the same conclusion we did: someone has hacked our old landlords e-mail.
I tell ya, those Nigerian princes are getting crafty! But they'll have to try a little harder to get to $1,950 out of me!
I have occasionally also received e-mails from a few of my e-mail contacts who would never consider asking me for money. Someone must fall for this because the emails keep happening.
ReplyDeleteClaire, while on vacation in India, I was partially eaten by a Bengal Tiger. The plastic surgery to reattach my legs will cost 10,152.65 euros. If you could just send that money to me. I'll make sure and pay you back...if I don't die from infection first.
ReplyDeleteI had a business IT class taught by a Nigerian professor who talked about the social engineering/scam business. They love Americans as "customers" because we are insanely greedy. We go for the stupidest ploys. The one you received would have worked on me if it had said that upon his return, the landlord would pay $1951.
ReplyDelete