Saturday, November 10, 2007

E-Mail Scammers Ask Your Friends for Money - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

OpenSocial could make this sort of scam a lot simpler... 

Nigeria continues to develop and export the world’s most innovative Internet scams. In one bizarre variation that seems to have ramped up in recent months, the scammers are taking a page from Facebook and leveraging the power of social connections.

Here’s how it works: The scammer somehow breaks into a victim’s Web-based e-mail account. He then impersonates the victim and sends an emergency plea for help to everyone in the account’s address book, asking them to wire money to Nigeria. The e-mail includes some variation on a story about getting mugged or losing a wallet while on a trip to Nigeria.

E-Mail Scammers Ask Your Friends for Money - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

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