A stolen bag. Lost cash. A missing passport.
It had all the hallmarks of a trip from hell. And the e-mail, which ostensibly came from a reader I had corresponded with back in 2008, seemed equally genuine. "I really don't mean to inconvenience you right now," he wrote. But he was stuck in London. Would I be willing to wire him $940 so he could get home?
Only it wasn't real.
As it turns out, the "Lost Luggage in London" scam is a derivative of a so-called "phishing" fraud first identified on the social networking site Facebook last year. Phishing is the act of sending a message that claims to be from a friend, in an effort to obtain personal data or money.
More at link. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...isrc=nl_cuzhead
Edited by Orange Blossom, 12 June 2010 - 05:11 PM.
Edited to conform to fair use rules. ~ OB
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