vs. email hackers
BY CARLA GOMEZ
Beware: Email hackers can victimize your friends. Friends of a Negrense doctor were nearly victimized by a hacker who gained access to her email address and sent messages saying she had been mugged in London and needed money right away. Dr. Ceres Baldevia of Silay City said one of her friends who had received an email from the hacker, who knew she was not in London, informed her about it right away. When she tried to open her email address she could not do so because the hacker had changed her password. Baldevia said she had to call the head office of Yahoo in California to ask someone to help her access her email. The Yahoo person asked her several security questions before she was allowed to enter her email address again, and she was told to change her password right away, Baldevia said. That is how Baldevia was able to intercept the exchange of emails the hacker was having with her unsuspecting friends who were getting ready to send money to help her. "Luckily, I got my email back and was able to change my password and read all his emails and his replies to those who extended help. Thus, i was able to stop some transactions right away," she said. She said she refers to the hacker as "he" because when she checked her Yahoo email account information she discovered that the hacker changed her gender to male, occupation to computer multimedia and home address to 600083 India. On Tuesday, the hacker sent this message out to Baldevia's friends: "I need a favor from you and I hope you come to my aid; you are the only person I could reach at this point. I had a trip to London United Kingdom, unfortunately for me I got robbed by some gunmen on my way to the hotel where I made reservations online. "The thief's (sic) stole all my belongings leaving me with nothing, they got away with my passport, credentials, money and my traveling bag… I have limited access to emails for now, please I want you to borrow me 3000.00 pounds so that I can make arrangement for a new passport and pay for the remaining hotel bills and achieve what I came here for." The hacker goes on to say "any amount you can help me with will go a long way in helping me. I have spoken to the embassy but they are not responding to the matter effectively and also the police too, I promise to return the money back to you as soon as I get home, I am so confused right now. Thanks. c." On Wednesday, when Baldevia finally obtained access to her email address, she sent messages to her friends informing them about the hacker and that she was not mugged. "I am okay and I am home in Silay City, Philippines. Please do not believe that email," Baldevia wrote. Baldevia said she also discovered the email exchange between the hacker and her friends who were instructed on how to send money purportedly to her. A friend of Baldevia in Spain who received the hacker's email immediately wrote Baldevia to go to a shop she owns at Piccadilly in London where she had instructed someone to help her with anything she needs, including a plane ticket and pocket money. The hacker, pretending to be Baldevia, sent an email back telling the friend in Spain that she could not go to the shop because she did not know how to get there, but asked that she send someone to her hotel, or better still send the money through Western Union. The friend in Spain luckily could not send the money by Western Union as it was closed by the time she received the email from the hacker. "The best and quick solution is that you give us the name and address of the hotel you are staying," the friend in Spain wrote, so someone from her shop could go there. At that point Baldevia had discovered what had happened and called her friend in Spain and her representative in London to tell them it was a hoax and to stop all transactions with the hacker. Baldevia said another friend in Canada, in response to the hacker, sent an email asking where he could deposit some money, while another in San Francisco sent his phone number so she could call him. In another email the hacker told a friend of Baldevia that the robbery took place in the Netherlands and described to her what happened. Baldevia said that, aside from the emails, she got several calls from friends, one coming as far away from Norway, asking if she was okay. Several other Bacolod residents have complained of similar email hacking incidents that had happened to them, too. "So everybody, please be aware about this and be careful. I don't want it to happen to anyone else," Baldevia said.*CPG
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