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RICK EATON in TROUBLE??

ddd

ddd

Joined
Apr 6, 2003
Messages
2,498
Just got this strange and troubling email:

From: rmeaton5@msn.com
Subject: HELP NEEDED !!!
Date: 30March, 2010 12:55:02 PM GMT+03:00
To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Hello!
I'm sorry I didn't inform you about my traveling... am presently in London, United Kingdom*
on short vacation and as i write to you now.. its unbelievable am stuck here,got* mugged
at gun point on my way to the hotel and my money,credit cards,phone and other valuable
things were taken off me at gun point, thanking Almighty God for save keeping my
passport., i really need your urgent assistance quickly ?
I JUST NEED SOME FEW HUNDREDS $$$ TO SORT OUT MY HOTEL BILLS AND i promise
to refund it back to you once i get home cause i still have some cash in my account but
i cant access any here right now ,already canceled all my cards immediately after the
muggers took my things off me!!!* still at the public internet library where am making
use of the free internet access, i will forever be grateful* if you can help me,Waiting to
hear from you quickly cos my flight leaves in few hrs but need to* sort the hotel bills
and please save me from been embarrassed.

Thanks.
Rick

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
If he were just across the pond I'd be able to go help him. But London is just a little out of my reach.
 
From Google's Gmail Blog:

Detecting suspicious account activity
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 9:00 AM
Posted by Pavni Diwanji, Engineering Director

"A few weeks ago, I got an email presumably from a friend stuck in London asking for some money to help him out. It turned out that the email was sent by a scammer who had hijacked my friend's account. By reading his email, the scammer had figured out my friend's whereabouts and was emailing all of his contacts...."
 
I have had two of those emails from two different people that I hardly knew, someone has hacked his computer for sure.

Regards

Robin
 
It's an odd way for getting out of troubles, indeed... I'm not sure I would send such an e-mail if I had to face the same situation. Would you ?
 
The same thing happened to my mom. They get your email address and use a program to guess your password (if they don't already know it) until they get it right. Once they have your password they change it so that you can't log back into your account. The person that got my mom's was actually logged onto her instant messenger account, I assume waiting for people to send her an IM offering help. Luckily my little brother is a Computer Science major and was able to get it straightened out for her.
 
YUP...I would say "fishy" is RIGHT, as that has ALL the characteristics of a phishing SCAM!

Scammers use ANY angle to play on peoples emotions to separate them from their $$$.

Peter
 
English is not the first language of whoever initiated that email. It is definitely a scam. Rick would not phrase a message this way.

Paul
 
Now that I have a closer look at it I think you guys are right....can't believe I actually fell for that.
 
This is such a well-known scam, I'm surprised one would think twice.

First the hackers drop a trojan into your computer which sends a list of the email addresses back to them, and then once in hand, they create a bogus 'similar sounding' email address: (rmeaton5@gmail.... etc.)

An alternative is they capture a stray email which was forwarded to MANY knife people. He may not have originated it, but he's been 'chosen'.

The first thing that JUMPS out is the improper usage of punctuation and commas and capitalization. Rick Eaton would never in a thousand years have this dialog. Nor would ANYONE! :p :thumbdn:

Anyway, it's obvious he is so well respected and liked, this is a concern. :) DDD, I know you think so. Cheers to Rick Eaton! :D

Coop
 
SCAM.
Such a plea for help would much more likely be directed to his closest friend or family member via a phone call.
He would have as easy access to a phone as the internet.

As Bobby said, it's easy enough cleared up by giving Rick a call.
Good post as it reminds us all to be on the lookout for this type of thing.
 
"Robbed at gunpoint in England"?
Not bloody likely!
Knife crimes have risen there, but the UK laws have pretty much eliminated guns as a factor in minor crimes. Even the cops don't carry.
The email is a scam for this and other telltale reasons.
Ignore.

CP
 
yeh i got that email too.
i thought it was rick coz i had got an email before from the same id.
i replied back offering to help or call someone in the US.
this is what he replied./



OMG!!! l'm so glad to hear back from you. £950 GBP will cover all my expenses including my taxi fee to the airport, I promise to refund it to you as soon as I arrive home. You can wire it to my name via a western union agent near you for security reasons cos the name written below is whats on my passport and that can be a mode of identification to pick up the cash at a western union down the road here (faster and more secured).

Here are the details you need to get it to me:

Name:Rick Eaton
Address: 5 Irving Street, London WC2H 7AT
Country:United Kingdom.

I still have my passport so I can use it as identification get back to me with transfer details and the confirmation number # to pick up the money with my passport also scan receipt you will receive from the western union canter let me know if you are leaving to WU now.

Thanks

Rick
 
The reference to WU is always a give a way. A person in trouble would not use a mass email to solicit help.
 
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