What do you get when you cross a hacker with a con artist? It’s actually quite like a cyberterrorist, except without the bomb. The hacker will try to “break into your online mailbox,” by stealing your password (or guessing it). Sometimes you’ll be duped or tricked into giving it through some well-meaning “app” at Yahoo.com or some other social networking site. (Warning: Never, never, never give your email password to any other application.) Armed with your log-on credentials, the hacker next changes your password, then writes everyone in your online address book, pretending to be you! The really slick hackers (the cyberterroist types) will even read something about your relationships with your most important and closely-related associates. Then they’ll custom-tailor an appeal, asking for money because you’ve been traveling overseas (or something similar) and someone has just stolen your wallet. They usually try to talk your friends into putting the money (gifts) straight into some off-shore account and, bam, just like that, your entire address book is fleeced. :-( Again, the moral of the story: When will we all wise up: Let’s never ever give out our email password!
Better yet: use a mail client that has two phase authentication, like Gmail. Even if a hacker gets your password, he or she would also have to get your cell phone or your authentication codes in order to break into your inbox.
Here is an article that explains it all:
I saw this happen multiple times at my former organization….though some supporters came close, I am unaware fo any who actually sent the money. PTL!! The older supporters a particularly vulnerable since they are less aware/less cynical about such appeals.
So glad you’ve posted this to boost awareness and hopefully make folks more careful online so they never find themselves in this situation!!