New scam?

[Riley Blue]

Just had the following email from a contact,

"Hello,
How are you doing. Hope you are keeping safe, Can I ask you for a little Favor please?
I'd appreciate it if you could mail me back when you get this."

I replied: 'Call me if you need to and added my mobile number.' - the contact is someone who sits on a committee with me so I'd normally be happy for her to have my number.

Response was,
"I'm supposed to give you a call but my cell phone fell down and the screen went blank. That's why I have to mail you with a computer I need to get an Apple gift card for my Niece as her birthday gift, I have tried purchasing it online but no luck with that and I'm currently on a short trip right now, Can you kindly help me get it from any store around you? I promise to pay you back as soon as I'm back.
Kindly let me know if you can handle this."

Bugger, bugger, bugger....

[mmm-five]

Been doing the rounds since at least the beginning of the year AFAIK...but it's normally directed at mum/dad by scammers pretending to be their children.

It's usually from 'unknown' numbers though, so maybe they have access to your contact list from WhatsApp or shared via another app?

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/notorious-hi-...

The best way of avoiding getting scammed is to phone the caller back on a known, good number. However, if your loved one really has lost their phone, you'll find this a bit difficult...and would have to call the potential scammer number back and try to see if it's a foreign-sounding man with a deep bass voice...or the scammer.

[anonymous-user]

Who in the UK calls their phone a cell phone?

[Ronstein]

Riley Blue said:

Just had the following email from a contact,

"Hello,
How are you doing. Hope you are keeping safe, Can I ask you for a little Favor please?
I'd appreciate it if you could mail me back when you get this."

I replied: 'Call me if you need to and added my mobile number.' - the contact is someone who sits on a committee with me so I'd normally be happy for her to have my number.

Response was,
"I'm supposed to give you a call but my cell phone fell down and the screen went blank. That's why I have to mail you with a computer I need to get an Apple gift card for my Niece as her birthday gift, I have tried purchasing it online but no luck with that and I'm currently on a short trip right now, Can you kindly help me get it from any store around you? I promise to pay you back as soon as I'm back.
Kindly let me know if you can handle this."

Bugger, bugger, bugger....

if you look closer at the email it's from, it'll be some random address and not the correc one for your contact

[bigandclever]

mmm-five said:

Been doing the rounds since at least the beginning of the year dinosaurs roamed the earth.

edited

[Hoofy]

pocketspring said:

Who in the UK calls their phone a cell phone?

Even before that - "Favor"

[Riley Blue]

pocketspring said:

Who in the UK calls their phone a cell phone?

It was 'cell phone' that spooked me though I should have spotted 'Favor' in the first message.

[Riley Blue]

Ronstein said:

if you look closer at the email it's from, it'll be some random address and not the correc one for your contact

It's from the correct address though an 'l' is an 'L'.

[vikingaero]

Hoofy said:

pocketspring said:

Who in the UK calls their phone a cell phone?

Even before that - "Favor"

The language is different - "Kindly let me know if you can handle this".

Quack quack duck

[Terminator X]

Over 19000 posts and still you don't understand the t'internet

TX.

[Spare tyre]

Our local council sent out emails asking for payment in Apple vouchers, it’s strange but I went with it!

[Riley Blue]

Terminator X said:

Over 19000 posts and still you don't understand the t'internet

TX.