"My Gmail Account Was Hijacked"
I received a letter from a retired English teacher in Iowa.
“My gmail account was hijacked, and everyone in my address book received this…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: Urgent Assistance Needed!!!
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2010 12:40:59 +0100
From: [letter writer’s name]
Hello,
I’m sorry for this urgent assistance request and i am sorry never to have mentioned anything to you about my visit to the UK.I’m currently stuck in Wales,United Kingdom right now, I came down here on a short visit, it was fun but unfortunately i got robbed last night on my way back to the hotel,lost cash and credit cards, it was such a crazy experience,it was shocking when i had a gun pointed at me but i thank God that never never pulled the trigger,a lady saw them and screamed for help on my behalf. I need help returning back home,i sustained few injuries but i thank GOD for my life and for still having my passport with me.
I’ve been to the authorities but they are not being 100% supportive but the good thing is that i still got my passports but currently having troubles paying off the hotel bills and getting a return ticket.
I need you to loan us 1,800.00 and i promise to refund it back tomorrow.. You have my word !!!
“Paul,
I sent this to you because you already have samples of similar scams at techpaul.wordpress.com.
Spread the news about strong passwords, and about software like lastpass. Using weak passwords (which I have done) is like leaving your car unlocked in a mall parking lot. Note that the cracker/scammer removed the phone number from my gmail .signature file. That reduces the chance that someone will call right away to check up on me.
Glad you have publicized stuff like this. It’s a valuable service to the Internet community. Thanks.
Cheers,
[Name withheld]
PS
I’m a retired English teacher, so most all of my correspondents know right away, from the atrocious writing, that it is a scam.
In my private exchanges with the letter writer, they informed me that they have yet to regain access to their Gmail account. Updated: the day after posting this, my correspondent told me they had finally regained access.
If you have had your Gmail hijacked: Unfortunately as you probably already know, Google customer service is virtually nonexistent. Everything is done through forms. Use the following form to report your trouble and regain access.
I will not tell you – yet again – that you need to use strong passwords, and change them every so often. All I get is “yeah.. yeah.. I know” and it kills my ratings. (From my Got A Computer? Top 10 Things You Should Do articles -> “#8: Use strong (and complex) passwords. Everywhere. And change them every so often.”)
Related:
* My Gmail Account Hacked From Nigeria
* A FREE Utility to Backup Your Gmail
* Use strong (and complex) passwords
Today’s free download: LastPass
LastPass is a password manager that makes web browsing easier and more secure.
** Software License Giveaway Drawing **
The folks at SPAMFighter have generously donated 5 licenses for SPAMFighter Pro to me, to award to my readers.
SPAMFighter is a community-based spam filtering tool for Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail and Thunderbird that automatically and efficiently filters spam and phishing fraud – keeping it out of your Inbox.
For details (and to enter), click here.
Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved. 
post to jaanix.
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• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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