What I've Learned

Before the Internet, the scam went like this. An elderly person answers the phone and a voice says. "It's your grandson. I've been in an accident and I need your help."

"Billy?"

"Yes. I've been in a car accident and I'm at the hospital. They want money before they'll treat me."

"Have you called your father?"

"I tried, but I can't get hold of him."

"How much money do they need?"

"They said twenty-five hundred dollars."

"Goodness."

"Could you wire me the money? Dad will pay you back tomorrow, I'm sure."

"Where do I send it?"

The grandparent wires the money, the "grandson" picks it up, and that's that. Scam over.

With the Internet, it got easier.

My wife received an email from a friend of ours who had just been mugged at gunpoint in Wales. The friend said that she lost everything but her passport.

My wife logged into Facebook and got an instant message.

"Did you get my email?" the friend asked.

"I did," my wife replied. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," the friend said. "But they got my camera, my phone, my wallet, my credit cards, and all my cash. Now I'm stranded in Wales. I need some help."

My wife called me over to have a look. It was Tuesday, and we had seen this friend on Sunday. She'd have told us if she were flying across the ocean.

"Could I ask a favor?" the friend wrote.

My wife didn't answer.

A few minutes later: "Are you still there?"

My wife didn't answer.

This scam has surged recently. The FBI put out two alerts. Still, the scammers have had success. One man, who "refused to be identified due to embarrassment," sent $3,600. A couple in California had their email account hacked, and a "help, we're stranded" email was sent to all their contacts. A friend sent $2,000, thinking he was helping.

My wife didn't want any part of this, so dashed off a message to everyone she knows. It said:

"I got two emails and a Facebook chat message from "friends" this morning. They were a scam. And should anyone get one from me, I am not in the United Kingdom, I have not been mugged at gunpoint, and I do not need you to send me any money. But it is nice knowing that you would."

Yes, the Internet has made this scam a lot easier. There is good news, though. Soon scammers in Europe will be out of business. And no one around here will be tricked into wiring hard-earned money to Wales.

Why?

Because there will be a place just up the street where we can lose our money.

"But," you say, "the difference is, losing money in a casino is fun. And scammers in Europe are not going to do what a casino here will, provide us with jobs and millions of dollars for our economy."

If you honestly and sincerely believe that, there's something I want to say to you:

Please help. I was mugged at gun point in Wales.