The victim wrote;
NEW STRATEGY OF SCAMMERS


My name is Professor Moruf Adelekan. On 3 June 2008, I received an email in my hotmail address asking me to reconfirm my account or risk it being deleted. The mail stated that 'hotmail' is experiencing congestion problem, and would delete all accounts not reconfirmed within 48 hours or so. This 'hotmail' alert mail looked quite genuine as it had the MSN logo etc. Believing this mail was genuine, I responded by supplying all the required details including my password. On 4 June 2008, I was alerted by friends all over the globe that they have received an e-mail purportedly signed in my name stating that I have been stranded in Malaysia and asking people to send money to me via Western Union .



As I used the same password for my yahoo account, the scammers also gained access into my yahoo account and sent a similar mail to many people on the contact list. The fraudsters changed the passwords in both accounts and completely denied me access to the accounts. I could therefore only send out a disclaimer to a small number of contacts who I could remember and reach by phone or through other means.

The amount of damage that the scammers have done and could do in the short and long term could only best be imagined.

First, the scammers have sent the hoax mail to so many people all over the globe, including my several contacts during my stint in the United Nations. Many of the latter I have not communicated with for years. The mail has also gone to many professional colleagues. Thanks to those of you who could contact me one way or the other to check what has happened. However, many do not even know where I work at the moment and I only hope they have not fallen prey to the antics of the scammers. My Medical Director here in the UK received his own copy of the e-mail while attending a conference in the USA . He quickly left the conference room and sent a message to his secretary to contact me before getting the money across to me. Of course, I was sitting in my office when the MD's secretary contacted my own secretary.



Secondly, I have many sensitive documents in the two accounts that have been compromised. I have therefore alerted my professional colleagues and bodies, business concerns, local and international law enforcement agencies about this scam to pre-empt and avert (as much as possible) any illegal use of these documents.

Thirdly, this scam has put me and my family under intense stress since 4 June 2008. In the days following the scam, we had to respond to telephone calls from concerned colleagues and friends from all continents 24 hours of the day.

Further the whole episode has been like 'robbery without a gun' with these scammers gaining full access to documents I had always thought were 'reservedly mine and confidential'. There is also the fear of the unknown with regard to what illegal use these scammers could make of the documents. Finally, it is psychologically depressing and distracting when you have several work time lines to meet.

What measures have I taken? I reported the incident to yahoo and hotmail within 24 hours of its occurrence. I received automated messages from both organizations stating that some action would be taken. However, up till now, only hotmail has asked me to formally lodge a complaint to them through my Solicitor. I am currently working on the latter.

Following some advice I received from an IT expert, I was able use the 'forgot your password' prompt on my old yahoo address, answered the security questions and reset my password. Hence, I have regained full access to
my old yahoo address although I do not intend to use the compromised address any longer. As hitherto stated, I have alerted relevant individuals and organizations on the security aspects of the scam.

Lessons to learn

1. Never fall into the same trap I fell into. Never respond to any mail requesting that you reconfirm your yahoo and hotmail account under whatever pretext, particularly where you are requested to supply your password.

2. Please realize that the scammers are becoming more desperate by the day and do not care in the least about the possible multiple psychological, social and economic consequences of their action. Hence, we should be sensitive to any other tricks they may come up with.



A British MP Sarah McCarthy-Fry also became a victim to a similar scam method last week (see BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk http://news.bbc.co.uk/ of 19 June 2008).

3. Do not keep or save sensitive files and documents on your yahoo, hotmail or similar accounts. They are no longer as safe as we had always thought they were. The experts advise that such documents should be kept in our hard disks and essentially should be password-protected.
Some people have even suggested that yahoo and hotmail should no longer be used for serious business and we should instead subscribe to less-popularized and less at-risk e-mail providers. A serious food for thought, I would think.

4. Please read more about steps to take to avoid becoming a victim to this scam technique called phishing in the security sections of yahoo or hotmail.

5. Remember this is a clear case of prevention being better than cure. If you fall a victim, you are completely on your own struggling to cope to with the multiple adverse effects, including contracting a solicitor to fight your case for you. My experience is that yahoo and hotmail as organizations are very slow in responding, if they do at all.They would also not take any immediate action to close down the affected account due to privacy rights of their subscribers, among other possible reasons.

6. Please circulate this write-up widely to your family, friends and colleagues in order to raise awareness and prevent more people falling victim to this scamming technique,

Conclusion: E-mail scamming is taking a frighteningly dangerous dimension as scammers now use the more invasive method called phishing, which exposes their victim to serious consequences as highlighted in this piece. Those of us whose daily business hinge squarely on the e-mail system need to be fully aware of this and other newly emerging scamming methods. We should alert one another and work with relevant organizations including law enforcement agencies to stop the scammers in their track. We should take all precautions to avoid becoming a victim to what I have described as 'robbery without a gun'. Thank God, I am not aware that any of my contacts has sent any money to the scammers but this does not make the possible short and long-term impacts any less damaging. I thank you all for your support during this trying period.

Professor Moruf Adelekan
Blackburn, UK
22 June 2008