Do NOT mess with an ARGer.
Sit back and take a load off, this one's long...
Today, one of my friends, who goes by the name MrJudkins, had his gmail account hacked. He was able to tweet the fact, and I happened to see it.
Not long after while sitting at my computer, I received the following email from his account:
Hello,
I'm sorry for this odd request because it might get to you too urgent but it's due to the situation of things right now.
I'm stuck in London,England with my family right now, we came down here for a short vacation then i was robbed, worse of it is that bags, cash and cards and my cell phone were stolen at GUN POINT, it's such a crazy experience for us, we need help flying back home, the authorities are not being 100% supportive but the good thing is we still have our passports and return tickets but currently having troubles paying off the hotel bills and also getting a cab to take us to the airport.
Please i need you to loan me some money, will refund you as soon as i'm back home, i promise.All we need is (1,500 USD) but dont know how much you would be able to spare..we will be waiting to hear back from you..
Thank You
And we have Scammer!
I immediately replied via gmail, "hey, yeah, I really want to help, what do you need?"
He responded:
Hello
Thanks for the email,i am totally freaked put here,the doctor said i suffered concussion due to been hit on the head.. All you need to do is locate a western union outlet around ,you can find on in a Bank or at the Post Office,since i have my passport with me all you would need is my Full Name and the Location you are sending the fund to. Below is the info once again:
Here is my info which you will need to wire the money:
Receivers Name: [My Friend's Name]
Receivers Location: London, SW15 6TD
United Kingdom
Once you have the money sent via western union,kindly email me all the western union money transfer details so i can head to the Bank and Pick it up.
Kind Regards.
I could see that our friend was listed as busy in gcat, but a few moments later he started messaging me.
6:36 PM MrJ: did you get my message?
me: yeah! sorry to hear this man!
MrJ: how soon can you get to the nearest post office near you?
6:37 PM me: The post offices are closed here at this hour!
6:38 PM I'm looking into sending via online
MrJ: okay
using your credit card
me: do you have a friend there who I could send money to via paypal??
While this is going on, I'm chatting with hmrpita and tweeting that I've got a live one. I asked him for a paypal account because I know that could be traced better than western union. I also start asking if it's possible to track someone's IP via gchat. (probably not)
MrJ: you can just send it via western union online
www.westernunion.com
okay
6:39 PM ?
6:40 PM me: sorry. FedEx was just here.
had to let them in the building.
MrJ: ok
are you on the western union website now
6:41 PM whats the time right now
6:42 PM ?
me: it's 6:42 pm here
MrJ: ok..are you on the western union site now?
6:43 PM me: yeah. it's kind of confusing though
MrJ: what did you see on the page
you will need to select the country you are sending from
6:44 PM ?
6:45 PM any update?
6:46 PM you there
6:47 PM me: yeah. it's like people won't leave me alone.
stalling? me? nah!
MrJ: what is the western page showing
6:48 PM ?
6:49 PM me: it's like I have to make a whole dang profile. they don't make this easy
I wish you had someone there with paypal or something.
MrJ: ok
are you creating a profile with them now
6:50 PM ?
me: yeah.
MrJ: ok
6:51 PM me: even the capcha is giving me problems.
6:52 PM MrJ: am sorry for letting you go through all this
6:53 PM have you finished creating the profile?
6:54 PM any luck
6:59 PM ?
7:00 PM you there
7:04 PM ..
7:05 PM me: yeah.
While this has been going on, I'm still tweeting people with information about what's going on. deridere sent me links to Scotland Yard. I didn't want to call them (international), but tried filling out their online report form. the problem is, I've got the guy NOW. I could send him to Western Union (Called WU from here on) NOW to be picked up, but I CAN'T GET HELP FROM THE AUTHORITIES.
Also, I'm trying to see if I can report this to WU, and I see they have a link to talk to a rep online. I click that and get a little window. I ask about their fraud department, and get a phone number. I call it, and get put on hold.... I talk to a rep for a moment and back on hold.... and my phone dies....
GAHHHH
Plug back in, redial, hold....aha! a person.
I go through the issue with them. they say they can prevent anyone from using that name at Western Union. I don't know how accurate that is, but I give them the information of my friend so that they can prevent anyone from using his name to get money. If the REAL guy needs to get money someday, he'll have to talk to them on the phone.
HOWEVER, they will NOT contact Law Enforcement directly to do a sting. They say no money has transferred, so they can't do anything. I ask if I could send a dollar and catch them. She recommends against that. Her voice turned a bit sour at that. I didn't press. But again, NO HELP to actually prevent this from happening to someone else.
Also, they said it could take up to three hours for this to take effect. Too long! I have them hooked NOW!
Meanwhile, back at the chat:
MrJ: any luck yet?
7:06 PM me: the max amount is 999 dollars
MrJ: so how much were you able to send
7:07 PM try and send 950
me: I could send more if you have a friend there wih paypal
Again with the paypal. :D
MrJ: how much were you able to send now?
7:09 PM ?
7:12 PM what next now?
7:14 PM ?
me: this is really a pain in the ass.
I hate western union.
Hate is a strong word, but I was definitely annoyed here.
7:15 PM had to use it a decade ago, but the post office was open.
MrJ: so what now
7:17 PM what is western union saying now
7:18 PM ?
7:22 PM You there?
me: it is saying the name is blocked.
I can't use the name [full name].
there's something odd going on.
western union won't let me transfer the money.
At this point I figured I'd push them away from WU to see about getting a more traceable method of money transfer.
7:23 PM MrJ: is the post office closed?
7:24 PM me: the post office is closed, but that's not the problem. it's the online western union.
MrJ: can you try calling them on phone to have it done on phone
that might be esy
7:25 PM ?
can you do that
me: ah. good idea.
7:26 PM MrJ: Use your phone to send money 24/7 to friends and family all over the world. Western Union has thousands of participating Agent locations around the globe!
You can use your credit or debit card to send money by phone--it's reliable and convenient. Dial 1-800-CALL-CASH® (1-800-225-5227) and our operators will assist you.
got that
?
7:28 PM are you calling them now?
me: you have no idea the kind of day I'm having.
my phone died.
I need to get an iphone.
Not an untrue statement. :D
7:29 PM though that will have to wait til you can repay me.
;)
not that I'm worried about that
MrJ: so you wont be able to call them now
7:30 PM ?
are you calling them now?
7:31 PM me: it's taking a little while for my phone to charge enough to call.
it won't turn on yet
Delay? what's that?
MrJ: cant you use a land phone
me: lol.
MrJ: ?
7:32 PM me: I don't have a land phone.
why have two bills when you can have one?
of course, times like this make me rethink the wisdom of that.
True again.
7:35 PM MrJ: so what are you going to do now
7:36 PM me: ok. the phone's charged.
well, charged enough, anyway
MrJ: call them now and let me know what comes up again
me: as long as I don't unplug it.
7:38 PM MrJ: are you calling them now?
me: yep
7:39 PM navigating voicemail...
such a liar. more delay.
Meanwhile, I've got a large network of friends on twitter trying to help. We're in a chatroom in IRC working on strategy. We're using alternate lines of communication. We've all been friends so long that we're able to use quick little in-jokes to prove we are who we say we are. because not only had his gmail been taken, they'd used that to get his twitter and his facebook.
MrJ: ok
9 minutes
7:48 PM MrJ: ?
7:49 PM you there';
?
7:52 PM me: yeah. I'm sorry. they say that I can't send the money. something about your name.
it's not working.
7:54 PM seriously, if you have a friend there who has a paypal account, this would be so much easier.
7:58 PM do you have a friend there in London with paypal? I Might be able to send 1500.
At this point, one of our friends in IRC, @redct, had pointed MrJ to google's method for informing them that your email has been hacked. within a few minutes, he was back in control of his account.
32 minutes
8:31 PM me: WOOOOT!
HI!
Welcome back!
And he WAS back, and it was good. Well, mostly. the scammer had deleted his entire contact list, and had forwarded email to a third account. Thankfully both the twitter account and the facebook account are back under his control.
And he found out that the guy was based in Nigeria...
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Make sure your gmail is using security! Go to Setting, and under "Browser Connection" make sure that "Always use https" is selected. Now. Seriously. Do it now. If you know this is already selected, then well done.
2. Maybe having ALL of your other accounts go to one place for notifications of changes is a bad idea. Once the gmail account was gone, nothing else could be protected, because all of the accounts went back to gmail for confirmation of password changes. I have this problem right now. I'm not sure what to do about it.
3. Go here Immediately if your gmail is hacked.
4. It seems like a guy in Nigeria shouldn't be able to get money in London from WU. I'm not sure how that would be possible apart from having a contact there. And I thought people needed IDs to pick up money at a WU. Isn't that the case? What the hell, WU?
Anyway. I love this community. I love my friends. I love how we're ready to help at a moment's notice.
When people talk about online communities as though they're weird or superficial or broken or lowest common denominator, all I can say is they're in the wrong fucking community.
Ariock Knight,
Commander,
Beekeepers 49th
DavFlamerock has compiled the tweets and various other information! Fascinating to me to see how the evening progressed.
Today, one of my friends, who goes by the name MrJudkins, had his gmail account hacked. He was able to tweet the fact, and I happened to see it.
Not long after while sitting at my computer, I received the following email from his account:
Hello,
I'm sorry for this odd request because it might get to you too urgent but it's due to the situation of things right now.
I'm stuck in London,England with my family right now, we came down here for a short vacation then i was robbed, worse of it is that bags, cash and cards and my cell phone were stolen at GUN POINT, it's such a crazy experience for us, we need help flying back home, the authorities are not being 100% supportive but the good thing is we still have our passports and return tickets but currently having troubles paying off the hotel bills and also getting a cab to take us to the airport.
Please i need you to loan me some money, will refund you as soon as i'm back home, i promise.All we need is (1,500 USD) but dont know how much you would be able to spare..we will be waiting to hear back from you..
Thank You
And we have Scammer!
I immediately replied via gmail, "hey, yeah, I really want to help, what do you need?"
He responded:
Hello
Thanks for the email,i am totally freaked put here,the doctor said i suffered concussion due to been hit on the head.. All you need to do is locate a western union outlet around ,you can find on in a Bank or at the Post Office,since i have my passport with me all you would need is my Full Name and the Location you are sending the fund to. Below is the info once again:
Here is my info which you will need to wire the money:
Receivers Name: [My Friend's Name]
Receivers Location: London, SW15 6TD
United Kingdom
Once you have the money sent via western union,kindly email me all the western union money transfer details so i can head to the Bank and Pick it up.
Kind Regards.
I could see that our friend was listed as busy in gcat, but a few moments later he started messaging me.
6:36 PM MrJ: did you get my message?
me: yeah! sorry to hear this man!
MrJ: how soon can you get to the nearest post office near you?
6:37 PM me: The post offices are closed here at this hour!
6:38 PM I'm looking into sending via online
MrJ: okay
using your credit card
me: do you have a friend there who I could send money to via paypal??
While this is going on, I'm chatting with hmrpita and tweeting that I've got a live one. I asked him for a paypal account because I know that could be traced better than western union. I also start asking if it's possible to track someone's IP via gchat. (probably not)
MrJ: you can just send it via western union online
www.westernunion.com
okay
6:39 PM ?
6:40 PM me: sorry. FedEx was just here.
had to let them in the building.
MrJ: ok
are you on the western union website now
6:41 PM whats the time right now
6:42 PM ?
me: it's 6:42 pm here
MrJ: ok..are you on the western union site now?
6:43 PM me: yeah. it's kind of confusing though
MrJ: what did you see on the page
you will need to select the country you are sending from
6:44 PM ?
6:45 PM any update?
6:46 PM you there
6:47 PM me: yeah. it's like people won't leave me alone.
stalling? me? nah!
MrJ: what is the western page showing
6:48 PM ?
6:49 PM me: it's like I have to make a whole dang profile. they don't make this easy
I wish you had someone there with paypal or something.
MrJ: ok
are you creating a profile with them now
6:50 PM ?
me: yeah.
MrJ: ok
6:51 PM me: even the capcha is giving me problems.
6:52 PM MrJ: am sorry for letting you go through all this
6:53 PM have you finished creating the profile?
6:54 PM any luck
6:59 PM ?
7:00 PM you there
7:04 PM ..
7:05 PM me: yeah.
While this has been going on, I'm still tweeting people with information about what's going on. deridere sent me links to Scotland Yard. I didn't want to call them (international), but tried filling out their online report form. the problem is, I've got the guy NOW. I could send him to Western Union (Called WU from here on) NOW to be picked up, but I CAN'T GET HELP FROM THE AUTHORITIES.
Also, I'm trying to see if I can report this to WU, and I see they have a link to talk to a rep online. I click that and get a little window. I ask about their fraud department, and get a phone number. I call it, and get put on hold.... I talk to a rep for a moment and back on hold.... and my phone dies....
GAHHHH
Plug back in, redial, hold....aha! a person.
I go through the issue with them. they say they can prevent anyone from using that name at Western Union. I don't know how accurate that is, but I give them the information of my friend so that they can prevent anyone from using his name to get money. If the REAL guy needs to get money someday, he'll have to talk to them on the phone.
HOWEVER, they will NOT contact Law Enforcement directly to do a sting. They say no money has transferred, so they can't do anything. I ask if I could send a dollar and catch them. She recommends against that. Her voice turned a bit sour at that. I didn't press. But again, NO HELP to actually prevent this from happening to someone else.
Also, they said it could take up to three hours for this to take effect. Too long! I have them hooked NOW!
Meanwhile, back at the chat:
MrJ: any luck yet?
7:06 PM me: the max amount is 999 dollars
MrJ: so how much were you able to send
7:07 PM try and send 950
me: I could send more if you have a friend there wih paypal
Again with the paypal. :D
MrJ: how much were you able to send now?
7:09 PM ?
7:12 PM what next now?
7:14 PM ?
me: this is really a pain in the ass.
I hate western union.
Hate is a strong word, but I was definitely annoyed here.
7:15 PM had to use it a decade ago, but the post office was open.
MrJ: so what now
7:17 PM what is western union saying now
7:18 PM ?
7:22 PM You there?
me: it is saying the name is blocked.
I can't use the name [full name].
there's something odd going on.
western union won't let me transfer the money.
At this point I figured I'd push them away from WU to see about getting a more traceable method of money transfer.
7:23 PM MrJ: is the post office closed?
7:24 PM me: the post office is closed, but that's not the problem. it's the online western union.
MrJ: can you try calling them on phone to have it done on phone
that might be esy
7:25 PM ?
can you do that
me: ah. good idea.
7:26 PM MrJ: Use your phone to send money 24/7 to friends and family all over the world. Western Union has thousands of participating Agent locations around the globe!
You can use your credit or debit card to send money by phone--it's reliable and convenient. Dial 1-800-CALL-CASH® (1-800-225-5227) and our operators will assist you.
got that
?
7:28 PM are you calling them now?
me: you have no idea the kind of day I'm having.
my phone died.
I need to get an iphone.
Not an untrue statement. :D
7:29 PM though that will have to wait til you can repay me.
;)
not that I'm worried about that
MrJ: so you wont be able to call them now
7:30 PM ?
are you calling them now?
7:31 PM me: it's taking a little while for my phone to charge enough to call.
it won't turn on yet
Delay? what's that?
MrJ: cant you use a land phone
me: lol.
MrJ: ?
7:32 PM me: I don't have a land phone.
why have two bills when you can have one?
of course, times like this make me rethink the wisdom of that.
True again.
7:35 PM MrJ: so what are you going to do now
7:36 PM me: ok. the phone's charged.
well, charged enough, anyway
MrJ: call them now and let me know what comes up again
me: as long as I don't unplug it.
7:38 PM MrJ: are you calling them now?
me: yep
7:39 PM navigating voicemail...
such a liar. more delay.
Meanwhile, I've got a large network of friends on twitter trying to help. We're in a chatroom in IRC working on strategy. We're using alternate lines of communication. We've all been friends so long that we're able to use quick little in-jokes to prove we are who we say we are. because not only had his gmail been taken, they'd used that to get his twitter and his facebook.
MrJ: ok
9 minutes
7:48 PM MrJ: ?
7:49 PM you there';
?
7:52 PM me: yeah. I'm sorry. they say that I can't send the money. something about your name.
it's not working.
7:54 PM seriously, if you have a friend there who has a paypal account, this would be so much easier.
7:58 PM do you have a friend there in London with paypal? I Might be able to send 1500.
At this point, one of our friends in IRC, @redct, had pointed MrJ to google's method for informing them that your email has been hacked. within a few minutes, he was back in control of his account.
32 minutes
8:31 PM me: WOOOOT!
HI!
Welcome back!
And he WAS back, and it was good. Well, mostly. the scammer had deleted his entire contact list, and had forwarded email to a third account. Thankfully both the twitter account and the facebook account are back under his control.
And he found out that the guy was based in Nigeria...
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Make sure your gmail is using security! Go to Setting, and under "Browser Connection" make sure that "Always use https" is selected. Now. Seriously. Do it now. If you know this is already selected, then well done.
2. Maybe having ALL of your other accounts go to one place for notifications of changes is a bad idea. Once the gmail account was gone, nothing else could be protected, because all of the accounts went back to gmail for confirmation of password changes. I have this problem right now. I'm not sure what to do about it.
3. Go here Immediately if your gmail is hacked.
4. It seems like a guy in Nigeria shouldn't be able to get money in London from WU. I'm not sure how that would be possible apart from having a contact there. And I thought people needed IDs to pick up money at a WU. Isn't that the case? What the hell, WU?
Anyway. I love this community. I love my friends. I love how we're ready to help at a moment's notice.
When people talk about online communities as though they're weird or superficial or broken or lowest common denominator, all I can say is they're in the wrong fucking community.
Ariock Knight,
Commander,
Beekeepers 49th
DavFlamerock has compiled the tweets and various other information! Fascinating to me to see how the evening progressed.