# "Worst Vacation Ever" Scam **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 12, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095 "2011-02-12T02:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/21 "2011-02-12T22:52:45Z")
My soon-to-be-ex-employer hosts its email through Gmail. We have our own domain name, but the email is hosted on Google servers, and we use Google Chat among ourselves. So, one of these scammers recently conducted the most transparent phishing scam ever. He didn’t even bother to set up a fake website. He just sent an email to a bunch of our employees with some ridiculous pseudo-technical explanation for why he needed their passwords, and said, “Please reply to me with your user name and password.” Three people fell for this. So, scammer logs in to the email accounts of those who fell for the phish. It is, after all, basically just Gmail, so he can log in right from the comfort of Lagos. He starts by sending out some of the canned “Stranded in London” emails to the people in their address books. Then, a lightbulb goes off. He has access to _Chat!_ So, he fires up chat and starts hitting up anyone who answers for cash to get back from London. One of our employees exchanged chat messages with the guy for a few minutes before realizing it was a scam. Luckily none of our employees fell for it far enough to send any money. Here’s the thing - when the guy was using chat, the text was still the same as his canned email. Even though he was on chat, he was just copying and pasting from his canned email right into the chat box, so it looked nothing like a real chat conversation. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/22 "2011-02-12T23:34:01Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Stupidest crooks ever! > > I mean, really, wouldn’t everybody be able to tell the writing style of their own mother? No. Thousands of people fall for this scam. It’s not stupid. It works. Yes, you would have to be stupid to fall for it, but that’s the beauty of it; you only have to fool one person a week. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/23 "2011-02-13T03:42:46Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > FTFY Please don’t. It’s against the rules to change the content of another person’s post when you quote it, regardless of your reasons for doing so. No warning issued. **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/24 "2011-02-13T17:13:01Z")
Wow. I hope these guys send me emails from _my_ parents, so I can email back, saying “Wow! I heard Wales was _nice_, but I never realized it was _the Afterlife_!” (What with both of my parents being dead and all. . . But **RickJay** is pretty much right; I mean, yeah, it’s stupid, but you only need a very small percentage of folks to fall for it before it becomes profitable. And what does it cost you, in time _or_ money, to send out a few hundred emails a week? ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/25 "2011-02-13T17:36:19Z")
We once wired $800 to the Czech Republic via Western Union for someone who urgently needed cash. The difference was that it was my mom, we knew for a fact that she was there, and she actually called us to explain the situation (village inn didn’t take credit cards). It still felt funny as hell, though. Especially since we had literally just watched a Dateline episode the night before about how many scams went through Western Union. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/26 "2011-02-13T18:25:21Z")
I’ve received similar e-mails purportedly from acquaintances who supposedly had their passports and wallets stolen, or else were in a hotel fire in Spain, and wanted me to send them money. As in this case, they had had their accounts hacked. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/27 "2011-02-15T14:38:02Z")
> [@TravisFromOR](#): > > I’d have been curious as to why six men returning from a grocery store would mug someone… They had just shot an elephant in their pajamas. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/28 "2011-02-15T14:39:39Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > have one email in my real name, that I use for business. I have email in the name of Aruvqan. A while ago i emailed myself telling me that I had been robbed and needed money. Did you send it? I mean, you can hopefully trust yourself. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/29 "2011-02-15T15:14:46Z")
Same thing happened to me. A friend in Spain had been mugged and needed cash. I knew it was fake because this friend A: is poor as hell 2)would never ask me for money because we’re not that close, and D} the language was very prim and proper, and if that were a real situation mucho profanity would be the order of the day! So I texted her and gave her crap about being in ‘Spain’ and told her to change her email password. Meanwhile I screwed around with the scammer for awhile, making up account numbers and saying I sent the money via Avian over IP. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/30 "2011-02-15T21:26:23Z")
> [@GoodOmens](#): > > They had just shot an elephant in their pajamas. Where do you vacation that the elephants wear pajamas?? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/31 "2011-02-16T00:26:29Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Stupidest crooks ever! > > I mean, really, wouldn’t everybody be able to tell the writing style of their own mother?! They’re sending the e-mail to everybody on the contact list. Not everybody (friends, co-workers, distant relative, neighbour, brother-in-law,…) will be able to tell the writing style. Deleting the contact list was probably done in order that the OP’s parents would be unable to warn quickly everybody, in particular people who aren’t too close to them and might be easily fooled (not knowing that they’re currently in Florida, etc…). ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/32 "2011-02-16T00:51:17Z")
I’ve heard of a vaguely similar scam done over the phone - people claim they’ve kidnapped your son/daughter/loved one and ask for a ransom. These scammers are cleverer though - they somehow managed to target people whose loved ones really are traveling at the moment. My parents’ friends fell for it a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/33 "2011-02-16T02:19:36Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > I mean, yeah, it’s stupid, but you only need a very small percentage of folks to fall for it before it becomes profitable. And what does it cost you, in time _or_ money, to send out a few hundred emails a week? The beauty of these scams is that the percentage of marks you need to scam is so low. It’s like the old gag about the guy selling pencils on the street. A passing businessman says “WEll, I could use a pencil. How much?” The guy says, “Thirty-five thousand dollars.” The businessman says “Holy shit… $35,000? Are you nuts? How many pencils can you sell for that price?” The guy says “I only have to sell one.” A few years ago I was staying in a hotel at LAX for a week, doing business around LA. One morning I was getting ready to go visit a customer - it was about 7 AM so, you know, I’m shaving, getting dressed, etc. The room phone rings, and I answer: ME: “Hello?” GUY: “Sir, this is Paul down at the front desk. I’m really sorry, but when we took your credit card information when you checked in we seem to have made an error… we have just fifteen numbers. Can you run that card number by me again so we can fix your check in?” ME: “Well, Paul, I’ll be right down with that card for you.” GUY: “Um, okay.” Of course there was no Paul. But it’s a great scam… call a business hotel around that time on a Wednesday morning, catch a bunch of business people rushing around getting ready, and you just might get one person distracted enough to cough it up. And that’s a good day’s work. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/34 "2011-02-16T03:02:07Z")
> [@GoodOmens](#): > > Did you send it? I mean, you can hopefully trust yourself. Well I don’t remember emailing myself, so I didn’t send me any money =) ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/35 "2011-02-16T04:58:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The beauty of these scams is that the percentage of marks you need to scam is so low. It’s like the old gag about the guy selling pencils on the street. A passing businessman says “WEll, I could use a pencil. How much?” The guy says, “Thirty-five thousand dollars.” The businessman says “Holy shit… $35,000? Are you nuts? How many pencils can you sell for that price?” The guy says “I only have to sell one.” > > A few years ago I was staying in a hotel at LAX for a week, doing business around LA. One morning I was getting ready to go visit a customer - it was about 7 AM so, you know, I’m shaving, getting dressed, etc. The room phone rings, and I answer: > > ME: “Hello?” > GUY: “Sir, this is Paul down at the front desk. I’m really sorry, but when we took your credit card information when you checked in we seem to have made an error… we have just fifteen numbers. Can you run that card number by me again so we can fix your check in?” > ME: “Well, Paul, I’ll be right down with that card for you.” > GUY: “Um, okay.” > > Of course there was no Paul. But it’s a great scam… call a business hotel around that time on a Wednesday morning, catch a bunch of business people rushing around getting ready, and you just might get one person distracted enough to cough it up. And that’s a good day’s work. Back in the stone-age, I was using AOL, and got an IM from “SarahFromVisa” telling me that AOL had my credit card number wrong, and that she needed it or my account would be terminated. Not only was this an obvious scam, but I had subscribed to AOL using my Discover Card. I gave her a fake number. She seemed satisfied. I also reported her to AOL. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/36 "2011-02-16T11:16:51Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Just ask yourself: is the Prince of Wales an Englishman or a Welshman? German-Greek mix. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/37 "2011-02-16T14:15:41Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > ME: “Hello?” > GUY: “Sir, this is Paul down at the front desk. I’m really sorry, but when we took your credit card information when you checked in we seem to have made an error… we have just fifteen numbers. Can you run that card number by me again so we can fix your check in?” “OK, Paul. Which numbers do you have?” ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/38 "2011-02-16T14:42:06Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > “OK, Paul. Which numbers do you have?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/39 "2011-02-16T17:32:12Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Well I don’t remember emailing myself, so I didn’t send me any money =) But you were just mugged! Of course you’re not going to remember every single person you e-mailed. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095/40 "2011-02-16T17:33:42Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > “OK, Paul. Which numbers do you have?” I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to reveal that for security reasons. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vacation-ever-scam/571095.md?page=3)