NRI fashion designer Pria Kataaria Puri writes about the time when she unwittingly turned over her email account details to scammers:
My Hotmail account, an email account I’ve used for 10 years, was hacked into. And through it, the hackers gained entry to my social networking account on Facebook. The motive was more than just getting a kick out of violating my privacy, it was financial – they sent a common message to all my contacts impersonating me. The message said that I was lost in London, with my passport and everything gone and I desperately needed money to be wired to me by Western Union. Can you imagine something like this reaching not only my friends, but all the people I network with for business?
I guess it’s a sign of the times that the scammers logged into Facebook and then messaged her contacts, instead of directly sending email from her account. And that her friends and acquaintances believed that when stranded in London, Puri would communicate through Facebook.
Also today: a pair of girls trapped in a storm water drain in Adelaide, Australia chose to update their Facebook status to state they were in trouble instead of calling the national emergency number 000 (like 911).
Bonus: “Oh Crap. My Parents Joined Facebook.” Supremely entertaining.