By COLlive reporter
In the past few weeks, community members of Chabad rabbis in Chicago, Cleveland and Atlanta have received an alarming email message with the title “Help!”
One of those messages, sent out on Tuesday, read: “I’m in a terrible situation right now and will need your urgent help. I’m in Limassol, Cyprus at the moment and I just misplaced my bag containing all my vital items, phone and money.”
The email went on to say that “I’m trying to sort things out with the necessary authorities, I may need a little help from you.”
Some recipients of these messages were extremely worried and responded offering their help and support, yet it’s possible that by doing that they’ve put themselves in trouble as well.
The Secure Community Network, an initiative of Jewish organizations, reported that these emails are a result of a sophisticated phishing/spoofing attack via email. Many Jewish groups across the country fell victim to the virus as well, they reported.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), phishing is an attempt by an individual or group to solicit personal information from unsuspecting users by employing social engineering techniques. Phishing emails are crafted to appear as if they have been sent from a legitimate organization or known individual.
These emails often attempt to entice users to click on a link that will take the user to a fraudulent website that appears legitimate. The user then may be asked to provide personal information, such as account usernames and passwords, that can further expose them to future compromises. Additionally, these fraudulent websites may contain malicious code.
In the event that an administrative member receives an email similar to the description above, it is advised to refrain from responding to the email or clicking any links.
To report a computer or network vulnerability, please contact the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team at 1-888-282-0870 or visit US-CERT Incident Reporting System.
While visiting Jerusalem in the summer I witnessed a woman demonstratively complaining about her wallet having been stolen. I imagined the kind of effort and embarassment it would take before she could beg from individuals to have enough money to return home in the North where I heard her say she came from, so I asked her how much it would cost to get home and gave her the money. She thanked me, but while still in her hysterical state she neglected to ask me how she could return the money to me (which would have been the mentchlik thing… Read more »
Compare the email address that comes up when you press “reply” with the one that sent the email to you.
Because a Chabad shaliach could be anywhere in the world – why wouldn’t I believe it?? Maybe someone needed help.
Why would anyone in their right minds fall for these scams????
This is not the first time something like this is happened and it won’t be the last. I have received these emails many times, but nevertheless I can leave them right away. Only a fool would fall for a. Email like that!!
I also received such an email. It seems that have been sent worldwide