Council warning on email scam

Retford residents are being warned about are being warned about a scam involving emails pleading for money from accounts belonging to a friend or family member.

By The Newsroom

Published 13th Mar 2013, 10:14 BST

Scammers are using technology to predict people’s passwords so that they can hack into email accounts and send out messages to contacts in their directory.

The messages tend to outline a sad story, such as them being robbed while on holiday, as a basis for asking for money to be transferred over.

The scammer attempts to convince the receiver to pay money, typically via payment methods that are hard to trace, such as Moneygram or Western Union.

Notts County Council’s Trading Standards officers have recently received an increase in complaints about personal email scams.

People who think they may be a victim of this or any other scam should contact Citizens Advice on 08454 040506.