Help!!! Noobie MSN Messenger Scam Question

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 04 Apr 2007 Posts: 4

Hi there,

I've just spoken to someone on MSN pretending to be my friend. She told me that she couldn't log in to her account the other day and thought it was strange that she was on at a time that she would usually be in bed.

At first I thought that language was a bit strange, it wasn't perfect English or the way that my friend would talk. After a minute or so I cottoned on to what was going on after they asked for money, it was just so obviously not my mate. Then I pretended to play along.

The person asked for money for a laptop to be transferred via Paypal but I said that I didn't like using paypal as it was fiddly.They then said that I could post it to them, they seemed a bit confused but evntually after me asking for bank details and pressuring them for an address they said to send it to a 'friend' in Nigeria who's address I got. I also asked and got a phone number and an email address which I think was also stolen from somebody as the surname is not the same that of the 'friend' and is English.

The person asked where I am, I lied and said Edinburgh. I don't think they even knew where it is as when I said i needed to go offline, they asked where i was going, rather than realising that it was 1 am. They didn't seem very bright, as the whole thing was so obvious: poor english, just asking for money out of the blue, sending money to a friend in West Africa etc.

I left it saying that I would send the laptop to them. He also asked if I could send a PSP and a mobile phone to which I said that I would try to send them as well but couldn't guarantee anything. I didn't provide any of my own details

Obviously I'm worried for my mate but want to get these guys caught and am also a little concerned that they've got my email/ msn address although I've just changed my password.

So in summary, I have saved a copy of the msn conversation in which I got a name, postal address, telephone number and email address.

I don't really know anything about this kind of thing, I just wondered if any of you guys have suggestions as to what I should do next.

Thanks a lot!

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 04 Apr 2007 Posts: 4

Sorry, I forgot to say that initially the person that I spoke to wanted me asked whether i was selling anything on ebay. Then they asked whether i could transfer money via paypal.

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 12:31 am

^^ Does your MSN email address link to some sort of profile (spaces.msn.com i think?)? If so, cease all contact with the scammer. It should be safe to open a fresh anonymous email account and bait them from there.

Did they use your friend's name when pretending to be them? If so, tell the friend in question. They may have had their details stolen somehow.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 04 Apr 2007 Posts: 4

No, my msn address doesn't link to any kind of profile, so I think I should be ok on that front.

No, the person never used my friend's name, so I'm not sure whether they stole her details or not, all my mate said was that she couldn't log into msn messenger.

I presume there's a very low chance of this guy getting caught but do you think that they'll be much danger of my friend losing money or having her internet identity being taken over? I suppose that depends on whether she uses the same username and password for every site...

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:39 am

Hi harry
Has she reset her MSN pssword yet as that will stop this perso in their tracks. The other problem is that she may have a virus or keylogger on her machine. She should proberly make sure her PC is clean then chnge all of her online passwords.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 04 Apr 2007 Posts: 4

Thanks Harrya,

I'll pass those suggestions on to her. I suppose there's little chance of these guys getting caught, so do you think that the best thing for me is to string them along and waste their time?

I suppose I should should read more info on this site first.

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:08 am

@HH^^

Answer to both questions : Yes
Provided that you are sure that you are safe, that no personal details have been obtained by the lad.
Even if he is half a world away, he may have friends, so, as always :

BAIT SAFE!

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