[August 11, 2011] Police warn against friend email scam Tweet BRADENTON, Aug 11, 2011 (The Bradenton Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Bradenton Police Department is warning citizens to be wary of requests for monetary assistance coming from friends' email accounts. Scam artists have been hacking into personal email accounts and sending emails to everyone in the compromised account's address book. The scammer asks for money because their wallet has been stolen on vacation and they need money for hotel and other expenses, said Sgt. LJ Millard, who works in crime prevention. "What's scary about this is it comes from a friend's email; of course you're going to open it," Millard said. "It says, 'I'm on vacation, can you help me and wire some money?' And that's your red flag. Most scams want a wire transfer," because they are the same as cash. Millard suggests if someone gets an email like this, and believe it to be valid, to ask for the name of a hotel or another valid third party to send money to since the object is to get cash. It's also a good idea to call the friend and ask. "Nine out of 10 times your friend will be safe at home or at the office," Millard said. "People panic when they get an SOS email from a friend." For more information on this scam, and others like it, contact Millard at (941) 932-9351 or email at [email protected]. To see more of The Bradenton Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bradenton.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Bradenton Herald, Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]