Commissioner target of e-mail scam

Even school children know that when there is an emergency, calling 9-1-1 will bring help.

When High Springs City Commissioner Dean Davis received an e-mail from High Springs resident Sue Shell saying that she was overseas and needed help, he called police chief Jim Troiano.

But as Davis went on to read the message to Troiano over the phone on July 3, he began to suspect the whole thing might be a scam.

The e-mail was sent from Shell’s actual address, and it said she was in Wales and had been mugged, had no money, but still had her passport. It went on to ask the recipient to send whatever money they could to help her buy a plane ticket to come home.

The initial e-mail Davis received did not name a specific amount, which Troiano said is typical of e-mail “phishing.”  But Davis had already replied to that email asking how much she needed and how to get it to her.

The responding message instructed Davis to put $15,000 in a Western Union account, which had he done, could be collected by anyone with the account information.

As soon as he got off the phone with the commissioner, Troiano called ACE Hardware, in downtown High Springs where Shell works. She was the one who answered the phone, confirming the chief’s suspicion that she was never overseas and had not sent the e-mail.

As suspected, she told police she knew nothing about it.

After officers were sent to ACE and to Davis’ home, they determined someone hacked into Shell’s e-mail account, possibly by introducing a virus to her computer. Whoever hacked in then was able to send an e-mail to anyone in her online address book.

As of Wednesday, Shell is still not able to use her computer, but she said she will be taking it in to get checked for viruses in the next couple of days.

Troiano said he knows of no other victims of this particular incident in High Springs at this time, but he did reference that a High Springs woman was the victim of another scam a month ago. It was similar to this one in that it involved sending money overseas.

That time it was a phone call a woman received, telling her that her daughter had been kidnapped.

“The bottom line is it can happen, and we urge people to be careful with what information they give out and what they open [on their computers],” Troiano said.

He added that people should be wary of deals or offers that seem too good to be true. No one gives something away for nothing.

Anyone who suspects they may have been a victim of a scam should contact local law enforcement agency.  And if it involves the risk that finances may already be compromised, they should contact their financial institution as well.

The chief also recommended that people check their credit report with a reputable company at least once a year to make sure no one is using their information to make purchases.

At a July 8 City Commission meeting, Davis publicly thanked Troiano for his help.