I was a camp counselor for eight summers (five at a YMCA of Greater Cincinnati day camp and three summers at Kennolyn Camps in Soquel, California – near Santa Cruz).
Don’t hear too much from former campers these days. My last summer as a counselor was 1999. But, as any former counselor can tell you, those relationships you make often become lifetime friendships. Even the folks you don’t hear from that often, if they called and were in trouble, dropping everything to help them would not be unusual. It’s just that kind of experience.
So, this morning when supposedly one of my former campers, Kathleen, had an emergency in London – she had been mugged with a gun and nearly raped in the Old Kent part of London – I was a very concerned. Here’s the chat:
Kathleen
hey Joe
how are you doing?
are you there?
are you there?
9:01amJoehey
9:04amKathleenhow are you doing?
are you there Joe?
9:04amJoeI’m good. You?
9:04amKathleennot too good right now
9:05amJoewhat is wrong?
9:05amKathleeni am stranded in London
9:05amJoegeez. how did that happen?
9:05amKathleeni was mugged
cash,credit card and phone were stolen
9:06amJoeoh crap. that’s horrible. I’m sorry.
contacted the embassy, I assume?
9:06amKathleeni have reported to the police
the embassy is far away from where i am so getting there will be a bit difficult for me
and i thank god that i still have my life
9:06amJoeoh,wow
yeah, that is true.
9:07amKathleena gun was pointed at me
it was scary
9:07amJoebut don’t you have to contact the embassy to get a temporary passprt or whatever?
9:07amKathleeni almost fainted
9:07amJoeI had that happen to me last year in downtown Cincinnati
9:07amKathleenthey slapped me and even tried raping me
9:07amJoeoh my god, kathleen
that’s is awful. I’m so sorry.
when did this happen
9:08amKathleeni still have my passport because i left it in the hotel i stay
yesterday
9:08amJoethat is good
9:08amKathleeni am leaving here today
my staying here is already due
9:08amJoewow. well, i’m glad you got out with your life and still have your passport
what part of london were you in when you were mugged?
9:09amKathleenOld Kent
i thanks go for everything
This is where I started to realize things might not be what I thought they were:
but i have a little problem right now
9:11amKathleeni need your assistant right now
9:11amJoewhat do you need?
9:12amKathleenare you there?
9:12amJoeyes
9:13amKathleeni need some money from you and i promise to pay you back as soon as i return back to the state
9:13amJoehow much?
9:13amKathleen$720
9:14amJoetell me how we know each other
9:15amKathleenhun hun
could`nt remember exactly
9:15amJoegotcha!
very creative of you
9:16amKathleenhow do you mean?
9:17amJoewhere did you go to summer camp as a child?
9:18amJoeIncorrect!
9:19amKathleenWhat?
9:19amJoeWhere did you go to summer camp as a child?
9:20amKathleenOK
9:20amJoeyes?
9:22amJoeJust tell me one thing about that camp where you went as a kid and the money is yours…
9:23amKathleenfour wind Westward
9:23amJoeand what was that?
9:26amKathleencan`t remember
Can you help me out please
9:27amJoeSure. What in thee hell is “Four Wind Westward?” I have never heard of that.
9:27amKathleeni was the once
for summer camp with friends
9:28amJoeWhat city was it in?
9:29amKathleenwhy all this question?
9:30amJoeWhy not answer them? Seems fair for a mere $720
9:30amKathleenquestion before you can help a daughter out?
9:31amJoea daughter?
Incorrect!
9:31amKathleenwhat do youmean?
9:32amKathleenhow do you mean incorrect?
9:33amJoeAnswer any of the questions I have asked, sweets
9:33amKathleenwhat is this you are putting in your heading?
9:33amJoeFascinating, eh?
9:33amKathleenyou`ve gone too far
9:34amJoeYou aren’t English, are you?
9:34amKathleenbye
9:34amJoeha ha!
gotcha gotcha gotcha!
9:34amKathleenFuck you
9:34amJoegotcha gotcha gotcha!
Good luck in your scam! Re-tweet! RE-tweet!
So, I stayed on and had a little fun with the sucker… I post this in hopes that it won’t go too far with someone else and someone actually sends money to a crook – on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, through e-mail. Anything. It doesn’t matter.
Be careful online – especially if anyone starts chatting you and then immediately asks for money. Be careful if anyone asks for passwords, usernames or personal information. Likely a scam.
Then, do that person whose account was hacked a favor (and everyone else who may fall victim to the scam) – and use a different means to contact that person and let them know what happened. And do it immediately. Then, file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3.
Wow. I’ve heard of this in gmail chat, but not facebook. I guess the protocols are more or less the same; it only takes cracking into someone’s account, right?
Oh–and not “likely” a scam–“definitely” a scam.
Crazy. But funny that you messed with them a bit, haha!
This just happened to me… Its crazy what people are doing now.