Email Scam - Online 50/50

[Yamer]

Tonight my mother was very nearly scammed for $200 from a hack that originated from a person that purchased online 50/50 tickets. This was traced back to the ticket purchasing process of the Oilers online 50/50, but I felt it was worth notifying the CP community as it could cover the Flames.

My mom received an email from a trusted colleague asking for a $200 gift card - first Google Play, then Amazon - to help out her niece. Thank goodness she asked my advice as she had the gift card loaded in her cart for an Amazon order. After my explanation and intervention we were able to contact the colleague who confirmed that her email was hacked and that she had made several attempts to stop friends and co-workers from purchasing gift cards in her name. Turns out her email and information was hacked from purchasing Edmonton Oilers 50/50 tickets when she had to confirm her residence in Alberta.

I don't know if this has effected the Flames Foundation and their 50/50 online draws, but I thought I would give a heads up. As silly as it seems, Mom is actually pretty shaken up by this and wouldn't have known if she hadn't the good sense to check with me first. She was entirely ready to help out a friend, no questions asked. I'm not the hero she wanted or deserved, but I'm glad I could raise the red flags for her.

Heads up for people buying 50/50 tickets. Just use the sense that should be common.

[Dion]

Good on you for helping your Mother.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Dion

Good on you for helping your Mother.

The greatest flaw of modern scammers is using technology that forces most older generations to consult their savvier offspring to even understand how to participate in the scam.

She's a smart woman, but if she didn't know how to use the technology (asking me how to buy the gift card) she would have fallen for it.

[GioforPM]

My mom got the same email from a friend, who was hacked.

ETA: hers was about gift cards - she never mentioned 50-50. And she never went thru with it. But according to the hacked friend some others did.

[1_Flames_Fan]

E=ng

[Jacks]

If the 50/50 was hacked which then led to her email being hacked she was probably using the same password?
If so you should advise her (and her friends) to use different passwords for every site.


Edit: Now that I think about it it's probably more likely that her email was hacked to begin with, probably Yahoo.