Some Springfield residents received an e-mail plea for help that
appears to have come from their former pastor. One person who received
the message hopes to warn others-- it's a scam.The e-mail Luis Prieto received Monday morning was short and simple. "Basically, it came from Father Frank's personal e-mail address, and it just said, hey I need a favor," says Prieto.
Father Frank is the former pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Springfield, and he keeps in contact with many. "A lot of the community really enjoyed that he was very passionate about what he did," says Prieto.
Prieto responded and got a reply saying Father Frank had been robbed during an emergency trip to London.
"It was very believable," Prieto says.
He responded to the e-mail asking Father Frank to call him, but what he got in response was just an address to wire money.
KY3 News looked up that address in London, and it appears to be a Laundromat.
Prieto also reached Father Frank via Facebook, and he confirmed someone hacked his account. "I've contacted already, some of my family members and let them know, hey- if you get this e-mail it's not true. It's fraudulent, and they said they did receive it," Prieto says.
Prieto
and his friend, Bobbie Mark contacted the Attorney General's office.
Mark says, "She was very nice, and advised that there are a lot of
situations happening like this every single day, and they can't follow
up on every one of them."
Then they contacted Western Union, the company Prieto was asked to use in the money transfer.
"They actually sent a reply saying they were going to look into the account with the information given," Prieto says.
He just hopes to warn others before they send the scammers any cash. "Because people like him, they would probably be more prone to respond to that request," Prieto says.
The Better Business Bureau of Southwest Missouri has some tips: If you receive a questionable e-mail, contact the person in another way to verify the message.
If your e-mail is the one hacked, send another e-mail to alert all your contacts and change your password.
And to prevent hackers from getting into your account, keep your anti-virus, spyware, and malware programs updated.
Then they contacted Western Union, the company Prieto was asked to use in the money transfer.
"They actually sent a reply saying they were going to look into the account with the information given," Prieto says.
He just hopes to warn others before they send the scammers any cash. "Because people like him, they would probably be more prone to respond to that request," Prieto says.
The Better Business Bureau of Southwest Missouri has some tips: If you receive a questionable e-mail, contact the person in another way to verify the message.
If your e-mail is the one hacked, send another e-mail to alert all your contacts and change your password.
And to prevent hackers from getting into your account, keep your anti-virus, spyware, and malware programs updated.