The FBI has issued a scam alert about con artists who are trying to steal e-mail addresses and passwords and then hack into the accounts.Agents said the thieves will use the accounts to send out scams to the user's friends and contacts.Preston Love Jr. said he got a message claiming that his account would be suspended.
"It asked me for my name, my ID number and my password," he said. "(It said) we're going to suspend your use of Yahoo if you do not update.
He said the message had the Yahoo logo and looked legitimate, but Love said he was soon locked out of the account while his friends started getting bogus e-mails."I began to get calls," he said.He said the bogus e-mails told colleagues, friends and family that he was in a terrible situation and he didn't know what to do."The e-mail said, 'I'm stranded in England and send me $3,500," he said.The hackers changed Love's password, cutting off his access to his account."There's a violation that you feel that someone would attack your identity and then send out e-mails under your name and then ask for money is devastating," Love said.Investigators said anyone who has received similar messages in their e-mail account should just ignore them. Anyone who's been hit by similar scams has been urged to contact the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.Love said he's reported his case to police and called Yahoo to close his account.
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