Scammers are really turning up the heat..

I got an email today, supposedly from my cousin in Connecticut.. I've never met her, but we are friends on facebook and talk probably once a week.. The email sounded urgent and desperate, addressed to me, said she needed me to help her and to respond to her ASAP..

So, I did and asked what was up.. She replied and said she had been in an accident and had a broken back and broken wrist and was stuck in the hospital.. she said her niece's birthday was in a couple of days and she couldn't buy her a present.. Was pleading with me and asked me to buy some Google Gift certificates and asked if that was doable..

So I replied "maybe" and then (cuz it just sounded weird - mostly because we had never emailed each other - always talked through facebook pm) asked her to send me the info through facebook.. I mentioned nobody in town sold those gift certificates..

She never did send the info through facebook, but replied tha tI could buy them online.. Asked me to PLEASE buy $200 worth of gift certificates, shoot a photo of the bar code and get the number on th eback of the card and send it to her so she could transfer the money to her niece.. Then she said she would pay me back next week when she was released from the hospital..

So I replied to her again and simply asked her "what is my dad's middle name?" which is something I KNOW she knows.. I never got a reply.. Scam busted..

That was close.. a scam artist found our friendship on facebook, hacked my cousin's email account, sent me an email from my cousin to my email address that is listed on my facebook account, and pretended to be my cousin.. just beware that people are going really far into your personal lives to try and scam you out of money.. Never just accept their requests no matter how legit it sounds.. Ask questions that only they would know the answer to..

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Friendship is like peeing your pants.. Everybody can see it, but only you can feel the warmth..