The Facebook “I’ve Been Mugged” Scam

If you spend any time on Facebook and you have enough friends, chances are that this will happen to you.  It’s the Facebook “I’ve Been Mugged” Scam.

Someone hacks into a Facebook friend’s account.  (They usually get in because you click on links to those stupid little “send a gift” and “what flavor of ice cream are you” crap links on FB)  Once in, they start trolling everyone on your friend’s Facebook chat application.  They pretend (as your friend) to be stuck in London, Paris, Rome, etc… and they tell you that they were robbed of everything but their passport and they need you to wire money to them to get home.  (Dan side note: NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER wire money out of the county.  It’s GONE when you do.)

I’ve had this happen to me a few times.  It happened to me this morning and I don’t know… I guess I was just in one of those moods.

Here is my  word for word transcript of the convo.  (I edited out my friend Mark’s last name.  That is the only change to the actual text)  I think he got mad at me at the end.

7:09amMark: hey

7:09amDan: hi

7:09amMark: how are you doing

7:09amDan: great, you?

7:09amMark: am not good at the moment <— This is the exact moment I knew this was the scam

7:10amDan: oh no?

7:11amMark: am in a deep mess am stuck in London i went there on a short vacation

7:11amDan: wow. I am sorry to hear that. that’s just terrible news.  Is there anything I could do?

7:12amMark: I was mugged at a gun point last night all cash was stolen my cell and my credit card

7:13amDan: Could I wire you money out of the country where it couldn’t be traced?

7:13amMark: I thank God am still alive and am still with my passport.  Yes you can.  You can get the money wired to me Via western union

7:14amDan: Awesome.  I’ll run to a place right now and do that.

7:14amMark: all you need is my name and my Location.  Location:United Kingdom London

7:14amDan: oh… okay

7:15amMark: Name:Mark ******.  that is all you need ..

7:15amDan:  Haha.  Of course that’s your name.  You didn’t need to tell me that.  I know your name.  You r so crazy.  Why would you tell me your name?  2 funny.  It’s not like you aren’t really Mark.  I mean you HAVE to be.  You are on his facebook acct.  Sillly.

7:15amDan: on it’s way

7:15amMark: 1450

7:16amDan: 1450? Is that dollars or british pounds?

7:16amMark: pounds.  how long would it take you to get the money wired to me

7:17amDan: I will send it to you right now….Say, I know this probably isn’t the right time, seeing how you’ve been mugged and all… but did you see Big Ben yet?  I hear that it’s cool.

7:17amMark how long?

7:17amDan: It’s been there a long time I think.  Did you know that “Big Ben” doesn’t really refer to the tower itself, it refers to the bell inside.  Lot’s of people don’t know that.  I learned that from Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel.  Do you ever watch her?  She’s hot.

7:18amMark: I mean, how long for the money?

7:18amDan: I’ll send it now… as long as you can tell me what radio station you and I worked at together in the mid 1990’s.

7:18amMark: are you kidding me

7:20amDan: I mean, considering I just saw you yesterday and you made no mention of going to London (which I would have thought you’d have needed to leave by then in order to get to London in time to get mugged last night… but then there IS that time difference and I’m not good at math.)

7:22amDan: I’m very concerned that you may have been caught up in some weird time-warp thing and are being held hostage by a mad scientist looking to intercept my fund transfer to you to fund more of his time-travel experiments.

You don’t have permission to chat with this person.

7:23amDan: Hello??  Mark?  Are you okay?  Don’t take the red pill!!

7:25amMark is offline.