SYLVESTER, GA -
A Sylvester woman is again the victim of internet phishing.
And to make matters worse, her friends may be victims of the same scammer.
Someone is sending emails to all her contacts saying she's in trouble abroad and needs money.
The scammer sent out messages to Shelly McPhaul's friends saying that she is having a desperate crisis in Europe, and she needs people to help her with money. It is all a lie.
WALB News 10 caught this scam when we received an email this morning from a friend of Shelly McPhaul's.
"I know who this is," Best Friends Human Society Director Shelly McPhaul said.
The email was from a legitimate friend, who received a bogus email claiming to be from McPhaul, and asking for money.
"If they put this much energy into something constructive," McPhaul said. "They could move mountains. And instead, they are trying to cause havoc in other people's lives."
The email says muggers took McPhaul's money and credit cards and that she needs help getting home. It gives detailed information about her, but the two phone numbers are phony.
The same scam hit McPhaul a few months ago.
"That was one of the things, like I said, this is the second time this has happened," McPhaul said. "I received so many phone calls. I see so many people saying people do not care about anybody else. I received so many phone calls asking what they could do to help."
She says she is touched by the concern from her friends and she will tell them she is okay and to keep the money.
"I'm fine," she said. "I haven't been to London. I'm okay. If you really want to send money, send it to the shelter."
The email from the scammers came from the humane society's email. That means she has to work hard to regain her contacts.
"Hours, and hours, and hours, and hours," she said. "I still had not recovered from the initial attack. I lost probably five to six hundred contacts. I think I had a third of those back."
She says the scammers did not use a computer virus, but a worm to get into her personal business.
The two phone numbers on the bottom of the email are both two digits off of the correct number. She says it won't deter her from using the internet because it is an important part of the Humane Society.
Shelly McPhaul says she changed her passwords after she was phished the first time.
She urges you to be cautious, especially on social networking sites, so you don't get hacked too.
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