Saturday, January 15, 2011
ALLEGED computer hackers are now starting to make a living out of using the Internet to hit the Department of Tourism’s regional office in Cagayan de Oro City on Thursday.
Deceus Esmedalla, tourism department’s regional information officer, said a certain “Butro” sent him a message on his personal Yahoo! account using the DOT regional office’s Yahoo account, dotr10@yahoo.com.
Greet your friends and families this Sinulog season. Sun.Star covers Sinulog 2011 live!
The message said that Esmedalla’s regional director Catalino E. Chan III was in trouble in Madrid, Spain, reportedly robbed at gunpoint.
Same as other accounts linked to Chan, Esmedalla received a message from his regional director saying he needed urgent help to get a ticket for a flight back to the Philippines. The spam letter reads:
“I’m sorry for this odd request because it might get to you too urgent. Sorry I didn’t inform you about my trip in Spain for a program. I’m presently in Madrid and am having some difficulties here. I was robbed. Worst part is that my wallet, cash, credit cards and my cell phone was stolen at GUN POINT. It’s such a crazy experience for me. I want you to assist me with a loan of 2000Euros to sort-out my hotel bills and get myself another flight ticket back home.”
Butro claimed: “The authorities (in Madrid) are not being 100% supportive. I will appreciate whatever you can afford to assist me with. I’ll refund the money back to you as soon as I return. Let me know if you can be of any help. I don’t have a phone where I can be reached. Please let me know immediately. Thanks.”
Said hackers also tried to swindle Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro but failed when reporters verified that Chan was not in Madrid but was actually in Malaysia having good experiences while on a tourism program trip.
However, to get some identity, this paper responded positively to the message and promised to send the amount of P10,000, to which the hackers replied: “Thanks for your concern towards my situation. Kindly send the money to me Using Western Union Money Transfer. I will be able to get the money in minutes after you transfer fund with ease. Here is the information you need:
Receivers Name: Catalino Chan
Receivers Address: C/o DOMINGO MALAGON NO3 28980 PARLA MADRID, SPAIN.”
Esmedalla said the hacking incident prompted them to change the regional office’s Yahoo! account to dotr10_nm@yahoo.com.
“The public must be warned what these criminals are doing. We will report the incident to concerned government agencies,” he said, cautioning the public not to entertain bogus transactions such as this on the Internet. (LSM)
Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on January 15, 2011.
Article source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/tourism-agency-warns-internet-hacker
Category: Government Security Watch