Israeli bid-niss

[NancyGoodenough]

I got this email, supposedly from Tom and Sage Holland:

I am sorry i didn't inform you about my traveling to United Kingdom (UK) for a program. It has been a very sad and bad moment for me, the present condition that i found myself is very hard for me to explain.

I am really stranded in United Kingdom, because I forgot my little bag in the Taxi where my money, passport,documents and other valuable things were kept on my way to the Hotel am staying, I am facing a hard time here because i have no money on me. I am now owning a hotel bill of $ 1000 and they want me to pay the bill soon else they will have to seize my bag and hand me over to the Hotel Management., I need this help from you urgently to help me back home, I need you to help me with the hotel bill and i will also need $1500 to feed and help myself back home so please can you help me with a sum of $2500 to sort out my problems here? I need this help so much and on time because i am in a terrible and tight situation here, I don't even have money to feed myself for a day which means i had been starving so please understand how urgent i need your help.

I will appreciate what so ever you can afford to send me for now and I promise to pay back your money as soon as i return home so please let me know on time so that i can forward you the details you need to transfer the money through Western Union money transfer.I will also appreciate you treat this matter as confidential as you can.

Sage and Tom Holland

Tom and Sage are two of the original beadmakers of this time. They may or may not know their names are being used by scammers. I have heard of others being scammed in similar stories. A local B&B innkeeper was similarly scammed when she got a call saying another innkeeper in our small town was in a similar situation and she sent $1k. Words to the wise.

[Marty]

My dad and step-mom were in Cuba for a conference (she's a research pathologist) and they ran into some currency hassles, no credit cards accepted being one of them. I got a phone call from a young woman who asked me to wire $800 to them blah blah. I asked why they weren't calling and there was a story about how they were busy doing this or that and they'd asked her to call. Sorry,I said, I need to speak to them. And hung up the phone.
Aged Relative calls back shortly, pissed at me for not dealing with the young person! I know he's getting on, but....
And the story was legit and they did get their dough, but not before I had some chuckles about them not bailing me out of some jams back in the day!

Nancy- have you talked to Tom & Sage yet?
Personally, I think a story like that is only worth $5 and they'd have to collect it in person.