Northwest Indiana Officials Targeted By International E-Mail Scam

Three prominent northwest Indiana elected officials are the victims of an international e-mail hacking scheme that has left them without the use of their e-mail accounts. According to the Northwest Indiana Times, Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott,  and state representatives Shelli VanDenburgh, D-Crown Point and Linda Lawson (D-Hammond) had their e-mail accounts hijacked by computer hackers who then sent out thousands of e-mails to their contacts claiming they had been stranded or were being held for ransom in the Philippines and asking them to send money. It appears the hackers are based in Nigeria. The three received e-mails they thought were from Yahoo asking them to click on a link to upgrade their services. By doing so, their e-mail accounts were compromised.