Local Green Party candidate Peter Ellis received a lesson in Internet safety recently after his e-mail account was hacked and used as part of an online fraud.
Someone hacked into Ellis’ Hotmail account and used it to send out a request for money under the bogus premise that it was needed for an emergency medical procedure.
The writer, posing as Ellis, said he “was on a trip to Ontario to visit my ill daughter.” In the e-mail, the writer indicated the daughter needed an emergency hysterectomy, which would costs thousands of British pounds. The e-mail included a request for a loan of $1,500 pounds.
Those familiar with Ellis would have known quickly that this was a sham, he said. Ellis’ daughter is eight and lives at home.
Read more in the Alliston Herald.