China tour guide scam

[ez64]

Have been planning my trip for a while and had almost decided on
nature_lunwang@hotmail.com

after a previous recommendation from a forum member here, they seemed credible and with decent communication then I received this in my junk mail a couple days ago.




I am in hurry writing you this message and i hope you get it on time, Sorry for the surprise trip to London for a Conference i made recently. It has been a very sad and bad moment for me today, the present condition that i found myself is very hard for me to explain. I am really stranded here because I was attacked and robbed on the way to my hotel, all cash, document's and cell phone which i have all my contacts were stolen off me. Presently I have limited access to internet, I will like you to assist me urgently with a soft loan of £1,650 to sort-out my hotel bills and to get myself back home. I have spoken to the embassy here but they are not responding to the matter effectively, I will appreciate whatever you can afford to assist me with, I'll Refund the money back to you as soon as I get home without any delay. Write me back so that you can help me send the money through either Western Union money transfer or Money Gram money transfer.

Best Regards



Wang Lun



Typical scam email and straight from the tour guide operators address exactly the same domain as well.

If anyone was thinking about using these lot steer very well clear.

Not sure this is the right section just looked the most appropriate.

[TurboCharger]

Originally Posted by Bridana

100% of all the tour guide in CHINA are CON.

I'm not already predjudiced by my failed attemps to get into china with my bike without paying US$1000 per day so would my affirmation of this comment seem biased to anyone?

[joova]

No experience with your guides in China, but that actually looks more like a typical hacked email account message. Have seen those before from friends' accounts which got hacked and someone started emailing the contact list with distress stories about being stuck in a foreign country and asking for money.

[gren_t]

Hi there,dont be too quick to put the blame on the company.
they may have had their mail list stolen via a piece of malicious software as opposed to them supplying your details for reward.

It may also be the case that you have been a victim of malicious software that has intecepted your emails or your address book, i would not be surprised if others on your Email address book have received similar Emails or a rise in spam for viagra.

Of course it could also be true that your email address was obtained from one of your friends address books.

the rule is to keep your virus and malware definitions up to date.

I am seeing this email frequently at the moment as i work in IT

regards

Gren

[ez64]

Originally Posted by gren_t

Hi there,dont be too quick to put the blame on the company.
they may have had their mail list stolen via a piece of malicious software as opposed to them supplying your details for reward.

It may also be the case that you have been a victim of malicious software that has intecepted your emails or your address book, i would not be surprised if others on your Email address book have received similar Emails or a rise in spam for viagra.

Of course it could also be true that your email address was obtained from one of your friends address books.

the rule is to keep your virus and malware definitions up to date.

I am seeing this email frequently at the moment as i work in IT

regards

Gren

The mail was sent from his exact domain and user, me receiving mail from another person like that does not infer I have a infected PC at all let alone the fact its a browser based system with an encrypted login.

It could of been a hacked mail account but I very much doubt it, further to this he never contacted me back after I questioned about it.

[08Samuel]

Hi,

does anyone have any news about this? I have just seen this post after conacting Wang Lun, and receiving a detailed quote of the price for the 5 days trip Im planning. I am reluctant to reply to him after what Ive seen there, but at the same time the quote is interesting and the guy seemed honest... Has any of you contacted him after this scam mail?

[Redboots]

Originally Posted by 08Samuel

I have just seen this post after conacting Wang Lun, and receiving a detailed quote of the price for the 5 days trip Im planning.

I would ask one of the tour companies known to be legit, like Newlands Travel, if they know if he is a REGISTERED guide. If they reply in the negative, you know what to do.

Cheers,
John

[TurboCharger]

Originally Posted by 08Samuel

Hi,

does anyone have any news about this? I have just seen this post after conacting Wang Lun, and receiving a detailed quote of the price for the 5 days trip Im planning. I am reluctant to reply to him after what Ive seen there, but at the same time the quote is interesting and the guy seemed honest... Has any of you contacted him after this scam mail?

You could also ask them for contacts who have travelled in China with them to use the contacts as references.

I've learnt that if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

[PocketHead]

Originally Posted by ez64

Have been planning my trip for a while and had almost decided on
nature_lunwang@hotmail.com



I am in hurry writing you this message and i hope you get it on time, Sorry for the surprise trip to London for a Conference i made recently. It has been a very sad and bad moment for me today, the present condition that i found myself is very hard for me to explain. I am really stranded here because I was attacked and robbed on the way to my hotel, all cash, document's and cell phone which i have all my contacts were stolen off me. Presently I have limited access to internet, I will like you to assist me urgently with a soft loan of £1,650 to sort-out my hotel bills and to get myself back home. I have spoken to the embassy here but they are not responding to the matter effectively, I will appreciate whatever you can afford to assist me with, I'll Refund the money back to you as soon as I get home without any delay. Write me back so that you can help me send the money through either Western Union money transfer or Money Gram money transfer.

Best Regards



Wang Lun

This is what happens when you're email or facebook account is hacked, it's not the agency sending it.

[gixxer.rob]

Originally Posted by PocketHead

This is what happens when you're email or facebook account is hacked, it's not the agency sending it.

As others have said despite being from the email address you have been corresponding on it does not mean the company is dodgy. Any number of things could have happened.

I also work in IT and see these sorts of email scams regularly.

[beddhist]

The most reliable way to make this sort of thing happen is to post the email address in clear text, like in the first post here.

[Cassie2]

Hello,
My name is Anne. I can VOUCH for the company as my family along with another (there were 2 x Land Rover vehicles in total) used this agency to transit through China over a period of 30 days during April last year. I know another family who transited a year prior to that and yet another prior to this who can also VOUCH if needed (no problem at all).

The company email address you have was indeed subject to an email scam as we and other fellow travelers were on Lunwang's hacked email address list and contacted. We saw immediately it was a scam, contacted Lunwang and the issue was dealt with appropriately. PLEASE DO NOT BE PUT OFF. The company offer a good, hard to beat deal (compared to those others who charge thousands of Euros). Lunwang does not have a website which may seem strange to some but is a legit company, well placed for your China needs.

If you need further assistance re: Lunwang's suitability as your chosen guide company, don't hesitate to give us a shout.

[Pumbaa]

My friend received this exact samescam email from some of his friends who wasn't on holiday or anything like that when the email got sent. It's a scam email.

Don't know anything about the tour agency though...sorry

[everywherevirtually]

Originally Posted by ez64

The mail was sent from his exact domain and user, me receiving mail from another person like that does not infer I have a infected PC at all let alone the fact its a browser based system with an encrypted login.

It could of been a hacked mail account but I very much doubt it, further to this he never contacted me back after I questioned about it.

The domain you mention is Hotmail. One of the least secure and easily hackable addresses. It is relatively easy to jack an email domain and pretend to be that person. I wouldn't doubt that the account was hacked. In actual fact that is a very likely scenario. If he didn't contact you it could very well be that Hotmail noticed unusual activity on his account and temporarily froze it.

I've been in IT for 20 years and have seen this many many times before.

[PocketHead]

If all they need is his Hotmail password, that could be as easy as him using a PC at an internet cafe or installing a 3rd party program with a keylogger installed (most likely it was this).