Kerala   

The Nigerian connection

A retired university professor in the city recently became the victim of pranksters who hacked into his e-mail ID. Early this week, friends and relatives of former geology professor K.P. Thrivikramji received an e-mail message from his ID saying he was stranded in Nigeria where he had gone to attend a programme on empowering youth.

The message went on to say that he was unable to pay the hotel bill of $1550 because his money, passport, and other valuable documents were missing. Desperately pleading for help, it called for acknowledgement of the message so that he could forward the details needed to send money through a money transfer network.

Predictably, the professor’s house here was flooded with frantic calls from his well-wishers and relatives . The first call was from his son in England. It was only when callers recognised his voice at the other end of the line that they realised the whole thing was a hoax.

The professor meanwhile has changed his e-mail ID.

T. Nandakumar

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