I was in Nigeria, says this thief of my e-mail password

Today, January 25, I lost my e-mail account without really trying.

Early in the morning, Ellen Tordesillas, a friend who writes opinion pieces in Malaya and Abante newspapers, called to ask if I am in Nigeria.

Surprised, I told her no, I am in Manila, and that I was preparing breakfast. Then I asked her why.

She said I sent her an e-mail frantically requesting for help; in that e-mail, I allegedly said I was in dire need of US$680 plus plus for my expenses as I was said to have lost my passport and money in a cab and that I had been stranded in some decrepit hotel in Lagos. I was allegedly in Nigeria on the way to some civil society conference in Ghana.

I laughed out loud, and said that if ever I would travel at this time of the year, it would not be to Nigeria, but to South Carolina to observe the presidential primaries.

Be serious, Ellen said, for I might not be the only one who received your e-mail call for help. That my friends to whom I might have sent the email might really send me money through Western Union (Ellen said "my email" has instructions to send the money through Western Union!).

True enough, my next caller was another friend who asked where he can send the money. He also received the email Ellen T. received. Then another call from Jun de Vera, then another call from Jing L. All were worried and were asking how I am.

I said I am alright. That I don't need dollars (I need pesos), but I am not one to molest my friends through email. May delicadeza naman ako, no! What I'd do, I told these friends, if ever I need money, I will send a collector from the BIR. Or travel with them to China ala Abalos and then and there demand that I be paid commission for an overpriced project. Ha ha ha.

It was when another friend called up telling me that he is at Western Union to send me US$133 that I sensed something has gone awfully terribly wrong; that some recipients of that fictitious e-mail are believing the email that I am in dire straits.

Oh, no, I told myself. What if the nasty, wayward email (a scam actually) was received by the wife and she actually sends me US$680? I haven't seen her for a day and she might suspect I have a girlfriend. Lagot ako.

So what I did, after realizing how serious this scam was, was to run to the nearest Internet cafe to read my e-mail for the day. When I got there, I could no longer open my mail.

What happened? I don't know. Somebody must have stolen my password and used my Yahoo account to solicit money, just what Ellen T. and the rest who received the email have said.

Then, I remember that a friend of mine, OWWA Director Vivian Tornea, was victimized in the same manner last year. It was actually I who called her attention about it, asking if she was in Spain where "her SOS email" said she was stranded and hospitalized and that because she had no money, she summoned the courage to ask help from friends.

Now, I have lost my old masursor@yahoo.com account. Goodbye, masursor@yahoo.com. Whoever stole you, I am sure of it now, will have pink urine and have rubber bands in his/her waste every morning. Akala nyo, hindi kayo tatalban ng kulam ng Taga Masursor? Wait until you see it.

My new email is balinsasadaw@yahoo.com. From hereon, email me in this address. balinsasadaw@yahoo.com will not be stolen, I hope. I have entrusted my password for this account to the Bangko Sentral.

With this, may I request for your help by disseminating my new e-mail address to friends. Why this request? Bacause my yahoo directory also got pirated. So be warned. Any email from hereon emanating from masursor@yahoo.com is not mine. It comes from a phantom robber who must be suffering from stomach cramps as I write this.

Postscript: Three days after I was able to e-mail again using my new e-mail address, I still received calls asking if indeed I am in Nigeria. I had to repeat my story.

This sorry episode in my "online life" keeps me wondering how in the world the thief of my e-mail account did it. If you have some explanation, I would welcome it. Again, please send it to balinsasadaw@yahoo.com, not to masursor@yahoo.com.