Email & text scams

My next door neighbour lost her husband two weeks ago.  We are good friends.  I speak with her every day, usually more than once.  She's a lovely lady.  This morning, I got this email from her:

Hello

I'm unable to speak over the phone due to a serious throat pain caused by laryngitis. Hope this finds you well. Please let me know when you get this I'd like to ask you for a favor

Kind regards

It came from her email, but I responded as it didn't look like her verbiage and I thought it was a fraud.  I emailed, "can I come over",  and got this back:

Thanks for responding I have been trying to purchase my medication online but it requires payment with apple gift card I tried getting the cards here but the stores are out of stock please I need you to help me purchase a gift card and send it to me I will personally pay you back please get back to me if you can handle this so I can tell you the amount 

(no periods at the end of sentences and a running text and apple gift card to buy meds???)

First of all, my neighbour would never send an email to me, she texts, or calls.  She was fine yesterday.  I immediately phoned her about the email but I wasn't the first to call.  She had already put a message on Facebook.   Then another neighbour came to the door and he'd been conversing with this scammer.  He believed it!  

I am Block Watch Captain of our strata and have everyone in our strata's email so I sent out a quick Scam Alert!   The neighbour who the email was sent to is my Block Watch Co-Captain so I'm seeing a little humour in this.  I always try to find a little humour in everything.

It's not funny and I hope no one falls for it.  She's been having a difficult time and this is the last thing she needs.  Our strata is like a family and everyone is so kind and has been so lovely to her.   She came over yesterday and we shared some wine.  She's had trouble with her cable box.  She got an email from Shaw asking how their service was.  As her husband was in hospice, she answered, "had to cancel my appointment, etc.".  The email from Shaw was not from Shaw and that's how the scammer got into her email!  

I will now stop answering those "how did we do" emails!

Always beware if someone asks you to get apple gift cards.  

Last Friday, I received a text from an unknown number:

Mom I broke my phone. Message me on whatsapp to this number +1 438-225-0239 please.

I forwarded it to Cheryl and was pretty sure she didn't break her phone.   I was right, another scammer.  Who in North America puts a +1 before the area code?

That was my last four days.  Hope yours were a little less eventful!