The Tribune

A HACKER is now busy on the Internet trying to get your confidential information — even bank accounts — through your e-mail. And so, readers, if you receive a message headed – IMPORTANT DOCUMENT!!! – delete it immediately. Don’t let your curiosity lead you to opening it to find out what it is about, because you too will be caught in the information net.

At 10:55am yesterday, Tribune publisher Eileen Carron received an email from Sir William Allen with the subject matter listed as: IMPORTANT DOCUMENT!!!

The message read:

Hello,

Please kindly view the document I have uploaded for you using Google docs.

VIEW HERE just sign in with your email to view the document its very important.

Regards.

Knowing that Sir William would never send such an e-mail, Mrs Carron telephoned him.

Not only did he not send the e-mail, but he had his own story to tell.

A few days ago, he said, he received the identical message as that received by Mrs Carron from former prime minister Hubert Ingraham, who was in Abaco.

Being suspicious, he telephoned Mr Ingraham, who knew nothing about such an e-mail. He had not sent it to Sir William. Treating it as a hoax, Sir William then ignored it.

However, at 12:36pm Monday, he received an e-mail from his bank saying that the bank was just checking to confirm that he had sent them an e-mail requesting that he be given by return e-mail the balance on his bank account.

They informed him that if in fact he had made that request, they would respond by text, not by e-mail.

Sir William quickly replied that he had never made such a request. To which the bank advised him that his e-mail account had been hacked and that he should immediately change his password. The IP officer was called in and in doing his investigation discovered that someone was fiddling with the Allen name —Sir Wallace Allen, Sir W--- Allen — until they eventually hit on Sir William Allen. They were then in business — or so they thought.

All day yesterday, Sir William said, he received calls from friends to find out if he had sent them an important document that he wanted them to open.

And so anyone who receives such a message, immediately delete it from your screen. Someone is surfing the web and trying to get into your business.