Best Hoax Award

This morning I got a frantic email from a Palestinian friend of mine - using her regular email address - her email said she is stuck in the UK, was robbed in her hotel, they took her computer, cellphone, money and she needs people to wire money to her immediately so she can get back home. The email was written pretty much the way she speaks in broken English. I "thought" it was legit. I forwarded this to a friend in London and asked the frantic friend of mine to contact a certain mosque, person, embassy, etc. I get a note back - "I'm so embarrassed. Please don't tell anyone about this. Please wire $1800 to (a certain) address in London, and I'll pay you back as soon as I get home."

Well, they almost had me. I called up this woman to see if in fact she really is in London. She answered. She knows about the email and someone apparently stole her email address and contacted everyone in her address book. She can't get into her email to alert her contacts. They also apparently studied her style of writing because the emails did sound quite like the way she speaks English. But when they said to "keep it quiet" after sending an SOS to everyone she knows....well.... I smelled some rotten fish 'n chips in Jolly Ol England. I do hope the police are onto them. I've alerted my London friend that this is a hoax and a pretty damn not-too-jolly good one at that. They get the most original hoax award but I certainly hope the fuzz get onto them before her distraught friends start wiring her money.