hi dee,

i'm the person k3n spoke about. the email that people got from "me" said that i was in london, needed money desperately and asked for a specific amount, some stupid amount like $574.47, and never said where to send it. the email went out to everyone in my address book. they had even gotten into my profile and changed my password and user name, so i couldn't make any changes to keep them out. they changed my age and all other info. it was a mess. when i FINALLY contact hotmail. who doesn't seem to have a phone #, (i hope that's not who you have) at first they didn't want to help me, because hotmail is free and doesn't come with tech support. only their paid service, msn, does. after a lot of back and forth, they tried to help, but couldn't get in, they said, because it was already a mess. by that time, i had opened a new account elsewhere and had moved my entire address book over. i told hotmail to close the old one, but they never did. i know it's still open after at least 6 months. i have learned that they stay open forever. who knows what info is in there? i'll never use it or look in there again.

i know it's a real bother, but i suggest that you leave that mail box alone and don't use it anymore. open a new one, especially if the old one was free. i have a paid address with my server and never had a problem with them. they give tech support because it's paid for. the new (my hobby one) i just opened is also free, and i know i'm taking a chance, but it's gmail, and i've been told by people who know, that google is the most difficult to hack.

btw, after i FINALLY got the whole thing taken care of, there was an article in the new york times about this very same scam, england and everything, right down to the exact message. apparently it was all over the country and was being searched out. i guess the starting location was never found.

EDIT: when i moved over the address book, i cancelled out the one in hotmail.
do not sign out of the one giving you trouble. if you don't have the password, you won't be able to get back in.

I have done that with phone numbers but never thought about doing it with suspicious email. Good idea!

Thanks everyone. I have created a new Gmail account...will put in the bogus e-mail contact as suggested. I'm in the process of changing over the important stuff - like Qwest has my e-mail address, need to change it.

That's a good idea about doing a google search for the subject line when questioning an e-mail!! Hadn't thought of it.

It's frustrating -- and yes, it was HOTMAIL. BUT, I've discovered I LOVE Gmail!!! So Hotmail/MSN has lost a customer.