Albany city commissioner victim of phone, email hacks

ALBANY — Internet scams have come a long way since the early days of crude appeals, with scammers using inventive ways of enticing victims to send money, with a plea from an acquaintance needing money being a popular appeal.

Those can take the form of a friend who is supposedly writing from a foreign country who got in trouble and needs bail money or even a call from a person claiming to be a grandson or other relative desperately in need of funds.

For Albany Commissioner B.J. Fletcher, a recent hack of her personal email account led to a scam in which the hackers set up an account and asked for donations. The hackers also gained access to her cell phone.

The Ward III commissioner and owner of B.J.’s Country Buffet assured her friends and constituents that she is not destitute and any emails or texts seeking cash should be ignored.

“Thirty people called (and) said this doesn’t sound like you, but if you need it they would send it,” she said. “If any of my friends and constituents get a call asking for money, it wasn’t me.”

In fact, some actually had sent funds to the bogus Amazon.com account set up by the hackers to collect loot.

“One elderly lady called and asked: ‘Did you get your money?,’” she said. “If you’re one of the ones who sent it, please call your bank or credit card company to cancel it. It was nice to know that people thought enough of me, but please stop it. Please don’t respond to it.”

Fletcher was working Friday with her phone company and email provider to fix the problem.

“My email is still down,” she said. “I want everyone to know that I didn’t ask any of my friends or family for money. I want them to know it’s not me.”

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