Hackers Steal Abbot's Identity in Cash Scam
HE gave up his worldly possessions more than 50 years ago to live quietly as a monk in a Lothian monastery.
But retired abbot Dom Donald McGlynn has become one of the most unlikely victims of identity fraud after being targeted by international criminals. Hackers stole the e-mail address belonging to the 74-year-old before sending messages to the near-1000 people in his address book. They also took over his blog on the abbey website.
The fraudsters sent out a desperate plea in his name claiming that he was in the Canadian city of Quebec and had been robbed.
The hoax e-mail asked for dollars 2800 to be wired to a bank account in Canada as a "favour" and pledging to refund the money. The Sancta Maria Abbey at Nunraw, near Haddington in East Lothian, was hit with dozens of calls from worried people who received the e-mail to check on Dom Donald's welfare.
