‘Help me’ message sent to councillor’s email contacts

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

A Galway city councillor has said that no sensitive information was accessed or stolen after his private email account was hacked this week.

However, Fianna Fáil Councillor Peter Keane – who is also a practising solicitor – said he is “very concerned” that his Gmail account was hacked despite him using what was considered a ‘strong’ password.

Hundreds of people on Cllr Keane’s mailing list received a scam email on Wednesday morning claiming he was stranded in Scotland without access to money.

He said he believes his Apple iPhone may also have been compromised because the email account is synchronised with the phone.

By 10am on Wednesday morning, Cllr Keane has received numerous calls from friends and colleagues warning him his account had been compromised, while several were quite concerned.

The email read: “Apologies for having to reach out to you like this, I made a trip earlier this week to Scotland and had my bag stolen from me with my passport, mobile phone, credit cards and personal effects therein.

“The embassy is ready to assist me by letting me fly without my passport but I will have to pay for my ticket and settle the hotel bills where i am currently having my accommodation.

“Unfortunately for me, I can not access the funds without my credit card, I've already contacted my bank, but they need more days to get a new one. I was thinking of asking you to lend me some funds so that i can facilitate my return which i will pay back as soon as i return home.

"I can forward details on how to get the fund to me if you can help as i need to be on the next available flight,” it read, as well as supplying a ‘hotel’ phone number.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.