Gap Year News Articles

Parents Warn of Gap Year Ransom Scam

26th Aug 2010

The importance of keeping in regular contact when on your Gap Year was highlighted earlier this week when parents of Josh Hogg were conned into believing that their son was in a Columbian jail. They were contacted via email to say that Josh had been arrested and needed $350 to be released, but minutes before they were due to transfer the funds, Josh contacted them to say he was fine, and his Facebook and email accounts had been hacked.

Josh's father, Gavin, is warning other parents to be wary of falling for similar scams, and suggests that they agree code words or questions to use to verify an emergency.

With so many ways of staying in touch these days, including Facebook, blogs, online chat and Skype, contacting friends and family back home has never been easier. The current smart phones, such as the iPhone, even allow you also to use these services from the palm of your hand (as long as you have reception), so now there are no excuses for not staying in touch.