It was stated in the e-mail that Shell had been in Wales and robbed of all her money. She was penniless, but she had her passport. Thereafter, the e-mail urged for transferring some money so that she could purchase an air ticket to return home.

The first e-mail Davis got didn't specify the amount of money. As Davis replied to the e-mail asking for the exact amount she required and the method in which it could be sent, he received another e-mail telling him to deposit $15,000 into a Western Union account. Had Davis followed the instructions and deposited the sum, anyone could've withdrawn it with the knowledge of the account details.

With the e-mails coming in, Davis started to feel suspicious that they could be a fraud. The Commissioner rang up Shell at her workplace, who confirmed his doubt that she didn't at all leave her country and hadn't e-mailed.

Later, investigating officials found that someone hacked into Shell's e-mail account and installed a PC worm on her system.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) outlines that reports keep coming to them about individuals' social-networking or e-mail accounts getting hacked.

The Center suggests everyone that in case an e-mail of the current type comes into their inbox and they aren't certain if it is a fraud, then first they should determine the veracity of the information prior to wiring any money.

In case any person has been victimized with this kind of fraudulent message, then IC3 recommends him to inform the center about it on www.IC3.gov. It (IC3) will then refer the case to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Besides, such complaint details are utilized for understanding newly rising patterns and trends.

Finally, IC3 of FBI estimates that with the increasing problem of cyber crimes, Americans lost over one-half billion dollars due to online fraud in 2009 against $264 Million in 2008.