REYKJAVIK, Iceland — "Hi, I hope you are not busy?"
The treasurer of the Icelandic soccer club Afturelding got the email from his manager soon before banks were about to close. The words “Sent from my iPhone” were at the bottom, suggesting urgency, with the manager seeking a quick payment.
It was a scam, perpetrated from someone posing as the club manager - and part of a sudden rush of online fraud that is catching Icelanders unprepared.
Online apps have now become good at translating the country’s complex language. And the government has lifted limits on bank transfers out of the country. The combination over the past two years has attracted scammers to target a population that had not developed the same instincts of caution about online fraud as other wealthy countries.
Egill Bjarnason, The Associated Press
