A MUSIC promoter stung by an elaborate email scam is keen to let people know he is NOT stranded in Dubai.

For the past 26 years Philip Guy Davis, from Walton Street, Oxford, has helped bring blues and R&B artists from across the world to Oxford.

But last week ‘Silver Phil’, as he is affectionately known, almost lost his hard-earned reputation as Oxford’s King of the Blues when his Yahoo email address book was hijacked – and an email begging for money was sent to about 800 of his industry contacts.

The email supposedly from Mr Guy Davis was sent to artists across the world, including soul star Chaka Khan, claiming the promoter was in Dubai and needed help to pay a £628 hotel bill after losing his bag.

Mr Guy Davis, who has been running Oxford’s Famous Monday Blues night at the Bullingdon, in Cowley Road for about 10 years, said the email had convinced many people – with one friend in Austin, Texas, withdrawing $1,000 to bail him out.

Fortunately, no money changed hands.

Mr Guy Davis, who was a close friend of the late Brian Jones, of the Rolling Stones, said: “The first I knew about it was when I answered the phone at a time when I do not usually answer the phone; I don’t do mornings, you see.

“It was my sound engineer who asked me what was going on and why I was telling people I was in Dubai.

“Then several other people called to ask me what was going on.”

Yahoo said it sounded as if he had been the victim of a ‘phishing’ attack, where fraudsters pose as large companies to access personal information.

A spokesman added: “They pose as companies such as banks and retailers and ask for personal information like bank details, or email passwords.

“I would like to reiterate this is something Yahoo would never do.

“We will never contact someone to ask them for their email address or personal information.”

Mr Guy Davis said that since discovering the scam last week, he had been touched by the number of people who had tried to help by getting money to him.

He said: “Many people had contacted the person who was claiming to be me and asked which hotel it was and how they could get money to me.

“It is lucky that no cash changed hands. It is touching that people cared enough to ask though.

“The whole thing is very worrying. I am not the kind of person who gets caught out by scam emails.

“I know how to use the computer and it is clean from viruses.

“What is concerning me now is that I’m still not getting emails, and I’ve got hundreds of people waiting to hear back from me about the shows I’m putting on.

“I’m worried this could have seriously compromised my position.

”You could say that I’m hacked off by the hackers.”