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Scams and Frauds

Read about bank and identity frauds click here

It is all to easy to fall prey to the con artist who extracts from you hard earned cash and fails to deliver, support or guarantee  goods or services as promised, or at all.

With the ease of access via the internet it is only to easy to invest in business projects or offers from abroad and thus loose the protection of UK law, indeed tracing perpetrators become impossible and often losses may have to be written off to experience.

The simple advice is DO NOTHING until you are sure that any investment in goods or services you make has been carefully thought out and researched.

A $25 buy that fails to deliver is just as much a fraud and scam as one that attracts "investments" of thousands, and is much easier to write off due to experience.

Why a fraud attracts people?

A scam or fraud attracts as it offers, or seems to offer a desirable benefit in the eyes of the reader, which they learn to believe they cannot get anywhere else.

  •  An investment that offers high than average even huge "returns" (greed)

  •  Rapid growth and returns or quick "profits (no one likes to wait for anything, let's have it NOW)

  •  Low cost investment (does ?2,000 really sound a better waste of money than ?5,000?)

  •  Get in first (people like to be popular and leaders and have something no one else has, or have it first)

  •  Easy life (all you do is sit back and money rolls in!!! (for them but not you)

  •  Prestige (desire to have a big house, flash car, retire early, and be the envy of friends)

How do you spot a fraud or scam?

  •  If it sounds too good to be true it probably is!

  •  If it has huge amount of text and "waffle" is it likely to be out to convert you, the same goes for glib sales talk. Stop at the beginning, the more you read, or the longer you listen the greater the chance of falling into the trap.

  •  You see the same offer over and over again offered by different people (duplicated web sites where the investor is promoting the fraud unknowingly, and making the real culprit harder to trace.

  •  It asks for cash (untraceable and tax free!!!)

  •  It asks for money to be sent to a foreign bank (creating language and legal issues)

  •  It asks for personal details (bank acc details, home address, telephone numbers, employment details etc) be cautious of all requests and preserve disclosure to much later on discussions when you are 100% sure the firm or person is bona-fide (genuine)

  •  They sell you on the idea you can ONLY get this product or service via them, which may be true, or in many cases you can buy the same thing 10 times better for 10 times less. Paying over the odds for poor quality is fraud as it usually lies or misleads you to get your business.

  •  Someone telephones you and persists with you to get you to invest NOW, giving reasons why you need to join/buy/invest NOW (knowing that tomorrow you will/may see sense and say NO)

  •  It makes claims and offers " free extras" or bonuses to get you signed up. Once they get your money (their only interest) all these offers mean nothing.

  •  It offers guarantees and money back which never happen, you find emails, letters and faxes are bounced back or are ignored.

  •  It never puts things in writing.

  •  You can never reach people they always call you, you never know where from (1471 <last number called on most phone systems> shows a nil contact number)

  •  BE 100% SURE - 1% doubt means DOUBT and doubt spells trouble ahead, and potential financial loss. "Risk not thy hard earned dosh".

Some common misconceptions about scams and frauds

  • If it's advertised on the Internet especially by top search engines it must be good or safe - NO - they report what is there and cannot police or warranty honesty, all search engines and directories carry disclaimers about users being ripped off by fraudulent operators.

  • My bank will make good my loss - NO - they implement a decision of yours to pay money and usually have no responsibility for that action.

  • I can claim it on insurance - you must be joking.

  • I saw an advertisement in a national newspaper it must be good. NO - a single advertisement placed in good faith may be enough to carry out a single lucrative fraud on hundreds or even thousands of unsuspecting readers. Again the newspaper (or magazine) will carry a disclaimer freeing them from blame, and avoid you claiming against them for your loss due to a scam.

And finally, the next time you feel tempted to spend money double check, is this a scam, am I being a real fool and being taken for another mug? You may feel a fool for asking questions, better that than being an idiot!!

Our own Action Desk service shows you an examples of how easy it is for a consumer to throw big money into a scam operation, and have little practical rights of recovery. More disturbing is the fact that many internet scams CONTINUE to be promoted years after they were discovered - here are some popular examples

"boiler room scams" – overseas operations using high-pressure selling techniques to persuade UK investors to buy almost worthless shares. Victims who buy these shares are unlikely to see their money again because their shares will have been overpriced and nearly impossible to sell. Boiler rooms are not authorised by the FSA and are based abroad outside their reach, so victims are not protected by the financial services compensation and complaints schemes.

Read what one of concerned members writes about such scams here...

The FSA maintains a register of investment offers which are suspect see http://www.fsa.gov.uk

Holidaymakers are being warned against web sites charging unnecessary fees for the issue of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which replaced the E111 form in January 2006

The credit card sized pass provides Britons to free or discounted medical treatment in state-run hospitals in any EU country.

You can actually obtain a card free of charge from the Department of Health's web site, by phone op using an application back from any Post office - usually within 2 weeks

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