Reports of frauds, deceptions and scams keep appearing, weekly even daily, on
major news channels and newspapers. Some of these frauds seem just too big and remote to be of immediate, direct relevance to our daily lives. But, we will eventually pay for the consequences and damages, in taxes, costs of goods and services, regulations, copy-cats etc.

I hope we can collect, in one thread, frauds and scams, reported or heard. We must become more aware and more educated to guard against frauds and scams
which impact upon the health, well being, and wealth of ourselves and our families.

Want to report the suspicious URL of a site you think is a 'phishing site"?

Want to get it blocked?

Here's a tool:-

The Netcraft Toolbar

The Toolbar is compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer, and a FireFox version is underway.

This site also has a facility to help you practice blocking an attack by:

1. Requesting a sample of a fictional phishing attack mail.
2. Visiting the URL contained in the mail that you receive.
3. Click on the Netcraft logo in the toolbar.
4. Select "Report a Phishing Site" in the menu that appears.
5. URLs from fictional phishing attack mails will be blocked automatically.
6. You can test that the URL has been blocked by re-visiting it after reporting.

"Public warned of fake aid appeals"

"People donating to the UK's tsunami relief fund have been warned by police to remain vigilant to bogus collectors trying to cash in on the disaster.

Police say fraudsters are trying to find out people's financial details by sending out e-mails asking for money.

False websites purporting to be linked to aid organisations are also spreading computer viruses, the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) warned.

NCIS said people should not be put off donating, but should be vigilant.

More than 150,000 people have been killed by the Boxing Day tsunami in South East Asia, with the UN warning the death toll could soar as the fate of many thousands remains unknown.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Friday that about 440 Britons were either dead or missing in the disaster.

Press reports on Saturday suggested the final toll of Britons could be closer to 2,000.

Websites investigated

The Disasters Emergency Committee, which has received more than 100m in donations from the British public, said any faxes or e-mails purporting to be from the umbrella group of charities were hoaxes.

Some of the e-mails offer to locate loved ones and ask for money to be deposited in overseas banks.

Oxfam received a bogus e-mail asking for a donation of 1.50 to be paid on a phone number that cost further money.

Scotland Yard said it was investigating a number of websites set up following the Indian Ocean earthquake.

Essex Police said bogus collectors had left envelopes appealing for cash at homes in the county.

Last Sunday, thieves stole a collection box from Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire.

In Berkshire, Reading man Julian Hodgkins, 37, is due to appear before magistrates on 14 January accused of taking money collected for tsunami aid.

Father-of-two Christopher Pierson, 40, of Ruskington, Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty on Monday to sending hoax e-mails to relatives of people missing since the tsunami.

He sent messages to people who had posted appeals on the Sky News website, in which he said their loved ones had been killed.

Unsolicited messages

NCIS warned people not to respond to unsolicited e-mails or text messages, not to open attachments from unknown senders and to donate only to recognised relief organisations.

A spokesman said: "We do not in any way wish to dissuade members of the public from donating money to the registered charity tsunami appeals.

"But we urge them to exercise vigilance in order to prevent and disrupt these and other possible criminal scams."

Hundreds of British Sri Lankans are expected to gather in London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday to pay respects to over 30,000 people who lost their lives when the tsunami hit the island.

The Association of British Travel Agents has said that the majority of holiday resorts hit by the tsunami will be ready to welcome tourists again within weeks.

NCIS can be informed about any suspicious activity at the following email address: tsunamifraud@ncis.x.gsi.gov.uk
"



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4156409.stm

"Madrid: Police have arrested a ganag of 18 men who posed as traffic officers to rob dozens of holidaymakers. The thieves followed them from hotels and popular tourist spots and waited until they were on the motorway before pulling them over ...
the gang would shoud victims fake ID and search the car on the pretence that they were looking for drugs or explosives. They would then distract the trippers and steal cash and valuables."

- Daily Express Thur 27 Jan 2005.


"fake", "pretence", "security" ...

An useful site for mobile users ?


"What is Grumbletext?
It's a UK consumer complaints and action site - Grumbletext also has a special section, SOS Premium Rate, devoted to fighting premium rate scams, including spam and scam texts on your mobile more

Here's more blurb on the thinking behind Grumbletext

What can you use Grumbletext for?

* Record your telephone calls with difficult companies
* Find out how to make a claim in the Small Claims Court and its online cousin, Money Claim Online
* Find out if other people are having the same problems you are and how they are dealing with them - use the 'Search Grumbles' facility at the top of any page to search for a company or a keyword(s) - you can also refine your searches
* Find out all about consumer problems to do with premium rate communications and how to deal with them - go to the SOS Premium Rate section
* Post your comments and complaints in a public forum either online or via SMS text message more

Why would you post on Grumbletext?
2 main reasons:

1) satisfaction - of having a go at an unreachable faceless company in public

2) revenge - by warning others you can actually dent that company's sales - a good example is Safestyle UK - our visitors have cost them thousands by influencing buying decisions
"

http://www.grumbletext.co.uk

"If you are having problems with strange texts or voice calls apprantly offering something for nothing, or you are getting premium rate texts, and don't know what to do, have a quick read of the intro below, but click here for the most complete information about what to do or if you want to find out more about the subject in general.

Are you aware? The universal STOP message

If you are receiving premium rate text messages, typically costing 1.50 per message, then there is now a universal command to stop them. Simply text back to the 4 or 5 digit number with just the word STOP. This is being much more robustly policed now, and if you find it doesn't work, let us know - we have a good relationship with one of the mobile networks and with their help, we can get the service shut down immediately. We have recently achieved this several times.

NB: This is NOT the same thing as spam messages advertising either a premium rate text service or premium rate landline service. These cannot be stopped with a STOP message."

http://www.grumbletext.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=2

You can earn 2500 - 3000$ per month!
Just be our agent and that's all!
We are in the partnership with such payment like (PayPal systems, WebMoney, E-gold, Evocash etc.).

We're a Swiss company. We're looking for people who will help us to establish a new distribution network in AU and UK to sell micro devices.
We need agents to receive payment for our products (wire transfers) and to send the money to us. This way we will save money because of the tax decreasing.
Tax for international money transfer made by entity (company) in Switzerland is 25%. There is no sense for us to work this way, but tax for international money transfer made by a private individual is 6% - That's why we need You!
As soon as you receive the money from us (usually it's up to 5000$ per transaction.), you will leave for your self 6-8% from the each amount of money you will receive.
The rest of the money you send to us using Western Union.
Usually, we're making 7-10 transactions per month.
Everything is absolutely legal, that's why You have to fill a contract!

Feel free to contact our stuffmanager (Anny Rames). We'll send You a contract and other information.

E-mail: jobuk@labian-corp.org.
Phone/fax: 41-1-355-30-79

" UK police foil massive bank theft.

Police in London say they have foiled one of the biggest attempted bank thefts in Britain.

The plan was to steal 220m ($423m) from the London offices of the Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui.

Computer experts are believed to have tried to transfer the money electronically after hacking into the bank's systems.

A man has been arrested by police in Israel after the plot was uncovered by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit.

Unit members worked closely with Israeli police.

The investigation was started last October after it was discovered that computer hackers had gained access to Sumitomo Mitsui bank's computer system in London.

They managed to infiltrate the system with keylogging software that would have enabled them to track every button pressed on computer keyboards.

From that they could learn account numbers, passwords and other sensitive information.

Yeron Bolondi, 32, was seized in Israel after an attempt to transfer 13.9m into an account there.

He has been charged with money laundering and deception, but police say their investigation is continuing. His relationship with the gang who tried to break into the network is unknown.

They have issued a warning for banks and businesses to watch out for cyber criminals.

..."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4356661.stm

"Have hackers recruited your PC?

More than one million computers on the net have been hijacked to attack websites and pump out spam and viruses.

The huge number was revealed by security researchers who have spent months tracking more than 100 networks of remotely-controlled machines.

The largest network of so-called zombie networks spied on by the team was made up of 50,000 hijacked home computers.

Data was gathered using machines that looked innocent but which logged everything hackers did to them.

...

The months of surveillance revealed that the different 'bot nets - which involve a few hundred to tens of thousands of machines - are used for a variety of purposes.

Many are used as relays for spam, to route unwanted adverts to PC users or as launch platforms for viruses.

But the research team found that many are put to very different uses.

During the monitoring period, the team saw 'bot nets used to launch 226 distributed denial-of-service attacks on 99 separate targets. These attacks bombard websites with data in an attempt to overwhelm the target.

Using a 'bot net of machines spread around different networks and nations makes such attacks hard to defend against.

One DDoS attack was used by one firm to knock its competitors offline.
...
"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4354109.stm

Kyak,

I have received that email too.

Presumably it's a variation on the "clear your bank account out remotely" Nigerian scam?

Otherise, interested to know the scam as a guy at work wants to try it, and is not being easily pusuaded not to.

Andy, I would have thought that they are sending money to the victim in a way that is not guaranteed or is fraudulent and then bounces, and receiving money from him by a guaranteed mechanism. Don't know though, why don't you enquire :-)

Here are some more.

Hi there,

Would you like to earn some extra money working from home? We offer you a great opportunity!

Our company Ship & Pay International is looking for reliable and trustworthy people to be our representatives in your country!

This is not a sales gimmick requiring you to pay setup fees or sign up to a mailing list. You will need no money and no special skills to start. Anyone can work with us!

If you are interested, don't hesitate to visit our website:

http://www.shipandpay.com/jobs.html

Requirements:
1. A computer with access to the Internet, e-mail
2. We don't work with persons under 21
3. 3-5 hours free during the week (mainly in the non-business hours)
4. Be able to repeatedly lift 5-20 pound boxes.
5. Check your e-mail several times a day (each hour is welcome)
6. Reply to e-mails immediately
7. Bank account to receive payments
8. Account in: PayPal, E-gold (if possible)
9. Be responsible, hard working and communicable
10. Be able to answer phone calls

If you would like to join our team please visit http://www.shipandpay.com/jobs.html fill in the form and send your resume to us by e-mail listed on our website or if you are without resume or employment history simply send your name, address and a few comments or reasons why you should be considered for this position. Required information for your request to be reviewed is: your name, age, address, current and previous job, e-mail address, ICQ number (if possible), phone number.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Ship & Pay, International

Hello,

We're dating agency "RusDeluxe" Group Ltd.
License number 00042247933 since 21.07.03.

Due the expansion of our organization, our agency need employees from England for accomplishing of bank transactions.You must have an account in UK bank.
Payment will be made immediately, for every transaction (receiving and sending of money) you will get 400-900 british pounds.

We have two offices:
1) 12 Pushkinskaya street, office #19.
St. Petersburg, Russia.

2) 33 Bolshaya Nikitskaya street, office #7
Moscow, Russia.

If you are interested in our offer,then you may to contact to our manager for other detailes by e-mail: inforusdeluxe@km.ru or by ICQ# 338818190

Best regards!

kayak,

ok the old bounced cheque scam, where your bank appears to clear the cheque, but it eventually bounces weeks later, long after you have forwarded the money.

I think there is a way round this, where a person can ask thir bank to verify the cleared funds, it was in the MOS a while ago.

The second one intrigues more, "able to REPEATEDLY lift 5-20 lB boxes"!

last one, sending money to Russia, no thanks, I'll stick with Nigeria, it's more secure!

I looked at the website mentioned in the second one when I got the email and it was reasonably professional. However I can't believe it's not a scam. I think the lifting boxes etc. is just to make it sound like a real job. The domain is registered in China and appears to have been zapped.

Ive got a race car for sale on a couple of web sites and these two amusing jokers replied the second one calls himself jummy smith

Hello,

I saw your advertisement for the sales of your Goods, I am interested in buying. However, your urgent reply is needed so as to hasten the Transaction if my offer sound nice.
Also kindly provide the condition and price of the Goods if it will arouse my interest to patronise you.

Waiting to hear from you very soon.

Thanks

Hello,
I'm Interested in buying your advertised( cosworth turbo )Well,I have seen the advert and I think I'll like to contact the seller before I can proceed.So i want you to email me some recent pics of it and also i want you to get back to me with the actual price for it so as for me to proceed with this transaction.So I'll be paying with a Bank U.K Cheque which was drawn from a United Kingdom Bank.So get back to me as soon as possible with those informations.
My Regards


Jim

Kayak, offices in Russia and domain registered in China !
IMO, the financial and commerical regulations and enforcments of China and
Russia are likely to lag woefully behind their growing economies.
Frauds and scams are inevitable. But recent fraud cases, involving potentially hundreds of millions in each case, should have reminded us not to be complacent.
Large frauds and scams always seems to be several steps of detection and law enforcements.


davspeed, LOLLL. Trust and caution go both ways. Not talented with languages, I feel sorry for people who has to struggle with foreign languages. Good luck with selling your car.

Well, I certainly wouldn't provide any information that might arouse someone into patronising me :-)

From the little of what I've read, I shudder to think some people have profited and Custom and Excise costed every salary earners in the UK a few percentages/pennies on the income tax. Could the failed investigation had been a well-planned insider job ??? Must try to get the full Panorama transcript.

I had sold the car on ebay but the winning bidder failed to contact me despite repeated emails and phone calls which went unanswered. After a week he finally answered his phone and said that he had not looked at his email because he was going to Australia the next day for 4 weeks and he would pay for the car when he got back!! You can imagine how pleasant and polite my answer to him was?

davspeed :-(