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.

I found the following:

From Caslon Analytics - an Australian research, analysis and strategies consultancy

ChoicePoint

Major reference agency ChoicePoint sold the personal financial information of 145,000 people to criminals purporting to be legitimate businesses, a large-scale form of pretexting.

The incident has attracted particular attention because ChoicePoint initially sent notice of breach only to Californians. Following criticism after announcement of its security failure it spent US$11.4 million during the following six months on credit reports and credit monitoring for victims.

Wachovia

In 2005 US police charged Orazio Lembo and bank employees working for Wachovia, Bank of America, Commerce Bancorp and PNC Bank with selling customer information to over 40 debt collection agencies, law firms and others. The data included names, account numbers and balances regarding over 500,000 consumers.

Lembo's gang reportedly operated for over four years, with Lembo pocketing several million dollars. He was also charged with narcotics, forgery and theft counts.

Gratis

New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer sued Washington-based Gratis Internet for selling email addresses, despite that organisation's promise of confidentiality to consumers, in what is claimed as "the biggest deliberate breach of Internet privacy".

Consumers thought that they were simply registering to see a site. Contrary to a Gratis statement that it "does not ... sell/rent e-mails" it allegedly sold 7 million addresses to three independent marketers, resulting in hundreds of millions of spam messages.

Call Centres

In 2005 the London Sun illustrated concerns about offshoring call centres by buying information about 1,000 UK customers from a Delhi call centre worker for 4.25 each. The information included bank account details, passwords, addresses, phone numbers and passport details. The worker reportedly indicated that he could provide information on up to 200,000 accounts each month. India's IT & communications minister commented that the government had nothing to do with the "freak incident".

In 2006 Nadeem Kashmiri of HSBC's Bangalore call centre was arrested after over 230,000 was stolen from the accounts of British customers, with claims that he sold confidential information to a criminal gang.

During the same year Australian current affairs program Four Corners revealed sale by an Indian call centre of personal information about Australians, including birth certificate details, ATM numbers, passport and driver licence details, phone numbers, address (including time at that address), marital status, number of dependants, occupation, job title and employer's business name.

South Korean ISPs

During 2006 personal information regarding some 8.37 million high-speed internet subscribers in South Korea was sold by staff of four leading ISPs: KT, Hanaro Telecom, Onse Telecom and Thrunet. Former and current staff of the ISPs appear to have sold customer names, identification numbers, telephone numbers and addresses to marketers for around US$0.01 per head.

Critics alleged that management of the ISPs was negligent (if not complicit in the sales) and as highlighted in the final page of this note initiated class action for damages.

KDDI

In 2006 Japanese telecommunications group KDDI confirmed that information about 3.9 million of its DION internet customers, as of 2003, had been provided to a third party. The data included names, gender, addresses, birth dates and telephone numbers, although apparently not bank details and passwords. Akio Minomura and Akihiko Torii are suspected of having sought to extort some 10 million from KDDI in exchange for the information.

IPCC, USN and Air Miles

In 2006 personal details of 20,000 people who made complaints about the Hong Kong police appeared on the net. Publication of the data, originally provided to the HK Independent Police Complaints Council (IPPC), was apparently accidental.

The IPCC database contained full details of complaints made from 1996 to 2004, including the dates of each complaint, full name of the complainant, their address, the nature of alleged offences, information on allegedly corrupt police and the outcome of complaints. Corporate monitor webb-site.com has speculated that the publication may have occurred when an IPCC contractor mistakenly copied the files onto a commercial server in the course of maintenance work.

Also in 2006 the US Navy reported that five spreadsheets with sensitive information on some 28,000 personnel and their families were posted on a civilian web site. The spreadsheets included names, Social Security numbers and birth dates.

The Navy announced that it had "moved quickly to have the spreadsheets taken down" and of course had "no evidence that any of the compromised information has been used fraudulently".

A month later the Naval Safety Center reported that it had discovered personal information on over 100,000 Navy and Marine Corps aviators was publicly accessible on its site. The data included Social Security numbers. The same data was featured on 1,083 web-enabled 'safety program disks' mailed to all USN and Marine Corps commands; the Center said it was "working to recall the disks".

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada reported in 1999 that Canadian business Air Miles left 50,000 records of people in its loyalty program (the dot-ca version of Australia's Frequent Flyer scheme) on its site "for several months and possibly for as long as a year". The information included the individual's Air Miles card number, name, home phone numbers, email addresses, business name and phone number.

ADP

In 2006 Automatic Data Processing (ADP), one of the world's largest payroll service companies, confirmed that it had provided a scammer with personal information of investors who had purchased stock through brokerages that use ADP's investor communications services. Fidelity Investments indicated that the breach compromised 125,000 of 72 million active accounts; Morgan Stanley said 3,800 of its clients were affected; UBS said 10,000 of its clients were affected.

The data included investors' names, mailing addresses and the number of shares they held in certain companies. It apparently did not include Social Security numbers or brokerage account numbers.

ADP commented

We have been advised that the information disclosed was not sufficient by itself to permit unauthorized access to your account, and we have no evidence that the information on the lists has been improperly used. However, we recommend that you be alert to any unusual or unexpected contact or correspondence.

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Actually, I could copy and paste a whole pile of the above company's web site on here! I suggest you go and have a read at some of it for for yourself:-

Start at http://www.caslon.com.au - Security and Infocrime

Fifth of CVs contain major lies

'A fifth of CVs submitted for job applications contain significant lies, such as exaggerated academic qualifications, a survey suggests.

The study of more than 3,700 CVs submitted for jobs this year was conducted by employee screening specialists, The Risk Advisory Group.

...

"This year's results have yet again brought to our attention how unscrupulous candidates can be when applying for jobs, and highlight their apparent lack of conscience towards potential new employers," said The Risk Advisory Group's head of employee screening, Sal Remtulla.

... '

On post 263.

IME, at most 1 in 5 people are honest about their work expertise, experiences, AND conscientious in applying themselved to their jobs. Some are either AB's (Absolute Bullshits) or CDs (Contemptible Deceptions), often both.

FYI

http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=10010921&sort=whole#10215057

Author: KonradMeier Number: 7917 of 7923
Subject: Re: Internationale Zurich Gruppe Date: 10/10/06 10:01
Post New | Post Reply | Reply Later | Create Poll Report this Post | Recommend it!

Recommendations: 5
****IMPORTANT INFORMATION-PLEASE READ****


I am posting this message in my capacity as in-house legal counsel of the Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich). Zurich is a leading insurance-based financial services provider worldwide with its registered head-office in Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich has built up a substantial goodwill and reputation in the ZURICH name in the insurance and financial services market in Europe and throughout the world.

Please be informed that Internationale Zurich Gruppe (IZG) and First Zurich Group are in no way associated with Zurich. To our understanding, the above mentioned organizations are not authorized by the FSA (the UK Financial Services Authority) to provide financial services. In addition, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, Finansinspektionen, posted on its website the following warning regarding Internationale Zurich Gruppe:

http://www.fi.se/Templates/Page____6469.aspx

Zurich has informed the relevant authorities about their possibly illegal conduct. If you have been affected by activities of one of these organizations we recommend that you contact the Metropolitan Police at 'fraud.alert@met.police.uk', webpage www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/.

Thank you.

Konrad Meier
Group Legal Department
Zurich Financial Services
Zurich, Switzerland

Banks put client data in street

"The UK's information watchdog is to investigate claims that banks are leaving confidential information in rubbish bags outside branches.

BBC investigators found customer names, addresses and account details when rifling through discarded trash.

The team, from BBC One's Watchdog, say the information could be used by criminals to steal clients' identities.

The information commissioner, Richard Thomas, said he would look into the findings, the team said.

As part of the investigation, to be screened on Tuesday, researchers collected bags of unsecured rubbish left outside banks and building societies in five UK towns and cities.

Among their finds were details of a bank transfer for 500,000 left outside a Nottingham branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Credit cards cut into easily assembled pieces were recovered from outside a Barclays outlet in Bristol.

Other discoveries among the trash were customer names, phone numbers, sort codes and account numbers at a Halifax branch in Manchester.

And bank statement details were found outside the Scarborough Building Society in York.

Following the investigation, the information commissioner Richard Thomas is launching a probe, the programme says.

Watchdog editor Rob Unworthy said: "We are horrified at how easy it was to get hold of customers' personal details - and about what could have happened if that information had fallen into the wrong hands."

Separate findings show the ease with which identity thieves can operate.

Nearly half of household rubbish bins contain all the information a fraudster needs to steal a person's identity, a survey by document shredder manufacturer Fellowes found.

The results were published to mark the beginning of National Identity Fraud Prevention Week. "

Police arrest counterfeit gang

Police say they have broken up a gang responsible for more than a quarter of the counterfeit money seized in the UK.

Detectives from City of London Police - which led the operation - estimated that over the past four years the gang supplied about 10m in fake notes.

As well as 20 and 50 notes, the gang dealt in Scottish banknotes and Euros.

Four men and two women have been arrested after raids at two homes and a business in Essex; one man was held after a 45-minute car chase.

Officers have described it as the "most significant" operation in their history to detect counterfeiting.

When police arrived at one business address in Dagenham they found printing presses in operation.

...

It happened at Enron, it is happening now, and the tricks and practices will continue ...

"Ever since Lay hired Jeffrey Skilling back in the 1980s, Enron had had little in common with its staid, rival utilities. Lay had been one of the key men pressing for the deregulation of the power markets and once he had received his wish, it was his mission to exploit them to the full..."

"By inventing new markets and dominating them before regulators knew what was going on, the money continued to flood in..."

"Some of these scams were set up by Enron executives and their families, benefiting them to the tune of millions of dollars at the same time as they were making even more by selling Enron's inflated shares ..."

Scandal that destroyed faith in the market

Enron boss gets 24-year sentence

"The former chief executive of the US energy giant was convicted together with Enron's ex-chairman Kenneth Lay.

Mr Lay has since died and his convictions have been quashed.

This is because Mr Lay, who died of a heart attack in July, passed away before he was able to appeal against the verdict.

The scandal at the one-time energy giant left 21,000 people out of work, and shook corporate America, when the firm went bankrupt in 2001 with debts of $31.8bn (18bn).

..."

So, who are the main beneficiaries of the 18bn debt ???

Kenneth Lay: A fallen hero

" ... The holder of an economics degree and PhD ..."

" ... taught both micro- and macroeconomic theory as an assistant university professor ..."

" ... Working for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ... "

" ... lectured on government-business relations at George Washington University ..."

" ... His success at Enron earned him directorships elsewhere, and he had a place on several boards ... "

" ... In business circles he had undoubtedly made it - his success underlined by the fact that his golf partners during the 1990s regularly included President Bill Clinton. ..."

" ... a supporter of a large number of charities and a trustee of the First United Methodist Church. ..."

" ... serving on a host of impressive sounding committees, including the 1990 Houston Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations during which he played host to former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher. ..."


Never judge a man's integrity and honour by his academeic achievements, CV's, positions, titles, reputations, wealth, memberships of organisations and with whom he rubs shoulder and calls as his friends.

Profile: Jeffrey Skilling

"Bachelor of Science degree at Southern Methodist University."

"gaining an MBA at Harvard Business School"

"work for global consultancy McKinsey."

"spent five years in charge of a string of subsidiaries before his promotion to president and chief operating officer"

"a car he owned bore the licence plate "WLEC" - World's Leading Energy Company"

"during a routine conference call, he yelled an obscenity at a bank analyst who had the temerity to question the firm's balance sheet."

"convicted of a fraud which prosecutors say netted $180m"

"Skilling was found guilty on 19 counts of fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors for his part in the 2001 collapse of energy giant Enron."

Dirty little cleaner cost 250,000

"A former magistrate blew more than 250,000 paying a prostitute to clean his house in the nude

...

But, after spending 20,000 of his savings and 80,000 on credit cards on his bizarre fetish, the company secretary began stealing cash from his employer, a court heard.

He fiddled the books to pocket a further 164,000 he should have paid into his firm's accounts, even though his boss told him the business was in trouble.

...

The former JP, who had worked at Alec's Three-Piece Suite Warehouse in Great Lever, Manchester, for six years, began siphoning cash from the store in October 2004, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Yesterday, managing director Alec Bromleys, who has run the business for 26 years, said: 'Lee nearly ruined me I was completely oblivious.

I trusted him implicitly as my right-hand man.

'He was an ex-magistrate and came to me with glowing references.'
"



Worth repeating as a warning and reminders to all employers ...

"I was completely oblivious. I trusted him implicitly as my right-hand man. He was an ex-magistrate and came to me with glowing references."

Corrupt officers jailed for leaks

"Two former Nottinghamshire police officers have been jailed after pleading guilty to corruption charges.

Charles Fletcher, 25, and Phillip Parr, 40, admitted at Birmingham Crown Court to separately passing data on serious inquiries to suspected criminals.

...

Five men who admitted obtaining the information have been jailed for a total of 15 years.

Jason Grocock, 33, was convicted of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and two further charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He was sentenced to four years.

David Barrett, 40, was convicted of two charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and was sentenced to three years.

Darren Peters, 38, and Javade Rashid, 40, were convicted of the same charge and were sentenced to four years and to six months respectively.

The fifth man cannot be named for legal reasons.

..."

Call centres infiltrated by gangs

"One in 10 of Glasgow's financial call centres has been infiltrated by criminal gangs, police believe.

The scam works by planting staff inside offices or by forcing current employees to provide sensitive customer details.

The information is then used to steal identities and fraudulently set up accounts or transfer money.

The Customer Contact Association played down the extent of the problem but admitted it was a concern to those in the industry.

..."

Vetting needed to stop ID scams

"A technology security expert has warned that call centre staff can be working with key personal information after only a few days training.

It comes after the BBC's Newsnight Scotland revealed police concerns that criminals had infiltrated the industry.

Jamie Gallagher, from Netintelligence, called for greater efforts to vet employees and protect systems.

The Customer Contact Association said systems were available to vet staff and share information between operators.

Strathclyde Police said that up to one in 10 of the financial centres in Glasgow had been infiltrated by gangs.

..."

How about overseas call centers ???

A wonderful (?) thing has happened round here.
A charity (totally above board) sent leaflets round asking for jumble, old furniture etc for their cause.
They came round to the garages and houses and picked up the earmarked stuff for collection.
A few days later and peoples reporting thefts, garden mowers missing from garages etc. A couple of break ins.
All these houses were 'givers' to the charity. When questioned the charity had no knowledge of any wrongdoing but the 'collectors' were all work-in-the-community offenders working under the supervision of a probation officer.
They were casing the joints!

so in the last few posts we've discovered we can't trust the police, call centres, or charities. who's left to trust other than immediate family and close friends?

Supakat. My first wife ran off with my close friend!

Well, it turned out she was closer to him than me!

I do miss him.

Bolshi !! :-(((

On the other hand, you can now spend more time, efforts and goodwill on the deserving.

Axdpc. Ah! You mean the Dow. :-)

Bolshi.... so it seems we're down to excluding wives and close friends as well. Therefore I also wish to include mother-in-laws in the list of people not to be trusted.