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.

Gizza job yooth!

Worker paid 91,000 pounds to change lights
Wednesday November 1, 12:34 PM

LONDON (Reuters) - How much does it cost to change a light bulb? -- "A lot" is the answer if you are a taxpayer in Birmingham. Over 90,000 pounds in fact.

A furious row has erupted over the news that a council street and traffic lights engineer received 91,000 pounds for 2005/2006 including overtime bonuses -- even though he was off sick.

The average pay in Britain is about 23,000 pounds a year.

Birmingham City Council's Alan Rudge said he intended to stamp out the practice
of workers getting bloated pay packets.

"This is a throwback to employment practice which is outdated and we cannot just stand still," he added in a statement.

Christine Melsom of the Is It Fair? campaign group, which wants to scrap the current council tax system, said she feared the problem might be endemic among local authorities.

"I really think this is probably just the tip of the iceberg," she told BBC radio. "How many more are there in other councils across the country?"

Earlier this month, Birmingham council came under fire when news leaked that some road workers -- whose job was to paint white lines on the city's streets -- earned 1,000 pounds a week.

An example of job squatter for good pay and perks, no stress and no work. Once worked with someone whom I think should be paying the company instead for using company facilities for private gains, havign a cosy life, using union for protection, burdening colleagues for doing and correcting his work ... Absolutely shameless and I think he is proud of it :-(((

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel
Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel
and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate
number). DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating
from Belize. If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded
message you will already have been billed 15 for the phone call.

If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal
Mail Fraud on 02072396655 or ICSTIS (the premium rate service
regulator) at www.icstis.org.uk

_________________

I fully expected that one to be a hoax but it's actually true! http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/pds.asp

Taking control of your digital ID

"The government has estimated that ID fraud cost the UK 1.7bn last year and according to CIFAS, the UK's fraud prevention service, identity theft has risen more than six-fold from 20,000 cases in 1999 to 137,000 in 2005."

"In 1996 there were no electronic public records in the UK. Today there are nearly 700 million."

"Garlik estimates that the average Briton's personal details can be found in over 1,000 places on the web."

""By protecting themselves against the growing threat, users are also protecting others,"

From front page of Indy
Pollock's 'No. 5, 1948' commands record price for a painting
One of the largest paintings troubled artist Jackson Pollock completed - the unromantically entitled No. 5, 1948 - has been sold for no less a sum than 73.35m

It's a joke innit? If I knew how to post a jpeg here I could show you.

Looks like a load of elastic bands to me. They are wondering if he is the world's greatest painter.

anybody know anything about " GLOBAL SECURITES" they keep cold calling me and really p*ssing me off!

"To an untrained eye it looks like someone tied paintfilled brushes to the tails of a couple of cats and then let them fight it out on a 4ft x 8ft canvas.

However, this mass of brown and blue daubs criss-crossed with red and yellow swirls is a right load of old Pollocks and worth 73 .5 million."

I might have a go myself. It sounds like a doddle.

Doc. Sounds like a doddle and looks like a doodle? :-)

:-)

And if I tied my paint brush to my willy, would it be a cock-a doodle?

OK, OK. I'll stop now.

You can tell whether a man is honest or not because of the presence (or absence)of a nice smile.

Anyone on here doing any investing in the products of the following guys?

http://www.fasttrackuk.com/

Just for you Doc - :-)

Ref Fasttrack. There's an article in IC this morning about a guy losing 10K within 2 weeks with Blue Index (advisory) Fees of 5150. Ouch!

Doc,

I thought they were doing one of those toothpaste ads!

The great free range egg fraud - they came from battery hens

"Millions of shoppers are being cheated as a result of widespread fraud involving free range eggs.

Up to 30 million battery-farmed eggs have been sold in shops and supermarkets across the UK under the free range label.

And as free range eggs are more expensive than others, unscrupulous dealers can sell wrongly labelled boxes at marked-up prices.

Government officials believe they have unearthed evidence of serious corruption among farmers and egg dealers, and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched an investigation into the industry.

..."

It looks like this is is being done by merely one unscrupulous egg dealer importing poor quality eggs from the continent.

Other than both my wife and myself and lots of others up and down the country getting a dose of diahorrea from our so-called Free Range eggs, two other unfortunate outcomes have resulted.....

From http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2457302,00.html

Shortage of free-range eggs encouraged scam
By Valerie Elliott, Consumer Editor

A SHORTAGE of free-range eggs in Britain is believed to have encouraged the suspected scam revealed by The Times yesterday in passing off produce from factory farms as the welfare-friendly egg.

Chickens have been affected by the hot weather in the summer and autumn and they have laid fewer eggs.

The demand for free-range eggs is also growing by 10 per cent a year but farmers say that they cannot afford the necessary investment to expand their businesses.

In two weeks, therefore, Somerfield will be the first supermarket in the country to switch to selling French free-range eggs. Iceland and Tesco are also understood to be lining up suppliers on the Continent if they are not able to guarantee supplies at home. Other supermarkets are also worrying about what to do. Somerfield is insisting that the French free-range eggs will be produced to strict European welfare and safety standards and will also come from flocks that have been vaccinated against salmonella.

John Widdowson, a free-range egg farmer from Devon, expressed his anger at the use of French egg suppliers: Obviously, if it was proved correct yes, we are outraged it is just totally unacceptable.

Many farmers wish to expand their free-range operations but have been held up as they wait for planning permission, and newcomers are being put off by the high level of cash investment needed.

The cost of opening a free-range unit can be as much as 500,000.

Nigeria scams cost UK billions

"Financial crime in the UK stemming from Nigeria involves "billions of pounds" but not enough is being done to stop it, a report has concluded.

Internet scams, credit card fraud and money laundering are going unchecked by governments in both countries, research group Chatham House says.

The crimes are not given priority but have become a "large and pressing problem", the author says.

Nigeria has become especially linked with "advance fee" or "419 scams".

...

"The scale and scope of Nigeria-related financial crime highlights critical wider failures in the way the British authorities tackle fraud, corruption and money laundering," he said.

"Despite important, but limited reforms, criminal networks and corporate bribery still flourish.

"This raises questions about how sincere the governments in both countries are in their talk of change, particularly when significant political, commercial or energy interests are at stake."

...

Fairpak ...

Xmas terror for 300,000 UK families.
Could it be another case of game keeper turn poacher?
Perhaps the new ID card will help??

Above the law but below contempt.

Christmas is cancelled: 300,000 families may have lost savings in Farepak crash

"
Total losses 'probably double official estimates'
Firm kept no record of customer names

Customers of the collapsed Christmas savings company Farepak could have lost up to 120m, MPs claimed last night

..."