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.

Not worth a new thread, but a scam nevertheless.

The Transport for London web site, in which you pay your congestion charge, has been inpenetrable this morning. I hold up little more hope for the phone alternative so will have to go and buy a ticket from a machine at lunchtime.

I wonder if anyone expected it might be a tad busier on the day they doubled the size of the zone.

Off in a Huff.

TP

Oh untrusting soul!!

The phone system did work.

And I thought it was a scam!

TP

At last, found the third leg of all scams and frauds ... guilt. Bit like those commercials, especialyy during Xmas, which try to stir up one's guilt when not wanting to load up credit cards to the limit to buy loved one everything we were told we should buy to show our affection etc ...

I am having an industrial unit refurbished.

The firm of estate agents (chartered surveyors) acting for me as my agent with my contractor have tried to scam me. I have fired them. If they dare to bill me, even partially, for any of their fees, I will counter sue them.

I have taken over the management of it from the young chartered surveyor, who was actually an 'only 3 years into the job trainee' survyor and a graduate. i know more about things than he does and his firm didn't tell me they were going to use a graduate. Their estimate for fees didn't reflect on this.

The contractor they appointed has also tried to scam me with the contract. I now have the Snagging List well on the way to being completed but some of the items on it are going to cost the contractor several k.

Other contractors thought my job was going to be a 'soft touch' and wouldn't be checked over thoroughly. I think they got such vibes from the young graduate surveyor.

Anyhow, it is going to cost the electrical contractor nearly 1/3rd of his quoted price for also trying to cheat me.

Last line of my e-mail this morning to the main contractor says:-

"From the tone of your e-mail this morning, which presses for almost immediate full payment and even before work has been finished properly or even inspected, I have to conclude from the nature of the problems being experienced and the nature of the snagging work still required, that it seems I now need to have maximum leverage with you. For the moment, until the snagging work recently discussed with XXXX XXXX has been done, and I have had the opportunity to inspect it, my offer to make an interim payment of 8,000 is now retracted."

Serves them right, eh?

Show me your willie!

Are they in cahoots with your garden designer perchance? :-)

Actually, it doesn't read like that, Kayak, but I do feel I'm a very reasonable guy. I start off by being really optimistic. I'm always giving out tips for this, that and the other, and when guys work at my house, they mostly get tea or coffee served in a cup and saucer on a tray with biscuits, bacon sandwiches, etc, etc.

But 'B*ll*cks to them' if they cheat me. They do get taught a fair old bit of a hard lesson.

"...
I'm a very reasonable guy.
I start off by being really optimistic.
I'm always giving out tips for this, that and the other, ...
get tea or coffee served in a cup and saucer on a tray
with biscuits, bacon sandwiches, etc, etc.
But 'B*ll*cks to them' if they cheat me.
..."

DocProc, I felt that. It mirrors many of my own experiences, professionally and otherwise, ... start off reasonable, optimistic, giving out tips and help, serves up the extras and goodwill ... then you find the smiles, the handshakes, the words, the guarantees, the gumhols, the ... are all calculated propaganda and spin designed to deceive and to exploit.

It is almost saintly to described these as B*ll*cks !

A very useful checklist acronym is ... A.B.C.D. - Absolute Bullshit. Contemptible and Despicable.

Elderly at risk at nursing homes

1.7m will have dementia by 2051

Some nursing home owners and investors must be dripping in glee and rubbing their hands in anticipation of easy money to come for decades ...

Strictly neither scam nor fraud, for now ...

Now banks are over-charging customers for information about their over-charging

The banks have the records on their info system. If the charges are illegal, surely it is legally obligatory, simple and more "green" for banks to do the calculation for all their customers and put right the wrongs ???

US targets $15m insider trading

The US has charged 14 people for their alleged role in a $15m (7.6m) insider trading racket.

The Securities and Exchange Commission says it is one of the biggest insider trading rings in 20 years and includes top lawyers and finance firms.

SEC enforcement head Linda Thomsen said there was "hardly a duty on Wall Street" the defendants did not breach.

The case claims individuals were given tip-offs about impending deals and stock upgrades, in order to make money.

Top tier

The SEC, which announced the case on Thursday, said insiders from Morgan Stanley and UBS Securities stole secret information from the firms.

"This conduct didn't occur in obscure boiler rooms - but rather at what are commonly considered "top-tier" Wall Street firms, " said Ms Thomsen.

The watchdog also claimed a Banc of America Securities broker took cash and two ex-Bear Stearns representatives got hold of secret UBS information.

The defendants also included three hedge funds, which the SEC said benefited most from the fraud.

The list of those charged includes Mitchel Guttenberg, an executive director and institutional client with UBS, who was charged with accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars as he sold information to David Tandy and Erik Franklin.

They in turn used the information to make money, the SEC said.

Ex-Morgan Stanley employee Randi Collotta and her husband Christopher Collotta were also charged.

A Morgan Stanley spokesperson said: "We are outraged that a former employee allegedly stole confidential information from the firm, and we have co-operated and will continue co-operating with the authorities."

Similarly, Bear Stearns and Bank Of America - Banc of America Securities' parent firm - said they would fully with the investigation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$15m, the biggest in 20 years? Sounds like small shrimps, at best.

On Thursday 8th March 2007 at 9pm in the UK, Channel 4 will show a documentary called "The Great Global Warming Swindle".

TP

OK. A puzzle for you to solve.

An e-mail, just came in to me. Here's the nub of the puzzle: Is it legitimate?

And if not, why not?

Two reasons at least are required.

1st reason: When you click on the link on the e-mail, the web site the click takes you to, has a different URL address to the one shown on the e-mail. This should at least make you suspicious.

Note how you appear to actually be on a legitimate HSBC site. The site has other links and buttons.

Q. Are these other links and buttons legitimate? Is there anything that's suspicious?

(NB. I have edited up the e-mail below to make it work exactly as the e-mail works. The URL shown on the e-mail is the URL shown below. If you click on it, it will take you to the exact same website page just like a click on the e-mail would have done)

Please look for the Second reason. Here is the e-mail:


Dear Sir/Madam,

HSBC Bank Plc is hereby announcing the New Security Upgrade. We've upgraded our new SSL servers to serve our customers for a better and secure banking service,against any fraudulent activities.

Due to this recent upgrade, you are requested to update your account information by clicking the link below.

http://hsbc.co.uk./1/2/personal/current-accounts ont >

HSBC Bank Plc
Security Advisor
HSBC Bank PLC.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.
For assistance, log in to your HSBC Online Bank account and choose the "Help" link on any page.

HSBC Email ID # 1009

Doc I use their online banking and the format of the page that your link takes you to is out of date - it should look now like this -

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/ebank/default.htm

Doc,

A major bank would never ask you for your account details by sending you an E mail. Delete it.

Ian

Skinny

10/10

You win the carrot. :-)

This is an absolutely excellent example of a phishing scam.

I trust you have reported it :-))

Reason No. 3

I don't bank with HSBC.

Insider trades 'rife' in UK bids

Insider trading on the London stock market remains as common as it was in 2000, according to the City watchdog.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said 23.7% of takeover announcements in 2005 were preceded by suspicious share price movements.

The figure is little changed from 24% in 2000, although it has fallen from a peak of 32.4% in 2004.

The FSA and the Takeover Panel launched a study last December into why news about four big bids had been leaked.

'Particular concern'

The figure in 2000 is significant because that shows how bad the problem was before the implementation of the Financial Services and Markets Act.

There was better news on the level of suspicious activity ahead of results announcements.

Only 2% of significant announcements were preceded by informed activity in 2004/5, compared with 11.1% in 2002/3.

"The figures for takeover announcements, although moving in the right direction, remain a cause for particular concern and there will be no let up in our efforts to tackle the problems in this area," said the FSA's Sally Dewar.

UK fraud costs top 20bn a year

"Fraud is costing the UK some 20bn a year - 330 for every person in the country, a police study warns.

The survey, commissioned by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) has added up published fraud figures across the UK's economy.

Including the cost of fighting fraud the baseline number is 13.9bn.

But the report's authors add on 6bn for under-reporting and tax evasion - and warn that even so, their numbers are a very conservative minimum."

...

Indeed, the public sector was the biggest victim according to the report's figures, suffering losses and costs of some 6.5bn in 2005 - much of it from so-called "carousel" VAT fraud.

...

But some observers were surprised that the baseline number was so low - barely changed from a 14bn estimate generated by the Home Office in 2000.

The report's authors acknowledge that their figures are "merely indicative", coming from sources which are "neither mutually exclusive nor collectively exhaustive".

According to Steven Philippsohn, head of fraud at London law firm PCB Litigation, the real problem with this kind of number is the vast amount of fraud that never makes it into the public eye.

...

WARNING!

Have you ever shopped online at the following website? Namely, "ShopNeo.com".

http://www.shopneo.co.uk/

Particularly during late February 2007, their customers card details from previous transactions (eg, November 2006) were being taken and used illegally.

Anyhow, if you ever used that site, it might be an idea to just check up on what credit card you used for your transaction and then have a look at your later statements to see if there is anything out of place. Perhaps you should also consider cancelling that particular card.

The sort of transactions that were mostly illegally done are on Internet gambling sites and are for quite serious amounts of dosh.

Oh, and in case you are wondering.... No. It hasn't happened to me.