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.

NEW SCAM!
===========

I have held an account with a printing company in Holland, vistaprint.com, for a couple of years, and their service has been excellent, and their work and prices are second to none.

Today however, I recieved my CC statement, with two entries for " VPREWARDS.COM" and two chartges of 9.95.

I went into vprewards.com website, to find it is run by vistaprint.

I googled the vprewards.com and found several websites where this is being talked about as a scam.

I rang the phone number on the statement to complain, and they have already emailed me to say they have cancelled, and will return all the money within 28 days.

I really cannot understand why a company with such a good track record is involved in this tacky scam, and the fact they refund immediately surely makes it pointless?

Anyone with a vistaprint account should check their CC statement they use to pay with carefully this month!

Andy, If you have not done so already, inform your CCcomapny. In the past they jump on the account very quickly and block them from repeating.

I had this a year or so ago. As I remember it when you get your emailed invoice for an order there is a link to click to visit the rewards site. Unless you have all your wits about you at the time, you won't notice that by clicking it you are confirming that you want to pay to join the rewards club. In my case an email then arrived confirming that I had joined and I cancelled immediately.

I had some dealings with VistaPrint a few years ago, but not as a customer. Some companies and individuals you come across in life are clearly out to scam, and some are not, and some seem to occupy a strange grey-area in-between. I won't get into the details of my VistaPrint experience but here is a Google search.

They are heavily into affiliate advertising. They have a good number of people ready to defend them publicly. These two statements may or may not be related.

I have transfered this from a thread I started 2 days ago (Scams/Rip Offs).
Sorry if I trod on anyones toes. I did not know/remember we had this thread.
I have requested anyone who opens my thread to only post here.

Never yet fell for one of these scams/rip offs, but I have received the following.
Some scams are obvious but others, such as below are a bit more believable.



Clubseason.co.uk.

Letter by recorded delivery. Dear Mr .....
Congratulations!

I am delighted to confirm you have won a prize to the value of 3750, in the Internet Prize Draw Entry/grand Prize Draw.

To authenticate your claim lease contact Clare on 0800 448 448 between 12 noon and 8pm within 7 days from receipt of this letter, failure to do so will result in the loss of your prize.

Once again congratulations and we look forward to hearing from you.
You etc etc.

I enter many such prize draws so could not recall entering this one (in future I will keep a record), but as I could not be certain I put cubseaons into Google and it came up with a Scam Blogg where many people had received the same letter. It is a time share scam, to release your "PRIZE" there is a maintenance fee.
This is NOT a prize, it's the usual carrot to milk money from gullible people.
The difference of this scam from the normal is the recorded delivery, and the free 0800 telephone number.

Although any "PRIZE" letter that only gives you 7 days to claim must be dodgy.

I will continue to ring them several times a day for as long as I can be bothered , just to wind them up.

I also intend to send a copy of my "PRIZE" letter to watchdog and the Consumer Affairs Association. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/12/top_ten_scams.html although I doubt that Consumer Affairs will do anything.

Don't get taken in, Bite back.

At last: a Nigerian scam for all you quantum physicists.

I am Civ Opopekim, the only son of the late Professor Lawrence
Opopekim, of a much respected university in my country of NIGERIA,
who was dedicated to the study of RETROCAUSALITY. Upon examining my
father's scientific journals, I have discovered a matter of the most
URGENT importance to your future (and past) well-being. As most of
my father's work has not yet been published, I am counting on your
discretion in this sensitive matter.


In the course of research, my father discovered the photons created
in his experiments were entangled through QUANTUM MECHANICS with
photons found in your locale. Further study revealed the
break-through discovery of photon tilt patterns in the photons of
your area based on experiments planned but yet to be performed by my
father.


Alas since my father was poisoned to death with tainted YAK MILK by
scientists from rival laboratories who lured him to GENEVA under the
false pretense of a scientific conference, a financial situation has
arisen where I can no longer assure the continuation of his research
or the operation of his laboratory (it embarrasses me to admit this
sad truth).


As a person of science, you are aware that even changes at the
quantum level cause universes to take separate but parallel infinite
paths. I fear that if I am unable to continue my father's schedule
of experiments and therefore cause the photons in your immediate
area to not have tilted in the way they already have, the life you
have come to know and enjoy will cease to be and you will find
yourself in a parallel existence unfavorable to you.


To this end, and for the sake of your past and current self as well
as my father's research, I humbly ask you for the sum of US$10,000,
which will allow me to keep for father's laboratory open for a time
to carry out the scheduled experiments.


As an indication of your willingness, please forward to me your:
full name, company, full contact address, phone, cell, fax, city,
sate, zip code, occupation, SSN and all the necessary information
will be sent to you on the acceptance of this arrangement.

Terrible, poisoned with Yak Milk, its sad that you cant even trust your local yak milk supplier these days. What is the world coming too? Next time I am in Geneva I am defiantly not having any Yak milk.

I've been warning her indoors for years about too much yakking. -:)

Since 2001, MP Mr Conway himself has received 1.16million in salary and expenses - a figure which does not include his generous parliamentary pension.



The MP's wife Colette, who works 'legitimately' as his secretary, and their sons, Henry and Freddie, who their father claimed were 'Parlaimentary Researchers', have cost 374,401.73 in pay, bonuses and overtime since 2001.

Political rivals have demanded a police inquiry into the way Henry, 25, and 22-year-old Freddie Conway were paid more than 80,000 of public cash for apparently doing little work.

Yesterday Tory leader David Cameron effectively sacked the Old Bexley and Sidcup MP by withdrawing the party whip from him. Conservative sources made clear there would be no way back for Mr Conway and that he would cease to be an MP at the next General Election.



More at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=511202&in_page_id=1770

A phishing expedition for Kayak . . .

Subject: Aggiornamento dei servizi Bancaroma in linea


Gentile CLIENTE,


Nell'ambito di un progetto di verifica dei data anagrafici forniti durante la sottoscrizione dei servizi di Banca Di Roma e stata riscontrata una incongruenza relativa ai dati anagrafici in oggetto da Lei forniti all momento della sottoscrizione contrattuale.

L'inserimento dei dati alterati puo costituire motivo di interruzione del servizio secondo gli art. 135 e 137/c da Lei accettati al momento della sottoscrizione, oltre a costituire reato penalmente perseguibile secondo il C.P.P ar.415 del 2001 relativo alla legge contro il riciclaggio e la transparenza dei dati forniti in auto certificazione.

Per ovviare al problema e necessaria la verifica e l'aggiornamento dei dati relativi all'anagrafica dell'Intestatario dei servizi bancari.

Effetuare l'aggiornamento dei dati cliccando sul seguente collegamento sicuro:

Accedi a collegamento sicuro >>

Copyright 2000 / 2008 Banca di Roma - Privacy - Norme di trasparenza - Partita IVA 06978161005

Hope you didn't go for it MM, it's full of typos :-)

They always are, K, but this time I couldn't tell ;-)

A close friend of Tory MP, Derek Conway's son Henry is also on the payroll of the MP, it can be revealed today.

Michel Pratte, 23, is being paid 11,500 of taxpayers' money as a research assistant in the disgraced Tory MP's office - even though he is studying for a postgraduate degree.

Secret documents obtained by the Daily Mail show that Mr Pratte, a 6ft Canadian, works 17.5 hours a week for Mr Conway, despite also being a student at the London School of Economics.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of Mr Pratte. But the revelation of a third research assistant who is apparently a member of 'Conway and Co' could spark yet another probe into the MP's affairs.



More HERE

The following picture is taken from an article at

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=511401&in_page_id=1770

I would like quickly like to say that I do NOT consider there is anything wrong in MPs employing their wives to help them in any capacity they see fit. However, very clearly, Conway, was committing an abuse.

Yeah but........ have you seen the size of these people's expenses?

Its the expenses that should be really investigated, because its a licence to print money at the tax ayers expense.

I used to be Sales Director for a mid sized IT company. I travelled the depth and breadth of the country, often stayed in 4 and 5 star hotels, wined and dined clients at lunch and in the evenings - and my expense bill on average (not including petrol) was 6k a month - or 72k per year....

SOme of these guys are claiming in excess of 100k per yesr (which probably includes their petrol to be fair) - but somehow I just doubt they travel, wine and dine, and have expenses that large solely related to their job.

These guys/girls even get paid for having/renting a second residence in London - so its not as though they have to pay hotel bills.....

Indeed, many of these guys are buying second homes in London and then renting to themselves so they can claim expenses - effectively using tax payres money to buy to buy thier homes. ALso, they are using our money to effectively pay for their kids education...

These are the things that should be investigated, along with shell companies, family employees, whether they are funding their lifestyles in excess of doing their job....

Thursday 31st January and....guess whose web site is down?

these MP's are as bad as the common fraudsters today, and these MP's help govern the laws of the land. Its Hyprocracy in democracy

Over the last few days many MP's have been calling for more clarity from the Banks and other Financial institutions. Pot/ Kettle springs to mind.

For a hundred and one sound reasons I am not going to post the names up here, but it might be that I've come across a couple of rogues!

Does anyone know of any web sites where it might be possible to dig a little into their previous activities? I've tried Googling with little success.

Sorry to sound so enigmatic - but I was schooled in the Ian Hislop school of damage limitation - allegedly !!

TP

:-)

If it is help you need, I am your man with something like this. I love a bit of gossip, intrigue and a spicey story and, as an expert, competition winning Goggler, you are welcome to send me a MAM private e-mail on it. Most of all though, I am passionately anti-rogue. I will report back to you with my findings in due course.

Furthermore, you can trust me with the secrecy of it because I am a trainee gynaecologist.