Currently we have scams operating on:
The Advance Fee Fraud
The scam is often based on the premise that some major event or misfortune, such as the overthrow of a government, has resulted in large sums of money being held in a country by a person or persons who are seeking help in transferring the money to another country. A proportion of the money is offered for help in arranging the transfer.
Approaches may be made by letter but are increasingly sent via email. Typically, the approach will appear to come form a senior government official, business person, or armed forces officer, be marked 'Strictly Confidential' or 'Urgent', and offer the opportunity to share in a multi-million pound bonanza.
A typical letter may look like:
Dear Sir,
First, I must solicit your strictest confidence in this transaction. This is by virtue of its nature utterly confidential and 'top secret'. You have been recommended by an associate who has assured me in confidence of your ability and reliability to prosecute a transaction of great magnitude involving a pending business transaction requiring maximum confidence. We are top officers of the Federal Government Contract Review Panel who are interested in the importation of goods into our country with funds presently trapped in Nigeria.
We solicit your assistance to enable us to transfer into your account the said trapped funds. I have been delegated as a matter of trust by my colleagues to look for an overseas partner into whose account we would transfer the sum of $US21,320,000 (TWENTY ONE MILLION THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS)… We have agreed that you will be entitled to 30% of the total sum, 60% for us and 10% will be set aside for any expenses while transacting the business.
If you respond to this email or letter you will be asked for money which will subsequently be lost and this person will have your bank details.
Bogus Charity Collections
These collectors make use of the fact that many people find donating old clothes and goods to charities a good method of clearing out their cupboards. Charities often make use of doorstep collections to gather donations directly from people’s homes. However, some of these charity collections are bogus.
The Association of Charity Shops estimate that the potential value of donated clothing and other items ‘lost’ to legitimate charities amounts to over £1m per annum. Many genuine charities rely on such doorstep collections for a substantial proportion of their shop sales.
These Bogus Charity Collectors typically send flyers round houses appealing for donations of unwanted clothes, footwear and sometimes other household and electrical items They claim that your unwanted goods will be distributed to poor individuals and families in Eastern European or third world countries. Householders are asked to leave the goods in a plastic bag by the front door. These are later collected anonymously.
The flyers give the misleading impression that the items are being collected for charitable purposes. In reality, the collections seem to be organised by commercial operators who sell the donated items for profit. The misleading impression is in some instances reinforced by a reference to a registration number, which people may think is that of a Registered Charity but is in fact a limited company number.
If you have any doubts about a leaflet asking for donations, you can:
Contact the Scottish Charity Regulator 01382 220446 to check whether the collection is for, or on behalf of, a registered charity.
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk Give direct to a local charity shop instead or donate to a charity shop collection sack. These should make clear reference to the charity registration number and many will also carry the Association of Charity Shops Kitemark.
Clairvoyant or Psychic Scams
These scamsters write to people from a general mailing list. They send their mailing shots out randomly and this can be very distressing for people who feel vulnerable.
Typical letters look like:
“I accidently discovered an amazing secret and wish to send it to you free. I am convinced that over the next 30 days a “miracle” will certainly occur and one which could shelter you from for the rest of your days….”
They go on to say that the recipient would be guaranteed good luck for a number of months simply by sending a sum of money to secure a ‘loan’ of “Merlin’s Magic Wand”
In other cases these mailings are more aggressive and actually state that if the recipient does not sent money he/she will actually experience something unpleasant. This of course is very distressing for the recipient.
Do not respond to these letters.
Destroy these letters.
Unsolicited Prize Draws, Lotteries and Windfalls
Most of these common scams tell you that you have won a prize or have been given a winning ticket or an overseas draw or lottery. All you have to do is pay a ‘registration’ or ‘administration’ fee. They look very official. They say your prize will be forfeited if you do not respond within a very limited time. More often than not the prize you have won costs less than the ‘administration fee’ that you sent.
Home working schemes
These phoney schemes target people who are keen to work from home. The mail shots promise ‘a large income’ and say that no experience is necessary. These job adverts appear to offer paid work for “stuffing envelopes” which is often a front for a get rich quick scam. When you reply to this mailshot you are asked for a sum of money to ‘start up’. Once you pay this money you are sent a plan that informs you to place a similar advert, photocopy the plan, and sent it out to unsuspecting victims. The only person who makes any money is the original promoter.
If you are looking for work you should consider writing to companies who genuinely offer this type of work. Genuine employers will not ask you for money in advance before providing you with work.
Internet Scams
Fraudsters can reach your internet emails very easily. These emails come in all sorts of guises and should be treated the same as unsolicited postal mail. Some scams disguise themselves as your bank. This rogue bank advises you it has noticed some unusual activity in your account, it then directs you to its web page and goes on to ask you to confirm your personal details. This web page will almost mirror your own bank web page and when you enter your details they will capture the information.
A legitimate email from you bank will never ask you to confirm your details on line.
Tips for safety
Don’t give your bank details to someone that you haven’t checked out.
Never give your PIN number, reputable banks won’t ask for this.
Invention promotion scams
Bogus companies advertise that they are actively seeking new inventions to market A new inventor keen to market his product responds and in return is asked to send his invention for review. Once this company receive the invention they ask the inventor for money up front in order that they can carry out research. This “research” is bogus. In some cases inventors have been asked to pay several thousands of pounds up front.
Our advice is to investigate the company prior to making any commitment to them. Make sure you have a written contract.
Remember no one can give you an assurance that your invention will make you money.
Miracle lotions and potions
Beware of any claims that offer a miracle cure for ailments such as arthritis, rheumatism, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, impotency etc. It is unlikely that these treatments have been properly tested or are medically effective. Indeed some may be dangerous for your health. They also offer a quick fix for losing weight and back this up by fake testimonials from “satisfied customers”.
Premium Rate Telephone Numbers
Fraudsters advertise “looking for money over the festive period” “go to Florida for £50.00” “you have won a prize” and all you have to do is to call the premium rate telephone number to get whatever is advertised. The catch is that they keep you on the phone for a costly 5 minutes and you then find that there is nothing on offer. The only thing you get is a large telephone bill.
Premium Rate Telephone Numbers charge by the minute well above the cost of a local or STD call. (ICSTIS) www.icstis.org.uk/
Pyramid Selling
These scams take a number of forms such as phoney chain letters, clubs etc. People usually find out about this through friends relatives etc. The main theme behind them all is to separate people from their money by offering them the chance to make large amounts of money quickly. Each participant has to find a number of fresh participants who donate to the scheme and those who donate have to find fresh participants and so on until eventually the latest recruitments loose their money.
Remember if it is too good to be true it probably is.
International Lottery Scams
Chances are that you will receive an unsolicited letter/telephone call advising you that you have won thousands of pounds in one of the foreign lotteries. They ask for your bank details to deposit the cash. Once you respond these scamsters use your bank account to make unauthorised withdrawals.
Telephone and Test Message Scams
Because the telephone and text message systems are open to the scamsters you can easily be contacted. They send you a text saying you have won a holiday or valuable prize and invariably you have to phone a premium rate telephone number. It is often unclear who has sent the message. Again they keep you holding for as long as possible and the holiday/prize has so many terms and conditions attached to it making it worthless. These kinds of text messages are usually unsolicited and consequently in breach of the Advertising Code.
Marketers have to have the explicit consent of the consumer before they can send out promotions by text message. Consumers should be sceptical of unsolicited texts asking them to ring a premium rate number as these can cost up to £1.50 per minute to call. This is how the advertiser makes their money. www.asa.org.uk
Unsolicited Gifts
Some unscrupulous traders send “gifts” such as pens, key rings, tights, recipe cards without them being ordered. This is inertia selling. These traders depend on the fact that you may feel guilty by keeping them without payment. If goods come to you without you ordering them you are under no obligation to pay for them. You may write to the trader stating that you don’t want them and say where they may be collected. It is a criminal offence under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 to demand payment for unsolicited goods from a consumer.