Beware of scams

[FTL]

There's so many scams out out there nowadays and they're only increasing in volume, so it pays to be aware of them and take care not to fall into the trap.

Here are a few links to articles and resources to help you remain one step ahead of the scammers. Please add more as you find them.

Shopping for Christmas bargains? Beware the ‘spray and pay’ parcel delivery fraud

Criminals send thousands of texts about an undelivered bargain buy and ask for a redelivery fee in a bid to mine your data and bank details

www.theguardian.com

‘This is crippling us’: The new fraud epidemic hitting restaurants

Forty Dean Street is something of an institution in London’s Soho. Nima Safaei and his sister have run the small Italian restaurant for over 15 years, and it is one of three restaurants they own in this bustling neighbourhood.

uk.finance.yahoo.com

Fake medicine almost killed my cat - here's how to spot counterfeits

Pet owners are being urged to check all medicines carefully before using them.

www.bbc.co.uk

Black Friday: Shoppers warned most offers are not cheaper

Only one in seven Black Friday deals offered a genuine discount last year, says consumer group Which?

www.bbc.co.uk

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The following are specific to the UK:

159 phone number - Stop Scams UK

Intended for use by consumers, 159 provides an easy route back to safety when you get an unexpected phone call about a financial matter

stopscamsuk.org.uk

Action Fraud

National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre

www.actionfraud.police.uk

 

[FTL]

For UK viewers and those with a VPN, there's Scam Interceptors on BBC iPlayer, a series where they hack into scam call centres and stop the scams in realtime.

This isn't staged either, the scams are real and they're stopping them for real.

BBC One - Scam Interceptors

Working with ethical hackers, Rav Wilding is hunting down the scammers plaguing our lives.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Mendalla]

For UK viewers and those with a VPN, there's Scam Interceptors on BBC iPlayer, a series where they hack into scam call centres and stop the scams in realtime.

I have heard of that but never seen it. It's a nice idea in principle and good for a vengeful laugh but probably makes only a scratch on the surface. LE and intelligence might make a dent. But as long as there's people giving them money, scammers will keep popping up and finding new ways to scam and hide. It's a game of whack-a-mole where the moles are probably winning. And it has been that way for a long time. Some Internet scams are just rejigs of classic older scams.

So be careful out there. They are coming for your money.

 

[FTL]

Oh yes, what they have the resources to stop is a drop in the ocean. However, it does raise awareness of these scams, so it's effectiveness is much more than the few people they save.

It still beggars belief how people fall for these as they're so obviously fake right from the off. Just hang up on them and you're safe. Note that I'm excluding old people with dementia, or other vulnerable groups who can't tell the difference. They should be protected from criminal predators like this as possible.

 

[Mendalla]

I will confess to enjoying it when the "your computer is infected" scammers call given I work in IT and generally know computers better than they do. Wish I could justify the effort to create a honeypot so I could trap and torment them a bit.