Quiet street in the grip of a global web scam

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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 1:12 am

Quiet street in the grip of a global web scam

Apr 27 2007

Joshua Layton
icSouthLondon.co.uk

A QUIET Croydon street is being used by overseas fraudsters behind an elaborate global internet scam.

No 28 Tanfield Road is cited as the HQ of the "British Lottery International" in a so-called "419" web con.

Thousands of e-mails are being sent out daily aimed at depriving "winners" of cash - or stealing their identities.

The result has been floods of letters - and even people from as far away as Pakistan and Israel - turning up in the road.

But the devastated visitors find that all that lies at No 28 is an office complex inhabited by legitimate companies.

Ian Peadon, general manager for Dexter House Ltd, which owns the buildings, said: "We've had two or three people walk in every week.

"There was someone from Israel and an older guy from Pakistan wearing all his war medals. I felt very sorry for him coming over here to pick up an award that doesn't exist.

"It's not good for us having all these people walking into the building and I have spoken to the police.

"But they said because they have only come here looking for their prize, and have not lost any money, no fraud has been committed."

Tanfield Road residents have found that their addresses have been caught up in the deception - and other types of fraud.

Tony Horton, 43, said: "About once a year myself or my neighbours get a package addressed to the British Lottery International, but with our house numbers on.

"The last time was in March and it was an A4-size parcel delivered to my neighbours.I know next door so I refused it for them.

"The year before,also in March, an identical package addressed to the same company came to my house via Royal Mail special delivery. It was a jiffy bag and felt as if it was stuffed with papers.I didn't accept it."

Mr Horton, who has lived in the street for 20 years, has been flooded with mail - including from the DVLA and Croydon Council's housing benefits office - for people he has never heard of.

One letter asking for money,which listed his name and middle initial above his address, purported to be from the Nigerian Geological Society, but cursory checks proved it a scam.

Bailiffs and the police have also been to his house,which is split into flats,to search for people.Mr Horton tried cross-referencing some of the names with electoral records at a library,but none matched.

Other residents have also witnessed the strange events.

A man aged 35, who did not want to be named, said: "A Nigerian man and woman came here last summer looking for the British Lottery International HQ.By the sound of it they had lost some money."

E-mail 419 scams are named after the section of Nigeria's penal law which punishes such frauds.

Alan Phillips, of Croydon Trading Standards,said he was aware of the Tanfield Road e-mails.But he added: "There don't appear to be any Croydon residents who have been caught out in this particular scam."

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

28 Tanfield Road, Croydon, is a popular address, if you do a forum search for Tanfield you will see a couple of pages of results about it, same if you Google 28 Tanfield Road, you will get many results for scams.

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 1:33 am

Are there any other popular street addresses out there that we should be aware of?

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 8:18 am

406 Bury New Rd,
Whitefield,
Manchester
England
M45 7SX

Used in thousands of lottery scams.
It's a private address. The bemused occupants (who have nothing to do with scams or scammers) receive piles of mail and get numerous visitors in connection with 'lottery claims'.
The BBC became interested in why this address should be so popular with lottery scammers that they commissioned an investigative programme about it.

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 8:39 am

There is also one in Stamford, Lincolnshire, whose exact address escapes me at this present moment.

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 9:44 am

22 Garden Close,
Stamford,
Lincs,
PE9 2YP,
London Confused

United Kingdom,

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