Online fraud featured on BBC

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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:32 am

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10589855.stm

Please click on the link to keep it in the "most read" list!

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:41 am

A bit more worrying is This

Potentially lambs to the slaughter if they don't educate on the down side too.

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:53 am

Yes it's ironic that both stories appeared on the same day!

If anyone can think of any follow up stories (baiting or otherwise) then I think it's worth giving BBC Radio 5 Live a call, they would feature something like that I reckon.

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:40 am

there is a good companion piece from a romance scam victim
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10591153.stm
(also featured on Radio 4 this morning).

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:08 am

Quote:

there is a good companion piece from a romance scam victim
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10591153.stm
(also featured on Radio 4 this morning).

Yes the romance scam format looks depressingly familiar Sad

I still think that we could potentially piggyback our baiting efforts on the back of this, we need more awareness and more baiters!

Send the bbc your audio and links to great baits!

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:09 am

From the OP´s article-

Chief executive Dr Bernard Herdan said: "Fraud, of any value, is a serious crime that devastates lives and often funds more organised crime like drug smuggling and people trafficking.

My bolding.

@Windypops- I think you´re right, lambs to the slaughter unless there´s a massive education to the dangers of on-line fraud, particularly with on-line job offers.

@firehouse5- What I most liked about that article was that the lady was quite honest about having been taken for a ride.
Let´s hope it serves to educate internet users.
"However strong and sensible you are, you have an Achilles' heel,"

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:54 am

Quote:

In the end, with bogus stories of import tax, export duty and travel costs, supported by faked invoices and worthless promissory notes, "Bradford" managed to fleece Brenda for nearly £57,000.

Just imagine a lad with that sort of money, will he have retired?

I think Brenda was very brave to admit her losses.

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 11:15 am

Yes, I agree
Sad

Bloody mugus!

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:15 pm

devil_woman wrote:

Just imagine a lad with that sort of money, will he have retired?

Nope. There are lads out there who have earned much, much more and they're still scamming away.

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:26 pm

^^^
Because however much they scam, they will just p*ss it away and need more.

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:02 pm

windypops wrote:

A bit more worrying is This

Potentially lambs to the slaughter if they don't educate on the down side too.

Last week in Real Life I had to attend a workshop in London discussing the urgent need to to flood London with WiFi. One of the arguments was that it would help with "Digital Inclusion". Estimated 10 million people in UK do not have access to the Internet. I asked who this was aimed at. It is the Elderly (potential victims), the lonely (more potential victims), the poor (need I say it?) and so on. The problem seems to be that these classes of victim - er I mean people, are missing out on the savings to be made by shopping on-line, by paying utilities bills online and missing out on sites like facebook. An example was given of an elderly lady, widowed, with no family or friends to visit, who is housebound and lonely. she would benefit from being able to go on to Facebook or similar sites.

I mentioned the issue of her being a classic victim of fraud and was told it was very unlikely that would happen.

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:23 pm

firehouse5 wrote:

there is a good companion piece from a romance scam victim
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10591153.stm
(also featured on Radio 4 this morning).

Also here clicky
And she was interviewed on the local BBC TV news at lunchtime. The romance scam has had a lot of useful coverage today.

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 6:53 pm

Great that there's so much coverage. I still think that a good follow up would be the baiting element.

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:21 pm

psychicbait wrote:

Chief executive Dr Bernard Herdan said: "Fraud, of any value, is a serious crime that devastates lives and often funds more organised crime like drug smuggling and people trafficking.
"

I don't see how either crime needs external funding.
Drugs generate huge profits, and moving any product round the world costs relatively little.
And I thought that people being trafficked paid for the service. Either up front or being used for cheap/slave labour on arrival.

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:10 pm

Quote:

should we really be forcing people online if they've no interest in the web, and where's the money to make this happen?

What exactly does this so called champion intend to do about the people who have NO Interest in going online ?

After all you can lead a horse to water, seems to me to be another do-gooder full of ideas and good intentions fighting a cause that is impossible to fulfill. !

Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:42 am

Quote:

We know there are many more victims out there. People often feel embarrassed, but they shouldn't

Dr Bernard Herdan Action Fraud

That's probably the reason of many scams gone unreported

The lady was brave, I'm sure her story will help others

Master Baiter Joined: 18 Dec 2004 Posts: 106

I have seen the link. They are different kinds of online frauds and 419 is just a small part of that. I think phising scams is the biggest problem facing the internet today

Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 2:36 pm

Brenda was also in the Daily Mail in the UK yesterday. Possibly that is how the BBC picked up on it.

Just found the link :

link

2nd edit to add : didn't like the tone of comments on the Mail thread so I've made one of my own.

Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 2:56 pm

Quote:

2nd edit to add : didn't like the tone of comments on the Mail thread so I've made one of my own.

Yes I was about to say that they are somewhat unforgiving!

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