Trading Standards take on the Scammers

[Bill]

Got to take issue with today’s top story about Warrington Trading Standards where they can claim to be able reduce phishing scams and bring those responsible to justice. How on earth do they think they’re going to achieve this given that the financial institutions, police and even the ISP’s can’t stop them and as for getting a prosecution, well that just beggar’s belief.

 

http://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/articles/18239/1/Lets-fight-the-scammers/Page1.html

 

These are just the usual well-intentioned words but what they’re actually doing is misleading the public into believing that Trading Standards can do something about it, which clearly they can’t.

 

May be they’re smarter than I’m giving them credit for. But unless they’ve worked out how get information from the words "Click here" on a piece of paper that someone’s taken the trouble to print out and take to the local library, I’ll stick to my view that they really haven’t got a clue what they’re doing.

　

 

 

 

Bill

[Robbo]

Sending scam emails is a criminal offence, which means that trading standards can take criminal action against those who send them. However, they can't unless people report them to organisations like the Police, The Internet Service provider, or to company(s) cited in the email. 

 

The more information they get the easier it is, but how many people have actually reported scam emails ? 

[Bill]

Pretty much 100% of phishing scams origionate outside the country and because of this, the police say they can't really do much about it. If they could do anything, then the amount of scams would be on the decerease rather than increasing as it is at present and we wouldn't be having this debate.

 

Trading Standards might be good at catching the small shopkeeper that sells drinks to young people but they’re completely out of their league attempting to take on international fraudsters on the web.

 

 

Bill

[Robbo]

One of the reasons that scam emails is increasing rather than decreasing is simply down to the bulk mailing software that is now available which allows the sending of emails to be staggered and sent all day/night long if necessary. By loading lists of proxy addresses they can appear to come from all over the world, but many can be traced if reported. Unfortunately systems are trying to block every spam email and often succeed but it only needs one to get through.

[Dizzy]

I tend not to get any scam/phishing emails these days but in the past when I have received emails alledging to be from my bank I have always forwarded them to my ACTUAL banks via their genuine websites as they have dedicated email addresses to forward them to (detailed under their security section).

As for Trading Standards, well I have used them a few times in the past couple of years for various things and I have always found them to be extremely helpful, thorough and effective.  If people DON'T report things then they wont be aware of what is going on in the area and they can't do anything to hopefully stop it.  The more people who report things the bigger the picture and can only be good in my opinion.  

[Bill]

_{Well I have every dodgey email that I've had over the past three months stored and they're welcome to the information but it won't do much good if its on paper. Pretty much all such scams have a totally false email address and all rely on you clicking on a link or opening some attachment which I'm not going to do and trading standards can't possibly do because they'll only have a paper copy.}

 

_{I've had first hand experiance of being scammed where it ended up costing me dearly. I wanted to pursue the case but the police said I'd have to pay over £1200 for the ISPs to carry out the trace which ineveitably would result in it being out of the country and beyond their ability to pursue. In my case our phone system was compromised so it was possible for us to do our own trace which showed four contries were involved but mostly Liberia and Somalia.}

 

_{I'd love to see these people well and trully nailed but Somalia's a bit far removed from Trading Standard corner shop patch so I think I may stand a better chance with something like the Salvation Army.}  

 

_{I openly challenge Trading Standards to show any eveidence that they have managed to track down and bring prossecution of any phishing scammer. I don't beleive they have the necessary skills, ability or resources needed to do this.}

 

_Bill

[Bazj]

we need to bring back a few Vulcan bombers and go and show Somalia what phishing is all about

[Dizzy]

I completely understand what you are saying Bill and I doubt they could catch Somalian's either... but if more people alert them to ANY sorts of possible scams going around it must surely result in them having a better chance of collating info and stopping some of the other unscrupulous traders, callers etc etc.  

As for you being told you would have to pay the ISP to do a trace well surely they should be made to do that for free in exceptional circumstances where people like you have been scammed on your phone line.  Madness eh ?

[Horace]

Some time ago, my granddaughter fell victim to a scam website, cleverly named after a reputable one. As a result, she parted with £100 for a product which never arrived.  I took the matter up with Trading Standards in Warrington - and they didn't want to know!

[Sha]

The scammers are not all using internet.

 

Received this week - a letter from a 'Mr Mohammed Salah' an 'investment banker in Syria' whose European client has lost his life in the unrest in Syria.

For the sake of his dead client's children Mr Salah need to move his client's funds out of Syria into safekeeping for the poor orphan children to be able to access when they can safely leave Syria and come over here to get their money.

All he needs is someone to receive these funds from the security company in SOUTH AFRICA and keep them safe until the orphans get here. The funds are to be deposited into my account  'anywhere I desire for investment purposes'.

For doing this he is offering me 30% of the TWENTY FIVE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS ONLY.

He requests that I  contact him immediately by e-mail  or by phone.  A gmail.com  e-mail address and a phone number were given.

 

The URGENT letter was posted second class and franked;  Royal Mail Greenford/Windsor Mail Centre 01.05.14 at 08.46pm.

Obviously mass produced, The envelope has an address sticker with my name and address (correct initial but wrong gender prefix)  whilst the letter merely begins "Dear Friend".

some of the wording points to a writer of foreign origin, eg "....to solicit for your kind assistance"  and the letter is ended "Yours Truly". -( though this could be done on purpose to make it look as though the writer is foreign).  A biro has been used to scrawl an undecipherable signature.

 

So.....WHO DUNNIT?  in what ways could this be of use to investigators in establishing the identity of the writer?       

[Dizzy]

So.....WHO DUNNIT?

I wasn't me Sha 

[Evil Sid]

Had a few of these letters over the years and have answered three so far offering to set up a bank account with £1.00 in so that the cheque, when it arrived, could be payed in. Then pointed out that it would have to be done this way as I was currently being investigated for fraud, all my assets had been frozen pending the outcome and had trouble opening an account in my own name. Still waiting for the cheque to arrive after seven years.

[Dizzy]

I hope that if by any chance anyone was investigating them that they didn't intercept your letters Evils with your kind offer. 

Watch out for big black vans and men following you around talking into their newspapers

[Evil Sid]

I look at it this way, with all those anti terrorist and anti fraud people keeping an eye on me i feel very safe when i walk the streets.

[Dizzy]

:lol: