Postal Scam and Competition Scams Watch out for these scams
Posted: Tuesday, December 23, 2008
by Ed Burrows
Plum Prizes
Lately there has been a rise in a clever postal scam and other competition scams that are defrauding money from UK residents. A combination of aspects has allowed these scams to grow like the web, an large number of marketing lists and a variety of social media sites. Competitions are rapidly becoming a regular avenue where fraudsters can utilize their fraudulent tactics. It is probable that these scams are extracting up to 150 million pounds a year from UK citizens. This summary will give you a sufficient warning on the types of scams out there, what to keep an eye out for and how you can protect yourself.
Timeshare fraud come in the form of annoying telemarketer calls to your work or home.
Scams with timeshare generally have genuine rewards but they are often hard to acquire after a lengthy phone call
A timeshare scam will involve a phone call telling you that you are eligible for a free vacation or hotel stay.
You are often eligible for the reward (but of course you have not been 'selected') after you attend a mandatory presentation with a group of other prospects where you will be given a hard sales pitch on the timeshare offer.
You may well have to fork out an up-front deposit on credit card in addition to attending the presentation.
Often travel dates are unchangeable or the flight is scheduled out from an inconvenient airport.
2. Prizes that request processing or administration fees to collect
Winning a competition will never involve processing fees or other associated fees in order to collect a prize. These scams come in a whole bunch of various formats but often an unsolicited letter will arrive advising you that you have won a vast amount of money. In order for you to take the prize you will need to pay an admin fee or a postage fee of some kind. Sometimes a telemarketer will call your home to tell you in person, in one particular example victims are called and told that they have won a holiday to Spain, but at the end of the phone call they need to pay 75 for airport taxes upfront with a credit card.
3. Postal Scam using high cost phone lines
Due to the ease with which fraudsterscan create international phone numbers, high cost phone lines have been used in conjunction with a postal scam to defraudmoneyfrom victims. In this example you receive a letter that you have won a prize or that you have a parcel waiting for you at the post office. Included on the letter are detailed instructions on how to go about collecting the package which must be initiated through a phone call. This is often a timed call that lasts up to five or six minutes and can cost up to 15 or more. Sometimes an immediate charge for the full amount is added to your phone bill as soon as you hear the automated voice message on the other end.
4. Text fraud
These are now becoming ever more prevalent as texts are sent to completely random numbers, 'phishing' for a response. As soon as you reply to the text the scammers know that they have a real number. The reply text will often cost up to 5 and they can keep these texts going back and forth with you until you stop.
This may look something like this text
Text YES now to 569100 if you would like to collect your item. Text YES to 54900 now! stop? text stop to 85115.
Regardless of your response you will be charged the per-message fee.
5. web fraud
Internet scams are a huge category within themselves however there are a few specific examples to the competitions hook. An email purporting to be from a reputable corporation such as MSN or Hotmail will advise that your email has been chosen as a major prize winner. This will usually request you to call a high cost phone number for collection.The email will usually be quite detailed, giving precise codes in relation to the competition and advise you to call a phone line to organise collection. The phone costs contain undisclosed fees that are added to your phone bill.
So what can you do to protect yourself and those around you? Here are a few tips
1. If you ever receive an unsolicited email, letter or call explaining you have won a prize and requesting to call a number or pay an upfront fee it is almost certainly
2. A good website is whocallsme.com which keeps a database of phone numbers listed to companies that engage in unethical practices. If you can't find anything reported there then you can post your own comments.
3. Check web forums which are a good to location to find the most prevalent competition scams. Two useful websites are Loquax and Money Saving Expert.
4. Ask your parents or grandparents if they have received any of these types of messages as they are the most vulnerable group to this type of fraud. It is probable that the over 60s age group accounts for up to 30% of these scams.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)I often wish that people who are so talented at scamming would use their talents for the good of mankind, instead of for harm. Until then, thanks for the alert, Ed.Val
It seems to be a worldwide thing with scams of all sorts. It speaks very definatively to the age we live in. Not that oterh ages were not as corrupt just more opportunities with the Internet.
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