The Buy Your Company Scam

Most scammers use email or text messages or adverts but some still use old fashioned letters.

The letter looks legitimate – from a business which actually does exist on the Companies House register. Plus, the letter is signed in the name of one of the directors of that company and matches the companies house records.

So, what is the scam?

The letter says Nathan is interested in buying my company and that he has been in this industry for over 10 years. The phrase ‘this industry’ is used repeatedly throughout the letter without ever saying what industry it is – so the letter is general purpose and has probably been sent to a long list of random businesses.

The letter does say he is keen on Marketing and that is give-away that most likely he is just looking for leads for companies where he can sell Marketing services.

He claims to have plans to buy more businesses this year.

Maybe that is true, but a letter with no reference to what my company actually does or even what industry it is in means the whole thing is suspect and to be avoided.

If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email.

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TSB Fined

If you are or were a TSB client then you will remember the meltdown of their computer systems back in 2018.

TSB tried to move their computer systems from their own to those of Sabadell which bought TSB in 2015.

Whether it was lack of testing or bad management or unrealistic expectations or just plain incompetence, the result was millions of their customers couldn’t access their money, direct debits failed leading to penalty costs on their customers and more.

It was the lead story on the news for days as many people had their lives turned upside down by the sudden shutdown of their accounts.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) concluded that TSB failed to organise and control the programme of work and failed to manage the operational risks of the software migration.

The FCA fined TSB £29.8 million and PRA sanctioned TSB for £18.9 million, adding to the £32.7 million it cost TSB to set right damage to their customers accounts.

We rely so much nowadays on computer systems and their information and its up to all organisations to protect their customers data and access.

If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email.

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Rubber Ducking

A USB drive (also called USB thumb drive or USB stick) may look innocuous but may contain malware and if you are tricked into attaching it to your computer then that malware will attack your computer.

This scam was invented around 2010 with a hacker selling rubber duck USB drives and there has recently been an upgrade to the methods it uses.

These cost around $50 each so you wont find thousands of them spread around. Instead, they are typically used to target high value individuals.

The rubber duck typically uses pop up login boxes to capture the targets credentials, but it can search for confidential information, financial details etc.

Also, some are setup to be able to infect windows devices, Apple devices and others by determining the operating system of the device and adjusting accordingly.

If you are offered a free USB drive or someone asks to plug one into your device, think twice on how much you trust them and understand that if the device infects your computer you’re unlikely to notice any difference until it’s too late and your bank account has been emptied.

If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email.

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The TeslaCoin Scam

There is a crypto currency exchange called TeslaCoin.

Started by Elon Musk or anything to do with him?

NO! Not officially – it’s a name chosen to benefit from association with Elon Musk and the Tesla car company.

Scammers tell you Teslacoin is going to be worth a fortune and you just need to invest $250 to start with them.

But it’s not actually a crypto currency – it’s an exchange where you can buy and sell crypto currencies.

Is it a good investment?

You’ll have to make your own mind up on that – as some people make a fortune in crypto currencies and others lose a fortune.

It’s a risky game.

But don’t get caught out believing TeslaCoin is guaranteed to succeed because of Elon Musk – not true.

If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email.

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