The Blue Vision Scam

There has been research in the last 20 years or so looking at the effects of different types of light on sleeping patterns, skin cancer, indoor lighting comfort and so on.

This is useful science and the information provided helps us to make adjustments in our lives or maybe simply to understand the effects better. E.g. viewing screens just before trying to sleep can be a bad idea as the frequencies of light given off by electronic screens keeps your brain awake (to some degree).

Some research has concluded that ‘blue light’ as given out by TVs, mobile phones etc. can lead to an increase in eye strain.

Scammers have caught onto this to create a new fear and hence push gullible people to click whatever they want them to or to buy products to remove this problem etc.

One recent scam email says

“Blue radiation causes near-vision loss, distance vision loss, low light vision loss and when you vision declines you lose your self respect and independence …”

But his colleague has a way of avoiding these problems entirely – you just have to watch his presentation to get the magic answer.

While it’s true that some people prefer the low light setting on their mobiles or PCs there is no reason to be frightened of blue radiation and no reason to click the link in the scammer’s emails.

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September 15, 2019

Stupidest Scam of the Week Magic Scales

There are endless diets on the market. Most are genuine in the sense that people believe in them although in most cases there is no meaningful scientific proof of effectiveness.

There is also a huge number of scam diets on the market – created simply to make money for the seller.

This latest scam offers for sale a scale that ‘definitely solves your weight problems’.

A device that tells you your weight is not going to solve an weight issues.

The message claims that the scale uses latest technology to track your weight over time. It’s controllable by Bluetooth from your phone and IOS and Android APPS.

It’s also claimed to be ultra modern design and available in a range of colours.

The message is from fareginlog.xyz which is not the domain name for a reputable trader.

Maybe the scale exists and maybe it doesn’t – that doesn’t matter as a device that lists your weight over time may be of interest but is not capable of solving weight problems and surely anyone can see that and not be taken in by such rubbish?.

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September 14, 2019

Time-Wasters Update

“Hot Brew is Shrinking Tummy Fat” says the message but there’s no such thing as a drink that targets stomach fat and the idea that drinking one cup of anything will instantly remove all fat from your stomach is ridiculous fiction.

Shauna tells me I have a new payment in my personal account, but I must to verify my payment details immediately or it will be deleted. I don’t have an account with the unnamed company and she doesn’t even know my name as the salutation is just “Hello”. No thanks Shauna – keep your scam to yourself.

The message claims there is a new skincare trick that women and men are using to look 10-20 years younger in just a few seconds. This secret comes straight from Beverley Hills – the world’s capital of skincare. Perhaps Beverley Hills is the capital of cosmetic surgery but it’s not where the cosmetics industry is based. Just a standard scam making a ridiculous claim.

Did you know? This potent vegetable caused Cathy to lose 56 lbs of stubborn ugly diabetic fat from her belly and hips. And reversed her type II diabetes. No. I didn’t know that, but then it’s obviously not true. There is no such thing as diabetic fat, there are no vegetables that make you lose belly fat – your body reduces the fat storage overall when you eat less calories than you burn, not just in any one area. The message also warns that you mustn’t eat this vegetable more than twice a day or you will lose fat too quickly. Utter rubbish for very very stupid people.

A standard phishing email claiming to be from our website hosting company but the scammers don’t know who that is – their emails are generic so are clearly lies. It wants me to click on a link to verify the new contract terms and conditions. No thanks scammer.

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September 13, 2019

Canadian Anti Scam Centre

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) is the central agency in Canada that collects information and criminal intelligence on mass marketing fraud (e.g. telemarketing), advance fee fraud, Internet fraud, identification theft complaints and similar matters.

The website is www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca and contains information on frauds, advice on how to protect yourself against fraud and how to report scams.

In Canada, there has recently been :

A marked increase in the amount of mail with too-good-to-be-true offers
Frequent calls offering get-rich-quick schemes or valuable awards
Numerous calls for donations to fake charities
Many people finding their banking records show cheques or withdrawals made to unknown companies

CAFC advice that if you suspect that someone you know has fallen prey to a deceptive telemarketer, don’t criticize them for being naïve. Encourage that person to share their concerns with you about unsolicited calls or any new business or charitable dealings. Assure them that it is not rude to hang up on suspicious calls. Keep in mind that criminal telemarketers are relentless in hounding people – some victims report receiving 5 or more calls a day, wearing down their resistance.

The Vision of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre

Be innovative in its efforts to disrupt frauds and scams through coordination with its partners.
Be an international Centre of Excellence providing the most comprehensive data available in Canada with regard to fraud related resource material, scam types, statistics, trends, and demographics, as well as the size, scope and impact of fraud.
Work closely and cooperatively with its numerous partners in a combined effort to proactively identify emerging scams, trends, threats, and criminal organizations operating in Canada across multiple jurisdictions.
Provide the highest possible quality service through technology in partnership with law enforcement, government agencies at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, and the private sector.
Provide valuable, timely and compassionate assistance to victims of fraud.

Stay safe online.

If you have any experiences with scammers, spammers or time-waster do let me know, by email.

September 12, 2019

eToro Trading Platform

eToro is described as a social trading and multi asset brokerage company that focuses on providing copy trading services and it has registered offices in Cyprus and Israel.

So, it’s for people who want to trade crypto currencies, shares, binary options and so on.

There seem to be a lot of people who complain that eToro is a scam – that you can add money to your eToro account then they charge $25 for any cash withdrawal and takes ages to make such transactions whereas adding money is very quick.

This is normally the hallmark of a badly run business and hence one you should be wary of.

However there are also many people who claim they trade frequently on eToro and have no problems.

The forum at https://www.quora.com/Is-eToro-a-scam-or-a-legitimate-trading-website contains roughly equal number of people claiming eToro is a scam and those claiming it’s a good company.

If you do wish to invest using eToro do check online for latest reviews of the business and preferably don’t put all of your money on the one platform.

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

September 11, 2019

The Most Common Scams of 2018

The number of scams reported to Action Fraud jumped by 6.4% between 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Of the 535,390 fraud reports made to Action Fraud over this two-year period, the most common scams are:-

Online shopping fraud – (86,127 reports). This type of scam can involve an online seller duping customers into making a purchase and disappearing without delivering the goods.
Advance fee fraud – (78,868 cases). These usually involve victims being asked to pay an upfront fee in return for future benefits, like a bogus estate agent requiring a deposit on a non-existent property.
Computer fixing fraud – (38,891 reports). Typically this con involves a cold call with a scammer posing as an IT specialist working for a brand such as Microsoft, and convincing victims their computer is at risk and that they have to hand over a fee to fix it – and in some cases pass on details that allow fraudsters access.
Cheque, card and online bank fraud – (35,502 reported incidents). This type of fraud occurs when your card or chequebook is stolen or cloned or a scammer manages to gain access to your online account to steal money.

Other common scams include bogus tradespeople, computer virus attacks, dating scams, fake loan frauds, hacking of social media, or email, investment fraud, direct debit fraud, retail/consumer fraud and ticket fraud.

Despite an increase in public awareness of scammers, the figures for those caught out in scams continues to rise.

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