Category: Scammer

The Parking Meter Scam

In this scam, you’ve parked your vehicle and found the parking meter and are ready to pay.

A man at the meter tells you the meter isn’t working properly and is only accepting card payments. When you try your card, he distracts you and palms the card then tells you the machine has swallowed it.

The scammers are very practiced at what they do and they target elderly people on their own for this scam.

The scammer will charge as much as possible on the card before the owner can get it cancelled.

This scam has been reported in Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire but is likely to be happening across the whole country.

There is a similar scam which also targets elderly drivers.

You park your car and on return a man approaches and tells you that you have been caught by a smart parking ticket camera which reads number plates and calculates how long a car has stayed.

The man says you owe £100 for the fine and demands immediate payment and if you don’t have the cash then he will escort you to an ATM to withdraw the money.

Beware strange people approaching you about parking charges or fines and never pay them – demand official documentation and pay the council or parking organisation directly if necessary.

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Losing Weight in 1914

1914 – the start of the Great war in Europe.

Not a time to worry about losing weight.

But in America, “Every Woman’s Flesh Reducer” came to market in Chicago.

Described as “an easy wonderful external method for men and women”.

Apparently, you just had to pour the reducer powder into your warm bath and the results would be astonishing.

“Your superfluous fat will fade away, easily, surely and without any bad effects. Your figure will become as it should be – graceful, trim and beautiful”.

Sounds good but sounds very much like modern day magic weight loss scams.

And of course it was  a scam – the reducer powder was basically bath salts so you got a nice bath with it but no fat reduction.

There have always been scammers – the only difference now is that you mostly find them on the Internet.

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What is Card Skimming

Card skimming is where criminals use a small device (called a skimmer) to steal payment card information in an otherwise legitimate credit or debit card transaction. When a payment card is swiped through a skimmer, the device captures and stores all the details stored in the card’s magnetic stripe which contains the card number, expiration date and the card holder’s full name. Thieves use the stolen data to make purchases online or make counterfeit cards or sell to other criminals.

Card skimmers can be placed over almost any type of card reader but are most often placed over the card entry mechanism on ATMs and petrol stations. The criminals may also place a tiny camera above the keypad to record you entering your PIN. This gives the thief all the information needed to make fake cards and withdraw money from  your account.

Sometimes retail and restaurant workers who handle payment cards are recruited to be part of a skimming ring. These workers use a handheld device to skim your card during a normal transaction. For example when you hand your card over to the waiter to pay your bill – the waiter disappears and returns with your receipt but has also passed your card through a skimmer.

Once the victim’s card information is stolen, thieves will either create cloned card to make purchases in store or online or sell the information or fake cards on the dark web. Victims of credit card skimming are often unaware of the theft until they notice unauthorized charges on their account, have their card unexpectedly declined, or receive an overdraft notification from the bank or warnings about a loan in their name that they didn’t take out.

How to Spot a Card Skimmer at an ATM

Card skimming devices are made to look as if part of the ATM it’s placed on.

Look out for :-

  • A card reader that sticks out far past the panel. Skimmers are designed to fit over the existing credit card reader.
  • A keypad that’s thicker than normal (there may be a fake one on top of the original)
  • If the keys seem hard to push, eject your card and use another ATM.

 

Watch where you shop and keep hold of your cards at all times. Do not let waiters or retail staff wander off with your card to process your payment.

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How to become a Scammer

Millions of people around the world have decided to steal from others rather than trying to make money by legitimate means.

Here’s the process they may go through in making that decision.

  1. You assess yourself and realise that you are a lying, cheating, repulsive human being. You are a first class scumbag and have no soul. Without this realisation you won’t become a scammer.
  2. You decide that you are going to steal from others to get what you want – you don’t care if your victims are rich or poor, young or old, healthy or sick. Any victim is fine and statistically victims are more likely to be older, less wealthy and less healthy than the average.
  3. Next, you decide on the method of scam to use:-
    1. Face-to-face
    2. By post
    3. By email
    4. By text message
    5. Create fake websites
    6. On social media
    7. Any combination of the above
  4. Then you select the scam you want to use. There are thousands but most scammers stick to the tried and trusted ones rather than being creative enough to find a new scam. The simplest way is to directly copy other scammers.
    1. Investment / Pump and dump
    2. Phishing then sell the details to other scammers
    3. Identity Theft
    4. 419 scams i.e. promise something valuable but never deliver
    5. Miracle health products that don’t exist or are cheap rubbish
    6. Retail of fake products
    7. Malware distribution
    8. Computer support calls
    9. Cyber currencies
    10. Job Offers
    11. Fake loans
    12. Scareware
    13. Travel scams etc.

etc.

  1. You carry out the scams
  2. You enjoy the benefits of theft until you are caught and imprisoned and hopefully suffer a great deal for the misery you have caused other people

Give yourself a worthwhile life – don’t be a scammer.

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Inbox Pounds Scam or Not

Inbox Pounds is a way to make money for simple activities online including

  • Filling in surveys
  • Reading emails
  • Searching the web
  • Playing bingo
  • Shopping online

There are numerous companies offering money for filling in surveys but Inbox offers alternatives as well.

Does it pay up?

There seem to be more than a few people who have been paid by Inbox Pounds so that seems genuine.

The payments per activity are very very low so this is not a way to make any serious money – it seems more appropriate for people who spend a lot of time online and enjoy filling in surveys etc. They get a little extra money and if that’s all you want then maybe it will work out.

The adverts do make it clear that you have to accumulate a reward of £20 before you can cash out and reputedly that takes a long time to reach, plus if you become inactive for a period they will close your account.

So, as long as you don’t expect to make a lot of money easily – you might try Inbox Pounds but it is certainly not recommended.

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

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