Fake LinkedIn Invitations

LinkedIn is the biggest social media platform for businesses. It used to be avoided by scammers but now many scammers target LinkedIn and try to get login and passwords and then run various scams.

Genuine LinkedIn invitations from other businesses come from a LinkedIn address and invite you to login to LinkedIn and respond.

Fake invitations may say they are from LinkedIn but you can see the sender’s email address is something else e.g. a fake invitation from a scammer claiming to be Kate Chan is actually from htrc.com

The message from “Kate Chan” asks me to download the attachment to see the business offer she is making, but the attachment is a web page – no doubt setup to look like the LinkedIn login screen – she’s trying to get my access information.

The scammer may have bought a list of email addresses on LinkedIn or may just be sending out to random email addresses in the hope some are on LinkedIn.

If you’re on LinkedIn and get one of these messages – that’s just luck.

Kate’s message included the genuine LinkedIn graphics and a business photo of her – no doubt stolen from some unsuspecting woman’s social media feed.

All fake – so be careful and don’t assume messages that look OK on LinkedIn are safe. They may not be.

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

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Stupidest Spam of the Week Fat Vaccine

This scammer must have decided she’d cash in on the success of the Coronavirus vaccines by inventing a story about a vaccine against fat.

It is a ludicrous idea of course.

She claims ’One of our top scientists has just made a shocking discovery’.

‘He has secretly researched and helped hundreds of people with his vaccine against fat’.

She claims that this new method gives freedom from restrictive diets and the need for exercise and is also free from medication of any kind.

For some unexplained reason it also makes you look 10 years younger.   

The method takes just 5 seconds per morning and has been hailed as stunning by Harvard and Stanford.

However, as well as being applauded by such experts, it’s also a secret available now to you, if you click the link to learn more.

So,

  1. it’s secret but lots of people know about it and use it.
  2. It is a vaccine but is not a medical treatment of any form
  3. It makes you look 10 years younger
  4. Top scientists say its outstanding but scientists are also frightened and weight loss companies are in uproar

The whole fantasy is pathetic from start to finish.

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Banks To Use Criminal Money

Fraud in the UK is estimated to be more than £1.26bn in 2020 and some Police actions result in money and assets belonging to the criminals being frozen. For 2020, that was roughly £130 million.

The government is considering a proposal from banks that these funds obtained through criminal activities be used to pay back at least some of the victims.

According to a survey, three-quarters of those asked said they supported the idea, although there isn’t enough money to pay back all victims so that would create difficult choices on who receives the money.

A Home Office spokesperson stated that the government is working with the financial sector to unlock suspected criminal funds held in ‘frozen’ accounts across the financial sector.

Under some circumstances, the banks do pay back victims currently but, in many cases, the victims don’t get anything.

The Banks cannot make the decision to use that money until there is a change to the law, by the government to enable it. This is likely to be under the money laundering laws.

You can campaign on this issue to your local MP or the Home Office.

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

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Premium Rate Phone Numbers

Premium rate numbers are the ones where you get charged for calling.

These are prefixed with 09, 118, 0871, 0872 and 0873.

Prefix Description Cost from landlines per minute Cost from mobiles per minute
070 Personal or ‘follow me’ numbers regulated by the Phone-paid Services Authority 4p to £3.40 (plus a possible 51p per call) 30p to £2.50 (plus a possible 51p per call)
09 Premium rate numbers regulated by the Phone-paid Services Authority up to £3.60 and your phone company’s access charge, plus 5p to £6 per call up to £3.60 and your phone company’s access charge, plus 5p to £6 per call
118 Directory enquiry numbers regulated by the Phone-paid Services Authority up to £5 and your phone company’s access charge, plus possibly up to £6.98 per call up to £5 and your phone company’s access charge, plus possibly up to £6.98 per call

 

Take care when phoning any of the numbers – the costs can add up rapidly.

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The Psychological Basis for Scams

It’s easy to assume that people who are scammed either didn’t pay enough attention to the details or were too trusting, but that’s not usually the case.

Anyone can be tricked and although some scammers are as dumb as dirt, there are many who are very professional about the methods they use to con innocent people.

Different types of scams may exploit different aspects our personality, but there are common features to most scams, including:

  • Appeals to trust and authority – scammers claim to be from government departments, driver licensing, utility suppliers, major brands, the tax office etc.
  • Visceral triggers i.e. anything that creates desire or greed, or the avoidance of pain, happiness etc.
  • Herd validation e.g. testimonials from people who have bought the product and tell how wonderful it is
  • A huge payment in return for a small cost
  • Scarcity i.e. the product is only available now and will soon be gone
  • Conspiracy theories e.g. an array of lawyers are trying to get this website taken down

These factors may push the victim to ignore any consequences and the risk involved and instead focus on the potential high rewards.

The key message for people wanting to stay safe from such scams is simply to consider carefully and not be pushed into precipitate action. Is the offer genuine or much more likely to be a scam? Is it to good to be true? If yes then it’s a scam.

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