All Scams articles – Page 5

  • News

    The Spanish king of scams

    2012-10-12T00:00:00Z

    It’s back folks: well, it never really went away: European City Guide (ECG), aka Industry and Commerce. Since it has 16 other names to my knowledge, it’s hard to keep track of them

  • News

    Outconning the conman

    2012-09-26T00:00:00Z

    Pay attention at the back because you are going to love this story. Regular correspondent Hitendra Patel (Costcutter, Romford) rang again with an uplifting tale of how he conned a con artist

  • News

    Spam, scams and hanky-banky

    2012-08-31T00:00:00Z

    I don’t know about you, but I’m fed up with those phone calls and texts offering to refund missold payment protection insurance

  • News

    Sticky fingers in the till

    2012-08-31T00:00:00Z

    Once upon a time I attended a training seminar and the old hand who gave the presentation opened with an anecdote about stock losses

  • News

    The devil's in the detail

    2012-08-15T00:00:00Z

    This was unusual: Belinda Rawlinson is a Lanwall retailer in Rochdale who actually paid some £3,500 for a photocopier that never earned her the promised return over the five years’ term

  • Dear Jac

    Now it's 'ladies' turn

    2012-07-18T00:00:00Z

    Last issue I reported on Hitendra Patel’s revelation that dodgy callers trying to pull off terminal scams had British names but were actually fluent in Hindi swearing.

  • Dear Jac

    A bilingual exchange

    2012-07-09T12:20:00Z

    My south-east correspondent Hitendra Patel (I have a northern one, but could use a few others: Midlands, Scotland, Wales, N Ireland, the West Country) had an amusing run-in with a bogus caller to his Costcutter store in Romford, Essex.

  • Dear Jac

    Smoking gun

    2012-06-22T00:00:00Z

    I’ve been exchanging emails with a retailer who wishes to remain anonymous so as to not jeopardise what was an ongoing police investigation on a neighbouring shopkeeper.

  • Dear Jac

    Did you hear the one about?

    2012-05-11T00:00:00Z

    When most people hear themselves on tape they go, ‘No! Do I sound like that?’

  • Dear Jac

    An old card trick

    2012-04-13T00:00:00Z

    The UK Cards Association is advising customers to be aware of a new variation on an old-style scam that involves people being telephoned by fraudsters and duped into handing over their debit or credit card, and revealing their PIN

  • Dear Jac

    A not-so-sexy story

    2012-03-30T00:00:00Z

    The old publishing scams go on and on. Julie Smith rang from her Spar in Solihull to say that she had received a call recently, telling her that the £90 she pledged last September to the Teenage Information Bureau for books for schools was now due.

  • Dear Jac

    Was this really a grilling from the Grid?

    2012-03-30T00:00:00Z

    Julia Walder wondered if she was being set up when a very persistent lady kept ringing up to tell her that she was paying too much for her electricity at St Martin Store in Isles of Scilly.

  • Dear Jac

    How to rate your business

    2012-03-30T00:00:00Z

    It’s like clockwork. Business rates set to go up in April and the chancers come calling.

  • Dear Jac

    Face the facts

    2012-02-03T00:00:00Z

    Here’s a new scam for you. My other half just received notification and congratulations that he had achieved gold membership status on Facebook…

  • Dear Jac

    Watch out for the rent boys

    2012-01-20T00:00:00Z

    PayPoint has drawn our attention to yet another scam that reared its ugly head over Christmas.

  • Dear Jac

    Could be time to limit your liability

    2012-01-18T00:00:00Z

    I would suggest that most small businesses ‘targeted’ by companies offering what turn out to be swindles (legal, but swindles nonetheless) are sole traders.

  • Dear Jac

    No security in insurance cover

    2012-01-18T00:00:00Z

    How closely have you looked at your insurance policy?

  • Dear Jac

    We start as we mean to go on

    2012-01-06T00:00:00Z

    Have you had your email from Mrs Gaddafi yet?

  • Dear Jac

    Hammering the point home

    2011-12-20T10:15:00Z

    I could write about PayPoint and Ukash vouchers every issue - in fact, I think I might until everyone gets the message.

  • Dear Jac

    Cover your back

    2011-11-25T00:00:00Z

    Ukash launched an internet safety campaign in the week that I write this column (Nov 7-11), but it was too late for Robert Cole in Grantham