Check Scams, Debt Collection scams and other financial scams.
#193262 by TerranceBoyce Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:24 am
Actually 'Alan', and I'm not taking issue with you, but I think that the banks pulled off a major coup with the 'faster payments system' when they managed to divest themselves of responsibility for making sure that the beneficiary name and account number on electronic transfers match. That alone has opened up a vast system defect that fraudsters can exploit and banks 'sold' the system to the public and government on the basis that it would enable the quicker transfer of money but the benefits to the bank as regards being able to disregard responsibility for unmatched payments going through their system is vast.

The simple fact is that if no one making payment can have any certainty as to the identity of who they're paying, then the whole financial system could become unstable if this defect is exploited to any great extent. Just imagine the effect if fraudsters can introduce fraudulent account numbers to replace those of major utility companies, local tax authorities or HMRC. Even if they could only get away with it for a week, the rewards would amount to millions, perhaps tens of millions and the victim has no way to even identify the criminal, let alone prosecute him. Banks and the law actually protect the criminal by providing him with impenetrable anonymity.

The fact is that if banks have no responsibility to check that account numbers and names match, it effectively turns every UK bank account in to a numbered bank account which have long been known to form the basis of massive international fraud. At the same time that numbered bank accounts have been driven out of the banking system a perfect alternative has been fashioned by a change in the regulations.

In case anyone thinks that I'm raising issues that are fanciful I can provide links to news stories where this weakness in the banking system has already been used to defraud HMRC of money in the form of tax refunds and one totalled over half a million pounds, and it was only uncovered by accident.

To be quite honest criminals haven't worked out fully how to exploit the system because they're failing to catch on to other weaknesses that would make their frauds far more effective, but I have no doubt that they'll work it out for themselves soon enough as the rewards for doing so are so great.

As regards ad sites, people have to understand just how unreliable all online sites are, and those that are most infested with scams should be avoided completely. This doesn't just relate to vehicle sales but also romance and employment sites, because even a job site ostensibly operated by the UK government has been exposed by an MP as being bedevilled with fraudulent adverts.

The consumer should vote with their feet as no commercial enterprise can succeed without customers.

CAR ADVERTS - If a car seller mentions escrow - he's scamming you Never ever for any reason pay anything until you have seen and inspected the vehicle
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#202211 by Gaurav Tue May 20, 2014 5:50 am
Hi,

I am new in forum and i am a victim of online car purchase.

I wanted to buy one used car and i looked into Internet website ooyyo.nl. Seller contacted me and asked me to pay 50% amount so that they will start the shipping of car.
I received email by movemycar transport Ltd with the signed contract and banks details. I send the money to them on 09.05.2014. Now they are not answering my phone call and they are not refunding my 2250 euro. My account is in ABN Amro bank and i discussed the issue with them but they are not supporting me.

I have the IBAN no. of them and i think they can be caught by this. Please help me out with this situation. I can not afford the loss of 2250 euro. Following are the Bank Details:

ACCOUNT HOLDER: MoveMyCar Transport Ltd.
BANK NAME: BARCLAYS BRANCH
SORT CODE: 20 47 34
ACCOUNT NO: 50 49 04 82
SWIFT/BIC BARC GB 22
IBAN GB28 BARC 20 47 34 50 49 04 82

Thanks in advance.

Regards
Gaurav
#202213 by AlanJones Tue May 20, 2014 5:58 am
Please can you post the email addresses and websites used by the scammers, along with the email (including hte headers - minus your details) that provided the bank details.

Please do not tell scammers that they are listed here - it will take them seconds to change their fake details and their new details will not be listed for any future victims to find.
#202369 by TerranceBoyce Wed May 21, 2014 11:20 am
I regret to inform you Gaurav that it's likely that you won't get your money back.

Of course it is outrageous that this is the case, but it won't help you if I don't tell you the truth. There have been many thousands of victim of this type of scam over many years and the police and banks appear impotent and incapable of dealing with it.

This is a particular problem in the UK and, as a UK citizen and a retired bank work, I am twice shamed that our law enforcement authorities and banking systems are so pathetically weak and easily abused. What angers me more than anything is that the victims are usually those who can least afford to lose the money.

It won't help you if I detail how the scams operate and the defects in UK banking procedures but they are confirmed when frauds performed in Australia have the stolen money routed through UK bank accounts. Perhaps all banks in the world are the same, but I know UK banks and I expect them to operate to a higher standard. I have tried to persuade victims to take this matter up with their MP's but without success. The frightening aspect is that criminals who can perform this 'low level' fraud have all they need to perform much higher level fraud, against the banks themselves or governments.

It may sound fanciful but I can explain and provide links to news stories. Most scammers stick to 'low level' fraud but they'll migrate to more ambitious scams as they become more sophisticated and link with organised crime and terrorist groups. The temptation of stealing Euros one million from just one transaction is just too tempting. In the UK it was reported recently that the NHS was defrauded of £600,000 with just one phone call.

I spend most days picking up between 100 and 200 fraudulent car adverts on one UK website and each one will channel the money through the accounts of 'money mules' usually held with UK banks.

Make sure your friends and colleagues know the risks of buying online.

CAR ADVERTS - If a car seller mentions escrow - he's scamming you Never ever for any reason pay anything until you have seen and inspected the vehicle
#203192 by Gaurav Tue May 27, 2014 6:35 am
Hello,

I did file complain action fraud in UK. They took all the information but I didn't hear anything from them. I contacted the BARCLAYS bank. They can see the amount transferred by me. But bank is saying that they can not do anything in this case. I reported it to my local police as well but no one is willing to help me out. It is really a bad situation for me.

Can somebody suggest to whom I should contact.


Regards

Gaurav Tripathi
#203349 by TerranceBoyce Wed May 28, 2014 8:51 am
I understand your situation and the same crime is affecting many people in the UK. This is a widespread fraud and the UK authorities aren't doing anything to address the problem. As I've mentioned to other people who have lost money to these criminals, if I could give you advice on how to get your money back, I would but it's virtually certain that your money is lost and gone.

The only hope is if UK victims take the matter up at a political level through their MP's to prevent abuse of bank accounts by criminals, but most people appear unwilling to do this.

CAR ADVERTS - If a car seller mentions escrow - he's scamming you Never ever for any reason pay anything until you have seen and inspected the vehicle
#204572 by Okanogan911 Fri Jun 06, 2014 1:44 am
[email protected] selling through kijiji.ca scam payment through Barclays Bank PLC. Contacted my bank and also Barclays Bank. Antonio Bertinelli account at Barclays Bank PLC.
Invoice Date: 05/07/2014
Transaction #: 0121833215
Customer #: BQ76632
- INVOICE # B1-0121833215 -


Dear xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Congratulations on buying this item through Easy Yard Sale! We hope you will enjoy your latest purchase.
It is all yours, now you just need to pay!
Both parties, Buyer and Seller, agree to terms, which includes a description of the item, sale price, number of days for the Buyer's inspection and shipping information.
Seller Thomas Boyd ([email protected])
Item Title 1998 Dodge Ram 2500
Purchase Price CAD $4,700.00
Shipping Fees CAD $0.00
Purchase Protection 7 Days Money Back Guarantee
Easy Yard Sale reduces the risk of online fraud for both the Buyer and Seller. As a trusted third party, Easy Yard Sale collects, holds and releases funds online, according to transaction terms agreed upon by the Buyer and Seller.

You can be assured that our unique protection process prevents Buyer and Seller fraud with each step, in every transaction. Completing online transactions with Easy Yard Sale is simple, safe and secure.

We do not release the money to the Seller until the Item has been received and accepted by the Buyer.

Please Click Here to open your invoice and read the transaction's details.

You can check your transaction status with the Transaction ID # 0121833215 on our website.

This information should only be used for resolving matters related to Easy Yard Sale.
Any other use is strictly prohibited.

Thank you for using and trusting Easy Yard Sale services!
Easy Yard Sale, Inc. Payment Department


Easy Yard Sale will periodically send you required emails about the site and your transactions.
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Easy Yard Sale logo is a trademark of Easy Yard Sale Inc.
Copyright © 2014 Easy Yard Sale, Inc. All Rights Reserved
#204577 by Okanogan911 Fri Jun 06, 2014 1:54 am
Sent the money through wire transfer to Antonio Bertinelli / EYS Ltd

Barclays Bank PLC
78 Lancaster Road
Enfield
EN2 0B7
Sort code 202981
Identifier BARCGB22
Account # GB47BARC20298153973298

Reported fraud to actionfraud.police.uk
Will follow up contacting them to see what can be done to stop another person from getting burned like me.
#208189 by Gaurav Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:59 am
Hello All,
With the grace of God and really supporting nature show by Barclays, I got money back on my account.
I have one suggestion for victims that please report to the bank as soon as you smell that you have been indulged in fraud and give them complete history. You have to follow bank on regular basis.
only thing I can say here is still some good people are alive in this Earth.
#211639 by web.barrier Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:56 am
I'm truly stunned by the prevalence of fraud occurring through Barclay accounts. And, frankly, it seems that nothing is changing. It has been over a year since these posts and I can confirm that Barclays still appears to be a bank of choice for scammers.
So, what can be done? It seems that banking regulation within the UK is sadly lacking in this area. How can the banks - and notably Barclays - be forced to policies and apply greater rigor to account applications? It really is a sick joke!
#211644 by TerranceBoyce Thu Jul 24, 2014 8:41 am
Welcome to Scamwarners web.barrier.

I won't repeat views that I've expressed before and I have every sympathy with your frustrations. UK law enforcement doesn't appear well equipped to understand that the average street mugger now operates online from the comfort of home, often in perfect anonymity, with little chance of arrest. To make matters worse the reporting of online fraud and crime in the UK is woefully inadequate leading to UK law enforcement congratulating itself on decreasing crime statistics as online fraud spirals out of control.

With a lifetime of working in banking, but now retired, I am not simply a grumpy old man ranting from his armchair without some knowledge of what I'm saying. In all secure systems if your 'gatekeeper' security fails then you might as well throw the doors open. By 'gatekeeper security' I mean the first line of security. whether it's the armed guard at a military post or the account opening officer in a bank. If that fails, you don't have security.

Most recently I dealt with a victim of a fraud which, when investigated, it was discovered that the criminal didn't live at the address stated on his account details and there was no trace oh him in the UK. If the criminal had been a terrorist, or was fund raising for a terrorist organisation, he was operating under a perfect 'ghost' identity that had been substantiated by a bank and could have been used to bypass other checks.

Perhaps the loss of a few thousand pounds is of little interest to law enforcement, but the underlying flaws that have enabled it to happen can be utilised to perform much more serious frauds and criminal acts. A fraudulently opened bank account is as dangerous as a gun in the hands of a criminal or terrorist. As dramatic as that sounds - it's true.

As an example of what I say here are two news stories that just make me shake my head in despair.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/zimbabweans-jailed-after-163-1m-fraud-operation-in-leeds-1-2212856

29 May 2009
Zimbabwean fraudsters who conned more than £1m from banks with stolen cheques have been jailed for a total of 11 years.

The men intercepted business and personal cheque books and cards in the post and changed payee names and forged sums to be paid in…………..

A fourth man, Charles Kanyimo, 35, of Wakefield, was previously jailed for three years after he pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud.


http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/general-news/leeds-church-leader-is-jailed-for-fraud-1-6745496

A church leader has been jailed for his role in a sophisticated fraud operation in which unsuspecting victim’s bank accounts were targeted.

Police raided Charles Kanyimo’s family home and caught him trying to flush incriminating evidence down the toilet.

Officers seized counterfeit chequebooks and other forged documents along with five mobile phones. Kanyimo pleaded guilty to two offences of possessing articles for use in fraud. Kanyimo served a three-year sentence, imposed in 2009, for his role in a fraud worth one million pounds in which a group of men used stolen cheques to con cash from banks.


Why is a convicted bank fraudster even allowed a bank account ? Banks have the facility to blacklist customers and doing it in this case might protect themselves and innocent victims from unnecessary loss and the courts having to deal with him again.

CAR ADVERTS - If a car seller mentions escrow - he's scamming you Never ever for any reason pay anything until you have seen and inspected the vehicle
#212545 by AlanJones Wed Jul 30, 2014 6:05 am
^^^^ The above post has been made by a spammer.

My employer categorises the site as high risk, so I would advise everyone not to click on the link as it could well be a phishing or malware site.

charlotteneil wrote:I've just come across this website which looks really good, as you can find out instantly if any of your details have been up for sale on the dark web.
It's called hasmyidenitybeenstolen.com you put in your email address and it will send you an email with a code (I assume for security), it'll then notify you if any of your details have been up for sale on the dark web.
Mine had been, so I paid £10 and it sent me an email with everything that was up for sale. Which was terrifying; my gmail account password, address, number, my credit card details. I thought I might have been a victim of ID Fraud (which I why I checked), and it was so useful to know which accounts in particular had been hacked so I didn't have to change all my cards and email accounts!
It might be worth just checking to see if any of your information is for sale on the dark web? http://www. hasmyidentitybeenstolen.com



ETA: Having been approached by someone using an anonymous email address who was very keen for me to remove this factual post and then went on to accuse me of working for a competitor, I thought it only fair to mention that after a quick look at the site, it appears that they are breaking EU eCommerce Regulations that the UK implemented (of course they may be hiding the required information somewhere, but it wasn't "easily, directly and permanently accessible").

ETA2: I was going to post the above on "charlotteneil"'s other post http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=212535#p212535, but she appears to have returned at roughly the same time I was in contact with the anonymous person wanting me to remove my posts and deleted the content. I think that is good evidence that the post was in fact spam by the owners of the website. So, I'll leave the owners of hasmyidentitybeenstolen.com with another little thought taken from a Guardian article

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 provide for a criminal offence for traders who falsely represent themselves as a consumer or engage in misleading marketing.

Please do not tell scammers that they are listed here - it will take them seconds to change their fake details and their new details will not be listed for any future victims to find.
#212785 by TerranceBoyce Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:37 pm
On a general note, though law enforcement and the financial industry like to use the term 'identity theft' I don't believe there is one recorded case of anyone's identity ever being stolen apart from in several Hollywood movies, because if my car or lawnmower is stolen I no longer have use of it, but the criminal is actually an impostor and fraudster rather than a thief because I retain ownership and control of my identity.

Personally, I do believe that the inaccurate description of the crime is intentional in attempting to lay off the risks of laxity in handling customers' personal details (of which there have been many recent examples) and poor identity checks when dealing with new customers.

CAR ADVERTS - If a car seller mentions escrow - he's scamming you Never ever for any reason pay anything until you have seen and inspected the vehicle

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