I consider myself a hardened woman when it comes to Internet scams.
I have sneered at offers arriving via Myspace, suggesting that I come and sing at a wedding in Nigeria (and by the way can I give them my paypal details so that they can forward my expenses).
Would I like to invest in a rock solid company based near the Goldcoast...? Er, no.
But this is the first time I have received hardcopy spam!
Just look at this bill that a company has sent me (for the second time in four months).
It is supposed to be payment for my inclusion in a professional on-line directory. It is clever..I could have inadvertantly clicked on something whilst surfing, I told myself.
But surely not for nearly 300 euros!
Then I found the small print (next to the red smear!) They say it is facultative which presumably means that they cannot be held to account legally. I note that they have a toll paying phone line for when the victims try to phone up and ask to cancel something they didnt ask for in the first place.
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6 comments:
That is scary and horrible. Thanks for the warning, something should be done. Surely hardcopy like that can be traced, but then they have presumably given themselves a letout with the 'facultative' thing.
Rat bastards.
Lucy, I think it falls in the domaine of totally unscrupulous marketing. There was no letter with it to suggest it might only be an offer and not a bill for services received, only print so small that I needed a magnifying glass...but the company does exist and presumably actually does provide this service.
Even if they were legit and provided a service, I wouldn't want to work with a company that tried to obtain business in such a manner. Especially since I would be one of those people panicking and calling them up to cancel something I never ordered in the first place.
Deceptive practices, and they prey on the elderly and gullible and lonely. Evil bastards.
The way I see spam...
If a complete stranger knocked on my door and offered:
1. To give me a £1 million share in the fortune of Yasser Arafat if I help to remove it from an Israeli bank
2. The undying love of a Russian lady who needs only a stove to make her life complete
3. The drugs that will turn me into a sex goddess
4. A job
5. A cheap loan
6. Cheap software
7. A means to make millions from Google
8. A life-changing opportunity
Then I would close the door firmly
Well, I may be tempted by 3.
No, not really
All of these guys leave a paperless trail that can be followed
I once gazed on Google earth in wonder at the "HQ of a company" that, far from being in Paris, was actually a little house in the Ukraine
I have hovered my mouse over a so-called link to a bank that went to a hacked site in America before ending up in Brazil
And, easy enough to do, I have read the source page of an infected website and seen the code that directs it to Russia
(Click Page and View Source on the toolbar at the top)
I think this is becoming personal!
thanks mouse. I think your job must be fascinating. You need some sort of super hero costume with a cape. any more snippets and details on scammers and spammers are always welcome.
Bizzarely, the spammers seem to be attracted to posts with the word spammer in them. I've had loads for this and the previous one about spam!
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