Tag Archives: Online Scams

Protect Yourself At Christmas

09 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by in Scammed

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I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago, about Beating the Scammer. We get lost sometimes when we shop online. We feel we have a goldmine of opportunity and everything is so easy accessible.

Well so is you. Never think that as human beings we are invisible, because we are not.

I have had my accounts hacked into and have had money taken from me online, and it is like you fear no where is safe.

Why? Why me?

Then I looked at my information, my passwords and what I was putting out there.

As a YouTuber I do feel that it is my duty to be responsible online and protect myself and others around me. So I take precautions not to give too much information about myself away. That isn’t hiding. That is different.

The amount of people I see posting maps of where they are.

I am like. NO, STOP AND THINK.

I read an article online a while back and it asked a really good question, which was.

If you were asked to stand in the middle of the street, with a billboard around you with all your information, your name, date of birth, address, credit card numbers and telephone numbers, would you do it?

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Image from: http://www.beyondcliches.com

Of course not, so why do we reveal so much about ourselves online?

You may think I am being hypocritical as I do share pictures online, and share videos on YouTube, and I have revealed a lot in the past, but then my mum pulled me up on it and it had bitten back at me, when someone tried to send a load of spam mail using my Twitter account. I felt suddenly exposed, when initially what I was posting I thought was innocent, but obviously made it easy for someone to hack into my information.

I reported it, I now change my passwords regularly and never reveal too much.

It is okay to share experiences, items purchased, room tours, planner ideas, but I don’t share my date of birth or any naked photos of my son, as I do think as a mum I have to protect my son and be responsible. I think those types of images can end up in the wrong hands, and I don’t share my address, bank details or exactly where I live.

There is just some information people don’t need to know about

The one thing I don’t do any more, is show a map of where I am. I may post a picture after visiting somewhere, but not before. I was like so many doing so, putting a map of where I am , but then after hearing a lady at work speaking to her daughter she made a real valid point, and it rang alarm bells.

Why advertise where you are when you don’t know who is reading that information and you are advertising to people you are not at home and that your house is empty?

When you post a map online, you are advertising that you are not at home, so professional burglars and scammers who may also be seeing this information, may seek an opportunity.

It can happen, it has happened, so do not let it happen to you.

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I like posting pictures of places I have been, but I don’t do a map of where I am, because with the internet you have no idea who is reading that information. It is good for memories to look back on, and for my son, but also to protect him, so I don’t give too much detail of where I am away. I keep it as brief as possible.

When purchasing tickets online, never buy from a private seller.

My cousin did this, and it turned out that the tickets had already been used. Always buy online from the attraction, or from places like Daysoutguide, Groupon, Virgin Experiences, Red Letter Days, Buyagift.com for example, as,

private sellers are usually out to get one thing, and that’s your money. 

You would never start displaying your purse about and what’s inside, so stop and protect it from online private sellers.

The other thing is, when buying items on EBay  or ETSY  check where they are from and the material. It may look good in a photo, but that is because they want to sell it to you.

Check beforehand and definitely check reviews of the seller. 

A lot of scammers love these sites for buying and selling, as it is an opportunity for them to catch you off guard, so protect yourself

When selling, take a photo of the item and write down the condition, keep a record. When sending out a package, package it securely with bubble wrap and a box for heavy items, writing fragile on top, and send via recorded delivery. I know that is extra cost, but at least you know that the recipient has to sign for it at there end and you can keep track of the delivery. 

So be vigilant and careful. Still enjoy your festive season of cheer, but protect yourself at the same time.

Many thanks for reading,

 

Carrie X

Beat the scammer

26 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Scammed

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There is nothing worse. When it happens boy is it painful. It may not be a physical pain, but an emotional heavy on the heart and gut pain. The money you had saved has been literally taken away from you.

You are like, why didn’t I not see it. 

Those who scam are clever, they know what words to use to capture the person’s attention and they plot. Never think that the person didn’t know what he was doing or is stupid.

With all the names you wish to call those who scam, stupid is not one. They are clever, they know when to hit at the right time, and would have been planning the scheme for ages.

Image below is from the website Gadget Mill:

http://gadgetmill.co.uk/how-i-got-my-money-back-after-getting-scammed-online/

Click link above which talks about being scammed on the internet.

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With the internet and everything being so easily accessible we can be putty in the scammers hands.

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Image above from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/08/22/a-warning-about-government-warnings/

Never let your guard down. Now we are coming up to Christmas the scammers will be waiting.

When it happens it can make us feel so vulnerable and that no one can be trusted. It can feel like someone is trying to take our castles away we are trying to build, because all they want is your money.

Before I buy anything online I check to see if the padlock symbol is there and I don’t buy any items via PayPal anymore as money was taken due to someone hacking into my details.

If I buy an item on EBay then I do so by using my debit card and as a guest. I no longer use my accounts. You can easily as the seller, be scammed by those who bid on your items too.

Check out the video below by KLEANTRIX of him unboxing what he had purchased on Ebay. It was supposed to be an IPhone.

The next video is of an item that was purchased from the buyer and sent back. I wonder if you can guess what the scam is. Video by Bigboy316

Those who scam are not afraid to throw punches or what or how they scam. If they can get your money or in the above case buy something for you, returning not what was sent out, then it is about the item they can get from you to then probably sell onto someone else.

My husband recently bought an Xbox from Amazon. It was only £20, but guess what?

He got it all set up and the disc draw doesn’t open. Surprise surprise. So now we have a device which we would love to use but can’t.

Since first writing this blog, we have managed to fix this problem and can now use it, but it has to have a disc in the draw all the time for it to open. MADNESS!

When my husband and I went to Tenerife for our honeymoon in September 2006, some guy approached us to take part in a scratchcard competition. It was only a quid, so we did two.

Next thing we know we won.

EVERYONE’S A WINNER

So we thought okay fine, we will to go to his office to collect our award and then be on our way. YEAH RIGHT!

We were drawn into buying a Timeshare Membership, paying over £300 as a deposit and then we had to pay the rest by direct debit or instalments.

With the deposit you paid and the monthly costs  you supposedly paid, gave you entitlement to stay in free 5 star hotels, a shopping card and vouchers.

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Image from: http://likesuccess.com/topics/27454/too-good-to-be-true

Afterwards my husband and I were going over what just happened. “Had we done the right thing?” I then after coming back from holiday spoke to my mum, who was on holiday at the same time and did the same thing. They had a terrible time, with really bad accommodation and other holiday makers became a nightmare, so they were desperate to move from their original hotel booked. They had joined a similar scheme but they got to move to a more luxury hotel as long as they paid to do the Timeshare experience.

We then looked into it, and saw that there had been a big campaign on it. The BBC TV Programme Watchdog did a feature on it.

They listed all the companies who were doing the Timeshare offers, who was good and bad.

Looking down I saw the company we had gone with.

IT WAS IN THE BAD LIST

Lucky on the Watchdog website it gave details of how to report them and had a template document giving details of how to cancel with the company.

It meant we would lose our £300 deposit, as they didn’t funny enough have a cooling off period, but no more money would be taken.

When thinking about it, it was so clever the way it all appeared to be at the time, so legit.

They were indeed a Timeshare company and yes you would stay at free accommodation, but reading reports from other holidaymakers who had been drawn into the same thing, the hotels were mostly “The Hotel Of Horrors” so no way 5 star and people had issues with the shopping cards where stores hadn’t heard of them, so they couldn’t be used.

It was all done in an office with desks and computers and you got talking to one guy who went through it all, what the timeshare included, and then another guy who was the so called manager to seal the deal.

click here on this link of an example of this type of scam by so called Timeshare companies,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/money-saving-tips/11496625/Return-of-the-timeshare-The-bargain-holiday-where-you-cant-leave-the-hotel.html

The one thing learned from that experience, was it taught me a massive lesson. Now when I am approached in the street by any sales person I will always be polite and say no.

It is hard to tell from the legit to the fraudster so it is best to stay clear. If it is a good product then to be honest you wouldn’t need to approach anyone, as they would come to you.

When buying online especially electrical or very expensive products, buy on sale from reputable retailers. Never a private seller.

So to fight back, beat the scammer don’t let them beat you.

Many thanks for reading,

 

Carrie X