Reply to: BBC Watchdog

[teclo]

I kept the pre-payment meter in my flat when I moved in, after one year in another place I received a rather large electricity bill that seemed to come out of no where.

The scam really is, if you had the old meter that took the £5 cards, you would have had to get the meter updated with new tariffs every time they changed. So when prices go up / down, you need someone to come out and reprogram the meter.

I was not aware of this and got hit by a bill from ScottishPower for well ove £300. My meter hadn't been updated for over 4 years, it had been read but not updated. My fault I guess but who would ever think about it? I didn't.

The new style prepayment meters are better, these are the ones with the dongle. When you use the paypoint terminal to pay for electricity, details are updated on the dongle so the meter keeps up with the current tariffs.

[darmstadt]

May I congratulate you all on being so fortunate as to know such a
lucky person as me?

This week I have won no fewer than four international lotteries! One
in Nigeria - well let's face it the Nigerian people are totally sick
of the frequency with which I trouser millions of dollars from their
country. One in Europe, Spain I think it was, and an eastern European
one who want to pay me in dollars for some reason. Today I have capped
a profitable seven days by winning in Thailand. In total somewhere
near six and a half million dollars/Euros.

I think it is unfair for one person to have all this luck so if you
would like to send me all your money I will buy lottery tickets for
you and who knows by this time next week you too could be a multi-
millionaire! We could even all go into partnership and buy the English
Premiere League back from foreigners with their own money, wouldn't
that be ironic.

[shaunbhoy]

?

I'm sure there must be honest Nigerian firms operating online

I'm not!

[TimberWolf]

If you read any of Derren Brown's books, such as Tricks of the Mind, you will see how ridiculously easy it is seduce the unwary, and rather more worringly, how easy it is to seduce even the cynical and suspicious.

No one is immune, because we all have psychological triggers that can have the propensity for overriding our commonsense and caution.

Got any examples you can share - and by asking have I just fallen for a scam?

[Board Game Geek]

There are a number of factors involved in the successful operation of a scam, such as choosing the right sort of target, setting out a credible story, and so on.

The reason so many of these scams work, is that they essentially appeal to other people's emotions, be they guilt, greed or whatever.

Generally speaking, most people are inherently trusting of others, since cooperation with other people is a necessary social tool for survival.

If you read any of Derren Brown's books, such as Tricks of the Mind, you will see how ridiculously easy it is seduce the unwary, and rather more worringly, how easy it is to seduce even the cynical and suspicious.

No one is immune, because we all have psychological triggers that can have the propensity for overriding our commonsense and caution.

Once you are in that territory, a skilled conman will allay any concerns you have and continue to develop the spiel.

Contrary to popular belief, not all members of the electorate are stupid untersmench, and some very intelligent people have been seduced in to voting for Labour.

I rest my case.

(Or other despised party of your choice)

[manstein]

I thought you'd made that story up!

It's astounding to think there really are still people in the world that when they hear the words 'Nigeria' and 'Internet' in the same sentence don't automatically think something is fishy?

I'm sure there must be honest Nigerian firms operating online but it must be an uphill battle everyday.

[threaded]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/...and_money.html

Excellent! They even have the whole report online for your amusement/amazement

Watch and learn so that you too don't fall prey to the very believable story of the "American man who happens to have a sick son at a Nigerian boarding school oh wait he nicked my money but don't worry if I give the Nigerian government £500 they'll sort it out for me oh damn they've done it again" scam

Oh the poor woman. You shouldn't mock. It's all too easy to see the dominoes when it is laid out like this.

None of you lot have ever got conned have you, no...

And I'd wager for way more than she has.

Agent told me it was a permie/contract job but turned out to be contract/permie. Agent wants 2 'references'. Agent says they only take 10%. Agent says the customer won't go that high. Agent asks what is your minimum rate.

And those guys aren't even Nigerian.

So think on it, boys and girls and don't be so horrid.

[Beefy198]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/...and_money.html

Excellent! They even have the whole report online for your amusement/amazement

Watch and learn so that you too don't fall prey to the very believable story of the "American man who happens to have a sick son at a Nigerian boarding school oh wait he nicked my money but don't worry if I give the Nigerian government £500 they'll sort it out for me oh damn they've done it again" scam

[OwlHoot]

Now I get called several times a day by Nigerian people purporting to be private investigators stating that if I send them money they can catch my American sweetheart.

[Beefy198]

In my best Nicky Campbell voice... "Tonight on Watchdog.... a couple of weeks ago we told you about a scam where people conned you out of money to view flats that weren't available to rent. This week we bring you a story about a new eeeevil ploy that the scammers are up to now"

I joined up to an online dating service. I'm not the best looking woman in the village, after all.

A really good looking American chap started messaging me. He showed me pictures of his son and everything. We swapped messages for a few months and eventually started calling each other a couple of times a day.

Then one day he had to go to Nigeria. His son was over there and unfortunately ill. After a few weeks he explained how he needed money for his medical treatment, so I sent the funds as I was concerned for him.

Then he wanted to come across to England to meet me and repay me. I bought his tickets into Heathrow.

This is where it went downhill. I arrived at Heathrow but he didn't ever get on the plane.

"How much money had you sent by this point?" asked a concerned Nicky.

Ooh.... let me think a second, it is rather a lot.... maybe ten or eleven.

"Ten or eleven thousand pounds?"

Yes. I was worried I had been dupped so found the website for the Nigerian government agency that has been set up to fight fraud such as this. The site looked genuine. They got back in touch by e-mail and said that they could catch him. If I sent them £500 they would be able to catch him in a sting operation.

They were a government agency so I trusted them. I sent them the money but.... well, I should have learnt by now shouldn't I? It was another scam.

Now I get called several times a day by Nigerian people purporting to be private investigators stating that if I send them money they can catch my American sweetheart.

- - - -

Funny thing was, when Nicky Campbell called the man the handsome looking white American sounded very..... Nigerian. Surely she must have noticed this during their 'numerous' phone calls each day?

[gingerjedi]

Correct me if I'm wrong. But aren't pre-payment meters more expensive because they are charging you for the debt you owe + the electric you use?

Most prepayment meters are installed after the occupier fails to pay the bill.
The meter is a last resort before they cut the supply off.

Yes - Sometimes

That's why they installed one at my first flat, it was Victorian with night storage heaters and that winter was harsh.

[Bagpuss]

Correct me if I'm wrong. But aren't pre-payment meters more expensive because they are charging you for the debt you owe + the electric you use?

No

[SantaClaus]

Correct me if I'm wrong. But aren't pre-payment meters more expensive because they are charging you for the debt you owe + the electric you use?

Most prepayment meters are installed after the occupier fails to pay the bill.
The meter is a last resort before they cut the supply off.

[expat]

That sounds like a complete contradiction to me or am I missing some subtle point in that?



I would be surprised if the companies whose reputation you rely on when deciding to buy don't originate from similar/the same country.

What I meant about brands was that the most commercially successful brands are those where the brand name is what appeals to buyers, irrespective of who actually makes the item. This has no appeal for me: I like to buy on quality, and one indicator of this is that the company really makes its products itself, and its reputaion is based on the quality of its products. This is not an infallible indicator but it works as well as some others, e.g. price.

Sometimes they do, though mostly they are made in the UK; or Germany or Denmark or wherever, the point is that the company still makes what it is known for making, it doesn't just subcontract it out based on price.

[oracleslave]

Brand means nothing now. The most successful brands are those, like Nike, that don't actually make anything themselves. All you are buying is the brand.

That sounds like a complete contradiction to me or am I missing some subtle point in that?

I still think of an item's "make" rather than brand: I like to by things made by companies whose reputation comes from how they make things. They are fewer all the time but they still exist. They are unlikely to be cheap, but may not be as expensive as you think.

I would be surprised if the companies whose reputation you rely on when deciding to buy don't originate from similar/the same country.