@slimfern posted:

Amazon mystery parcel scam: More than a million people may be victims of ‘brushing’

More than a million households in the UK may have fallen victim to a scam known as “brushing”, in which people receive parcels they did not order.

Growing numbers of people have reported receiving unsolicited Amazon packages, which arrive with no return address.

The parcels have included items such as magnetic eyelashes, children’s toys, Bluetooth accessories, iPhone cases and medical gloves.

Now consumer group Which? has said the mail-outs are part of a ruse in which third-party sellers from overseas are attempting to boost their standing on Amazon’s ultra-competitive search ranking system.

The sellers send out the unwanted product and log the item as a genuine purchase, because the more transactions they appear to make, the higher they rise up the ratings.

But while the scam does not appear to cost recipients anything, it does raise questions about how their personal details were found.

There are also concerns over the fact that sending out hundreds of thousands of unwanted consumer goods will have considerable environmental implications.

@El Loro posted:

Link to the Which? article on their Amazon brushing survey:
https://www.which.co.uk/news/2...azon-brushing-scams/

Thanks Slim and El

I just had a new scam…at least to me ….apparently post code lottery is sending me a discount card…to use in various store…none of which I frequent  . Thing is , they used my late husbands name …or at least an Asian pronunciation of it ….and then proceeded to ask my age ….so I told them I was a teenager ….and put the phone down .

@Baz posted:

I just had a new scam…at least to me ….apparently post code lottery is sending me a discount card…to use in various store…none of which I frequent  . Thing is , they used my late husbands name …or at least an Asian pronunciation of it ….and then proceeded to ask my age ….so I told them I was a teenager ….and put the phone down .

I've had lots of those scam calls. Basically they are offering you an entry in to the post code lottery if you agree to have one of those discount cards to use. What they choose not to mention is that there's a cost to that discount card, say a monthly membership fee of £200

There are other post code lottery scams where they just try to get bank details to "pay" the winnings in.

So treat all post code lottery calls as scams.

@El Loro posted:

I've had lots of those scam calls. Basically they are offering you an entry in to the post code lottery if you agree to have one of those discount cards to use. What they choose not to mention is that there's a cost to that discount card, say a monthly membership fee of £200

There are other post code lottery scams where they just try to get bank details to "pay" the winnings in.

So treat all post code lottery calls as scams.

Thanks El …I presumed they were just trying to extract personal information ….but whatever , they weren’t /‘ain’t getting anything out of me .

Got a call from SKY saying he would beat my current deal. I said I didn't have any current "deal"

He asked why so I said, "Cos I can't afford it" . . . . . there was stunned silence on the other end LOL

@Saint posted:

Got a call from SKY saying he would beat my current deal. I said I didn't have any current "deal"

He asked why so I said, "Cos I can't afford it" . . . . . there was stunned silence on the other end LOL

Nice one Renton

I once told a caller I couldn't have what they were selling cos I was going into prison

Not used that one for a while (true story LOL)

Got a scam email this morning saying that I had an eFax message with a link to preview it. Header was "Doc Received Successful November 08 /21". The link would have downloaded a trojan virus.

There's a new Amazon email scam which looks like this:

It comes from a gmail.com address which Amazon don't use. The phone number shown isn't Amazon, if you ring, you have to leave a message, the scammers ring back wanting your card details.

@El Loro posted:

Got a scam email this morning saying that I had an eFax message with a link to preview it. Header was "Doc Received Successful November 08 /21". The link would have downloaded a trojan virus.

@El Loro posted:

There's a new Amazon email scam which looks like this:

It comes from a gmail.com address which Amazon don't use. The phone number shown isn't Amazon, if you ring, you have to leave a message, the scammers ring back wanting your card details.

Disgraceful

@El Loro posted:

There's a new Amazon email scam which looks like this:

It comes from a gmail.com address which Amazon don't use. The phone number shown isn't Amazon, if you ring, you have to leave a message, the scammers ring back wanting your card details.

Thanks for the heads up  El I agree with Moonie , it’s disgraceful !

Recently I and others got an email scam supposedly from someone we know. His computer has been hacked and is being used to create email scams. I got a second email supposedly from him which was similar to the one mentioned in this article in the Los Angeles Times:
https://www.latimes.com/busine...virus-imposter-scams

Today I got another email supposedly from him - this one looks as if it's from Virgin Media based on their Best Bits email which they now send to their customers.
I have forwarded that email to their phishing department for them to investigate.

For those Virgin Media users to get the Best bits emails this link will take you to the genuine usage report if you are logged in:
https://www.virginmedia.com/myusage

@El Loro posted:

Recently I and others got an email scam supposedly from someone we know. His computer has been hacked and is being used to create email scams. I got a second email supposedly from him which was similar to the one mentioned in this article in the Los Angeles Times:
https://www.latimes.com/busine...virus-imposter-scams

Today I got another email supposedly from him - this one looks as if it's from Virgin Media based on their Best Bits email which they now send to their customers.
I have forwarded that email to their phishing department for them to investigate.

For those Virgin Media users to get the Best bits emails this link will take you to the genuine usage report if you are logged in:
https://www.virginmedia.com/myusage

Determined scambag isn't he

Is this the same person your warden was going to check on El?

@slimfern posted:

Determined scambag isn't he

Is this the same person your warden was going to check on El?

Yes, it is. I've left a message on his answerphone about this suggesting that he takes his computer to a computer maintenance business which is near where I live for them to check his computer as it's clear that his computer has been compromised.

@El Loro posted:

Yes, it is. I've left a message on his answerphone about this suggesting that he takes his computer to a computer maintenance business which is near where I live for them to check his computer as it's clear that his computer has been compromised.

It’s a nightmare these days….scams seem to come from every corner .

@Baz posted:

It’s a nightmare these days….scams seem to come from every corner .

They certainly do

Article from Action Fraud about that "postcode lottery" scam mentioned here. Nearly £1 million lost by people in the last 7 months
https://www.actionfraud.police...-levels-in-two-years

@El Loro posted:

Article from Action Fraud about that "postcode lottery" scam mentioned here. Nearly £1 million lost by people in the last 7 months
https://www.actionfraud.police...-levels-in-two-years

Scumbags

@Moonie posted:

Scumbags

I agree Thanks El

Just received an obviously fake e-mail claiming my Apple ID has been locked. (The heading just said "Your Apple has been locked".   )

My latest scam email is:
Virgin Media!

Thanks for the warning El. Forewarned is forearmed

@El Loro posted:

My latest scam email is:
Virgin Media!

We want to keep your info safe

We haven't noticed any activity in a while. We're redirecting you for your security.

Secure Account now (I've removed the link)

Your security is our priority.

Thank you.

Thanks El …..I’m not with Virgin, but I bet they don’t stop at just that provider

@Baz posted:

Thanks El …..I’m not with Virgin, but I bet they don’t stop at just that provider

You are probably right.

I see on the Virgin Media forum that they have warned users on various phishing emails. They have mentioned the best bits one I mentioned above which I reported to them and also the info safe one.

@El Loro posted:

I see on the Virgin Media forum that they have warned users on various phishing emails. They have mentioned the best bits one I mentioned above which I reported to them and also the info safe one.

I don’t look at my Virgin emails very often. Just did. There was 82 now zero

@Moonie posted:

I don’t look at my Virgin emails very often. Just did. There was 82 now zero

Two calls today asking if i'd like to invest money in their company - one was Enterprise Capital  who have called me twice in three weeks.

I just said, "I have no money" - they said "goodbye"

@Saint posted:

Two calls today asking if i'd like to invest money in their company - one was Enterprise Capital  who have called me twice in three weeks.

I just said, "I have no money" - they said "goodbye"

Way to go Renton

@Saint posted:

Two calls today asking if i'd like to invest money in their company - one was Enterprise Capital  who have called me twice in three weeks.

I just said, "I have no money" - they said "goodbye"

Enterprise Capital Investors Ltd is an unregulated firm according to the FCA so people using that company won't have much protection when things go wrong:
https://register.fca.org.uk/s/...d=001b000000m4JFtAAM
There's a search bar on that link for checking other firms as to whether they are regulated or not.

@El Loro posted:

Enterprise Capital Investors Ltd is an unregulated firm according to the FCA so people using that company won't have much protection when things go wrong:
https://register.fca.org.uk/s/...d=001b000000m4JFtAAM
There's a search bar on that link for checking other firms as to whether they are regulated or not.

Thanks El

@El Loro posted:

Enterprise Capital Investors Ltd is an unregulated firm according to the FCA so people using that company won't have much protection when things go wrong:
https://register.fca.org.uk/s/...d=001b000000m4JFtAAM
There's a search bar on that link for checking other firms as to whether they are regulated or not.

Useful info. Thanks El

I had one of those FedEx phone calls the other day ….apparently they’ve tried to deliver a parcels several times .I don’t know what the rest of the scam was , because I cut them off after the initial sentence .

Someone called this morning with a decidedly thick accent - so I was thinking Delhi, Mumbai, Slumdog Millionaire . . . not on my money you won't.

Nearly asked him what call centre he was from then he said, "Your delivery from B&Q will be with you in 30mins"   

This is a new one on me….

DWP, have suspended my NI number due to fraudulent activity…..they just need all my details to put it right🙄

@Kaytee posted:

This is a new one on me….

DWP, have suspended my NI number due to fraudulent activity…..they just need all my details to put it right🙄

Not had that one yet ….

Parcel delivery scam texts expected to spike this Christmas:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59760326

Scam texts and mobile calls can be forwarded to Ofcom via 7726
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phone...scam-texts-and-calls

If you get a scam email supposedly from Royal Mail you can forward it to reportascam@royalmail.com
https://www.royalmail.com/help/scam-protection

Thanks El for the info

I've had a few emails over the months...which have been deleted....I shall report/forward them in future

Thanks for the info El