Tag: scam
Thousands of websites infected to redirect users in Google Ads view-pumping scam
The deepfake scam era begins with an AI-generated Joe Rogan pushing penis pills on TikTok
I fear I was conned by fake HMRC tax-rebate scam
DEAR DEIDRE: I FEAR I have been ripped off by a tax-rebate scam.
I’m a 69-year-old man and have worked hard since leaving school at 16.
Last summer I received an email from a company that said they were a tax agent working on behalf of HMRC and could see that I was owed a significant rebate.
They said they could ensure I received the full amount, and by simply giving them a few details they would handle every-thing else.
But they took 30 per cent of the rebate. I feel like such an idiot.
Get in touch with the Dear Deidre team
Every problem gets a personal reply from one of our trained counsellors.
Send an email to deardeidre@the-sun.co.uk
You can also send a private message on the DearDeidreOfficial Facebook page.
DEIDRE SAYS: I am sorry you have been ripped off.
HMRC advises that if individuals don’t think they signed an agreement or are unhappy with the fees they were charged, they take it up with the company first.
But HMRC will take firm action against any agencies who aren’t complying with the law.
So do get in contact with the HMRC complaints department if you don’t get anywhere with the company you used.
I almost ignored £90,000 winning lottery email because I thought it was a scam – winning feels incredible
A LUCKY woman almost missed out on a £90,000 lottery jackpot after believing an email telling her she had won was a scam.
The 47-year-old Michigan woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, thought it was impossible that she had scooped the eye-watering cash sum.
A 47-year-old woman nearly missed out on a lottery jackpot after believing it was a hoax[/caption]
She thought the email telling her of her £90,000 ($110,689) winnings was fake, she told Michigan Lottery.
The winner said: “I knew that by playing the Monthly Jackpot game online, I was earning entries into a second chance giveaway.
“I never thought I would win the second chance drawing, so I was just hoping for an instant win while playing the games.”
After receiving the email, she was so sure it couldn’t be true that she left it until the next day to do anything about it.
Then, to her surprise, lottery officials called her up to confirm her prize.
She said: “I was so excited! Winning is such an unbelievable feeling.”
The woman hopes to use her new earnings to make some home improvements.
Elsewhere in the US, a hungry man recently headed out for some fried chicken and came home with £615,000.
The lucky Maryland man won the lottery, whilst playing on a whim during his late night chicken run.
He plans to use the money to go hiking and buy himself and his son a house.
Some less sensible lottery winners include a British man who took home £10million from the National Lottery, but lost it all to his ex-wife and local football team.
Meanwhile, one lotto winner who once raked in a £100,000 jackpot now fits windows alongside stealing trainers.
Bogus travel agent Lyne Barlow jailed for £2.6m holidays scam
‘Pig-Butchering’ Scam Apps Sneak Into Apple’s App Store and Google Play
Pig butchering relies on a rich combination of apps, websites, web hosts, and humans — in some cases human trafficking victims — to build trust with a mark over a period of weeks or months, often under the guise of a romantic interest, financial adviser, or successful investor. Eventually, the online discussion will turn to investments, usually involving cryptocurrency, that the scammer claims to have earned huge sums of money from. The scammer then invites the victim to participate. Once a mark deposits money, the scammers will initially allow them to make withdrawals. The scammers eventually lock the account and claim they need a deposit of as much as 20 percent of their balance to get it back. Even when the deposit is paid, the money isn’t returned, and the scammers invent new reasons the victim should send more money. The pig-butchering term derives from a farmer fattening up a hog months before it’s butchered.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The Day Before is definitely not a scam, devs insist
Co-founders of the studio developing Steam wishlist hit The Day Before have rejected claims the game is a scam. The post-apocalyptic survival MMO was delayed from March to November this week as it turned out the devs hadn’t actually got the game trademarked, prompting accusations from within the game’s Discord and Reddit communities that it might not exist at all. Talking to IGN, Eduard and Aisen Gotovtsev insisted that the delay was necessary and had been planned before the game’s Steam store page was removed.