Bank cards skimmed via wireless technology
An interesting news story I just came across address an old scam, perpetrated in a new way.
Credit card skimming, actioned by attaching a device to an ATM, is nothing new.
However, techno-criminals have discovered a way to utilise wireless technology in order to skim a personal identification number (PIN) from a bank card whilst it is being used at an ATM, all whilst sitting up to 100m away.
Detective Superintendent Brian Hay, of Queensland police, said that the new technology also meant skimmers no longer needed to install spy cameras on ATMs in order to spy on customers as they entered their PINs.
‘All the card data is transmitted to their laptops while they’re having a cup of coffee up to 100m away,” he said. “They design the keypad overlays for specific types of ATMs so it makes them very difficult to detect.’
Police report that the technology may be found on black market websites.
Does this new technological development concern you?
I know that I, for one, am very careful to shield my PIN number at the ATM, but how exactly can you avoid this ruse?
This post is dedicated to Shay.
A few minutes ago Shay became the third person to join the 100 club here at Scam types dot Com.
Following Jon and Aruna, she has become the third loyal visitor, contributor and commentator to make 100 comments in a single month.
Not only that, but she did it in a very short period of time.
Even so, she inspired a spoof post about ORANGE-ADAY reps which proved to be quite hilarious for those who new what we were talking about.
I have a feeling that we will be reading a lot more comments from Shay in the days to come, but for those of you who just cannot get enough of her, why not check out her website -
Life At The Zoo With Shay
I’m sure she’d enjoy your input, and any humor or banter you’d like to throw her way!
Thanks SHAY!
Are Farouk running a warranty scam?
It’s been a while since I’ve had an email from a reader asking me to look at something that has warranted a post on the subject.
On this occassion, however, I’ve had both Melissa and Karen ask about a company called Farouk, who make the Chi Flat Iron, which is a type of hair straightener.
(At least they have some hair!)
Both tell me that they have bought flat irons that have malfunctioned within a month or two.
Both have had issues with Farouk saying that their warranties are void.
Place of purchase
A quick search of the internet threw up an obvious first question - from where did they buy them?
The answer; through Amazon.
Amazon, of course, are a large, established and well respected company, so there’s no suggestion that they are ripping anyone off.
However, some digging around indicates that any sales through Amazon are not covered by warranty.
Professional salons only please
For reasons I don’t understand, Farouk appear to only honour their one year warranty on sales made through professional salons.
In fact Farouk have, apparently, said that they have lawsuits running against non-professional salon sellers of their range.
Quite why they cannot offer the same service level on the same product elsewhere I don’t understand, unless they suspect someone is counterfeiting their goods perhaps?
If that is the case then I could perhaps understand why they wouldn’t back a dodgy product sold on eBay, but Amazon are reputable enough surely?
I don’t know how the law works in the US though, so I can’t comment on whether avoiding a warranty under these conditions is legal. Also, I couldn’t find any details about the warranty on the official site either, so was unable to see if there are any conditions or exceptions listed within it.
Suggestions
I would imagine the first point of contact should be Amazon - if you have faulty goods and purchased them there then they should be able to advise you further, even if they can’t provide a remedy themselves.
If you can confirm Farouk’s warranty policy and believe they are not upholding it then a call to your local BBB may pay dividends.
Ultimately, though, I would imagine such an established company, selling straighteners for anywhere up to $200 or more, will probably have covered all their bases.
Finally, the cost of buying the straighteners from a salon, rather than Amazon, is not a huge amount more - perhaps anyone else reading this would be advised to buy them from a salon and, therefore, have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that they really are covered by warranty.
$3.8 million loan fraud
Five Canadians are facing 100 fraud related charges after police uncovered a real estate scam in which parking spaces were sold as condos to innocent investors.
The 5 men, who include developers, bankers, a real estate agent and a lawyer, allegedly colluded in defrauding Toronto Dominion Bank out of some $3.8 million worth of mortgage loans.
According to police, brothers Kam Cheung Chan and Patrick Chan lured their innocent victims into investing in two condos.
After getting their victims to fill out a mortgage application they then allegedly used bank employees who were accomplices to approve them in quick time.
It is then claimed that the Chans pocketed all the cash.
The $300,000 parking space
However, it turned out that the group of alleged fraudsters weren’t selling condominiums at all. Instead, they were selling parking and storage spaces for a whopping $300k each!
The investors they conned were lured with a promise of large profits that would be realised when the properties were subsequently sold.
The five men detained thus far face 135 charges between them. Two more suspects are still being sought and warrants have been issued.
Kelly Heckler, a spokesperson for TD Bank, said that they had since re-evaluated their security measures.
He did not mention, however, whether any or all of the missing funds had been recovered.
Welcome to ‘Hoax Sunday‘ - over the next few hours, 3 stories will appear.
Nought, one, two or all three of them may be hoaxes. Then again, none, some or all may be true stories.
Can you tell which is TRUE and which is a HOAX?
Here is the first story -
Seperated twins get married then have to divorce
British twins who were separated at birth went on to meet in later life, without having any idea who the other was.
After forming a relationship the two then later got married, without ever realising that they were brother and sister.
When their biological relationship was later discovered, a court had to dissolve their incestuous relationship.
Genealogy
The case, involving an as yet unidentified brother and sister, has raised many issues in the UK, not least of which is the issue of genealogy.
This comes at a time when Parliament is set to rule on a bill which may make it compulsory for a father to be named on a birth certificate
Currently, under British law, only the mother has to be named on a child’s birth certificate.
Additionally, birth certificates are not required to identify births that result from IVF or from a sperm donation.
In instances where children are conceived from donated sperm there is no requirement for parents to ever share that fact with their children.
Human Fertility and Embryology Bill
Critics of the current laws surrounding the lack of data required on a British birth certificate are looking for an an amendment to the Human Fertility and Embryology Bill.
They hope that the Bill, currently being debated in the House of Lords, will be changed in order to identify sperm donating fathers.
They hope that such changes would prevent blood relatives from inadvertently engaging in illegal marriages again in the future.
The main arguments against such a change in the law centre around the possibility that fathers named as sperm donors could then find that their good deed could cost them dear - when they are hunted down and made to pay a lifetime of child support.
True story or hoax - what do you think?
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Friday, January 25, 2008
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