"unusual step of contacting 38,000 potential share fraud targets"
Probably only unusual as they rarely get hold of such a list.
It makes good sense to me.
UK regulator warns targets over share scam sucker list
A UK regulator is taking the unusual step of contacting 38,000 potential share fraud targets after recovering a "suckers list" used by boiler room fraudsters. The Financial Services Authority plans to write to the thousands of people on the list (which contains phone numbers, names and addresses) warning them that their …
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Wednesday 19th May 2010 11:12 GMT Matt Bradley
Ending up on the list
I don't know how you end up on these lists, but for some reason my mobile phone ended up on just such a list.
The fallout from this was that I received about 5 calls from the same boiler room somewhere in the states, and no amount of just putting the phone down on them seemed to make any difference. Very annoying.
They told me to buy AAPL. I don't need a stateside financial adviser to tell me to do that.
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Wednesday 19th May 2010 13:38 GMT Anonymous Coward
I got a call from one of these guys
not to long ago. I did the only right thing and keeped them on the phone thinking I was interested for about 30 mins. Thats 30 mins where they won't be annoying someone else who might fall for it. In the end they were trying to get rid of me as politly as they could because they realised what I was doing.
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Wednesday 19th May 2010 10:17 GMT Pete 2
Making the situation worse
Now the news is out, that a regulator (with all the respectability and authority that term confers) is contacting potential "suckers", isn't that just a cue for all the scammers to start sending out letters or email of their own, purporting to be said regulators and asking the suckers to send them money?
I doubt that there are many lists of 38,000 contacts, so every scammer who has that list (or any other list, come to that) now just has to contact their "clients" and say that they can offer protection from the aforementioned bad people. For a small annual subscription they can be assured of protection and so on ...
The road to hell is paved with good intentions
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Friday 21st May 2010 10:52 GMT John H Woods
Unless they are in big finance...
... then there's tonnes of them. People who think 'beating the market' is a big cause for Krug, expensive meals and trips to Gentlemen's clubs, because they have done 0.01% better than investing at random. People whose mathematical models - and their simplistic overreaching interpretation of them - are ridiculous, but whose stupid mistakes will always be bailed out by the unwilling taxpayer ... sigh
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Wednesday 19th May 2010 10:17 GMT JetSetJim
Sample letter
Dear John Doe,
here at the FSA, we take Boiler Room Fraud very seriously. Unfortunately, your details have come up on a "target scam list" and we would like to ensure that you are aware of the risks of entering such a scheme. Click here to go to our website where you can enter your details and receive a personalised risk document highlighting potential frauds that may come your way. The more details you enter, the better we can match your entry to our lists. Please have ready:
a) Name
b) Address
c) Bank account details: Sort code, Acc Number, Security code from back of bank card
d) NI Number
e) Mother's Maiden name
f) Pets name
g) Inside leg measurement
Many thanks,
Prince Oustaffu of Nigeria
FSA Section Chief
Lagos
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Wednesday 19th May 2010 10:17 GMT Scott Broukell
caveat emptor
Guess there is a need for greater public understanding / education that if peeps phone you up at home offering you stuff that sounds "too good to be true" then the shit they are offering is very probably "too good to be true" and should just be ignored.
Why can't peeps be more rational about stuff like this ?
Step away from your innate impulses of greed and consumerist mentality, put the phone down, smell some coffee and think for a few minutes - do you really want to give up your life savings to a stranger on the phone !
If nobody fell for it, it would just wouldn't happen any more.
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Wednesday 19th May 2010 11:28 GMT AndrueC
Good idea..
"Step away from your innate impulses of greed and consumerist mentality, put the phone down, smell some coffee"
..and I have just the coffee you need. The problem is that we need to plant some more and that takes money. If you could just send me £10,000 it would help us produce more.
:)
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Wednesday 19th May 2010 11:15 GMT Pirate Peter
fools and there money
thing is if you have £20k to blow on this sort of scam you are very often greedy and looking for a quick profit
they say a fool and there money are soon parted, this seems to be the case
i work by the mantra "if it seems to good to be true, it probably is" and steer well clear
simple precaution, take a company name, phone number (see if it the same as on the caller ID), check it out (ggogle the phone number / contact details etc) and if it is legit then consider ringing back or going with your normal financial advisor
this sort of greed / fast buck mentality is what screwed the economy
but it is good to see a UK regulator being proactive, (or even at active) and trying to protect the small man and not big business for a change
peter
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Wednesday 19th May 2010 12:16 GMT Jacqui
RSPCA
but "enforcers" (actually salemen for a company who specialise in getting people to donate - they get commission) threatening little old ladies into providing their bank accounts and signing them up for donations direct from their bank account (under the guise of threatening to take their pets away unless they sign) is not a problem for the banks or the charities involved?
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
