Be Net Aware

You too can get a Government grant worth £12000 all you need do is send away for a £3.95 kit, neglecting to mention that you then have to pay $79.96 per month! Yes you’ve guessed it, its a variation of the Google Ads Scam.

Now it has to be said that Governments often do have a lot of Grant Schemes that it may be possible for you to take advantage of. However, I also think you will be able to get better and cheaper advice elsewhere.

In terms of this “scheme” it is set up like the Google Ads one where the advert takes the form of a fake Blog, which in my case was called Erin’s Grant Blog. The advert has the normal rubbish about how the program changed their life, is tailored to your geographical location and has the standard fake complimentary comments.

The Link in the Advert took me to SuccessGrants.com though the Terms and Conditions of the advert referenced Grantsmoney.com indicating that they are part of the same scheme. I found the following part of the SuccessGrants.com front page particularly amusing given what they are doing.

As normal the true cost of the scheme is hidden in the Terms And Conditions which have a nasty surprise for anyone taken in by this scheme as it costs alot more than whatever the nominal charge is on a monthly basis.

Billing

To activate your trial membership to Government Funded Grants you will be charged a $2.95 refundable processing fee and then you can immediately take advantage of the exciting information Government Funded Grants has to offer! After your 1-day trial period it’s just $79.86 per month for Government Funded Grants. Remember, you can chat with live operator by calling 866-437-1621 within 1 day to cancel, and you will not be charged. To ensure continuous service, at the end of your trial period your membership will be automatically charged each month at the then-current membership fee on or about that same date to the credit card you provide today. If for any reason you are dissatisfied, chat with a live operator, and you’ll no longer be charged. All offers come with a monthly newsletter.

From this it can be seen that things are getting even worse as the trial period in this case is only 1 day, yes you have only 1 day to cancel your package before you are charged the small total of $79.86 a month

As normal the best thing you can do is ignore the advert and remember the golden rule that if something sounds too good to be true it probably is, especially regarding receiving lots of money for little effort.

You too can work from home for less than 10 hours a week and earn around $12000 a month, and while there are some jobs like this for politicians I doubt very much that Korean businesses will be sending them to me.

In related scam news, the latest one is that someone is that I have been declared dead and someone is trying to steal my million dollar inheritance fund. This scam e-mail contains the classic line Please, if you are dead or alive I want you to reply back immediately to avoid paying to the wrong account. Ignoring the bad English present throughout the e-mail which no self respecting legal company would use, its so tempting to send a reply back saying I am dead so go ahead and pay into his account. [...] Continue Reading…

Theres no such thing as a free lunch and this saying is especially true when it comes to holidays, especially ones that claim to only cost you £20. While this is not a scam in the strictest sense as you should get what you pay for, it is a case of be aware that there are probably hidden costs. [...] Continue Reading…

You sometimes have to admire the sheer cheek of some of the scammers especially with the latest phishing attempt for HSBC customers. The e-mail had the subject “Protect Yourself Against Internet Fraud” and tells you that it is instigating a special fraud prevention exercise which if you don’t participate in you get yourself suspended.

As normal there are 2 tell tale signs that this is a Phishing e-mail aside from me not having a HSBC account

1) It does not specify my name

2) On the text version the link points to a different site

From: HSBC Bank plc [mailto:secureservice@hsbc.co.uk]
Sent: 21 September 2009
Subject: [...] Continue Reading…

Wow I have just won £400,000.00, either that or someone is trying to scam me. Given that I never entered a competition with Toyota and the return e-mail address is at G-Mail not toyota, I am going to assume that its a scam and the initial e-mail address has been spoofed. [...] Continue Reading…

Here are a few more examples of some of the dodgy deals people are trying to get me involved with, so they can eventually steal my identity and money.

These ones claim to be from Karin Ahmed, Amina Kipkalya, Azeem Igwedo and Ramatu Sawadogo. [...] Continue Reading…

If you browse the internet, the chances are good that sooner or later you will come accross adverts that are tailored to your browsing location and mention the nearest significant town to your location e.g. meet singles in YOURCITY. [...] Continue Reading…

Once again it is time for more e-mail from the junk mail folder, and here are two which are along the same lines asking me to partake in dodgy dealings with the promise of a lot of money at the end.

All I have to say on these types of e-mail is that I am sure if someone actually wanted to do this type of thing they would already have contacts (friends or family) that they could have do it for them rather than some person they do not know and have randomly e-mailed. [...] Continue Reading…

Sometimes the scammers try to be a little too clever and the e-mail goes wrong as is the case in the following e-mail where it appears that a html e-mail has been sent as text so you can see all the code, needless to say it is another failed Phishing attempt for alliance and leicester customers. [...] Continue Reading…

For anyone who read my post on Acai Berry Tablet Weight Loss, this is a very similar set up and works on the same principle.

The first step is the advert on the independent website like the one shown below. [...] Continue Reading…