FTC Shuts Down Popular Scammer ISP; But Doesn't Seem To Be Impacting Spam That Much

Tue, Jan 27th 2009 11:16am

Filed Under:
canada, do not call, scammers, telemarketing

33 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Canadians Getting More Telemarketing Calls After Putting Names On Do Not Call List

from the whoops dept

When the US first instituted its Do Not Call list, there was some fear that unscrupulous telemarketers would actually use the list as a "good list" of people to call. In fact, many people were nervous to use the list at the beginning for just that reason. However, for the most part, there haven't been that many abuses of the list (there have certainly been some, but it's not nearly as widespread as many expected). Unfortunately, it appears the same is not true in Canada. The Canadian list works by allowing anyone to buy it -- supposedly so they can cleanse their own lists of any DNC numbers. But, it can also be used by unscrupulous scammers -- such as those offshore -- who apparently are buying the DNC list in order to have a "verified" list of people to call with scams. It's reached the point that many claim they're getting more telemarketing calls (for much more scammy reasons) than before.

Scams

Thu, Oct 16th 2008 10:35am

Filed Under:
credit cards, empty box, scammers

Companies:
wal-mart

30 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Don't Complain To WalMart About The Empty Laptop Box You Bought With Stolen Credit Cards

from the scammer-vs.-scammer dept

Well here's one for the dumb criminals series. Apparently, some guys with a bunch of forged credit cards and stolen credit card numbers went to Wal-Mart and bought a laptop. Except, somehow someone at Wal-Mart scammed them... and sold them an empty box. The guys got pissed off and went back to Wal-Mart to complain. Not surprisingly, the Wal-Mart employees thought the guys were trying to scam the Wal-Mart -- not with the fake credit cards -- but with the empty box. So they called the police, and hilarity ensued, as one guy tried to run away and dropped a bunch of the stolen credit cards. But, of course, the real kicker is that the guys weren't lying. Wal-Mart had accidentally sold them an empty box. Still, it makes you wonder what the hell the guys were thinking when they went back to complain about the empty box that had been sold to them using stolen credit cards.

Scams

Tue, Sep 23rd 2008 11:51pm

Filed Under:
internet access, scammers, spammers

Companies:
intercage

12 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Scammers' ISP Off The Internet... Temporarily

from the well-that's-one-way-to-deal-with-it dept

Apparently an ISP that's got quite the reputation of being "scammer-friendly" is finding it increasingly difficult to find anyone who will provide it internet access. Its latest upstream provider finally kicked it off the internet this past weekend after receiving mounting complaints from researchers who found that 78% of the domains on Intercage's system were scammers and spammers. That's quite a lot, and says something about Intercage's unwillingness to deal with complaints directly. Though, it does raise questions about the "innocent bystanders" who make up the other 22% of Intercage's customers. Should those customers be expected to investigate who else hosts on the ISP they sign up for? Is it fair to cut them off from the internet too? In the meantime, there's always someone else willing to provide service -- and, indeed, it took all of about two days for Intercage to find itself a new provider.

Scams

Wed, Sep 10th 2008 1:16am

Filed Under:
copyright, infringement, pre-settlement letters, scammers, viruses