How To: Spot a Scam

[Felt Tip]

An advert I spotted in a local paper:

"Free adults-only part night held in secret every night in July/Aug. 100's of v.attractive local women available but desperately need more single men. Text [contact details] for exact times/locations. No fees, free to everyone. Over 18's only."


I'm a firm believer that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And 'hundereds of women in desperate need of single men' sounds just that.

But what are the strings? Are they going to find some secret way to fleece money from people? It sounds like they've ruled that out already.
And if it's not a 'traditional' money-making scam, could it be something even more dodgy?

The text number (you don't have text messaging in America do you? Or is it just not so popular? It's a means of sending short text messages from one mobile phone to another.)
Anyway, the text number seems to be a specially registered business one. I don't know how hard that is to do, but it does suggest an organised structure of some sort behind it.
Maybe it's some sort of premium rate number. Anyone know where I could check that (UK)?


I'm not sure why it's piqued my interest like this - whether it's a desire to know exactly what kind of scam they're running, or if some part of me is hoping it's still for real...

 

[Weird Harold]

I'm a firm believer that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And 'hundereds of women in desperate need of single men' sounds just that.

But what are the strings? Are they going to find some secret way to fleece money from people? It sounds like they've ruled that out already.
And if it's not a 'traditional' money-making scam, could it be something even more dodgy?

I suspect that, at the very least, you'd be in for a boring pitch about buying a "time share" or investing in some pyramid scheme as prelude to a boring cocktail party (with a pay-as-you-go bar).

It not very likely that you'd wind up pulling an oar on a galley or joining HM Navy, but I don't think I'd completely rule out the danger of being shanghaied.

It does sound like something that might be found as the hook in one of the stories here, though. And as we all know, the stories here are all fantasies where everything ends in "happily ever after" -- quite unlike the real world.

 

[Sad Man]

Is the text number and five or six digit number of somekind, if it is then you can guarantee it is a reverse billing type dealy where you will get charged between £1.00 and £1.50 per text that they send you, and they will send a lot.

If it is a standard length number then I would guess that they will ask you to phone a standard rate number to confirm your attendance, once you phone this number it is very much possible for you to be re-directed to a premium rate number without your knowledge, so what you think is a local call is actually costing you £1.50 a minute.

Nothings free, and that sounds dodgy from the word go.