Hi Tony

What perfect timing!

We were just beginning a discussion following the Economist article about corruption in Romania - and here we go - a load of scams in good old trust worthy UK!

I think the moral of this story is that corruption is less about nationality and more about human nature..

... in that where there is a lot of money at stake a small but significant number of unscrupulous people will try to take advantage.

Buyer beware applies in UK, Romania, Spain and any other country you choose to pick!

It also applies to any investment, stocks, property, sub-prime mortgages....

Cheers
Neil

Hi Neil

You're right, scammers are everywhere. Something I have noticed in recent months is that unlike a year or two ago, when you could spot a scam a mile off, these days the approach is much more credible. Scammers have come of age and are employing technology to create complex cons. Scams are actually often either extraordinarily simple, usually relying on peoples' willingness to take a risk to access an unlikely incredible deal; or the scams are very intricately weaved and professionally set-up. The latter is particularly common on the web, with some 'copycat clone' sites almost seamlessly disguised as the professional and highly respected originals. Sadly, there is usually a learning curve most people have to go through to prevent themselves being scammed. It happened to me 20 years ago with timeshare in Spain ... and although I lost a small fortune at the time, it was I reckon now, money well spent because I've never been scammed successfully since. The phrase I often use is trust no one, unless everything they say and claim can be independently and professionally verified. Even then - tread cautiously.

Tony B