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Your Money > Savings Articles > Racing rip off...
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By Sarah Modlock
Along with new blooms and fluffy lambs, Spring has brought a new wave of scams designed to part you from your cash. And with the racing season underway, what better group to target than those who like a flutter on the horses and will have a natural curiosity for expert information 'from the horse's mouth'. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is warning racing fans not to be conned by 'racing tipster' scams which are catching out hundreds of people every week. The first you will know about it is when you receive a glossy mailing from a so-called 'racing pundit' who claims to have access to inside information from trainers and owners and guarantees large profits by subscribing to a tipster service or syndicate. You are told that the service provides a very high ratio of winners to runners, sometimes up to 90%; that there are only a limited number of places available for this exclusive service, and there is a 'money back guarantee' if you aren't satisfied. A typical scam may offer a three month service for anything between £120 and £500, which includes access to a premium rate tips telephone number (which is probably never answered). The amounts of money are set on the smaller side to begin with so that more people are attracted and may be more likely to write off the money without complaining when things go wrong. But greedy punters are targeted with more expensive 'services' including £2,000 to £5,000 for a 'dead cert tip'. Fully refundable if only you can track down the person with your money. You may be told that your tipster has become so well known to the Jockey Club (for their successful bets) that they need you place bets for them. They may ask you to place £5,000 of your own money for them on the basis that you send them 'their' winnings if the horse comes in or they send you a refund if the horse loses. Unbelievable though it sounds, punters are falling for this. Dead cert guaranteed loser Victims often end up paying hundreds of pounds for a poor or non-existent service and when they try to get their money back find out that the pundit's name is made up and the address given is just a mailbox. Once you fall for one tipster scam you will probably be inundated with other similar scam offers. Victims have subsequently been contacted by phone with the offer of investing in shares of a racehorse for around £5,000. Those that send the money off are told they will receive legal paperwork regarding the ownership shortly but nothing arrives. "People often dream of winning big money on the horses but there is no such thing as a dead cert guaranteed winner," warns the OFT's Christine Wade. "The only certainty is that you will end up losing money to these scams. Never respond to a racing tipster offer if it sounds too good to be true." Paul Scotney, Director of Security at the Horseracing Regulatory Authority agrees: "Any claims by these so-called tipsters of guaranteed winners and profits should be treated with the utmost cynicism and many of the claims regarding horses they own, the profits they achieve and the contacts they have are pure fantasy. We understand that members of the public can get sucked in and we are fully behind the OFT's attempts to help prevent people falling for this scam. These supposed tipsters do nothing but cause misery to those they con money out of and bring our sport into disrepute." The OFT wants to hear from anyone who has recently lost money to a racing tipster scam mailing. Although the OFT cannot advise or assist individual complainants, it may be able to act to stop other people from being conned in the future. Complainants should send a copy of the mailing they received together with full details of how they were misled to ScamBusters Team (tipster scams), Office of Fair Trading, Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8JX. Sporting Life and the Racing Post have free tipster services and even Today on BBC Radio Four has a tipster. Don't waste your money on schemes that are nothing more than scams run for the benefit of fraudsters. Spring scams It's not just racing fans who are the targets of scams this Spring. The OFT is looking at a wide range of tricks and frauds which could be coming to a mailbox - or mobile - near you. Some 3.2 million people ( that is 6.5% of the UK adult population) fall victim to scams every year, according to the OFT's research. Each had a 30% chance of becoming a repeat victim within a year, as they would often find themselves placed on so-called suckers lists sold between con-artists. The OFT has today sent out thousands of fake scam text messages to 18-24 year-old mobile phone users to raise awareness about scams. The text message, sent out as part of Scams Awareness Month in February, reads: 'Urgent! U may have won £1k cash with '2 Good 2 B True.' It is followed shortly afterwards by a second text that makes clear that there is in fact no prize and that the message has been sent by the OFT to warn about scams. The message also highlights SMSus, a new text message service launched by PhonepayPlus, the phone-paid service regulator. SMSus allows users to text details of a premium rate number or shortcode and receive an automatic reply with the cost of the number, details of the service provider, how to contact them and how to complain if necessary. The OFT estimates that around 6% of all scam victims are aged between 15 and 24, losing money to a variety of mass marketed scams each year. "More and more people are using mobile phones to pay for a range of products and services and in most instances this happens without problems," says Trays O'Reilly, Director of Standards and Communications at PhonepayPlus. "Our job is to crack down on scams and other misbehaviour when it occurs so that everyone can use phone-paid services with confidence."Slim chanceSlimmers have also been targeted by the OFT, with fake mailings promoting bogus 'Fat-Off' capsules which claim to guarantee weight loss of 20 pounds every week through a secret 'fat-eating' plant ingredient that goes to work while you sleep. However the mailing goes on to make clear that it has been sent by the OFT to help raise consumers' awareness of typical weight loss scams and highlight the tricks used by scammers. OFT research has found that around 200,000 UK consumers lose an estimated £20 million a year on miracle health and slimming scams with women making up 78% of victims. These scams are normally circulated by post or email and promise that the product is a 'medical breakthrough' and that huge weight loss is guaranteed without exercise or dieting. Claims are often supported by fake testimonials from doctors and 'satisfied customers' and worthless 'money back guarantees'. The OFT has taken action against a number of companies promoting misleading 'miracle' slimming products including a suction pad worn on the foot during sleep which claimed to suck out excess fat though a natural 'trap door' in the skin and a 'negative calorie' chocolate that burnt off cellulite and fat and of which it was claimed 'the more you eat the more you lose'. Yes, really. Useful links: |
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