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Frauds, Scams & Cons (General; Miscellaneous)

A rather nasty scam which Harvard could have done more to stop.

NEW DELHI — Nidhi Razdan was all set to travel to Harvard University to start a new job, and a new life, when she received a stunning email.

A famous Indian news anchor at the apex of her career, Ms. Razdan believed she would soon start teaching at Harvard, a dream ticket out of an almost unbearably toxic media atmosphere in India.

She had told the world that she was leaving the news business for America and she had freely shared her most important personal information with her new employer — passport details, medical records, bank account numbers, everything.

But when she swiped open her phone in the middle of a January night, she read the following message, from an associate dean at Harvard:

“There is no record of, nor any knowledge of, your name or your appointment.”

The email closed: “I wish you the best for your future.”

Ms. Razdan felt dizzy and nauseated. She had thrown away a high-flying career in journalism and fallen into an intricate online hoax.

The hoax that ensnared Ms. Razdan exploited Harvard’s prestige, the confusion caused by the pandemic, and her own digital naïveté. At the time she went public, what had happened to her seemed like a shocking but isolated incident. But it wasn’t. Ms. Razdan was one of several prominent female journalists and media personalities in India who were targeted, even after one of the women alerted Harvard and the public about the unusual cyberoperation.

The incidents raised questions about why Harvard — despite its reputation for fiercely protecting its brand — did not act to stop the scam, even after being explicitly warned about it. They also revealed how easy it is for wrongdoers to hide their identities on the internet, a risk that is likely to get worse as the technology used in digital fakery continues to improve. ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/technology/harvard-job-scam-india.html
 
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catseye said:
I've just received a fine from The Range, for overstaying my allocated 3 hour parking time by 40 minutes.

Okay, that's fair enough, I was there, with a friend, for three hours and forty minutes. BUT we have to drive for over an hour to our nearest Range, spent collectively well over three hundred and fifty pounds in the shop, had lunch there, and a jolly good day out. I paid up the fine, couldn't be bothered to try to argue our case, besides which it's the car park that give the fine, not The Range themselves, so how much I spent in the shop wouldn't bother them. But I am massively annoyed that, what could have been a lovely day out, now has to be curtailed into dashing about to fit everything into the time that the car parking people think you will need to do what you do. Counterproductive to the shop, really.

Plus apparently according to the fine letter there is 'adequate signage' informing you that three hours is the maximum time allowed. Neither I, nor my friend saw any such signs (but we were yakking like good 'uns so could well have missed it).
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If you can be bothered, I'd be sending a polite letter to The Range, explaining how much you spent, and that it took you over the allotted time to spend that much and take advantage of the café facilities there. Others will have done the same and continued complaints may alter their attitude towards the parking contractors or at least extend the allotted time.
Personally if I spend more than 10 minutes in a shop I get antsy, but then I'm a bloke.:chuckle:
 
PeteS said:
If you can be bothered, I'd be sending a polite letter to The Range, explaining how much you spent, and that it took you over the allotted time to spend that much and take advantage of the café facilities there. Others will have done the same and continued complaints may alter their attitude towards the parking contractors or at least extend the allotted time.
Personally if I spend more than 10 minutes in a shop I get antsy, but then I'm a bloke.:chuckle:
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Yes. I used to get the minimum one hour ticket, do my shopping and still pass them on to someone with a good 40 minutes left on it.
 
A very "with it" elderly relative got an email earlier in the week advising her that she had just been awarded $500 worth of bitcoin. (would only buy you a tiny fraction of such anyway). Clicked on link, rang the number twice, connected in the States, told her to ring another number (in the States) and they wanted access to her computer to "verify". Fortunately she didn't allow this, but was then concerned about her phone being hacked and the cost of the telephone charges to the States. Fortunately neither was a problem. I detest it when these shysters prey on the elderly.
 
escargot said:
Does it depend on the shop? There are a couple of types that I could spend all day browsing.
One in particular would occupy me for hours as I inspect every single item on display. :cool:
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Yeah OK you got me there.:chuckle: I'm talking about general and girly shopping. Fortunately Ms P is of the same view and there are shops we spend hours in.
 
escargot said:
Does it depend on the shop? There are a couple of types that I could spend all day browsing.
One in particular would occupy me for hours as I inspect every single item on display. :cool:
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The only one that springs to mind is from when I ate meat; I'd spend a few hours with my nose pressed against the butchers window (like a raggamuffin character out of a Dickens novel), looking at all the produce.
 
Floyd1 said:
Yes- just this minute saw that and have now read it.
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This advice is always being updated and given out. Parking is a racket. :mad:

While one type is an actual fine, you can try to get out of it by taking the ticket round to the police station right away and pleading your case personally. I was told this by a Magistrates' Clerk when I worked at the courts.
 
escargot said:
This advice is always being updated and given out. Parking is a racket. :mad:

While one type is an actual fine, you can try to get out of it by taking the ticket round to the police station right away and pleading your case personally. I was told this by a Magistrates' Clerk when I worked at the courts.
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We have a couple here where you can park for free for a certain time, but can't return within a certain time. Supermarkets in small towns often do it to stop workers from nearby shops/businesses from parking there all day- which I can understand.
As for taking it to the police station- we don't have one anymore. Another empty building.
 
escargot said:
This advice is always being updated and given out. Parking is a racket. :mad:

While one type is an actual fine, you can try to get out of it by taking the ticket round to the police station right away and pleading your case personally. I was told this by a Magistrates' Clerk when I worked at the courts.
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I isn't a police matter any more. It got farmed out to the local authorities (who in many cases in turn subbed it out to the likes of Capita).

I think charging for parking is immoral. I'm taxed through the nose as it is. Paid tax on the fuel and on my car insurance, and then I get to pay to park on a road that's already there.
 
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Herr Cloaca said:
I don't think it's a police matter any more. It got farmed out to the local authorities (who in many cases in turn subbed it out to the likes of Capita).

I think charging for parking is immoral. I'm taxed through the nose as it is. Paid tax on the fuel and on my car insurance, and then I get to pay to park on a road that's already there.
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The page you posted links to shows the difference between a Penalty Charge which you have to pay and a Parking Charge which you can quibble about. Parking wardens patrolling the streets are employed by the police.
 
Any public parking in my city is municipal bylaws. The city has a parking attendant. Fines go to the city. Not sure how any of that is handled if someone wanted to argue it.

Our downtown core has 2 hour free parking and nothing else. The parking attendant chalks the tires and if the car is still there 2 hours later, there is a fine.
 
brownmane said:
Any public parking in my city is municipal bylaws. The city has a parking attendant. Fines go to the city. Not sure how any of that is handled if someone wanted to argue it.

Our downtown core has 2 hour free parking and nothing else. The parking attendant chalks the tires and if the car is still there 2 hours later, there is a fine.
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Do you ever have to move your cars for 'street cleaning' in Canada?
 
brownmane said:
The parking attendant chalks the tires and if the car is still there 2 hours later, there is a fine.
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Thr police here used to do that to over-worn tyres. Can remember my brother describing how he and a Plod had crouched in the road together arguing about whether a white smudge on his tyre was actually a chalk mark.
 
Floyd1 said:
Do you ever have to move your cars for 'street cleaning' in Canada?
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Every winter - Nov 15th to Mar 15th - no on street parking overnight due to snow plows possibly having to plow.
 
PeteS said:
What? Surely that can't be legal. I'd be charging the city for a car valeter to remove the marks.
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It is only chalk. And he's a city employee. Believe me, he probably makes more money for the city than they pay him in wages.

He is quite visible and diligent and anyone living in town knows that once their tires have been chalked, they have two hours.
 
brownmane said:
Every winter - Nov 15th to Mar 15th - no on street parking overnight due to snow plows possibly having to plow.
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I should specify "in my city", I don't really know about anywhere else in Canada, Though most of Canada gets heavy snowfall.
 
brownmane said:
I should specify "in my city", I don't really know about anywhere else in Canada, Though most of Canada gets heavy snowfall.
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I was talking to an American woman from Boston who said every two weeks they have to move for street cleaning and if they don't it's a big fine. I think she said they do one side one week and the other the next. (She may have been talking about when she lived in New York- I can't remember). Chas will let us know. It wouldn't work in England, that's for sure.
 
Yes. I have parked on the street overnight, forgetting the winter bylaw, and have had several tickets. A police officer has written one of my tickets at 0300. No doubt, if you're working night shift, writing tickets is one way of passing time.

Both times there was no snow cover, and I really forgot. $30.00 was the last one.
 
Floyd1 said:
I was talking to an American woman from Boston who said every two weeks they have to move for street cleaning and if they don't it's a big fine. I think she said they do one side one week and the other the next. (She may have been talking about when she lived in New York- I can't remember). Chas will let us know. It wouldn't work in England, that's for sure.
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Ha. New York City is twice a week move the car.
 
A Florida man has been arrested for bilking the COVID business relief program out of more than $2,000,000. He now has to face the prospect of having a conviction bilk him out of more than a century of jail time.
Florida Man Charged with Using COVID Relief Funds to Buy Lamborghini, Rolex

According to reports, a South Florida man was arrested after allegedly using COVID-19 relief funds to purchase luxury items such as exotic cars and designer clothes and watches.

Valesky Barosy, 27, is accused of seeking out more than $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds using false IRS tax forms and fake payroll documents. Barosy ended up receiving half of the sought-out amount and spent it on a Lamborghini Huracán EVO, Rolex and Hublot watches, and clothing from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel.

Barosy was arraigned on charges Thursday and faces five counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he faces up to 132 years behind bars.
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FULL STORY: https://www.vladtv.com/article/2790...g-covid-relief-funds-to-buy-lamborghini-rolex
 
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