Sometimes, people deserve to be taken for a ride.
When Bella Betterton fell victim to a recruitment scam and had £3,000 stolen, she felt “attacked” and “distraught”.
The 18-year-old had been contacted by scammers first via WhatsApp messages and then phone calls and thought she had taken part in a real job interview.
But the fraudsters tricked her card details out of her to steal the money.
Because of course real recruiters spam you on WhatsApp or Telegram. The fact that some random, unknown person contacts you out of the blue is an obvious red flag. I’ve had a few of these and always deleted and blocked.
“I’d put my CV out there so thought it [the scam text message]… was a legitimate thing.”
No, that’s not what legitimate recruiters do. They will respond, via email or telephone and explain who they are. What they won’t do is ask you for your bank details.
The scammers carried out what Bella thought was a genuine interview with her over the phone for a remote working job involving her using their money to buy and review products.
Oh, FFS! Again, red flags, fanfare and neon flashing lights saying SCAM!
“These text messages will only be relevant to a certain number of people… but it’s a numbers game. Criminals only need a few people to respond and the victims are self selecting.
That’s one way of putting it.
Bella’s bank has refused to refund her as a victim of fraud, although she is now challenging that decision with the Financial Ombudsman Service.
And nor should they.
“It makes you feel very immature for this world, very quickly. It’s a big wake-up call.”
Yup.
“It makes you feel very immature for this world, very quickly. It’s a big wake-up call.”
She’s 18. Probably thought of herself as more mature and smarter than the rest of us who have been adopting for decades.
Sorry for her loss, but better she learns now and only loses money than later and loses something worth far more.
Most of these sob stories in the media (and especially on the Biased Broadcasting Corporation) are to shame the relevant institution into giving the idiot their money back.
Of course, it’s framed as the rich bank recompensing the poor customer, but it actually means socialising the costs of her stupidity onto the rest of us as the bank will recoup the loss through higher charges for everyone else.
One more example of how personal responsibility is a thing of the past and how it’s someone else’s fault for everything bad that happens to people.
There are so many scams and frauds on the internet nowadays. if you send me 19.99 I will send you a guide on how to avoid these scams.
(The internet needs a sarcasm font,eh?).