Episode 12 Rip Off Britain

We asked you to tell us what's left you feeling totally

ripped off and you've contacted us in your thousands.

You've told us about the companies that you think get it wrong

and the customer service that simply is not up to scratch.

If I walk in somewhere and they treat me badly,

then I walk and I will never go in again.

You've asked us to track down the scammers who stole your money

and investigate the extra charges you'd say are unfair.

You've paid for a service and you expect it to be

the service that you've paid for.

And when you've lost out and no-one else is to blame,

you've come to us to stop others falling into the same trap.

As a customer you've got to be more savvy in terms of what you're

buying, and make sure it's something you want or need

and not something that they're trying to trick you into getting.

So, whether it's a blatant rip-off or a genuine mistake,

we're here to find out why you're out of pocket

and what you can do about it.

Your stories, your money - this is Rip-Off Britain.

Hello, and welcome to Rip-Off Britain,

the series that sets out to make sure that whatever you're

spending your money on, you are spending it wisely.

And that's not always easy to do in a world where technology is evolving so fast

it can be hard to keep up with both the opportunities and the dangers.

You are so right there, Julia, because so many of us now spend

such a large part of our everyday lives on the internet that we don't

always stop to question exactly what it is we're going to find there.

We might jump into what seems like an opportunity without fully

understanding exactly how it works or, even worse,

we make the mistake of handing over our personal details to

someone that we really should have kept them well away from.

I must say, not a position you want to be in.

But it is safe to say that we're not always as internet savvy

as we might like to think we are, certainly in my case.

And as you'll see from a test we've done, that could mean

putting your own security and private information at risk.

So today, we're going to be doing our very best to help you

through some of the thorny situations that you can get yourself

into online, as well as visiting a part of the internet that's

the absolute last place that you want any of your details

to end up on.

Coming up, the secrets of the darkest parts of the web

where criminal gangs have found ways to take full advantage

of your personal information.

So, not only is it easier than robbing a bank,

you end up with more money than if you'd robbed a bank?

If you do this well, you can make hundreds of millions.

And the shopping site that promises bargains - and fun.

So why do so many of you say you've ended up with neither?

You start then to really get into bid, bid, bid.

I feel like I've been mugged by the invisible man.

An increasing number of the stories that we investigate here

at Rip-Off Britain involve criminals who are making fraudulent use

of your personal details, which of course has led many of you to

wonder exactly how it is they get that information in the first place.

Well, as we're about to find out, there is

a murky side to the internet where anything can be traded and where

right now, this very second, someone could be putting together

all of your personal information and for the right price, selling it.

If you've ever felt like you're drowning in all those passwords

that you need to remember when you're online, then you're not alone.

New research confirms that now we all have so many different

accounts for shops, banks or simply logging onto your e-mails, that we

often forget almost half of the passwords that we've set up for them.

Maybe that's why so many of us still often stick to the same one,

or something very similar.

But if that makes OUR lives easier,

it does exactly the same for the fraudsters,

making it much simpler for THEM to intercept our details

and use them in identity fraud,

a crime which is very much on the rise.

It doesn't matter how meticulous you are in trying to protect

all your personal data, if a criminal is determined enough,

they will find it and then use that information against you

and rip you off.

Cases of identity fraud have increased by a third

in the last year.

But that doesn't mean that we're all getting the message

when it comes to online security.

Do you have the same password for everything?

I've got to admit, yes.

-And Pin number!

-You realise how dangerous that is?

-BOTH: Yes. We do.

-But if they don't know, it's OK.

-But they're going to find it, that's the thing.

-Are they?

-Do you guys use the internet a lot for buying stuff?

-Yes.

-Yeah, all the time.

-You do?

So how do you protect your Pin numbers and your passwords?

I'm quite high security with my cards. I have different savings.

So when I buy something, I transfer it over to another account.

If I told you that it was possible for hackers to get your e-mail,

account number, your passwords,

your Pin numbers, your credit card numbers, on the web,

and sell that information to crooks who can then use it to

access your accounts, your money, what would you say?

-They'd be very disappointed.

-LAUGHING:

-Why's that?

Because I ain't got nothing in there.

ANGELA LAUGHS

Except they can steal your identity and use that

to put you in debt.

Oh, that would be great if they could steal my identity,

the taxman would get hold of them instead of me!

'If only it were that simple!

'But, in fact, the crooks behind identity theft

'can buy and sell your information in a place where it's almost

'impossible for them to be found.

'Usually known as the "dark web",

'it's one of the most sinister parts of the internet

'and it doesn't show up on search engines.

'So crimes are committed and information traded

'without the people behind it all being easily traced.

'So I've come to find out more about it from

'identity theft expert Darren Innes.

'He runs a website called HasMyIdentityBeenStolen.com

'where you can check if your personal details

'are amongst those that have been stolen

'and then put on sale on the dark web.'

Darren, exactly what is the dark web?

It sounds really sinister.

I think the best way to explain the dark web

is if you imagine the internet as an iceberg.

Traditionally we see about 4% of the internet through normal

search engines - so Google, Safari etc.

96% of the internet is hidden by password-protected websites.

In that 96% there's a belief there's a lot of criminality happening.

What exactly are the criminals doing down there in that bit of the iceberg?

Um, well, anything. There are sites where you can go on and buy drugs

and have them delivered.

You can even, they believe, find a hit man, if you want one,

on the dark web.

What we're concerned about is the amount of identities

that are up for sale on the dark web.

So they're getting this information...

Once they've got it, what are they doing with it? Are they using it themselves?

Um, they sell it between gangs.

So one gang may find your e-mail and password

and then they'll sell it to another organisation,

who'll then use it to start doing things like phishing e-mails

where they try to get data off you,

or they'll use researchers to find things like your date of birth,

where you live, that kind of information.

They build that up over a period of time.

That process can take up to two years.

But in that time they'll build a complete financial

-and personal profile of you...

-Yeah.

..accessing exactly what kind of information?

Um, credit card numbers...

Um, your date of birth, electoral roll, secret answers.

So a common one is your mother's maiden name.

'Darren's company estimates that it has over 600 million

'records in their database

'and they're adding a whopping 300,000 more every day.'

Presumably the criminals are going to be always one step ahead

of the law enforcement agencies?

Well, bizarrely they generally are.

The faster we come up with a way of preventing something,

they've already thought of the next step.

'Darren then showed me a site on the dark web

'where criminals are making use of the data that they've stolen.

'I'm looking at what first appears to be a normal shopping site

'but I soon realise that what's on sale here

'isn't what you'd find at the supermarket.'

What you are looking at here is a typical carding site.

What I mean by a carding site is a site that is selling credit

card data from around the world.

It just looks like any normal website that you'd go on

and buy goods and services.

And they're cheap!

They're selling a credit card for £2.50!

This is extraordinary. You've got every country in the world here.

Yeah, I know. It truly is shocking.

The thing that I found most amazing when I started looking at this

was that if you buy the data and it doesn't work within a couple

of hours, the criminal will give you the money back

for trying to use that credit card.

It is a very organised business.

-So it's honour among thieves?

-Absolutely.

ANGELA GASPS

It is shocking.

'When major criminals have finished using stolen credit card details

'sites like this one trade the information on

'so that minor criminals can use it to buy low-cost items,

'usually online.

'Darren's used the information from such sites to compile

'a database of people whose e-mail addresses have been compromised.

'And while his is just one of the services where you

'can buy solutions to keep your details safe,

'you can also check for free if your details are on Darren's system

'and currently doing the rounds of the dark web.

'So, obviously, I was keen to know if my details were at risk.'

It's going to have sent notification to your e-mail account,

so only you can see this data.

You have to own that e-mail account for it to tell you.

What a criminal will do often is take over your e-mail account,

or try to. We need to keep it very, very secure.

It'll send a notification to your e-mail address

and then it will tell you what data has been up for sale - if any.

So you've got to be careful with what you put on this

because people might hack into this and pass it on?

Yeah, we have to be very, very careful.

The last thing we want to do is to aid the criminal

in the abuse that they take.

'So, for me, it was good news.'

As you can see, it's come up now and what it's saying is

that there is no data on you on the internet at the moment.

Phew! That's a relief, I can tell you.

But I'm going to go home and change all my passwords!

Yes, it's a good idea.

'Well, at least, criminal gangs don't seem to have got at my details

'but, unfortunately, the same can't be said for many others.

'A few simple actions can help to protect your online security,

'notably keeping your passwords safe and changing them regularly.

'But nothing is foolproof and, later in the programme, we are

'going to be unpicking some of the crimes that use information

'from the dark web and trying to track down who's behind them.'

Next an online shopping site that's already had its knuckles

rapped by the authorities but, even so, it's still prompting

a number of complaints to our inbox on the programme.

That's despite it being a place that not only promises

that you'll "bag a bargain,"

but that the whole process is what they describe as "fun shopping".

I'm afraid, for some of you, it may have started out that way

but fun is not at all how things have ended up.

'50% off...

'Last chance to buy...

'Sale of the century.

'Well, there can't be many of us who don't love to bag a bargain.

'These days it isn't necessarily the high street where we

'go to find the best deals.

'Many shoppers head straight online

'and a good chunk of those will log on to one of the online

'auction sites where the thrill of searching out the best price is

'combined with the excitement of trying to beat other people to get it.

'Best known, of course, these days is eBay,

'which last year had a staggering 157 million users worldwide.

'But plenty of other companies have muscled in on the same territory.

'And, with one of them,

'not everybody ended up with quite what they bargained for.

'Paul Taylor from Northamptonshire is no stranger

'to how auction sites usually work.

'So he was delighted when he spotted one that seemed the perfect

'place to look for a new phone for his son.'

I thought a really nice thing to do was to get him an upgrade to

his existing phone and get him the latest smartphone that's available.

Now I'm used to bidding sites and auction sites.

I've been doing it for several years myself

so when I saw the advert I thought, "Wow, this is great."

'The advert Paul had seen was from a company called MadBid,

'which describes itself as the number one discount auction website.

-Delivery.

-Perfect!

'It advertises high-end electrical goods like computers,

'mobile phones and TVs but at real rock-bottom prices.

'In fact, the ad suggested savings of up to 80% off

'what you pay on the high street.

'So Paul went to the MadBid site to find out what he had to do next.'

I opened the laptop, logged on to the MadBid site

and started following the instructions.

'Ah, but MadBid doesn't work in quite the same

'way as the auction sites which Paul had used before.

'On most of them, bids are free and you only pay the price of an item

'if you win it.

'On MadBid, you have to pay to place each bid

'and, what's more, each bid is on a timer.

'If the timer runs out and you're the last bidder,

'the item is yours for the closing price.

'If somebody else then places a bid, well, the clock starts again.

'The timer just keeps on ticking until everybody bows out.

'So, in order to win the item,

'you need to be prepared to pay to bid until the timer finally stops.

'It may sound complicated but MadBid calls it "fun shopping".

'Paul fancied his chances so purchased a package

'of bidding credits for £27.99 so that he could start playing.'

I strongly believed at this point that I was purchasing tokens to bid

against an item but the tokens weren't going to be

of monetary value.

They were just tokens for bidding, it was some kind of game that

you played where you put a coin in and it worked.

'Paul would only later realise that things aren't quite that simple.

'But, assuming they were,

'he soon spotted the make and model of telephone that he was

'looking for, which had a starting price of just £1.50.'

I was so excited. I've got an opportunity so I started bidding.

'Before he knew it, Paul had entered into an

'out-and-out bidding war to win the phone.'

You start then to really get into bid, bid,

bid and it becomes very addictive.

Bid, bid, bid...

'But what Paul didn't realise was that each time

'he placed a bid money would come out of the £27.99 credit

'package that he had bought at the start.'

I suddenly went to bid again and it wouldn't let me bid.

Then I got a message come up saying I've got no more credits.

So I started then to sit back and really question, "What have

"I just done? Have I just blown the money or is it somewhere?"

'Paul had used up all of his £27.99 credit.

'If he wanted to carry on bidding,

'he would have to buy more of those credits.'

I quickly realised that the process of MadBid was that money was

used to purchase the tokens which were actual monetary value

and every time you bid, you lost that monetary value.

'It was only at this point, as Paul began to look into the terms

'and conditions of the website more thoroughly, that he

'understood the unusual way MadBid works.

'The £27.99 that he spent on credit hadn't disappeared completely.

'It was still in his MadBid account but the only way

'he could now touch it was by using it to put towards buying

'items being sold on the site at full price, rather than

'the discounted prices which had been the only reason

'he'd wanted to shop there in the first place.

'Which might not be so bad,

'if MadBid's full prices were always competitive, but they're not.

'You can usually buy the same goods for the same,

'or even lower price, on more conventional shopping sites.

'But, for Paul, with his money now locked into his MadBid account,

'that was no longer an option.'

Shocking was the word I'd use for my stark realisation

that I felt that I had done something really stupid.

'Well, we've been contacted by a number of other people who

'feel exactly the same way as Paul.

'They don't think the way in which MadBid works is made clear

'enough on the website.'

I didn't realise that you were actually paying to bid.

'And that is the key complaint from everyone

'who's been in touch about MadBid.

'They simply hadn't appreciated that you pay to bid or that,

'if you don't win an item, any money you've spent on bids is not

'directly returned but can only be used on full-price purchases.'

By the time you've found out what's actually going on,

you've run out of money.

'Indeed, in 2014 the Advertising Standards Authority

'agreed that the MadBid advertisement it looked at was

'not sufficiently clear that there was a cost associated with each bid,

'saying that consumers would not immediately understand

'the nature of the service.

'MadBid has since changed the wording of that particular ad.

'But the ASA's concerns certainly mirror the experience of the people

'we've heard from, although they all told us

'it was through different ads that they first learned of MadBid

'and the offers you'll apparently find there.

'When we asked financial journalist James Daley to take a look

'at the MadBid site, he had sympathy for those who'd been confused.'

MadBid describes itself as a discount auction site.

In fact, even the number one fun shopping site.

In reality, it's more of a gambling site than anything else

because the chances of you getting a great deal are completely unknown.

So here we are on the home page of MadBid

and there are loads of great offers here

but nowhere does it say exactly how you get those and what the cost

is of ending up buying the credits to bid on these items.

It's very hard to find anywhere about how much one click,

one bid is going to cost you and the truth is that it varies.

It's so untransparent.

It's very easy for customers to throw away money here.

'But when we contacted MadBid.com the company completely

'rejected any criticism of how it works.

'It stressed that Paul has not lost the £27.99 he spent on credits,

'reiterating that although he can't get a monetary refund,

'like all customers who don't win at auction,

'his credits were converted into earned discount vouchers

'which can be redeemed against purchases from MadBid's

'online shop and are valid for 365 days.

'The company insisted that its terms

'and conditions are well structured and everything is clearly defined

'in detail with a video tutorial demonstrating exactly how it works.

'Then it went on to point out that any customer who buys credit

'and then decides not to bid at all is entitled to a full refund

'and it added that its advertising meets all necessary criteria.

'Even so, Paul and the others we've heard from say much the same thing, by the way.

'They still believe although the information is in the company's terms and conditions,

'it isn't clear enough and if he had understood how it worked,

'Paul's adamant that he would never have signed up.'

I strongly feel that I've been ripped off.

Yeah, you know, the words that I used to my partner

when she came home that night was I feel like I've been mugged...

..by the invisible man.

'Still to come on Rip-off Britain,

'how safe is the free Wi-Fi we use when we're out and about?'

I think people should be very concerned

when using a public Wi-Fi hotspot to access the internet.

It's about sacrificing convenience for security.

'We're on the road again with our Rip-Off Britain pop-up shop.

'This year we've come to the heart of the East Midlands, to

'one of the biggest shopping centres in Nottingham.'

There's a whole wonderful world of consumer advice waiting for you.

'For the fifth year running we've brought our team of experts

'with us, ready to give face-to-face consumer advice - all with the aim

'of stopping as many of you as possible from being ripped off.'

-Edwina, meet Cynthia.

-Good morning.

-Nice to meet you.

'Edwina Seddon was keen to talk to trading standards expert

'Sylvia Rook about a deposit she paid for building work that was never done.'

We arranged for a drive to be fitted at our property

and signed a contract on the 1st December last year.

They agreed that they would do it in March of this year.

In February, they rang my husband and asked for a deposit of £480.

They never mentioned that it was non-refundable

and they haven't done the work.

They haven't communicated with us and when I did manage to speak

to them, I just got a lot of twaddle, really.

With the law, the Consumer Contracts regulations,

it says you've got the right to cancel the contract 14 days after

the goods have been delivered and the goods would be the concrete.

You can cancel a contract if you want.

If you've got their name and their registered office address,

-then it's a matter of writing them a letter.

-I've done that.

I sent them a letter two weeks today giving them 14 days to reply.

-They haven't, as yet, replied.

-What you need to do then is send them

a "letter before action" saying that you want the full refund

of your £400 within the next seven days or you will

-pursue them through the small claims court.

-How much will that cost?

It's a sliding fee. I think it's around about £70

but that's the way to try and get your money back, is to now take them through the courts.

Well, I will take it to the limit because I think it's disgusting.

I'll take it to the highest court in the land if I have to.

'Immediately after coming to see us, Edwina acted on Sylvia's advice

'and issued a letter before action to the company involved.

'They didn't reply so now she's taking action through the small claims court.

'Right in the heart of the shopping centre we set up what

'we call our gripe area, where you came along to tell us

'about all the things that really get your goat.'

I hate bad customer service

because I work in the customer service industry myself

and I'm really helpful and really polite

and I expect to be treated how I treat other people.

What really annoys me is when you buy things from the shop,

you bring the thing back, they say it's non-refundable.

I'm annoyed about council tax.

We pay £290 a month and we get nothing in our village for it.

'And we set our experts loose to share their tips

'with passing shoppers.

'Finance expert Sarah Pennells wanted to see how up to date

'we might be on the information that companies can get on our finances.'

Have you ever done anything like get hold of a copy of your credit report to see what's on there?

-No.

-Would you be interested in seeing it at all

-or is there a reason...?

-No, I'd rather not.

Well, a credit report isn't just a record of whether you've repaid your credit card.

You said you'd rather not see what's on your credit report.

-Absolutely. Maybe the loans that I've had?

-OK.

-You've paid them off OK in the past?

-Yeah.

Because if you've paid something off and there hasn't been a problem,

then it could stay on your credit report for about

-up to two, three, four years.

-Right.

It is worth getting hold of your credit report.

And the reason is, companies are looking at it all the time,

-if you ever apply for credit. They'll be checking it.

-Right.

And you may as well make sure it's correct

because there might be a mistake on it. You can get it for £2.

It's a legal right that everybody has.

You can do it online or you can do it by post.

You can get hold of a copy of your credit report and there's no other fee.

'Sarah's put together a fact sheet full of great tips on how to

'give your finances a simple makeover.

'You can find it on our website...

'..along with plenty of advice from the rest of our team of experts.'

For many of us, I guess staying connected to the internet has

become an essential part of our lives.

Not just at home or at work, but when we're out and about, as well.

Smartphones and tablets have made that really easy,

especially as these days so many of the places we visit, like cafes,

pubs or hotels, will offer free Wi-Fi for customers,

so wherever we are we can quickly log on.

But is it always a good idea to connect to those networks? Because it

could be that some of them aren't as safe, or even as genuine,

as you might think.

Our technology expert, David McClelland, has been conducting

an experiment and the results may make you think twice before you

sign up to the first free Wi-Fi you see.

'Public Wi-Fi is everywhere - in hotels, shops, cafes and beyond.

'But while it may be a convenient way to log on when we're out and about,

'how do we know if those connections are trustworthy?'

The bus stop where I wait has a free Wi-Fi area for, like, 30 minutes.

So I'm waiting for my bus, it's really good

cos you can go on your phone and it doesn't cost you a penny.

Even if they don't have a passcode, I'd always test them out

and if they work I will use them.

Often the shops that you go in, you kind of choose those

specifically because they have maybe got free Wi-Fi.

'But free doesn't necessarily mean secure.

'And internet security specialists, like our technology expert

'David McClelland, are worried that some Wi-Fi hotspots can be

'abused by cybercriminals.'

I think people are drawn to public Wi-Fi

because we all love a free lunch

and we're also very mindful of not going over our monthly data

allowance in our service plans because that can be quite expensive.

The problem is, increasingly we're sacrificing security

for convenience and while we're drinking a coffee or maybe

having a cake in a coffee shop, it could well be that

hackers are snacking on our personal details as we do so.

'David's convinced that fraudsters may already be setting up fake

'Wi-Fi hotspots that could give them access to all your online details,

'and to prove how easily we might fall for it,

'he's set up his own free public Wi-Fi hotspot in a busy cafe.'

We're in a coffee shop in London where we've set up

a wireless network.

This is a spoof wireless network, just with this little box here.

It's broadcasting a hotspot that you might find in a normal coffee shop for free Wi-Fi.

We're waiting to see how many people connect to this over the

couple of hours or so that we're here.

'David's network is simply called Free Wi-Fi

'and anyone coming into the cafe will have the option of selecting it.

'But with no information about who is providing the Wi-Fi connection,

'these coffee shop customers can't be certain whether it's a

'legitimate connection or a scammer watching their every move.

'Luckily, in this case, as soon as anyone logs on,

'they'll get a message explaining what we're doing.'

It's just an experiment, we're not collecting any personal details.

There is a Rip-Off Britain pop-up page that comes up here instead.

It helps to illustrate just how easily people are willing to

log on to a network without any idea whatsoever what it actually is.

Oh!

Someone's just connected. Oh, gosh, yeah.

It's all kicking off here.

'While David waits to see how many unsuspecting customers will be

'tempted by his free Wi-Fi,

'he's going to meet Rip-Off Britain viewer Joey Steele, who e-mailed us

'because he's worried about how safe the public networks he uses are.

'Joey thinks he takes all the right steps to protect himself

'but is he right?'

I'm connecting to loads of different Wi-Fi hotspots and free public ones.

Am I putting myself at more risk using the different ones?

It doesn't matter whether you're connecting to a wireless network

that a hacker has set up or whether you're connecting to

a genuine network from a cafe like this, both of them are vulnerable.

So what makes it so unsafe?

You run the risk of a hacker doing the digital equivalent

of eavesdropping, basically.

'And those ever more sophisticated scammers can find plenty of ways to

'take advantage of even the simplest details they get hold of in this way.'

In the right hands, somebody can use those bits of information

against you as an identity theft, or an identity fraud attack.

'And it's not just your smartphone that's vulnerable to

'attacks like this, laptop computers, or tablets, are just as viable

'to hackers looking to get hold of your information.

'One simple piece of advice

'if you're surfing the internet using Wi-Fi is to look

'out for the websites whose addresses begin with the letters https.

'The "s" stands for secure.

'Banks and many shops now use them and you'll know you're safe

'because you'll see a little padlock sign by the address.

'That's just one of the tips Joey's going to keep in mind.'

I think that I'm going to not connect to Wi-Fi networks

automatically. That's probably the biggest thing

because if I don't know that I'm connecting to them,

I don't know that I'm putting myself at risk.

'Back inside, the fake network David set up has been

'running for just an hour but we have already had quite a few

'coffee shop customers attempting to log on.'

In real time right now, I'm seeing people logging on to this

spoof network that we've created, trying to visit web pages.

It's very exciting.

It's like watching some real drama unfold in real time.

'And when we approached some of the customers who had tried to

'log on to our network, it was clear they really weren't aware

'why it could be so risky.'

Are you aware of the fact that when you're logging onto these

networks, potentially, people might be able to eavesdrop, to snoop

in on the data that you're sending and receiving over the internet?

Um, marginally, I guess.

Although generally I only really log on in coffee shops

and on what I presume as being "their" networks.

So what will you do differently now you're a bit more

aware of the risks of public Wi-Fi?

Most likely just make sure that the network I'm connecting to

is in fact the network of the establishment that I'm in.

'Throughout the afternoon there was a steady stream of other

'customers falling for our fake free Wi-Fi.'

The experiment's finished, we've been here for four hours

and in that time we've had 15 different connection

attempts onto our fake wireless hotspot.

That's 15 people who potentially might be surrendering their private

and personal information to hackers and scammers.

'So is there anything more the providers of public

'Wi-Fi could be doing to help protect us?

'We contacted the top three coffee shop chains,

'Caffe Nero, Starbucks and Costa, to see what they do to ensure

'their Wi-Fi networks are secure.

'Caffe Nero chose not to comment.

'The others said that they put preventative measures in place

'and monitor against any risks

'and they reiterated David's advice to only use secure websites.

'Starbucks, along with BT, which provides the chain's Wi-Fi,

'told us by its very nature public Wi-Fi always carries

'a potential risk if unsecured websites are being used.

'They said that they have planned upgrades later this year to

'further improve Wi-Fi security in their outlets.

'Costa, with their Wi-Fi provider O2, told us that their

'public Wi-Fi network has a personalised welcome page

'when users sign in so that users can be confident

'they're connected to a fully monitored and secure service.

'But David believes that some public Wi-Fi providers could do more to

'warn users that their connection may not be as secure as you might think.

'He also feels that we ourselves should be more careful

'when going online, whether we're on the go or at home.'

If you've got an unencrypted network that you're running at home,

then you run the risk of hackers being able to see what you're sending

and receiving over the internet.

If I were a cybercriminal,

I would be able to use this data to steal money from people,

to perform all kinds of identity theft, identity fraud -

it's really serious stuff.

'Luckily for us, David's put together some tips on using Wi-Fi safely

'and you can find them on our website.'

Earlier in the programme we heard about the dark web,

the secret corners of the internet where fraudsters

and criminals can buy and sell stolen information and identities.

Now although my information appears not to be there, there are at least

five million people whose personal and valuable information IS.

In fact, no sooner had we finished filming

with identity theft expert Darren Innes than he called us back

to tell us that he believed he had intercepted

a potential fraud involving stolen credit card details

that were being used to buy very expensive goods.

Darren had picked up what he thought were suspicious patterns

of activity on one of the websites on the dark web.

What he'd noticed was that several different e-mail addresses

were being used to order goods that were apparently all being

delivered to one home address.

You don't find different individuals with the same e-mail address,

that's a statistical improbability,

so that was the immediate flag for us.

If you find a pattern within your data,

it's pretty straightforward to realise that that is

a criminal group who are receiving goods that they will sell on

to other individuals with a view to making money.

Darren suspected that whoever was

using these different e-mail addresses

was ordering goods using stolen credit card details,

and then getting them delivered to what's known as a "drop house".

When they take over your identity, they replace your address

with a particular address that they control.

Your goods are then delivered,

after goods have been paid for with your credit card,

to that address, and the criminal then has possession of them.

Normally they're typical high-value items,

so they could be high-value clothing, electrical goods,

anything that the criminal can pass on quickly

and make their money out of it.

If he's right, this kind of criminal activity is particularly hard

to track, as anything that is carried out on the dark web

leaves little or no footprint, so once the criminal has bought

the stolen details, they're virtually impossible to find.

In this case, we have no idea of telling who the actual criminal is.

What we can tell is, it's most likely to be

a gang of criminals operating out of the same address.

So they're getting deliveries of goods on a regular basis that

then they go on to sell.

A lot of gangs will be operating internationally,

so they may be sitting in a country in Africa or Eastern Europe

defrauding us, carrying out the technology piece of this,

the ordering of the goods,

and then they will have one or two people in the UK that receive

those goods and then either sell them on or put them

in a container and ship them to another country.

To check whether Darren's intelligence was right,

we contacted the customer whose credit card details had been stolen.

They confirmed to us that they

had also just been made aware of the fraud by their

credit card company, so in the nick of time, the fraud had been stopped.

But we wanted to know more about who lived at the address

to which the goods were apparently being delivered,

and whether they really had links with criminals using the dark web.

So we've come up with a ruse to try and find out.

We're going to send an empty parcel to the same address that was

being used by the spate of orders that Darren spotted.

But we'll address it to the name of a person

that we know does NOT live there.

So the question is, will whoever IS there accept it, or come clean

that it isn't for them?

Well, Darren is pretty confident about what

he thinks is going to happen.

The person will probably not even think about it and just sign

the goods, but when you question them, they'll most likely play dumb.

Is he right?

Well, posing as a delivery man,

one of our team is making up the parcel.

OK, what I'm about to do is write a fake name, make up a fake name,

write that on the box

and then attempt to give it to the people living in the house.

So the fake name is now on the box

and I'm going to attempt to deliver it.

Hello, mate, got a package for you.

-WOMAN:

-Oh, thank you.

-Yep, all right.

So the person at the house happily accepted a parcel that was

not for them, but in case that was simply an honest mistake,

we're going to deliver a second parcel, and this time we've

addressed it to Julia Somerville,

and we know she doesn't live there.

So, what will whoever answers the door say when we ask if she does?

Hello. Got a package, does this person live here?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Thanks.

-OK, no problem. Thank you.

The person who answered the door not only accepted the parcel, but also

falsely claimed that the addressee WAS someone who lived there.

We knew this wasn't true,

so went back to the house for an explanation.

-'Scuse me, hi, do you live here?

-No, I don't.

-Hello, we're from BBC's Rip-Off Britain, we'd like...

-No, thanks.

We'd like to know why you've accepted two parcels for made-up names.

DOG BARKS

So we've just come back from the house,

and the occupants didn't have too much to say for themselves.

They accepted two parcels with names that we clearly made up,

and they slammed the door on us.

Now, the fact that our parcels were accepted doesn't

actually prove any link to the fraudulent orders

that Darren spotted. But it is enough

to get his alarm bells ringing.

By the very nature, that they're signing for a set

of goods that they didn't pay for, leads on to them being suspicious.

And it remains the case that, for whatever reason

and whoever did it,

some of the goods delivered to this address were ordered illegally,

using personal details bought and sold on the dark web.

So Darren has advice to make sure that, the next time,

it's not your information being stolen and used this way.

The bottom line is,

we have to be responsible for our own personal data.

We have to change our password regularly,

we have to look at our credit file and see

if there's been anybody trying to access it,

we do need to take note of our bank account statements and see

if there's been activity on there that we're not aware of.

That is really the only way that we're going to prevent this.

Here at Rip-Off Britain,

we're always ready to investigate more of your stories,

and we'd especially like to hear from you

if you've had a problem on holiday or while travelling at home or abroad.

So, if you feel let down by your airline,

disappointed that the hotel looked very different from the

glossy photos in the brochure,

or maybe you're angry about hidden charges

that weren't clear when you booked...

..you can write to us, at...

Or send us an e-mail, to...

The Rip-Off team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.

Well, I must say,

I've personally learned a lot from today's programme.

These days, almost everything we do seems to be online,

but as we've seen,

the moment we use the internet we leave digital footprints

right across the web,

so it truly is important to take a moment to think about

exactly what information you're providing

and who you're giving it to.

Yes, when you've pressed that send key, you can't get it back.

Well, everyone we've heard from today is now a little bit more

sceptical about where they click and what they actually do online,

so fingers crossed you too will think twice about going onto

a site that might not be all you think it is,

or works a little bit differently from the way you've assumed.

So, before you sign up to anything,

don't just click OK to all of those terms and conditions,

make sure that you read them over before, because if things

go wrong, it's much more difficult to put things right afterwards.

And, as we saw in that last test in the cafe,

just think very carefully about how

and where you connect to the internet, particularly

if you're out and about, because you never know who might be watching.

Well, we're delighted that you chose to watch us today,

and we hope you'll do it again, but for today, that's it.

We will be back with more of your stories very soon,

but for now, from all of us, bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.