Carbon Credits Scam You've Been Scammed



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Millions of us are targeted in scams every year,

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and whether it comes in the form of an e-mail, a cold call or a knock

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at the door, they are all designed to do one thing and one thing only.

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To get you to part with your cash.

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Coming up,

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when investing in clean air turns out to be just a load of hot air.

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How quick you can lose a lot of money!

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Plus, how a mobility aid company and their travelling salesmen

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were in the business of helping themselves,

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not their elderly customers.

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She was very distressed about it.

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She thought she were having a heart attack.

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Well, I'm here to tell you what the con man doesn't want you to

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know - how to stay one step ahead of the game and not get scammed.

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When you're making an investment, obviously you want

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the highest return you can possibly get, but it's also good

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if you can feel that you're doing something beneficial as well.

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That's why green investments are very fashionable now.

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Yes, when it comes to investments,

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it seems that green is the new black,

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and one scheme that is firmly on the radar

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of the Financial Services Authority

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is something called...

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Carbon credit trading involves, believe it or not,

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actually buying a certificate that entitles you or shows that

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you own a tonne of fresh air,

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and the whole idea behind it is that that certificate,

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that tonne of fresh air,

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might be bought by a polluting industry one day to offset

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its polluting emissions, so if it pollutes to the tune

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of 1,000 tonnes, it might buy 1,000 carbon credits off various people.

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Carbon credits are generated by projects

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that reduce greenhouse gases in the air,

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such as planting trees or renewable energy like wind power.

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These can then be traded or sold on to polluting companies.

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The man I'm about to meet

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got a call out of the blue about carbon credits.

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It hasn't helped the planet's future, or his.

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Carbon credits do exist as a legitimate form of investment,

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but recently they have also become very popular with con men

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as a way of scamming ordinary people out of their savings.

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48-year-old Robert Blakely lives in Newcastle.

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He used to be an active martial arts expert

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and enjoyed playing in bands on the Tyneside music scene.

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But, in 2007, Robert received some devastating news

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when he was diagnosed with Myotonic Dystrophy,

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a debilitating neurological condition

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which affects his movement, coordination,

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and, at times, his speech.

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It takes real guts for Robert to meet me,

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but he's determined to share his story.

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-Hello.

-Hello.

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-Are you Robert?

-Yes, I am.

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Nice to meet you. I'm Matt. Thank you.

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Robert's illness forced him into early retirement

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after 23 years' dedicated service as a postman.

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He was given a lump sum payout of £50,000

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and knew he had to invest it very wisely,

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so when he got a call from an investment firm,

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he was keen to hear more.

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Tell me about the call that you got.

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The call was out of the blue, just a cold call.

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It said how good carbon credits are for making money,

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because the banks are doing nothing with interest.

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The company told Robert that investing in carbon credits

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would earn him around 10-15% interest - far more than

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he would get by simply putting his money in a savings account.

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He was impressed with what he heard.

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Very positive, and it's going to happen,

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you're not going to lose any money, and you'll make a lot of this money.

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It seemed like the call had come at the perfect time for Robert,

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but unbeknown to him, it was the beginning of a calculated scam.

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You'll take a first call out of the blue,

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where they will just build up a bit of rapport with you,

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they'll ask you a few questions about your attitude to risk,

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and whether you want to save for the future for something.

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Sure enough, the person on the phone asked Robert about his situation.

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Believing he was speaking to someone who could help him

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invest his precious nest egg,

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Robert was honest and up front about the lump sum he had.

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What did you say to them?

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I've got 50,000.

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Just unbelievable.

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Now they knew Robert had money to spend,

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the company began carefully grooming him.

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Then you'll get a second call some days later,

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where they display a little bit about what they can offer,

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so they give you some examples about carbon credit type

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investments that have made money for other clients of theirs,

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and it might then only be on the third or fourth call you'll get

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a bit more of a hard sell.

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I've always said no to any cold calls, except that one.

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Hard sell, very fast. Just hard sell.

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It wasn't just what the person on the phone was saying

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that helped convince Robert he was speaking to a bona fide company.

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There are all sorts of tricks used by these investment scams to

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make it sound more and more convincing.

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We've come across examples of them playing tapes of dealing rooms

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in the background, with brokers shouting left, right and centre.

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In the background, there was a big office sound, like a call centre,

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and I thought, "Well, it must be a big company."

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Robert was being cleverly drawn in,

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despite advice from those around him.

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Your sister warned you, when you got your lump sum.

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Don't invest in cold calls, especially!

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So you've actually had a direct warning from your sister.

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Yeah.

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And then you have received a cold call,

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and this person has managed to put the advice

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that your sister's given you completely out of your mind?

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Yeah.

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The company had Robert well and truly on the hook,

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and by the time he'd had four separate calls from them,

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he was feeling confident that carbon credits were a safe bet.

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So, how soon afterwards, then, did you decide to invest?

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Partly straight away.

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Not wanting to risk the full £50,000,

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Robert agreed to an initial investment of £5,500.

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After that decision, after handing over that money, how did you feel?

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All right, because I still had £45,000 left.

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But the company had got money out of Robert once,

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and they knew there was more where that had come from.

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Within days of Robert's initial outlay, the company were back

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on the phone trying to persuade him to hand over more money

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and they were using every trick in the hard sell handbook.

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They might say there's a discount on it,

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they might say the offer closes at the end of the day.

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It puts you under pressure to think,

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"I've got to get in now, otherwise I'll never get in at all."

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They called you again.

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Yes.

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Talk me through the detail of that call. What happened?

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The sales pitch was,

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"You're going to make even more money than the first investment.

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"If you buy this now, you'll double your money next day."

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Robert knew he'd never be able to work again

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and that he had to make the very most of his lump sum,

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so the prospect of doubling his money was impossible to resist.

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You went for a second investment, which was?

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15,000.

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Double.

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More than double what you'd invested first time round.

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Robert had now invested almost half of his £50,000,

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but had no reason to suspect anything was wrong.

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How are you feeling about this?

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Still seemed all right about it.

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Because I still had the money in the bank that I needed.

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But the company was quickly back in touch,

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and this time they were going for broke.

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They told Robert about a third scheme,

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requiring an investment of £30,000.

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How did they sell to you? Because that's a huge sum of money.

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It was another special offer.

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It had to be in by the end of the month to qualify for it.

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I don't know why I did £30,000. That's ridiculous.

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Why do you think you did?

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I just can't explain it. Just went like that.

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I mean, £30,000, ridiculous. £15,000, ridiculous.

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Robert had now handed over his full £50,000 nest egg

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and had been sent certificates for two of his three investments

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but when he rang to chase up the third he got a nasty shock.

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What you'll probably find is that the company you bought them off

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has disappeared and won't answer your calls.

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I went and rang up about the certificates.

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And that's when I found they weren't there.

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It was just an answer machine saying,

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"We can't get to the phone at the minute."

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I phoned every day for about two weeks. Nothing.

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Robert was starting to realise that his £50,000 was gone and,

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desperate to get his money back,

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he was now even more of a target to scammers than ever.

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We've seen people throw good money after bad by either buying

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more of the same thing or by trying to pay fees to someone to

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get them a good deal out of what they've bought,

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and neither do we really see producing any benefit.

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Robert contacted another company who offered carbon credit investments.

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They listened to what he had to say and told him that

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for a fee of £2,000 they could be able to help get his money back.

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You've now entrusted yourself to another company.

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It was either, "You've definitely lost £50,000,

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"or there's a possibility of getting £50,000 back off this company."

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Right.

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So I thought I'll take the risk.

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OK.

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But Robert's heard nothing.

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It's likely that both of these companies are shams,

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and that his certificates are worthless.

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I'm worried, here, Robert, that we're dealing with a boiler room.

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-That's what we've got.

-Ah.

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I don't know how much you know about boiler rooms and how they operate.

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Nothing.

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OK. What they will do is sell you shares,

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and the shares themselves are worthless.

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From your story, your first money's gone.

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Robert has been trying to come to terms with this massive loss

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and understand how he was so easily conned.

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He believes his condition may have had a part to play.

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Medicine, I'm sure. I'm sure it's the medicine.

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Must be affecting my brain, and I don't realise.

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But the fact is con men can be extremely clever

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and can persuade anyone to part with their cash.

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At the end of this, we see some terrible devastation.

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I mean, it really does affect the victim emotionally.

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People have lost life savings, pensions.

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They've lost dignity as well,

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and sometimes family relationships break down as a result of this.

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It involves real pain and anguish.

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You're in quite a vulnerable position.

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That huge sum of money in the bank,

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and you're not in the best of health,

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and your medication is affecting you.

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I mean, that was a very bad time to receive that call, wasn't it?

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It was.

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Just unbelievable.

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How quick you can lose a lot of money.

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What difference would the 50,000 have made?

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A lot.

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Security, it's paying off my house.

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What's going to happen with your condition, your illness?

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Progressive. It will get worse.

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Possibly in three years I'll have a heart attack.

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OK.

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We'll see how it goes.

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The chances of Robert seeing his £50,000 again are slim.

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He's watched a future he thought was secure

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vanish in just a few phone calls.

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If only he'd known the warning signs.

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A proper, authorised, FSA-authorised investment firm shouldn't be

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calling you at home out of the blue.

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If you get a cold call offering investment,

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there's a fair chance it's not a legitimate firm.

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Promising you 30, 40, 50% returns, not very realistic.

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Be wary if you're given claims of huge profits. It's probably a scam.

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A con man might lie to you and tell you he's

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calling from an FSA-registered firm, so don't just take his word for it.

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Do some research to check who you're really dealing with.

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The best way to do this is to find the main phone number

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of the company they are claiming to be.

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See if they've heard of the person that's been calling you.

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You can call the FSA's consumer contact centre to get some guidance

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about the sort of investment that you're thinking of making.

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And if you fear you might have been caught by a fraud,

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you can call Action Fraud to get some assistance from the police.

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Carbon credits do exist.

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Like all good scams, this one's based in truth,

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but the scammers know how to take that truth

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and twist it to their own advantage.

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So beware.

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Travelling salesmen who visit your home can be a good thing,

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especially for those who find it harder to get out and about.

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But in 2007 a firm who sold mobility aids for the elderly

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sent its sales team out on the road with one purpose

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and one purpose only - to scam people out of their savings.

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The company was rotten to the core, basically,

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and that came from the directors themselves.

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The case focused on a Chesterfield-based company

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called Compass Mobility Ltd.

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They sold mobility aids to elderly, infirm and vulnerable people.

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But their apparent concerns for their customers' wellbeing

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were not quite as honourable as they seemed.

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I think it became apparent at a very early stage that we were

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dealing with a company that were more interested in making money

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than they were with dealing with customers, and had very

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little regard of how they got the money from those customers.

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It was this lack of regard that first brought Compass Mobility Ltd

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to the attention of the authorities.

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David Lodge was the West Yorkshire trading standards officer

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in charge of the case.

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When the company was first set up,

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it was only a relatively small amount of complaints,

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but it soon snowballed, and it soon became very apparent that there

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was a pattern developing, and we became concerned about not just the

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volume of complaints, but the type of complaints we were receiving.

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It was customers like 94-year-old Kathleen Halliwell

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who were making those complaints.

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Her nephew, Hayden, contacted Trading Standards after his elderly

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and partially blind aunt had been sold a mobility aid

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by one of the company's travelling salesmen.

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Her dealings with Compass Mobility Ltd left her very distressed

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and so Hayden has agreed to tell the story on her behalf.

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Kathleen's ordeal started, as it so often does in these cases,

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with a phone call out of the blue.

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She thought it was from social services,

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asking her if she required aids to help her around the house.

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Kathleen didn't know it,

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but this is a common tactic to help con men get their foot in the door.

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The initial sales pitch was actually claiming to be from social

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services or from some kind of hospital referral,

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so in other words, the customer thought that they were being

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talked to by some health professional, and that was

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one of the ways they'd been able to get into the customer's house.

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But once in, the sales pitch started.

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The gentleman came the following day and knocked on the door,

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and my auntie opened it,

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and she assumed he was the gentleman from the social services.

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He asked my aunt how she was able to get in and out of the bath,

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and my aunt said she struggled.

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He said,

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"Well, we have a product here that would help you get in with ease."

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He didn't have a product to show her, he just talked about it.

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And he persuaded my aunt to purchase this product.

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As Trading Standards began to look into the complaints coming in,

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one thing was for sure - the sales people

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knew exactly how to get their victims to sign on the dotted line.

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They used fairly hard sales techniques - in other words,

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they stay in people's houses for several hours at a time,

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refusing to leave until they got them

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to agree or sign up to something, so a hard selling technique's

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just designed to confuse people and part with money.

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In Kathleen's case, there certainly was confusion.

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My aunt thought he was from the social services,

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and she didn't realise she would have to pay for it.

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But she was soon talked around by the company's salesman

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into handing over £1,900 for a bathroom aid.

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She had this money in an envelope in the drawer, and I think

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she gave it to the salesman to count out, because she can't see.

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The salesmen counted out Kathleen's £1,900, then left,

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and as promised, the bath aid was delivered the following day.

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The problem was, no-one showed her how to actually install it,

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and with nephew Hayden away on holiday,

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Kathleen tried to set it up herself, with alarming consequences.

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She pressed the button, and it forced her, and pushed her over.

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She thought she were having a heart attack,

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and it took her over an hour to get out of the bath.

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She was very distressed about it.

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When Hayden returned from holiday,

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he complained to Compass Mobility Ltd that the product wasn't suitable

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for his elderly aunt,

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but was told that the seven-day cooling off period had expired

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so she couldn't claim a refund.

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Changing tack, he called the company who manufactured the bath aid,

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and received some shocking news.

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I asked him if the product was suitable for somebody who lived on

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their own when they were registered as blind, or couldn't see very well,

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And he says, no, it wasn't a suitable product.

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But that wasn't the only surprise.

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They also told me that the

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recommended retail price of this product was £300.

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So, having pretended to be from social services,

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Compass Mobility had charged Kathleen more than six times

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the going rate for something it wasn't safe for her to use.

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And she wasn't the only one who'd been targeted

0:19:480:19:50

by these ruthless con men.

0:19:500:19:52

We've got an example of a gentleman being sold a motability

0:19:540:19:57

scooter who was registered blind.

0:19:570:19:59

Another example where the lady actually bought a motability

0:20:030:20:07

scooter and she lived up 12 flights of stairs.

0:20:070:20:09

Just anything to get money out of people,

0:20:090:20:13

no regard to whether the product was actually going to do what it

0:20:130:20:15

was supposed to do - in other words, help them with their disability.

0:20:150:20:18

Each case followed the same pattern as Kathleen's.

0:20:200:20:22

The salesmen would get in through the door by pretending to be

0:20:220:20:25

from social services, and using pressure selling,

0:20:250:20:28

they would charge people astronomical sums

0:20:280:20:30

for items that weren't suitable.

0:20:300:20:32

What they're doing is deliberately targeting vulnerable people.

0:20:340:20:39

That's against the law, but from a moral point of view,

0:20:390:20:42

I think most members of the public would struggle

0:20:420:20:45

to come to terms with that type of activity.

0:20:450:20:47

With complaints coming in from far and wide,

0:20:500:20:52

Trading Standards began working with specialist unit Scambusters.

0:20:520:20:56

The Scambuster team basically took a lead in the investigation

0:20:580:21:02

and coordinated from their headquarters in York.

0:21:020:21:05

From that, other agencies such as the police,

0:21:050:21:08

the Insolvency Service and Companies Investigation got involved.

0:21:080:21:12

The team now had to investigate

0:21:140:21:16

whether the complaints were down to rogue salesmen

0:21:160:21:18

or that the practices were being orchestrated from the top down.

0:21:180:21:22

They also tried their hardest to help victims where they could.

0:21:220:21:26

Victims like Kathleen.

0:21:260:21:27

Trading Standards actually wrote to this company,

0:21:300:21:33

and within a week, my aunt's had a cheque for the full amount.

0:21:330:21:39

But if Compass Mobility Ltd thought they could pay Kathleen off

0:21:410:21:45

and make Trading Standards go away they were sorely mistaken.

0:21:450:21:49

The fact remained, Kathleen and scores of others had been deceived,

0:21:490:21:52

ruthlessly overcharged and sold products

0:21:520:21:55

that were downright dangerous for them.

0:21:550:21:58

We reached a point where we thought we needed to tackle these guys,

0:21:580:22:01

and we need to talk to them, and effectively what happened,

0:22:010:22:04

we executed a warrant of their business premises.

0:22:040:22:07

A number of individuals were arrested,

0:22:080:22:10

quite a lot of business documentation

0:22:100:22:13

and computer equipment was taken away.

0:22:130:22:15

Following the search of the business premises,

0:22:170:22:19

the officers also searched individual's houses,

0:22:190:22:22

gathering even more evidence.

0:22:220:22:24

Initially, there were five people under investigation.

0:22:260:22:29

We distilled that down to the three main directors.

0:22:290:22:33

Two of whom were Timothy Wright and Vincent Watkinson.

0:22:330:22:37

The three company directors were interviewed at length

0:22:370:22:40

and on multiple occasions, and they had their excuses ready.

0:22:400:22:44

They tried, basically, to claim the actions on their salespeople.

0:22:460:22:50

Now, what we found is that there were specific instructions,

0:22:500:22:54

training manuals which caused the salespeople to operate as

0:22:540:22:58

they did, but as company directors, ultimately, they are responsible

0:22:580:23:02

for the actions of employees, and it's as simple as that.

0:23:020:23:06

These guys come across as businessmen,

0:23:060:23:08

and that's really how they like to portray themselves.

0:23:080:23:11

The reality is that they have a more dark and sinister side,

0:23:110:23:15

shall we say.

0:23:150:23:16

Scambusters and Trading Standards had the company bang to rights,

0:23:230:23:27

and it was time for three company directors to face the courts.

0:23:270:23:31

The third company director pleaded guilty to a range of offences

0:23:310:23:34

under the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations

0:23:340:23:37

at an earlier hearing.

0:23:370:23:40

With all the evidence against Wright and Watkinson,

0:23:400:23:42

Trading Standards hoped they'd hold their hands up to the charges,

0:23:420:23:45

but sadly, that wasn't to be.

0:23:450:23:48

Stalling tactics were used by the defendants.

0:23:490:23:52

Changing pleas, using different barristers,

0:23:520:23:56

so it's been a very, very long process.

0:23:560:23:58

But to no avail, as the judge asked to hear from some of Wright

0:24:000:24:04

and Watkinson's victims in court.

0:24:040:24:06

People were able to come to court and give a real heartfelt version

0:24:070:24:10

of what had actually gone on inside their own homes.

0:24:100:24:13

Watkinson and Wright were both found guilty of two counts of

0:24:150:24:18

conspiracy to defraud, and sentenced to five years each behind bars.

0:24:180:24:22

The judge stated that they displayed a "wholly arrogant

0:24:250:24:28

"and uncaring attitude" and showed "not a jot of remorse".

0:24:280:24:32

Justice may have finally been served,

0:24:380:24:41

but for the company's victims, their legacy continues.

0:24:410:24:44

My aunt felt embarrassed.

0:24:460:24:48

People of her age, they trust everybody,

0:24:480:24:51

and she trusted in this guy, and then she felt foolish afterwards.

0:24:520:24:58

So how can you and the ones you love avoid these scams?

0:25:040:25:08

Well, don't be bullied into buying something you don't need.

0:25:080:25:11

You must be prepared to say no.

0:25:110:25:14

There are loads of companies out there that you can use, so don't

0:25:140:25:17

necessarily just buy from the company that contacts you, you know.

0:25:170:25:20

Make sure that you're initiating the contact, and do your research.

0:25:200:25:25

Realise that you have got rights, you've got cooling off rights.

0:25:250:25:29

If you're not happy in any way, always report it to somebody,

0:25:290:25:32

and, you know, that company will usually be Trading Standards.

0:25:320:25:35

For more information about how you can avoid falling victim

0:25:350:25:39

to scams like these, log on to...

0:25:390:25:41

Before we go, there's just time to tell you

0:25:510:25:53

about some of the latest scams out there.

0:25:530:25:56

Today we're looking at a con where scammers are putting false

0:25:560:25:59

information out into the public domain for their own devious ends.

0:25:590:26:03

It's called the reverse PIN scam.

0:26:030:26:05

How does it work?

0:26:090:26:11

You'd receive an e-mail which presents itself as originating

0:26:110:26:14

from Crimestoppers,

0:26:140:26:15

and that e-mail says that if you're at a cashpoint

0:26:150:26:17

and you're suspicious of the person behind you

0:26:170:26:19

and you're worried they're going to steal your card

0:26:190:26:21

or PIN, you can enter your pin in reverse, and that would

0:26:210:26:24

alert the police who would immediately come to your location.

0:26:240:26:27

But that's not true.

0:26:270:26:28

How do they stand to gain from it?

0:26:280:26:30

They're trying to create this myth

0:26:300:26:31

so that the public are lured into a false sense of security,

0:26:310:26:34

when all they're doing is giving the criminal a second chance to

0:26:340:26:36

see their PIN, and also extra time to rob the victim and then escape.

0:26:360:26:41

If anyone received this e-mail, just ignore it,

0:26:410:26:43

and let your friends and family know that it's a complete scam.

0:26:430:26:47

Crimestoppers' advice - always keep your PIN secure

0:26:470:26:50

and shield it from view at cashpoints.

0:26:500:26:52

Fraudsters will for ever be coming up with new ways to get you

0:26:570:27:00

to part with your cash, but armed with a little bit of knowledge,

0:27:000:27:04

you can be one step ahead of them.

0:27:040:27:06

Stay safe. I'll see you next time.

0:27:060:27:08

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0:27:310:27:34

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