Have you ever fallen for a scam?

[nkf]

I have. One of those "become an American citizen" ads. Can't imagine now what I was thinking of.

I think I fell for the idea that mumsnet would give me some useful tips on parenting...instead, it gave me a raging Internet habit and I have completely forgotten I have children

Sorry to hear you got suckered though- what happened?

I sent off a cheque and heard nothing.

Two in one week ! I almost booked a 2 hour session with a time share company an hour from my parents where we would have had to leave DS as not allowed to take him with us [hmmm] in order to get free holiday. They were on Watchdog that week about alleged free holiday at 3am in morning from airport you can't get to then subjected to time share talks all the time

Oh and got suckered into booking Venture photography session as we had "won" a "free" sitting until I posted on here and realised that the photos would cost upwards of £150 each.

How much was the cheque for ?

Not sure. £30 or so. It pretended to be a sort of lottery and you were sending the money to an American solicitor. I was very young but it is stlll embarrassing to recall.

Oh I've sent money off loads of times for mail order stuff, forgotten all about it and then run out of time to claim via paypal. It would be quite embarrassing to think how much I must have lost.

ooh someone I know (not me!) got conned good and proper! Someone came into the shop where Bob worked and asked for John (the managing director). It was John's day off, so Bob asked if he could help. Oh, says the man, I've got his TV/DVD combo for him. Could you let him know that it will be £40. £40? says Bob, how come it's so cheap? so the man explains how he works for a firm that gets seconds from currys/comet etc and they then sell them off cheaply. So Bob asks if they have video cameras. Oh yes, says bloke. I'll see what we've got in stock. Goes off to his car, makes phone call etc. Yes, I can do you top of the range for £105, but I have to get to the depot by 5 o'clock (it's about 3 o'clock), and it does have to be paid with cash. Ok, says ex, hands over £105. Bloke never seen again. When John the manager comes into work the next day, Bob tells him about the bloke and the TV/DVD combo - and John hasn't ordered one at all. Obviously the conman had got hold of who was in charge, and his day off, in order to get someone else to trust him. Very clever.