“Dick Smith threat on scam” in The Australian
 

The Australian newspaper today has an article on page 2 about the scam that uses my name to promote bitcoin. I have never invested in bitcoin and I am concerned that people are losing their life savings due to this scam.

My lawyer has written to The Guardian to take action if the ads are not stopped. These ads do appear elsewhere, including PPRuNe, and I may need to take further action if they continue.

Here is the article.

Any fool who believes that rubbish was going to give it away to the next scam that came along anyway. It's just a pain that they're using your name to do it.

"A fool and his money are easily parted"

Good, go for it Dick. I am amazed that what we expect to be reputable organisations allow these ads on their platforms.

Dick these things pop up all over my feeds. Lisa Wilkinson, Kochie, Stefanovic are a few others i see.

Moved to the main Forum as a important warning about scam adverts here and elsewhere.

https://www.accc.gov.au/media-releas...et-australians

Deceiver. You underestimate the risk to Australians, particularly older Australians. I can also think of a few 'get rich quick schemes' that have consumed quite a few airline pilot's income and savings over the years, some with very sad results. From the ACCC web site:

Quote:

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Australians are set to lose a record amount to scams in 2019, with projections from losses reported to Scamwatch and other government agencies so far expected to exceed $532 million by the end of the year, surpassing half a billion dollars for the first time.

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Dick, does that mean your "better performance in Bed" pills are a scam too? Asking for a friend....

Quite the giggle I needed today, thank you! :D

Irony of ironies.....
With Adblock fully enabled this thread wont open.
Sadly Pprune seems to now be nothing more than a vehicle for click bait.

Thread opens for me with Adblock fully enabled.

Likewise. And one of the main reasons I installed Adblock was to get rid of the most annoying ads on this site!

Ok. Thanks . I’ll look at the settings.

One cannot be too careful. My information was 'stolen' as a result of a hack at Service NSW. The palaver that I've to endure to secure my bank accounts etc is mind blowing. And to make matters worse, the hack took place six months ago but the guvmint have just advised those affected. :\

On an iPad I can get the thread to open only if I click off the Privacy tab on AdBlock.
Not happy.
Who actually is the end user of PPrune ?

I really do find it inexcusable that websites for newspapers and other supposedly reputable websites are able to shrug their shoulders and say that the ads that pop up on their websites are nothing to do with them when they are being paid to allow these ads to appear for their users.

OH

When having my accountant visit I was flabbergasted when his phone rang from a legitimate road toll company enquiring why he hadn't paid a bill, after which he proceeded to ask if they were scammers (knowing full well they weren't) and swear at them profusely then hang up. I asked him why he did what he did and his response was that the elderly and computer illiterate have a lot of difficulty distinguishing between whether these kinds of calls are legitimate or scams.

The truth is reputable companies have at their the means (money and resources) to not stoop to the same levels of engagement as lowly scammers however for reasons of greed they choose not to.

If scamming was not so cheap, i.e the adverts mentioned by the OP cost more than the value they returned, then they would quickly become history.

I haven't met Dick but, by all accounts, he is a worthy enthusiast in our Industry. That this nonsense, with his purported support of such schemes, keeps assailing us from every side of the advertising world is nothing short of disgraceful. As others have noted, he is not alone in his involuntary co-option. One can only wonder how much water has to go under the bridge before the relevant authorities lurch into delayed action to put some control over the advertising excesses.

Any fool who believes that rubbish was going to give it away to the next scam that came along anyway

Is it not the reasonable mark of a civilised system that those who are at risk of such entrapment be afforded some measure of protection ?

I can also think of a few 'get rich quick schemes' that have consumed quite a few airline pilot's income and savings over the years

A well-remembered misadventure in such daydreaming, based in Sydney and dating back to the early 90s, springs to mind. Many of our colleagues, being at a loss to reason, post-89, were relieved of their earnings by that unfortunate episode ....

One does not have to have a high profile as Mr Smith to be a victim of scammers. We had out landline number spoofed. Did not know about until an gentleman from central Vic rang our number to ask about a missed call from us.
After fielding calls over a few days - it was an Australia day long weekend - Telstra install come software to intercept calls to our number that originated overseas

This use by scammers of your number will not harm my public profile, that is if I had one, but is a nuisance as the amount of irate calls you get and the time you spend explaining that a long lost aunt has not fallen off her perch.

Oh c'mon man!
It's one of ole Rup's after all....

Sorry Dick, but this ad has been appearing on my android phone at the completion of every Sudoku puzzle for at least the last three weeks!

Does anyone actually check the ads before they are approved to be posted here or is it just a money grab?