Dick Smith bitcoin scam
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Mr Smith's face was being used in false advertising on Facebook a couple of months ago. I can't recall what they were flogging in the ad but it was obviously a bit suss and fortunately Facebook pulled the ad within a week.
I use AdBlock and don't see ads however some web sites have them embedded into their system like Facebook and they can't be blocked.
With the hosting of web sites, most small time players that want to recover some of their hosting costs wil use a third party ad provider. Often they only have limited control on what ads that third party will throw up on their site. The problem with these third party companies is that they can get brought out, run out of money, hacked, etc and you and your web site will not hear a word about it until the aftermath.
The resolution of this issue rest solely with the web site owner (is it still Internet Brands?) who should be able to put an end to it quickly. However, as I have seen a similar style of ad on Facebook I think the issue is bigger than Pprune and Mr Smith and is a foreign campaign trying to rip off Australians by using "house hold" names illegally to bait the unaware.
Unfortunately PPrune is not hosted in Australia so our feds can't do much about it.
I use AdBlock and don't see ads however some web sites have them embedded into their system like Facebook and they can't be blocked.
With the hosting of web sites, most small time players that want to recover some of their hosting costs wil use a third party ad provider. Often they only have limited control on what ads that third party will throw up on their site. The problem with these third party companies is that they can get brought out, run out of money, hacked, etc and you and your web site will not hear a word about it until the aftermath.
The resolution of this issue rest solely with the web site owner (is it still Internet Brands?) who should be able to put an end to it quickly. However, as I have seen a similar style of ad on Facebook I think the issue is bigger than Pprune and Mr Smith and is a foreign campaign trying to rip off Australians by using "house hold" names illegally to bait the unaware.
Unfortunately PPrune is not hosted in Australia so our feds can't do much about it.
But I bought Bitcoin because of you!!!!
Yes it sure would piss me off in the same position but you could possibly view it as stopping people betting on racing sand??
All the best with the legal approach - it shouldn’t be, but unfortunately it’s far easier being tough on crime convicting criminals for doing 62km/hr in a 60 zone than anything approaching fraud...
Yes it sure would piss me off in the same position but you could possibly view it as stopping people betting on racing sand??
All the best with the legal approach - it shouldn’t be, but unfortunately it’s far easier being tough on crime convicting criminals for doing 62km/hr in a 60 zone than anything approaching fraud...
Doesn't anybody have any common sense any more ? Feel sorry for Dick having to explain that it's a scam. Isn't it bindingly obvious ? Recent UK victims of apparently advertising bit coin include Bear Grylls, Piers Morgan and Philip Schofield. I wouldn't buy a second hand car off any of them just because it was in the media
Last edited by Winemaker; 14th Jul 2020 at 14:57. Reason: added screen shot
I was thinking the same thing, I didn't even know there were ads on here??
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Scammers like this are usually overseas, so reporting to Scam Watch or the ACCC will have no effect.
Google are slack with filtering scam adverts, so there is not much to do about it.
Irony is that the adverts are usually paid for with stolen credit cards, so eventually Google will be the victim after being hit with a charge-back by their bank.
Google are slack with filtering scam adverts, so there is not much to do about it.
Irony is that the adverts are usually paid for with stolen credit cards, so eventually Google will be the victim after being hit with a charge-back by their bank.
I have used ad blocker for years and didn't even though there were advertisements on this site...... I have opened up adblocker and it tells me that it has blocked 15 advertisements on this page alone. I didn't even know the site ran advertising
Last edited by mcoates; 15th Jul 2020 at 03:12.
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cattletruck
I get daily Bitcoin adverts on Facebook, many allegedly "sponsored" by Dick, Twiggy Forrest etc. Facebook has done nothing to remove Scam and Fraudulent adverts.
Incorrect - ask Google or Facebook:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-...-data/11649356
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/09/au...enderMode=ie11
And Dick knows it from previous experience a decade ago.
I can't recall what they were flogging in the ad but it was obviously a bit suss and fortunately Facebook pulled the ad within a week.
Unfortunately PPRuNe is not hosted in Australia so our feds can't do much about it.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-...-data/11649356
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/09/au...enderMode=ie11
And Dick knows it from previous experience a decade ago.
Thread Starter
This is an interesting ABC article which explains the issue.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-...oduct/12441920
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-...oduct/12441920
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Thanks Tailey, as Styx75's post has prompted my brain cell, the Facebook fake ads I saw were a packaged as some lefty slag against the banks. I haven't seen them for a while on Facebook.
Google and Facebook have bricks and mortar offices in Australia, not sure if Pprune does. Another case against these social media giants is that they have gained both financial benefit and value add to their services by displaying news articles from other outlets without paying for it. After a stink was kicked up by the Australian media groups they initialially agreed to pay the journalists a lousy stipend of a few million dollars to share out, but the journalists hit back saying the value add generated, which is reflected in their mega profits, was actually worth many more tens of millions of dollars. Hope the journalists win this one.
Google and Facebook have bricks and mortar offices in Australia, not sure if Pprune does. Another case against these social media giants is that they have gained both financial benefit and value add to their services by displaying news articles from other outlets without paying for it. After a stink was kicked up by the Australian media groups they initialially agreed to pay the journalists a lousy stipend of a few million dollars to share out, but the journalists hit back saying the value add generated, which is reflected in their mega profits, was actually worth many more tens of millions of dollars. Hope the journalists win this one.
Dick is not alone:
Twitter (TWTR) accounts belonging to Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Apple, among other prominent handles, were compromised on Wednesday and posted tweets that appeared to promote a cryptocurrency scam.
The accounts, along with those of former President Barack Obama, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian West, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Mike Bloomberg, posted similar tweets soliciting donations via Bitcoin to their verified profiles on Wednesday.
The accounts, along with those of former President Barack Obama, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian West, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Mike Bloomberg, posted similar tweets soliciting donations via Bitcoin to their verified profiles on Wednesday.
Top news on the BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53425822
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53425822
What staggers me is how many of the gullible actually sent money ...amounting to over 100,000 bucks.
What happened to "if it sounds too good to true it most likely isn't" ?????
What happened to "if it sounds too good to true it most likely isn't" ?????