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Warning over iPod scam
By Mark Prigg, Evening Standard Technology Correspondent Last updated at 00:00am on 06.07.04The Government today issued a warning over internet "pyramid" selling scams as sites such as eBay are being targeted by con artists.
But the offers are usually a scam with extremely small print, which reveals that the buyer will not get an iPod but simply a link to a website where they must pay to join a waiting list.
The buyer will only get an iPod when they reach the top of the list - and they will only move up it by getting other people to join - a scam similar to the pyramid selling schemes popular in the Eighties.
But the chances of getting to the top of the list are very remote - and in some cases non-existent because many of the websites are fakes.
Trading Standards officers and government officials today claimed thousands of internet users expecting a cheap iPod were at risk.
A spokesman from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport today warned people against signing up.
He said: "These things are a con, it's very simple. Our draft gambling bill makes these schemes illegal, and we hope to introduce this into law in the autumn.
"From then on we will be able to prosecute those involved. But we would strongly advise people to avoid them at all costs."
Trading Standards officers said they were struggling to do anything about the scams.
Spokesman Tony Norcotte said: "The problem is finding out where these sites are. Because these are simply pages hosted on a website, there is nothing we can do if the sites are hosted on servers outside the UK.
"It is incredibly difficult to track these people down. This is a real grey area but our advice to people is very simple - do not sign up. They are a con, and only the people at the top of the chain will profit."
Recently exposed as one of Cherie Blair's favourite sites, eBay has been the victim of hundreds of scam auctions designed to con users.
A spokesman for eBay UK said: "As there are over 25 million items up for sale worldwide at any one time, eBay cannot vet every item that is listed on the site.
"We encourage all users to be proactive and look at the people with whom they're doing business. We recommend that buyers check a user's feedback rating and look at their past trading on eBay."
Apple's new iPod mini, which sold out in America and will not be available in Britain until later this year, has been particularly popular with fraudsters.
Mark Mulligan, a technology analyst with Jupiter Research, said he believes the people behind the sites are preying on the demand for new gadgets.
He said: "There is a huge amount of pent up demand for the iPod here, and people are doing anything they can to get hold of one. It's no surprise that has led to problems."
