A New Slant on a Very, Very Old Scam

I received an extraordinary letter today.

It came from someone called Gulza Dean, who described himself as an 'Attorney at Law', and gave himself out to be of 'Docklands, London'. There was no address on the letter - and sadly, as Royal Mail seems to be saving on ink these days, I can't tell you where the letter was posted. I can, though, tell you that it cost Mr. Dean 60 pence to post it to me.

Mr. Dean wanted to speak to me - actually quite urgently - in his capacity as the personal attorney of Mr. Leo Metliss whom, he advised me, died in a train crash at Ladbroke Grove near Paddington on October the 5th, 1999.

The late Leo, according to Mr. Dean, died possessed of some Eight Million, Three Hundred Thousand Dollars. A nice round sum.

Mr. Dean (who apparently does not have access to a London telephone directory) wrote that he had been searching without success for many years to find someone to whom to give the money - which is apparently shortly due to be 'confiscated' by the bank should he fail to provide 'Notice of Next of Kin' within a very short time.

He did not, of course, specify which bank was about to take this very peculiar (and illegal!) step.

On the other hand, though, and on mature reflection, Mr. Dean did offer to share the Eight Million, Three Hundred Thousand with me. Well - once we had worked out 'the sharing ratio' and the 'modalities for transfer'.

If I use all my fingers and toes - and perhaps one or two of my wife's fingers and toes - I can account for every living Metliss. I can also account for every single 'Metliss' who is, sadly, no longer with us. There is not, and never was, a 'Leo Metliss'.

I would have written this letter off as a joke in bad taste were it not for the reference to the Ladbroke Grove Train Crash. As it is, I don't think I can. I don't know where this man found me - but I don't want him targeting the families of people who really were almost at Paddington in October 1999.

At Last - A Budget That Recognises The Importance of SMEs

A lot of people are not going to be very happy about the Budget - but I think it has given SME's a lot of reasons to celebrate.

A 1% cut in small companies' tax; a £5 million threshold for entrepreneurs' relief on capital gains tax; measures to extend the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme (look for more information under the 'Policies' tab); the abolition of back-dated business rates; the limit to rises in National Insurance Rates, and continued tax breaks for holiday lettings all demonstrate the new Government's appreciation of the needs of SMEs and the issues that most concern them.

And, of course, there are plans to review all workplace legislation - which will come as an enormous relief to people who have had to spend huge amounts of time (which could have been more productively spent elsewhere!) trying to understand and implement it.

The rise in VAT is not, of course, such very good news - but the money to cut the deficit has to come from somewhere, and a rise in VAT is surely a better option than a rise in other taxes, or further cuts in public spending.

Altogether, and considering everything, it's not too bad at all - and the Forum of Private Business will be lobbying the government to ensure that the ‘fuel price stabiliser' that Mr Osborne referred to will become a reality. Let's hold on to that one! Petrol and diesel prices have been far too high for everyone for far too long.

It Pays to Network - And Not To Be Too Parochial When You Do It

A couple of weeks ago I got an invitation to join Referral Key from a woman called Michelle Gatewood.

Michelle used to work in the credit industry in Europe, and I originally 'met' her, so to speak, through LinkedIn, but a little while ago Michelle relocated back to the United States, took a job with ACE Adjustment Service, Inc. in West Virginia, joined Referral Key, and immediately began to ask other people to join that network as well.

When I first saw the invitation I was a little bit doubtful as to whether Referral Key - an wholly American networking system - was going to be of very much use to me -and frankly, filling in yet another networking profile wasn't a very appealing prospect. But in the end I joined, filled in the profile, and invited everybody I knew - and I'm glad I did, because I immediately got a job out of it.

It is a laborious job to join networks, fill in profiles, and keep them up to date, but the fact is that those network profiles are really free advertisements for you and your company. They link to your website and your blog. They put you in touch with other people, and other people in touch with you.

It really doesn't matter whether the business network is or is not based in your home country, because it's going to do the same good job of pushing your name about - for free! - wherever it happens to be.

Referral Key is not - at the moment - as sophisticated as LinkedIn, but it's growing very fast, and it will improve as time goes on. And America is a huge market.

You should network - and you shouldn't be too parochial about where you do it. It's a small world that's getting much smaller, and clients and customers can come from anywhere at all.

Bad Man Management

I've been watching with great interest the unfolding drama surrounding Nicholas Anelka, Raymond Domenech, the French team, and just about everyone else who knows Nicholas Anelka.

I found it particularly interesting that John Terry spoke out to defend his Chelsea team-mate. Terry described Anelka as a very quiet man who had been in the game for a long time and who knew his football. He also said that if Anelka had something to say to him he would stand up and listen.

What a pity it is that so many businesses in the UK are treating their credit staff exactly as Domenech has treated Anelka, and are getting rid of them when they need them most. And how sad it is that they are failing to listen to people who have been in the game for a long time, and who know all about credit management, and all about the quiet people who have also been in the game for a long time and know all about credit management, too.

Failing to put key players where they are going to do their best for you is bad man-management. Failing to listen to them - or people like them - is not too clever. Just at this moment, getting rid of them is downright stupid.

Fraud Again - But Much Bigger This Time

Fraudsters have been targeting wholesalers and distributors of IT, photographic and communications equipment, commercial cleaners, kitchenware and, more particularly, wholesalers of wines, spirits and whisky across the UK. In some instances, whisky has been obtained directly from the distillers.

This is a very sophisticated and well-organised fraud:

• The fraudsters assume the identities of actual employees of nationally known companies.
• They research and discover the details of that company's bank.
• They research and discover that company's suppliers.

Then, using e-mail addresses that closely resemble those of the employees whose identity they have assumed (and freephone telephone numbers!) they target specific suppliers, fill in Credit Application Forms for credit terms ranging between £300,000 and £500,000 and 'lean' on members of the Finance Department of the targeted supplier to supply goods for a promotion, a celebration or an initiative within a limited period of time.

And they imply that they will take their business elsewhere should the supplier refuse credit, or fail to supply the goods on time. As people do...

Given the use of genuine and known names, and the almost accurate e-mail addresses that look so right (and, of course, the implied threat that a supplier might be 'delisted' by an important customer!) credit agreements tend to be signed off, and the goods are delivered within days.

And then it's 'Goodbye to All That'.

There is no doubt that the individuals involved in this particular fraud understand very well how business works so far as national and multinational companies are concerned. I can therefore only suggest that suppliers treat any new Credit Application from any customer - however well known - with extra care.

Don't take anything for granted.

It would be wise to telephone any Company applying for credit using a telephone number that you have used in the past and have on record in order to check that applications are genuine. If you have no telephone number - which is unlikely - use directory enquiries to get one. DON'T use e-mail. You need to speak to a human being - and to know that that human being really is who he or she purports to be.

And, of course, if you get a fake application - call the police immediately.

Detective John Lonsdale on 0161-856-6551 will be particularly interested to hear from you. You can safely e-mail him at john.lonsdale@gmp.pnn.police.uk. I believe that he's in the Serious Crime Division in Manchester - but don't worry if you are a long way from Manchester. Crime tends to travel well. I'm sure Detective Lonsdale would be pleased to hear from you wherever you happen to be.

If You Are a Small Service Provider - Beware of Predators

There are small businesses and very small businesses and one-man-bands. Very small businesses (and one-man-bands) tend to be service suppliers.

My wife received a post via a Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy Group on LinkedIn today. Most people in that Group are - obviously - small service suppliers or one-man-bands.

Someone in Amsterdam called a member of the Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy Group who works in Rhode Island. That someone asked to book ten hypnotherapy sessions.

The therapist quoted $850 for ten sessions. He received cheques totalling $3,000.

The therapist then obviously e-mailed the 'client' to say that he had been overpaid.

The 'client' said that it was an error on the part of his US agent, and asked the therapist to bank the cheques, subtract the $850 and send the remainder to his travel agent - and gave full details of where to send the excess cash.

Fortunately, the therapist waited for the cheques to clear before sending any money to the 'travel agent', because the cheques were drawn on a ficticious account, and they all bounced.

The therapist in question believes that his 'client' may be targeting therapists, and very rightly posted on LinkedIn to warn whomever he could, as best he could.

My wife is certainly a therapist, but she worked in the credit and collection industry for many years, and I've never known her to be a fool. She believes that this person is likely not working alone and may target any small service provider - not just in the United States, but anywhere at all - and I think she's right.

And we both think that whilst this scam is amateurish and in its infancy at the moment, it's likely to get a lot more sophisticated as time goes on.

If you are a one-man-band or small service provider - or even a not so small service provider - you need to look out for this scam. And the scams that are likely to grow out of it.