The last couple of days I have experienced two attempted scams which although obvious, may well have caught someone out, if not myself if I was not feeling alert for the internet con. This took the form of an e-mail purporting to be from HM Revenue and Customs claiming that I was due a tax rebate of an arbitrary figure that was not too high and included pence to give it a ring of authenticity (approximately £240). A number of clues exposed the fraud, namely my name was not mentioned, there was no reference number, it mentioned that this was important as they had tried to contact me previously which was not the case and the format of the letter was wrong with mis-spellings and random capitalization of words in mid sentence. I went on the HMRC website where they said that such notifications would not be done by e-mail and that they still only use this method of communication for individuals within the organization and the public can only contact them via phone or letter (very 20th Century). They did have an e-mail address for receiving details of such scams so I forwarded mine to this address.
   Yesterday was more of a case of some lads trying it on rather than an actual con as a silver transit van pulled up outside my house as I was bringing the recycling bin in. The passenger wound his window down and explained that they had been fitting out some new houses up the top (I don't where) and they had a memory foam mattress left over in the back of the van. They had been in touch with their boss who said that they should try to get rid of it, preferably to someone in the area, and they could keep what they made as beer money. After telling them that I wasn't interested and did not know anybody else who might be they drove off in what was supposed to be their business van despite being unmarked.
   Things are hectic enough without having to be vigilant for con men and I get ripped off enough every time I go shopping (moan over).