MCO Capital loan

geomacl

I would like to share my recent experience as this is may be a problem for fellow forum members - probably not MCO related but very pertinent to computer fraud.
I recently found a nasty trojan on my laptop - it is called "backdoor.win32.hupigon" (strange name but look it up on Google and it will scare you rigid!!). This trojan enables external fraudsters access to your computer and to control it in various ways!!! :mad:
I detected it using a free download version of Adaware (from Lavasoft) - again goodle "adaware". Another freebie software package is also recommended (by various experts) - called Spybot - again google for free version.
I have now had adaware delete this trojan but now run these two programmes once or twice a week.
If anyone else finds this nasty trojan, please let me know - thanks.

grahamqat

Hi Colin - thanks for that. You're right that locking you ID is the best way. I dont buy anything on-line (except by phone) and shred all mail, but this doesn't stop someone getting your details. I had an incident about a year ago when my debit card was cloned. Fraud dept at Barclays contacted me, apparently it had been double swiped at Argos. Also, do local authorities still sell electoral roll info? I know they used to but perhaps this violates data protection Act now.

grahamqat

Good advice Geomad - I'll scan mine next thing - thanks

Oldbloke_2

There's been quite a lot of posts since yesterday.....only just caught up!

MCO only exist in cyber-space and a paper record at Companies House; that's why no-one should contact them. They have no trading address. They may give you an address when you email or phone the number on their website, but you wouldn't find an office with a load of people working in it if you visited it. Can you imagine how they must have laughed after convincing AF that they were the victim! That's why I kept saying to only contact them at their registered address. If enough letters land on the doormat there, surely the receptionist would think it strange and contact their boss. That's why I would suggest not even opening an email from them, just delete it. You might think that it can't harm, and unfortunately, for those that have emailed them, that's another bit of information that they have. If you reply, they know the account is still active, and they might pass it on to other fraudsters, to start phishing for information. What I don't really understand is that when I put their web address into my browser, an alert came up saying they had an unidentified security certificate, and so I haven't looked at their website. I've no idea what it's like, other than the post here.

The really sad thing is that we're always going to have to have some form of protection on our credit ratings. Having already been a victim, I now realize that this will continue; every so often another one will come along, unless the CRA's really tighten up their procedures. We'll be posting each other, no doubt, in the years to come when the next scam comes along.....

BTW: I still haven't written to Imperial House, still considering whether to....

grahamqat

Hi Oldbloke, yes there's been a lot of ideas and posts over the weekend. Agree with you that MCO hoodwinked the AF team and managed to keep this alive by answering some calls/e-mails all the while gathering more ID info. There's even evidence that they gave the odd loan, although this may have been to themselves or just misleading posting. There's no hard evidence of anyone real getting a loan as yet, and we have asked on this forum. The fraud squad need to get their act together now and pull the plug on the operation and shut their web-sites down.

geomacl

Good analysis OB - the more I learn, the more I believe that you are correct. For sure there is no MCO office as such and staffed with clerks etc.
Have you checked your PC/laptop for trojans - see my post yesterday?

geomacl

grahamqat wrote: »

Hi Oldbloke, yes there's been a lot of ideas and posts over the weekend. Agree with you that MCO hoodwinked the AF team and managed to keep this alive by answering some calls/e-mails all the while gathering more ID info. There's even evidence that they gave the odd loan, although this may have been to themselves or just misleading posting. There's no hard evidence of anyone real getting a loan as yet, and we have asked on this forum. The fraud squad need to get their act together now and pull the plug on the operation and shut their web-sites down.

I can't understand why their web sites have not been closed down yet. A total mystery!!:mad:

MadgeG_2

Thanks to everyone's comments and advice. I've just been scammed by Helploan, BalanceLoan, MCO Capital Loan Payments....having received my letter for the infamous £513 on Fri 1 Oct 2010. I've done my best to read as many blogs as possible, so apologies if this has already been covered - but for us newly scammed individuals, any chance of giving me a 101 on how they actually managed to open a bank account using my ID?

AF have suggested using the following websites for advise and actions to lock and protect your ID in future.
There are 2 websites but I'm not allowed to post links, though identity theft googled will let you link up to the first site which ends in org.uk, while cifas allows you to password protected id and the site ends in org.uk too.
I use the internet for 80% of my purchases... do you think there is more I need to do to protect my personal cyber-space?

geomacl

MadgeG wrote: »

Thanks to everyone's comments and advice. I've just been scammed by Helploan, BalanceLoan, MCO Capital Loan Payments....having received my letter for the infamous £513 on Fri 1 Oct 2010. I've done my best to read as many blogs as possible, so apologies if this has already been covered - but for us newly scammed individuals, any chance of giving me a 101 on how they actually managed to open a bank account using my ID?

AF have suggested using the following websites for advise and actions to lock and protect your ID in future.
There are 2 websites but I'm not allowed to post links, though identity theft googled will let you link up to the first site which ends in org.uk, while cifas allows you to password protected id and the site ends in org.uk too.
I use the internet for 80% of my purchases... do you think there is more I need to do to protect my personal cyber-space?

Hi MadgeG
Welcome to the forum
I'm very surprised that this shower of fraudsters are still issuing letters when we are advised that NFIB and City of London police are on their tail :mad:
I assume that you have contacted AF and got yourself a Crime Reference Number - that is the most important item.
As for protecting your identity, there is a multitude of suggestions on this forum and it's difficult to know what to do as you may end up having to produce reams of paperwork (birth certs, utility bills etc etc) to prove your identity.
What I have done is to contact the 3 prime credit rating companies (Experian, Equifax and CallCredit) and asked them to apply a "Notice of Correction" to my account with them - along the lines..... "I believe that fraudulent credit applications have been made in my name. PLease ask for the password "******" to confirm that you are dealing with a genuine credit application from me". The credit agency seemingly used by MCO is Experian.

grahamqat

Hi MadgeG, It isn't necessarily the case that anyone has opened a bank account with your details. The AF office was of the opinion that MCO had been scammed by ID fraudsters getting max loans in other peoples' names. This is looking increasingly unlikely for the following reasons:

MCO is a hijacked name of a non-trading company at Companies House, which exists in cyber-space only.

There is still no hard evidence any loan has ever been given.

The letters from MCO/Helploan are so amateurish they cant be from a proper company (the post code is even wrong on one of them). Dates on letters are also wrong. (Got my second letter 2 months after it was printed).

No-one in their right mind would borrow £300 one month to owe £513 the next.

The Helploan web-site is an ID fraud tool.

The AF team now advise on their web-site not to contact MCO.


It's probably wise to do the security things that peolple on this forum are suggesting. You will undoubtedly get further letters whatever you do, which will get increasingly more aggressive. We can only hope that the Fraud squad act quickly in closing this scam down before it gets out of control and involves more debt-collecting companies etc.