Vodafone has a serious complaints problem

SPAIN Vodafone, the British telecommunications company, leads the number of consumer complaints for its Spanish branch. It is also at the bottom of the 'like' list, both according to FACUA, the leading consumer organization, which has received the largest number of complaints about this company. In fact, complaints against all telecommunications companies, head the list as set out annually by the FACUA - for the tenth year in succession, even after complaints about banking, which are considerable in number. 28% of complaints about telecommunications (including mobile phone and broadband services, also billing) are about Vodafone, followed by Movistar (25%), France Telecom (25%), Ono (by cable, 10%) and Jazztel (8%). Most complaints are about>>>

Study: Too much chlorine in the pool can bring on asthma

A recent warning from Neumosur, the organization that brings together pneumologists and thoracic surgeons of Southern Spain, says that swimming in a pool with an excess of chlorine can bring on asthamtic symptoms, particularly in the very young. The amount of time spent in the pool is also a factor, as are the amount of water swallowed, not showering before and after a swim, and the warmer the water. The risk is highest, says the study,>>>

Warning about sunburn ... take it or leave it

Comes from Facebook via Sue Haddon, to whom thanks. You know, a warning in time ...

Fact is, I lost a very good, very dark skinned friend to this, so here goes in her memory.

Incoming wire transfer - yeah, could do with $186,200

Yet another scam, though an old one. This very professional looking e-mail came into our inbox this morning. As things are, we could do with the money, in dollars, yen or anything else at all. We -well, Prospero- also has family in the US who might just have gone mad enough to ... no, they wouldn't, bless 'em. The giveaway, though, is that Zip file over on the right. Open that and worms, bacteria, viruses, rotting corpses, headaches, deadening phishes and all sorts just drop out... Basically, bin it!

Don't ignore this if you have Gmail

We got this yesterday. It should be obvious that it's a fake. To start with, Gmail wouldn't do anything like an 'update' like this, and second, look where it's coming from - ad.aruba.it??? If you click on 'Update Account', chances are you'll be bitten to death by viruses, trojans, and malware of all kinds, not to mention being phished for personal data. (Don't you love the jargon we use so loosely these days?)

Amazon scam warning

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Relax, it's not Amazon scamming, no, no. But you could get fooled into giving the scammers your details. Not me, we hear you say - but lots of people do, or it wouldn't be worth the trouble to set the scam up. Key scam words are always related to giving them your card number, expiration date, and other highly dangerous information. No proper company, particularly Amazon, would ask for such information in an e-mail: you get rejected automatically when you place your order online if there's a problem.

Worm warning!

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This e-mail is doing the rounds, and probably has for some time. We opened the .zip file and our Avira anti-virus caught the worm in time, fortunately. We don't know if there is any such thing as 'getmyphoto.vodafone.com' but we do have people in the UK (a +44 phone number) who might well send us a picture. What did we do wrong? We opened a .ZIP file from a source we're not sure about, that's what. According to Wikipedia, "A computer worm is a standalone malware computer program that replicates itself in order to spread to other computers. Often, it uses a computer network to spread itself, relying on security failures on the target computer to access it. Unlike a computer virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms almost always cause at least some harm to the network, even if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer." Read more about it.

Missed calls that could cost you €20,000 or more - and it's legal

SPAIN Circulating on the Internet ether is a warning about a couple of numbers that are apparently costing the victims enormous phone bills. (We haven't tried them because we're not stupid and can't afford to be anyway.) The numbers are: 911 140 680  and 911 111 341, apparently Madrid numbers - except that there are no 91-followed-by-1 numbers there. According to at least one forum on the subject -and there are many- the number often appears as a missed call without even ringing. What happens then?

Yet another e-mail scam - watch out!

This one's a neat one. But the grammar fails miserably. Not to mention that we have never ever had an account at Three.co.uk or anything like it. But if we unzipped the zipped file attached, we are very likely to unleash a whole can of filthy worms in the shape of viruses, bacteria, malware, phishes, etc. etc. So what did we do? We binned it immediately and suggest you do the same if you get it. (click on 'warnings' on the labels cloud on the sidebar and see lots more)

Beware of .zip files in email scams, viruses and malware

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These are just two examples of emails we have received recently. Both of them contain Zip files as attachments (files with .zip terminations). If you open them (that is, unzip them), they can, and often do, spread nasties all over your computer. Sometimes they come as part of a scam or con, sometimes they contain viruses and sometimes they are full of malware (short for malicious software: see Wikipedia). The rule is: if you don't know the sender, bin it. In these two cases, the PayPal one doesn't look at all like anything we have ever received from them, except the logo, which is very easy to copy, as is any logo. And we don't have a contract of any kind, nor any connection with Vodafone. COMING SOON: SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION.

Arrested for Gibraltar access scam

Ticket not needed

LA LÍNEA (Agencies) A man was arrested on Tuesday for taking €40 from the occupants of a British-registered car queueing to enter Gibraltar. According to the Local Police, who arrested J.L.M., 38, shortly after the incident, he asked the tourists for money to gain access to the Rock, and when he saw a couple of €20 bills in the passenger's hands, he snatched them and ran away. Local Police close by caught up with him and he taken to the National Police station, where the British tourists were filling in the complaints form, and were able to recover their cash. This kind of scam has been going on for many years, although less so now than before. If you know a tourist headed for Gibraltar, warn them that there is no charge for crossing the frontier. (You might want to warn them about 'irregularities' in the queue going in, though.)

Watch out for this (familiar) scam!

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CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR We received this in our e-mail. Jane Cahart has many friends in this area, and the chances are they will have received it, too. If experience is anything to go by (and we've had two local scams exactly like this), it is neither true nor valid and must be avoided. Her e-mail, and contact list, has been hijacked, so if you answer it, you will no doubt be contacted by the scammers, and asked to send money to 'Jane'. Someone we know was stung for a couple of thousand euros a couple of years ago in an identical scam, though the person who supposedly had lost everything was allegedly in London. In fact, she was in Jimena all along, and only found out about it after one of the victims -there were several - saw her the day after they lost their money. BEFORE LONG YOU WILL HAVE TO SUBSCRIBE TO SEE ARTICLES LIKE THIS. Subscription info coming soon.

You saw it here first - you hope!

SPAIN All of a sudden, your computer screen goes blank and is taken over by a warning from the Ministerio del Interior, with the badge of the Policía Nacional looming large - lately the Guardia Civil looms, too. You are accused of 'illegal activity', in your Internet surfing, e-mail and even in the files you thought were safe from prying eyes. You are told that, according to 'the laws of Spain' your computer has been blocked and for further information your IP address shows up, too (Wossat? Internal Protocol address). (Smell a rat yet?) Further down you are further charged with what looks like a maniac'a s**t list: paedophilia, zoophilia, child abuse, "video files have been found containing child pornography, violence" and more such niceties. Oh, and if that's not enough they mention that "your e-mails have contained spam with overtones of terrorism." (More than one rat here, right?) To unblock it, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IN THE NEAR FUTURE YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO READ THE REST OF ITEMS SUCH AS THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE SUBSCRIBED. Subscription information will be available soon. (Oh, alright then, go on)>>>

200 rescues in area beaches on Tuesday, less today

Waves at Conil, danger below

Due to heavy backwash and waves · Red flags still up today

Prov. of CÁDIZ The weather has been playing havoc with bathers at local beaches. Heavy seas, particularly the dangerous, invisible undercurrents and large waves, have caused almost 200 rescues along the coastline of the province of Cádiz, especially at Conil, Vejer and Chiclana. One member of the rescue team at Conil said on Tuesday, "There was a rescue call every five minutes" - a slight exaggeration but he was tired. The only beaches that did not register any significant such activity were>>>

New 'virus' steals with a €100 fine for illegal downloads

SPAIN The National Plice has issued a warning about an Internet virus that, disguised as the official Policía Nacional and Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD, data protection authority), closes down the computer and demands €100 for watching pornographic material or making illegal downloads of films and music. Payment would restore the computer. This is apparently a mutation of an already existing virus that was disguised as coming from the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE, copyright agency), which also blocked the computer and demanded €50 for downloading music illegally. (Prospero note: inflation attacks crime as well!) The National Police's Twitter site says that it never demands payment of fines over the Internet, and nor does the AEPD. It also asks for information from anyone who has been the victim of the scam.

Jellyfish warning on coastline

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CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR Various stretches of the Campo's beaches are infested with jellyfish, according to local media. The reason behind their dangerous presence is the changes in wind direction we've been getting. When the easterly Levante winds blow, they seem to congregate near La Línea and Sotogrande, where they were sighted over the weekend. Sources tell us that the situation is better right now, but there are still some around. These jellyfish are smallish and violet-ish. It might be difficult to get treatment for their sting, as, according to some, the Civil Protection units on the beaches in La Línea, "do not have the knowledge to deal with it."

Don't say you weren't warned...

Frankly, if you fall for this scam, Dear Reader, there is little hope for you in the 21st century. Look at the grammar, the spelling, the shoddiness ... 'nuff said, right? Whatever you do, DO NOT, CLICK ON ANY LINKS. Send the e-mail to the bin and then DELETE IT from there. By the way, it's always a good idea to empty your bin, trash, or whatever at least once a week - you never know what's lurking at the bottom of all that junk.

Five fires in the area in less than 24 hours

Man despairs at ruined garden,
Torreguadiaro yesterday
(Photo: europasur.es)

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (Agencies) Five separate fires broke out in the are in less than 24 hours; three in San Roque and two in Algeciras. All of them were extinguished rapidly, except the major one at Torreguadiaro and one at Las Arenillas, between Sotogrande and Castellar, near the luxury development La Reserva de Sotogrande. The former was under control by 9pm last night, and the second, by  about 7.30. First estimates say that some 100 hectares were burned near Torreguadiaro, while the latter burned about a hectare of pine and cork oak forest. This one has a history of similar fires over the years, which leads to local speculation about it being intentional in order to make way for further development. There was another outbreak, though comparatively minor, at San Martín del Tesorillo>>>

Scam alert in Tarifa and Algeciras

TARIFA & ALGECIRAS Aqualia, the water company for Tarifa, announced yesterday that there may well be a scam going on that is using the company's name. It said in a communiqué that it had detected several phone calls to homes to inform the occupants that there is a problem with the water quality, leading to a visit to the home, alleging the need to analyse it - the aim  is to sell products, apparently. The same tactic has appeared in the El Rinconcillo section of Algeciras. Apparently the scam consists of trying to sell a 'flow reduction' gadget to be fitted to taps in the house. The company says that they do not carry out any kind of trade in this way, and that use of their name could be a crime. The quality of the water, it adds, meets all requirements and there is no question of any problems.

Google doesn't do this

We recently received the email, via Gmail, a Google facility, that is shown in the illustration.Various similar types of mail have been received worldwide, but Google says it doesn't request information this way and that there is nothing called 'Accounts Department' at any of their many premises. We didn't click on the link because we're not stupid (we're foolish sometimes, but not too foolish either). We advise you Dear Reader, not to do so either if you have received anything like this. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ITEMS SUCH AS THIS MAY BE SUBJECT TO SUBSCRIPTION IN THE FUTURE but you can make a donation NOW, too! Please click here for more information on how to help us continue.