News
Oakwood Racing
8th October 2003
There is a scam (there is no other word strong enough to describe this) being run by an outfit calling themselves Oakwood Racing. Everyone is strongly warned not to be involved with them in any way.
This is a simple confidence trick which has left people thousands of pounds worse off than they were before. It is a simple scam but one which works well.
The intended victim, in this case, receives a very plausible letter in the post. This particular letter comes from an outfit which calls itself 'Oakwood Racing' and until this week the only references to Oakwood Racing on Google, the internet search engine, pointed to this site.
The letter from Oakwood Racing is as follows.
|
OAKWOOD RACING Dear Sir Oakwood racing is now firmly established as Britain’s leader in professional betting. Whilst our string of racehorses continues to improve, we are always looking for agents to assist us in our betting activities. This comes without any financial risk to you. If the idea of making an additional income without taking
up much of your time and not needing any capital investment appeals then please call for a quick chat on : Yours faithfully FOR AN ON BEHALF OF OAKWOOD RACING |
The scam is simple enough; the phone number is a mobile phone and, undoubtably, one of these pay-as-you-go phones which will now be at the bottom of a river. The person pretending to be David Wood will call you back sooner or later and then sweet talk you into joining his no-risk venture.
Sometime later he will call you up and tell you to put some large sum on a horse. If the horse wins then he will tell you to keep 10% as a commission and if it loses he will refund you. Therefore it is no-risk.
Except that, of course, the refund won't ever appear. If the horse does win then a courier will appear and take their share of the winnings. The courier is perhaps not from a courier firm at all but, most likely, an associate.
At the end of the day the people who call themselves Oakwood Racing will have had a number of people making large free bets on their behalf before collecting the money and vanishing without a trace.
The police are looking into this fraud and if any more news is known then we'll keep you posted.
But as a reminder if anyone does offer you something for nothing at no risk whatsoever do not get involved. Please ignore arguments such as the owners of the horse can't get enough money down at the bookmakers or that these people are accomplished bettors and have had all their accounts closed. What rot; what's to stop these people, if they existed, from backing the horses themselves on the exchanges?