It’s always interesting to see how scammers operate and getting a subscription out of people, then refusing to let them Unsubscribe is a staple sting of the digital era. The method used to entrap victims was fake or cloned websites, which look like the real thing, especially when you are in a hurry to get a tedious online task done, like paying for parking.
IE did some digging and found this company embedded links to their scam subs within a cloned web page, imitating the RingGo parking meter app. They also imitated a Samsung phone user data transfer site, so when you upgrade your phone you are vulnerable if searching online in a hurry.
Here’s the word from the Insolvency Service, who claim to have shut down the company. However a simple search of Companies House revealed Mediacrazed, who were at Nascot House, Watford back in 2020, are now registered in Devon. So presumably the scam continues. Good old public sector eh?
A company which tricked people into signing up for monthly direct debits has been shut down following an investigation by the Insolvency Service. Paragrim Ltd, trading under the Mediacraze.net website, deliberately misled consumers into providing bank details for what they assumed were everyday online purchases, such as car parking or television streaming services. But after being duped into logging in to the Mediacraze website, they later discovered they had been signed up to monthly direct debit payments.
Mark George, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
The actions of Paragrim Ltd in manipulating customers were highly deceptive and dishonest.
Unsuspecting consumers were signed up to a membership scheme which they did not want or indeed think they were paying for, leaving them out of pocket.
The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to take robust action to protect consumers and we would encourage everyone to be vigilant against scams such as this one.
Consumers were often misdirected to the website after scanning QR codes on their mobile phones.
They were charged a small fee for a five-day “free” trial without their authorisation before being signed up to pay £29.99 each month. Investigations revealed Paragrim, based at an address on Nascot Place in Watford, was managed on behalf of a Canadian businesswoman. Paragrim failed to co-operate with the Insolvency Service’s investigation.
The Mediacraze.net website is no longer active and a winding-up order was made against the company at the High Court on 5 December 2023. Investigations by the Insolvency Service are ongoing.
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