It's just like the film with Ben Affleck called The Boiler Room:

A man and his daughter are facing 25 years in jail in the US for allegedly stealing £35m from thousands of Britons, most of them pensioners.

The financial watchdog describes a 'boiler room' operation as a tele-sales hot-house filled with the most persistent callers you're ever likely to pick up to.

Victims are sold shares after being told they will rise sharply in value, when in fact they are worthless.

What's big about this story for us today is that they targeted 1000s of Brits.

Were you one of them?  Tell us your story here.

Comments

[Griffoid Mar 20, 2008 3:14:02 PM]

Dennis says it all. We have a Chancellor & PM to do this every day of the year. Only difference is that they get paid as well for robbing us !!!

[Khalid Mar 14, 2008 1:59:25 PM]

Sir
Indeed if the caller sounds a bit [Shakira] then the only way consumers can safeguard themselves from [La Tortura] is to hang up.
But those clever likkle call centre operatives play havoc with the mind.
So, my advice to any body receiving a call from a never to be forgotteon once in a life time offer is to ask the person on the other end of the phone, (if they havent hung up yet) is to ask for their company registration number, reference details, bankers, web site and not to forget solicitors. Now that should keep them in the cold! So who you gonna call??

[Angela Cookson, Slovakia Mar 14, 2008 10:30:25 AM]

At the beginning of March '06, a youngish chap rung me up out of the blue and tried to co-erce me into buying shares in Great Western Gold. "Fortunately" I had already lost a big amount of shares I'd bought in the past following a feature in the Daily Mail, so I was not keen. However this man persisted ringing me every hour. I rang Saga Shares Line for advice and then went to look on the computer at the library and there was a Warning about "Boiler Room Scams" which described exactly what had taken place ie. lots of voices in the background, the peristence, ringing out of the blue, etc. so luckily I did not go ahead and buy them but I have to say that at times I was tempted. Oddly enough it is just recently that I noticed that the price of gold has risen and had been wondering if indeed I should have bought them! I am a 60 year old female pensioner.

[DENNIS HERTS Mar 14, 2008 10:09:08 AM]

Yes I have been Fleeced every week for years by a Large Company called "The Labour Goverment"