Friday, February 21, 2014

dvla-driving-licence.co.uk - not quite FRAUD

"Be very careful if you order a new driving licence! I was careful because I knew about fraudulent websites and so made sure I was on the official DVLA website. However, somewhere in the process I transferred to another website which looks identical and has a plausible address etc. I got my licence ok and only when I received my credit card statement did I realise I'd been charged £40 rather than £20. I've spoken to the DVLA who know about this other site but can do nothing (they're a government organisation after all!) Now my credit card company are looking into it. SOOOOO annoyed!"

We were both aware of these scams, but still got taken in by this website.

dvla-driving-licence.co.uk may not technically or legally be DEFRAUDING people, but their website simply exists to take money from people by tricking them. Furthermore, they end up, by deception, obtaining a bunch of personal information about the people who use their website. Basically, they are adding nothing of value to society and taking money out - the spivs of the digital age.

Also not happy with the government. They know that these scams take place, but do nothing to stop it, don't they make their own websites sufficiently transparent and accessible to discourage it, and wash their hands of the issue afterwards. It almost looks like collusion.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Unremitting

The word "unremitting", as an adjective, derives from the word "remit", in the sense of "to cancel or refrain from exacting or inflicting". However, it struck me that the word "unremit" itself doesn't exist, though its existence is implied by the structure of the word "unremitting" and "unremitted".

Can anybody who reads this suggest other examples of words that don't exist, but whose virtual existence is assumed to create other words?