What's the link between trade union official Alan Scrimgour, his telephone bill, a mysterious "cyber-porn" company called Edvan Solutions, and the US president's brother, Jeb Bush?
The answer is that they have all found themselves involved in the strange saga of a "rogue dialler" internet swindle of the type highlighted by Jobs & Money earlier this year. This scam is continuing to rip off home computer users - it emerged this week that as many as 80,000 people have complained of being fleeced by rogue diallers since the start of this year.
The good news is that a lot has happened in the five months since our original expose about the firms that unleash "secret" software that worms its way into people's computers and makes their PCs dial expensive premium-rate numbers without their knowledge.
Britain's premium rate watchdog, Icstis, has started cutting off these online crooks, who are often based in exotic locations thousands of miles away, and has dished out some hefty fines and compensation orders.
The not-so-good news is that victims are having to battle for refunds while still being pursued by their phone companies for full payment of the huge bills racked up as a result of this hi-tech con trick.
Mr Scrimgour, a 53-year-old Amicus official, is one of hundreds - quite possibly thousands - who have been stung by Florida-based Edvan Solutions, an "online adult entertainment" service behind one of the most persistent rogue diallers.
So what's Jeb Bush got to do with all of this? The answer is that, as governor of Florida, he has found himself caught in the crossfire as British internet users fuming about being conned by Edvan Solutions vent their rage on the various state authorities - of which more later.
It was in early July that I wrote about how I and thousands of other internet users had unwittingly run up big telephone bills after falling victim to the rogue dialler scam.
It's something people only become aware of when they receive their phone bills and discover to their horror that they have notched up huge costs they were not aware of and didn't agree to.
The virus is often activated by closing an unwanted "pop-up" window on an internet screen. This sends a message to the computer, changing its usual log-on settings. It then surreptitiously diverts the connection into a premium-rate line, typically at £1.50 a minute.
We revealed that regulator Icstis reckoned consumers had already lost up to £10m, and told how people were having to seek refunds by writing to the operators, despite the fact that many are based in obscure overseas locations.
Days later, Icstis announced it was setting up a licensing system that would require all premium-rate internet services to be vetted and approved before they could operate. This is now up and running.
And earlier this month, half a dozen rogue dialler operators were punished by Icstis. Among them was Edvan Solutions, based in the south Florida city of Miramar.
This week the regulator told us that 16 companies have so far been fined, barred from operating in the UK, and ordered to offer full refunds to all those who complained. Dozens more are still under investigation. Icstis spokesman Rob Dwight says all but two of the 16 firms are indeed giving refunds, and that the total number of people reimbursed is "probably getting into four figures". Which is of course good news but only represents a tiny fraction of those stung.
While some victims may get refunds from their tormentors, BT has been accused of effectively profiting from the scam by continuing to demand that its bills are paid in full, even when customers were entirely innocent. If they don't pay up, they could ultimately be disconnected.
BT insists it can't write off the debts because the calls were made and must be paid for. It argues it can't be held responsible and has already paid out the money to the terminating network, which then hands it on to the service provider.
But some might say that, morally at least, BT's position looks a bit sticky when there was arguably little its customers could have done to avoid being conned - as is the case in the Edvan Solutions episode.
The Edvan rogue dialler sounds like a particularly nasty one, which probably explains why it attracted more than 1,700 complaints from angry Brits, more than almost any other dialler company, and why the fine imposed on it this month was pretty hefty: £75,000. Some victims said the software was so persistent that it even evaded anti-virus programmes such as Spybot. What made it even worse was that Edvan's software redirected PC users to porn sites.
Little is known about Edvan Solutions. Icstis gives its address as "14359 Miramar Parkway 245, Miramar, Florida" - but in fact this is just a mail-drop. "We don't really know anything about them," admits Mr Dwight.
Those who think that most of us Brits wouldn't say boo to a goose might be surprised to hear that after Edvan started its assault on UK computer users, all hell broke loose. After learning that this peddler of premium-rate porn was based in Miramar, angry British PC users took to the online message boards and urged victims to bombard the city's civic leaders with emails demanding action be taken.
"Let's bring the culprits to justice!... Ban holidays to Florida until the officials there stop this scam!" was one fairly typical comment. They published the email addresses of Jeb Bush, Miramar mayor Lori Moseley, the city commissioners and local churches so people could contact them.
Not surprisingly, the Miami Herald newspaper leapt on the story. "Rage over porn bills leaves city in disfavour with Brits" was the headline on its report telling how "Britons in a tizzy over unauthorised cyber-porn bills are venting their wrath..."
So where are we now? Icstis says Edvan's £75,000 fine has been paid (out of funds withheld from Edvan by One World Interactive, the London company that supplied Edvan with its numbers), and that Edvan has been refunding complainants who have written to the firm enclosing a copy of their phone bill.
In addition, One World Interactive (tel: 020-7258-8700) told Jobs & Money that it has "reimbursed all complainants that have contacted us, as a gesture of goodwill".
But for Alan Scrimgour and many others, this is far from the end of the matter. In July he was hit with a phone bill for £527 (his bills tend to be around £100), a good chunk of which was Edvan's unauthorised premium-rate calls. Yet BT is demanding full payment.
"BT know these diallers can be installed illicitly but still insist on payment although they must know the money will go to fraudsters," he says, adding that he will not be paying up, even if that means he is threatened with being cut off. However, he will now approach One World Interactive to ask for a refund.
The answer is that they have all found themselves involved in the strange saga of a "rogue dialler" internet swindle of the type highlighted by Jobs & Money earlier this year. This scam is continuing to rip off home computer users - it emerged this week that as many as 80,000 people have complained of being fleeced by rogue diallers since the start of this year.
The good news is that a lot has happened in the five months since our original expose about the firms that unleash "secret" software that worms its way into people's computers and makes their PCs dial expensive premium-rate numbers without their knowledge.
Britain's premium rate watchdog, Icstis, has started cutting off these online crooks, who are often based in exotic locations thousands of miles away, and has dished out some hefty fines and compensation orders.
The not-so-good news is that victims are having to battle for refunds while still being pursued by their phone companies for full payment of the huge bills racked up as a result of this hi-tech con trick.
Mr Scrimgour, a 53-year-old Amicus official, is one of hundreds - quite possibly thousands - who have been stung by Florida-based Edvan Solutions, an "online adult entertainment" service behind one of the most persistent rogue diallers.
So what's Jeb Bush got to do with all of this? The answer is that, as governor of Florida, he has found himself caught in the crossfire as British internet users fuming about being conned by Edvan Solutions vent their rage on the various state authorities - of which more later.
It was in early July that I wrote about how I and thousands of other internet users had unwittingly run up big telephone bills after falling victim to the rogue dialler scam.
It's something people only become aware of when they receive their phone bills and discover to their horror that they have notched up huge costs they were not aware of and didn't agree to.
The virus is often activated by closing an unwanted "pop-up" window on an internet screen. This sends a message to the computer, changing its usual log-on settings. It then surreptitiously diverts the connection into a premium-rate line, typically at £1.50 a minute.
We revealed that regulator Icstis reckoned consumers had already lost up to £10m, and told how people were having to seek refunds by writing to the operators, despite the fact that many are based in obscure overseas locations.
Days later, Icstis announced it was setting up a licensing system that would require all premium-rate internet services to be vetted and approved before they could operate. This is now up and running.
And earlier this month, half a dozen rogue dialler operators were punished by Icstis. Among them was Edvan Solutions, based in the south Florida city of Miramar.
This week the regulator told us that 16 companies have so far been fined, barred from operating in the UK, and ordered to offer full refunds to all those who complained. Dozens more are still under investigation. Icstis spokesman Rob Dwight says all but two of the 16 firms are indeed giving refunds, and that the total number of people reimbursed is "probably getting into four figures". Which is of course good news but only represents a tiny fraction of those stung.
While some victims may get refunds from their tormentors, BT has been accused of effectively profiting from the scam by continuing to demand that its bills are paid in full, even when customers were entirely innocent. If they don't pay up, they could ultimately be disconnected.
BT insists it can't write off the debts because the calls were made and must be paid for. It argues it can't be held responsible and has already paid out the money to the terminating network, which then hands it on to the service provider.
But some might say that, morally at least, BT's position looks a bit sticky when there was arguably little its customers could have done to avoid being conned - as is the case in the Edvan Solutions episode.
The Edvan rogue dialler sounds like a particularly nasty one, which probably explains why it attracted more than 1,700 complaints from angry Brits, more than almost any other dialler company, and why the fine imposed on it this month was pretty hefty: £75,000. Some victims said the software was so persistent that it even evaded anti-virus programmes such as Spybot. What made it even worse was that Edvan's software redirected PC users to porn sites.
Little is known about Edvan Solutions. Icstis gives its address as "14359 Miramar Parkway 245, Miramar, Florida" - but in fact this is just a mail-drop. "We don't really know anything about them," admits Mr Dwight.
Those who think that most of us Brits wouldn't say boo to a goose might be surprised to hear that after Edvan started its assault on UK computer users, all hell broke loose. After learning that this peddler of premium-rate porn was based in Miramar, angry British PC users took to the online message boards and urged victims to bombard the city's civic leaders with emails demanding action be taken.
"Let's bring the culprits to justice!... Ban holidays to Florida until the officials there stop this scam!" was one fairly typical comment. They published the email addresses of Jeb Bush, Miramar mayor Lori Moseley, the city commissioners and local churches so people could contact them.
Not surprisingly, the Miami Herald newspaper leapt on the story. "Rage over porn bills leaves city in disfavour with Brits" was the headline on its report telling how "Britons in a tizzy over unauthorised cyber-porn bills are venting their wrath..."
So where are we now? Icstis says Edvan's £75,000 fine has been paid (out of funds withheld from Edvan by One World Interactive, the London company that supplied Edvan with its numbers), and that Edvan has been refunding complainants who have written to the firm enclosing a copy of their phone bill.
In addition, One World Interactive (tel: 020-7258-8700) told Jobs & Money that it has "reimbursed all complainants that have contacted us, as a gesture of goodwill".
But for Alan Scrimgour and many others, this is far from the end of the matter. In July he was hit with a phone bill for £527 (his bills tend to be around £100), a good chunk of which was Edvan's unauthorised premium-rate calls. Yet BT is demanding full payment.
"BT know these diallers can be installed illicitly but still insist on payment although they must know the money will go to fraudsters," he says, adding that he will not be paying up, even if that means he is threatened with being cut off. However, he will now approach One World Interactive to ask for a refund.
