Fraudulent Mac Retailers

[BiPolar]

Anyone heard of or seen this place before?

http://shop.vendio.com/macshopz

THeir prices are pretty much equivalent to my education prices, and some items are even cheaper. Are they legit?

=== Note from the Moderators ===
In light of recent behavior in this thread and evidence that has come into the possession of the moderators, we feel it is necessary to close this thread to further commentary. This discussion has been enlightening for victims and potential buyers as well, but it is turning into a problem as far as management goes. It will remain stickied at the top of this forum so as to be accessible in the future.

We strongly urge any parties that have been defrauded to seek help from their local authorities. We will co-operate with them if they come forward to request the information we have (webmaster@macrumors.com).

Forum members are also encouraged to contact each other and the site moderators via private message.

[fraeone]

Wow the prices are amazing.. Seems too good to be true. Anybody in Vancouver or Burnaby BC and know about these guys? It's interesting that they're based in Canada, but ship from Blaine, WA and the prices are in USD. The Powerbooks beat Edu prices, a 12" 1ghz Combo for $1300 and the Super for $1500.

I would be very wary of them though, they don't even have their own domain.

[BiPolar]

They don't beat my school's 15 price, but they beat it on the 12 by 100. Being a graduate student right now i'd go with my education price and all of the apple support that goes with buying from apple. However, if i wasn't, this place looks decent. But I did some google searches and couldn't find anything about it. Nor was there anything about vendio stores in general.

[iJon]

pay with credit card and it wont matter. if they are legit your set and if they arent get your money back.

iJon

[BiPolar]

Quite true. I'm just going to stick with my better than average EDU price, but for those who aren't students, this seems like a pretty good deal.

[cbz38a]

Did you ever decide to purchase from them after all? I just searched for Powerbooks on GOOGLE and found their webpage. Their prices are $300 less than most others I found. Sounds good if it is true.

[cpjakes]

I just tried the link and got the following message:

------------
Sorry, but this Vendio store is currently closed.

Sellers occasionally close their store if they are on vacation or are out of stock. Please check back in a day or two or click the Search Stores tab to search for a specific item in other Stores.
------------

If their stock varies enough to close them or if their company is small enough to have everyone on vacation simultaneously, I don't think I would personally buy from them. Just my $.02...

cpjakes

[cbz38a]

Thanks. FYI ... they have a NEW link http://www.macwhi**********
I have decided against dealing with them, not worth the risk.

[Squire]

Found this info on their FAQ page. (It's the "Training" link.)

Squire


Q: How come your prices are so much less than your competition?

A: We spend a substantial amount of time and resources buying out auctions and companies that go out of business. We inspect all items and only ship brand new, sealed (in box). They are not refurbished or damaged in any way. Since we buy in bulk we may stock a large amount of one item at any given time. This is why you might see a huge price difference between similar items.

<Edit: Man! They even have an educational discount of 10%!>

Q: Teacher or Educator Discounts?

A: Yes, we offer 10% discount. Proof of position must be faxed with order.

[sahnert]

Originally posted by Squire
Found this info on their FAQ page. (It's the "Training" link.)

Squire


Q: How come your prices are so much less than your competition?

A: We spend a substantial amount of time and resources buying out auctions and companies that go out of business. We inspect all items and only ship brand new, sealed (in box). They are not refurbished or damaged in any way. Since we buy in bulk we may stock a large amount of one item at any given time. This is why you might see a huge price difference between similar items.

<Edit: Man! They even have an educational discount of 10%!>

Q: Teacher or Educator Discounts?

A: Yes, we offer 10% discount. Proof of position must be faxed with order.

sounds oddly similar to a scam I read about in another thread. Maybe take a weekend to Canada to check it out in person. It might be worth it.

[kanker]

I checked their local BBB, and although the company's website claims they've been in biz for 7 years, the BBB's only been aware of them since October 2003.

[labratmatt]

Has anyone had any dealings with macwhi********** yet? I am ready to order an ibook and they have great prices. I just don't want to get into something that isn't quite legit.

Does apple keep track of resellers? Any suggestons?

[cwall]

I'm a victim of Mac Whiz of Burnaby, BC. I was suckered by the low prices. Ordered an iMac in September and received a FedEx envelope with scrap paper in it. Sellers excuse - his computers were hacked, scrambling his customer order data base, etc., etc.Paid cash thru PayPal but no help there. This seller now has 3 Vendio sites - all with no merchandise for sale. Also, he still has a main web site - macwhi********** - pictures and everything. I have alerted the BBB, FTC, and IFCC (FBI). Still waiting for a response. I think there are a lot of these. Suggestions appreciated.

[Squire]

Originally posted by cwall
I'm a victim of Mac Whiz of Burnaby, BC. I was suckered by the low prices. Ordered an iMac in September and received a FedEx envelope with scrap paper in it. Sellers excuse - his computers were hacked, scrambling his customer order data base, etc., etc.Paid cash thru PayPal but no help there. This seller now has 3 Vendio sites - all with no merchandise for sale. Also, he still has a main web site - macwhi********** - pictures and everything. I have alerted the BBB, FTC, and IFCC (FBI). Still waiting for a response. I think there are a lot of these. Suggestions appreciated.

Whoa! That sucks. Thanks for the heads up, though. Good luck.

Squire

[pinto32]

But at least they ship almost anywhere.....

"Shipping and handling in all 52 states in the United States are fixed except for Alaska and Hawaii."
---From http://www.macwhi**********/shipping.htm

[labratmatt]

cwall, sorry to hear of your problems with this place. I will avoid macwhi********** like the plague.

I am a very experienced PC user wanting to get an ibook. Have you guys found it best to order from Apple store or a reseller? I qualify for the educatonal discount, so that might be a factor.

Thanks for the information.

[labratmatt]

I did a bit more investigation, and this place does seem totally bogus! (Not that I doubted this before, but I would just love to get an ibook for their advertised prices.)

I sent an email (Monday) to their sales address, and two days later I received a response (Wednesday) directly from Derald Dutchak, the supposed owner. What happened to their two dedicated internet sales people? Anyway, I decided to call the sales number and received a lame message that said something like "Due to our overwhelming call volume, we will not be able to speak to you over the phone at this time. Please contact our sales team through our internet sales address." Give me a break. 6:00pm est on a Thursday night, and all their sales reps are busy?

Avoid macwhi**********!!!

[jamekurtis]

jeeezz!! my experience with macwhiz was great! almost.
i ordered a powerbook laptop last week friday the 14th.
faxed the credit card form and waited for a some kind of confirmation but never got it, by monday i was a little nervous about this whole deal and tried calling the phone number on the web site - no luck! they don't take calls.

on tuesday after 3 emails i finaly got a reply from mr. duchak
letting me know that my laptop had been shipped but did not send me the tracking number. tuesday afternoon the fedex guy
delivered my laptop to my workplace as he promised, i could not believe it
i was ready to file a report. other than the lack of communication
everything about macwhiz is amazing, even the price.
i searched the internet for days and could not find a better price.

i did get get a reply from mr. duchak explaining that they are very busy this time of the year.


james kurtis
happy macwhiz customer

[Admin Edit: This post appears to be a shill... trying to legitimatize the business.]

[labratmatt]

Ahh, maybe I am wrong. I apologize. Anyone else have experience with Mac Whiz?

[Italchef]

I don't mean to offend anyone posting here in any way whatsoever...but isn't it possible that someone might post under an assumed name to legitimize an online business?
Just seems to me that there is no way possible that the mac's could be any cheaper than they already are. If you take into account the difference in the American and Canadian dollars, we pay more than our friends to the south. How is it possible that someone could even sell for less than in the States?

[Italchef]

...and one other thing.
It talks about the store in Burnaby and some place in Washington...says to drop by and visit.
There's no address anywhere on the site!!!!!!!!

[sahnert]

Originally posted by Italchef
I don't mean to offend anyone posting here in any way whatsoever...but isn't it possible that someone might post under an assumed name to legitimize an online business?


I was thinking the same thing......

[kanker]

Two days after a couple of product updates and they're still only showing the old models...Odd

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by Squire
Found this info on their FAQ page. (It's the "Training" link.)

Squire


Q: How come your prices are so much less than your competition?

A: We spend a substantial amount of time and resources buying out auctions and companies that go out of business. We inspect all items and only ship brand new, sealed (in box). They are not refurbished or damaged in any way. Since we buy in bulk we may stock a large amount of one item at any given time. This is why you might see a huge price difference between similar items.

<Edit: Man! They even have an educational discount of 10%!>

Q: Teacher or Educator Discounts?

A: Yes, we offer 10% discount. Proof of position must be faxed with order.

Maybe I'm clueless, but how many "band new, sealed in box" Macs can you find at auctions and companies that have gone under? Can you really find enough unopened machines from a single source that you can "buy in bulk"? Things like old video games and discontinued electronics I can see , but dual 2ghz G5's and Xserves? That just smells fishy to me.

EDIT: kanker, It's not odd if you believe their store's business model.


Lethal

[Italchef]

Did you see the guy's pic? Would you trust that kid?

[cwojo531]

CWall,
Your leaving us hanging! What happened??
Chris

[cwall]

I ordered the iMac around Sep-2 and it has never been delivered. I've sent several e-mails and the latest have not been answered. Phone calls are not answered either. Earlier e-mails were answered with claims their computers were hacked, orders were mixed up, and I should be patient.

Craig

[vniow]

I e-mailed them a day ago asking about payment options, I'll post the response if I receive one.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by cwall
I ordered the iMac around Sep-2 and it has never been delivered. I've sent several e-mails and the latest have not been answered. Phone calls are not answered either. Earlier e-mails were answered with claims their computers were hacked, orders were mixed up, and I should be patient.

Craig

Sounds like stalling tactics to me.

[hayesk]

Since one person here received their product, I can only assume this guy is taking orders before actually getting the product himself.

I would avoid this place like the plague.

[wdlove]

Originally posted by cwall
I ordered the iMac around Sep-2 and it has never been delivered. I've sent several e-mails and the latest have not been answered. Phone calls are not answered either. Earlier e-mails were answered with claims their computers were hacked, orders were mixed up, and I should be patient.

Craig

I am very sorry to hear about your problem Craig. Have you actually talked to a live person? Do you live near the Apple Store in Ohio? Speaking with a live person is usually the best to clear up problems at least in my experience.

[2112]

Originally posted by cwall
I ordered the iMac around Sep-2 and it has never been delivered. I've sent several e-mails and the latest have not been answered. Phone calls are not answered either. Earlier e-mails were answered with claims their computers were hacked, orders were mixed up, and I should be patient.

Craig

I would send the guy an email warning him that if you don't get a reply within the next 3 days you will call the police and the FBI or something.

[winwintoo]

Hmmm Since Burnaby BC is in CANADA, which is not part of the USofA, the FBI has no jurisdiction here.

If you're having problems with this outfit and want to alert the constabulary, contact the RCMP.

You can contact the RCMP through this (http://www.rcmp.ca/contact/index_e.htm) web page.

We Canadians don't like to see this kind of thing, makes us look bad.

m

[cbz38a]

Since one person here received their product, I can only assume this guy is taking orders before actually getting the product himself.


Two things come to mind, regarding the comment above ... I doubt there really is a satisfied customer, my gut tells me it is a hoax. Second I would strongly recommend sending them a certified letter that requires a signature and tell MAC WHIZ to refund the money or face a cival law suit. If you do not put the pressure on I fear you will lose your cash. I am sorry but this whole thing stinks of fraud to me.

[randyk]

Their name is starting to pop up in advertisements all over the web, even a link from Amazon. I also saw an ad on macworld. Something is not right about these guys.

If they are not legit, they went to a lot of work to bring up this site.

[hamfist]

after reading this post, i did some digging on Lexis and i couldn't find any reference to a person named Drutchak or to a business with that name. the latter is not surprising as the business name used may be a dba of a corporation. however, the fact that 'derek drutchak' didn' t show up at all in the combined us and canadian public and private business database is intriguing. there are about 21 persons with the name 'drutchak' operating throughout canada but none in Burnaby, BC. again this is not alarming, but it should raise eyebrows if the name doesn't show up in any dba or articles of incorporation. just be careful and if you do decide to buy from these guys, protect yourself.

[cbz38a]

Like the old saying goes ... if the price seems to good to be ture ... it probably is. I was almost taken by a scam involving a BOGUS escrow service so I am very suspicious of something that sounds so enticing. Especially during the holiday season ... BUYER BEWARE!

[furryyuri]

Has anyone noticed their website looks just like www.g4store.com??

I sent them an email asking about shipping Monday the 24th which they answered late at night. I also called and left a message with other questions plus sent 2 other emails with my phone number, but got no response. Then I emailed Wednesday to complain about the lack of response. I'd also like to know if anyone's bought from them, they have the best price on what I want. I only found them because of their google ad. I think it's weird they mention a retail store and have a picture but no name or address.

After what I've just read, I guess I'll avoid them...

[randyk]

something very strange is going on. the g4 store links to zones, which has normal prices. It looks to me that macwhiz ripped off their site! At one time there was a reference to zones on the macwhiz site, in small print, I can't find it now. I wonder if they know about this?

[bellyface]

I have ordered from g4 store in the past... it's actually zones. These guys ripped off that design and tweaked the code. View the source....

[Italchef]

If you've been following this thread, and haven't followed the link to the g4 store yet, do so right now. It really proves that macwhi********** is a total ripoff. In addition, when I initially posted there was no actual address for the place and stated so; now there is an address.
....seems to me that they must be reading this forum....
Wankers..

[winwintoo]

When I click on this link http://www.g4store.com/ and then click on the contacts link on the left hand side, I get this page: https://www.savewealth.com/g4store/contact/

curiouser and curiouser

m

[cbz38a]

I wouldn't doubt they are responding to the input on this forum. It is just good "business practice" to know what is happening in the marketplace. Too bad the FTC doesn't read the forum...

[randyk]

the address has been there for a couple weeks, I think you just missed it. But someone tried to trace the address and came up empty -

If you've been following this thread, and haven't followed the link to the g4 store yet, do so right now. It really proves that macwhi********** is a total ripoff. In addition, when I initially posted there was no actual address for the place and stated so; now there is an address.
....seems to me that they must be reading this forum....
Wankers..

[themadchemist]

Originally posted by Italchef
If you've been following this thread, and haven't followed the link to the g4 store yet, do so right now. It really proves that macwhi********** is a total ripoff. In addition, when I initially posted there was no actual address for the place and stated so; now there is an address.
....seems to me that they must be reading this forum....
Wankers..

I hate to point fingers, but I imagine that the same person who posted about his happy experience is the person reading and responding to this forum from mac whiz.

That shop is bogus, that's all there is to it.

[Nermal]

The guy who posted his happy experience only has one post on these forums. That's making alarm bells go off for me.

[Doraemon]

jamekurtis has only this one post in this thread... :rolleyes:

[Edit] Whoops. I didn't see Nermal's posting.

[aussiedude]

I have just checked out the link to G4 store - yep absolute proof that macwiz is a TOTAL CON. Its practically a mirror image! I am so glad i found this site and the ppl here. There are good ppl in the world still :)

[winwintoo]

Well, in my opinion, the G4 Store is a rip off too. Has anybody gone to http://www.g4store.com/contact

What's up with that??

M

[Toppa G's]

macwhi********** capitalizes MAC too...proof that it must be fake...no self-respecting Mac e-tailer would do that. :eek:

[grafikat]

Just an important safety note:

If you purchase with a credit card from a foreign company (and yes, our good friends up north are included in this statement) there is a very good chance that it will NOT BE COVERED by your credit card's dispute policy. (Found this out the hard way.)

Make sure your credit card has international purchase protection before making purchases!

[cbz38a]

That's a great reason to "buy american"! The cash you save may be your own!

[chirag]

i recentl ordered an iBook from www.macwhi********** and thats where my nitemare began.

before placing the order they assured me that i'll get my order in 3-5 days, but once i sent the money by wire transfer, they said they have some supply problem and that its gonna take some 3 weeks or so..

now more frustrating thing is their communication channel. they dont answer phones and are not prompt replying to mails. in fact i guess there's only one guy - derald who does all this. there's no team in that "company" - only one guy doing all these.

i'm a student and this is the first time i'm buying a laptop and first time a mac, too.. i really cant afford to lose any money and this is big money for me as a student. i'm really worried now - am i cheated? i don't know what to do.. my money has already gone. can anyone help/suggest something? i'm in panic.

chirag
UMass Amherst
MA

[cwall]

Bad news! You might try filing with the IFCC (FBI internet fraud site). Maybe if enough of us file, they'll get interested. I filed several weeks ago and have an ID and password but no other action. Be sure and save everything - e-mails, notes....

Craig

[furryyuri]

cwall, I wondered how your story had ended up. You're one of the only posters that bought from them (sorry, that sucks.)

As for me, they have never replied to my "I'm very disappointed that you haven't called or replied to my emailed questions; I was very serious about buying a mac from you" email. I was this close to buying when I found this thread.

And I see from the post before cwall that money was wired: if they ask for wired money I think that's a sure sign of a scam artist. Too bad.

Good luck to all of you who have bought from them and got screwed.

[grafikat]

Originally posted by winwintoo
If you're having problems with this outfit and want to alert the constabulary, contact the RCMP.

You can contact the RCMP through this (http://www.rcmp.ca/contact/index_e.htm) web page.



CWall! (and any other mac wiz victims) Please! Make sure that you report this to the mounties, too. I had a fraud case that crossed the border, and I got a LOT of help from them. As the crime took place in Canada, this is probably your best bet

[lildancer]

Well, I too am having a very bad experience with this company, and I ordered a G4 desktop from them Nov. 19. Wish I had seen these before I sent my money.

Here's the deal. Ordered on Nov. 17 by Visa. No response. Late the 18th Derald Duckak emailed me that there was a problem with my credit card and suggested another form of payment, transferring funds directly to there account, which then he would ship when funds were received.

Sent funds immediately. I'm a graphic designer and my G3 finally died and I had to borrow money and needed a machine immediately. I sent my money, waited for my computer to be shipped overnight, days passed, no computer, no word. When I threated to cansel my order I finally got an email that it was on back order 3-4 weeks, and when I asked for a refund and told him that I was concerned I may been defrauded and have been advised to file a police report by my bank and get an attorney, he sent back a very nasty email and said it would take 4-6 weeks for a refund!

I have not yet received my computer, and am collecting necessary info on his business dealings before I go the the Feds too. I am also interesting in getting with others to possibly file a class action law suit and file fraud charges. His website is obviously very fraudulant, in everything it says.
Please email me if you have been a vistim too. Thanks!

[chirag]

i donno what to do now.. as such its been nine days only since i paid money by wire transfer and i can still hope to get my order delievered.. but from all these discussions, it seems this guy is really a fraud. i started suspecting as he turned away from his words as soon as i transfered the money. and now reading all these reviews on this site.. i'm really worried..

should i wait for some more days? can anyone help me in verifying this guy's identity and company? in case i need to take some legal action, what can i do? i'm an international student in my first year in USA and i don't have any idea about such things. this is my first order in this country and i'm being cheated.. it's such a horrible feeling.. being new to this country, being a student with very little money, and being cheated for more than 1000 dollars..

how can i get my money back? or is there still any possibility of getting my order? somebody plz. help..

in anticipation..
chirag
UMass Amherst

[rfu]

I hope this isnt a scam...it seems like some great deals

[jxyama]

Originally posted by chirag
i donno what to do now.. as such its been nine days only since i paid money by wire transfer and i can still hope to get my order delievered.. but from all these discussions, it seems this guy is really a fraud. i started suspecting as he turned away from his words as soon as i transfered the money. and now reading all these reviews on this site.. i'm really worried..

should i wait for some more days? can anyone help me in verifying this guy's identity and company? in case i need to take some legal action, what can i do? i'm an international student in my first year in USA and i don't have any idea about such things. this is my first order in this country and i'm being cheated.. it's such a horrible feeling.. being new to this country, being a student with very little money, and being cheated for more than 1000 dollars..

how can i get my money back? or is there still any possibility of getting my order? somebody plz. help..

in anticipation..
chirag
UMass Amherst

i hate to say it, but you are probably out of luck. what you basically did via wire transfer is that you gave him cash. and it's entirely possible that he signed off on the transfer using a fake id...

i understand that you are new to this country, but it's a universal truth: if a deal looks too good, it probably is.

your only hope is to contact some authority in canada. wire transfer company may be able to help, but they don't "owe" you in the sense credit companies might. their service is to simply deliver cash.

[jxyama]

just out of curiosity, can a mod do an ip search on the ONE guy who posted on this thread claiming to be a happy mac whiz customer? (jameskurtis or somthing)

it *may* help...

[Squire]

Originally posted by rfu
I live about an hour or so from the address listed on the site. I am going to check it out


And...

Originally posted by jxyama
just out of curiosity, can a mod do an ip search on the ONE guy who posted on this thread claiming to be a happy mac whiz customer? (jameskurtis or somthing)

it *may* help...

Those are the two best ideas I've seen on this thread.

Squire

[Rower_CPU]

The IP of that poster comes geograpically nowhere near the business address of macwhizshops.

[cbz38a]

All those who have had problems with MacWhiz should RUN not walk to the authorities. The more information they have about the operation the better your chances to recover your funds. Honestly, I doubt you will be able to get your money back because if you wired him money, it is cash in his hands. Since he is outside of the states, there is little legal recourse you have unless the Canadian Authorities can act fast. Any delay will enable him to wriggle out of this with your money. If he is legit, he would send you your money ASAP

[jxyama]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
The IP of that poster comes geograpically nowhere near the business address of macwhizshops.

darn it. oh well, a good try. i *do* wonder what that guy was doing here... thanks for checking, rower.

[ovrdrvn]

Well, their email has been bounced back for the last 24 hours...account full. No answer to the phone/fax number. My money was trasnferred. The Bank of America account I sent it to was in WA. Their phone number is 800-442-6680. They can only confirm if your trasnfer went into that account. If I don't hear something soon, I'll post the account numbers I was given. I had the NYC police here today to take all this down.

[labratmatt]

Just an update:

I had a couple of emails back and forth with macwhizshop and they were slow, but regular. I received these emails from macwhizshop until I posted in this forum. The user that posted that he had a positive transaction with macwhizshop must be a fraud.

Surely someone can localize that IP address to an ISP or something.

[ovrdrvn]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
The IP of that poster comes geograpically nowhere near the business address of macwhizshops.

I had the police over yesterday to discuss this. I have filed a complaint. They need all the information they can get. If you don't feel comfortable posting the address publicly, please help those of us in need. I can verfiy who I am and will give you a phone number or whatever you wish..but since he hasn't closed the bank account yet..time is of the essence.

[amnesiac1984]

The Macrumors Crime Fighting Squad is at it again! :D

Good luck to all and I hope you catch him like you did with that ebay fraudster a while ago.

[arn]

jamekurtis appears likely to be a part of it.

james kurtis aka julia winter:

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=e0f5e4c9.0312041708.5850b687%40posting.google.com&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain
NTTP-Posting-Host: 65.247.155.207

http://www.nomug.org/news/0000D7EB-80000007/774C90A7-3B9ACA00-00AD9018


Thursday, December 4, 2003 6:05 PM -0600

From: fidoexprez@aol.com (julia winter)
Subject: mac whiz computers_
To: mac.wanted

All I can say is Wow! I thought it was too good to be true when I
stumbled onto mac whiz site and found the product I was looking for
$200 cheaper than anywhere else. I thought it might be refurbished,
and when I e-mailed customer support, not only did I find out it was
brand new, but I had that response within an hour.

After days of eagerly anticipating the arrival of my new computer, I
carefully opened the box. To my utter delight, It was so carefully
packaged that I knew no way could any harm come from poor handling.
Needless to say, I was impressed by mac whiz because I received
everything I asked for and more (few upgrades at no additional cost).

The computer was exactly as I ordered. I was amazed at it's
performance and how professional mac whiz documented it's performance
and stability. If you want a great mac at a great price, mac whiz will
give you exactly what you want. _I highly recommend buying from mac
whiz over most computer companies. If you want high value and great
price, buy from mac whiz!

Finally a company is getting it right. Enron could have used people
like you!

Julia Winter
New York

[jxyama]

thanks for the info, arn...

man, i so want this jerk to be caught...

[chirag]

i urge all of you who have lost their money with this guy to get together and take some action. plz. mail me personally (and not on the this public forum) and we'll work out the plan.

i'm not any expert in such things. in fact i'm just a student and new to this country, but i don't want to give away my money - that i've earned with my sweat and collected to make a dream true - so easily to someone. i want to fight for it. i also want to see that no other person becomes victim of this guy. plz. help me do this.

hoping good co-operation from everyone (victims and non-victims),

chirag
UMass Amherst

[Haddock]

Oh no!!! I ordered a 20 inch Apple display and transfered 999 US$ to Derald Dutchak's account end November. I am living in The Netherlands in Europe and since the prices for Apple products are much higher here, I ordered through MacWhizShop. For two days I'm trying to get in touch with Mr. Dutchak to ask for an update on my order. I did not hear anything, and when I called to the number listed on the site I also heard this tape with the message that nobody was able to help me personally due to busy times. So after searching for clues on the web, I found this thread and now I'm really worried. I sent a mail to Mr. Dutchak and he sent me this reply within 1 hour:

Hi Bastiaan,

Please let me the details of your transaction. How you paid
and the exact date and item you ordered. As soon as I receive
this information I will look into the status and get back to you
as soon as possible.

As for messages about our organization being a fraud please forward
any related information so I can look into this further.


Thank you.

Derald Dutchak
MAC Whiz
President/Owner
derald@macwhi**********

####

Since I already sent my ordernumber in the mail to Mr. Dutchak, he could have traced my order and it's status. This looks like a scam indeed. Bye, bye 999 US$!!!

If you are going to take action, please count me in.

[ovrdrvn]

Haddock: This is much larger than you can imagine. I'm guessing you haven't gotten email from him in the last 3 days? Contact me via personal message or email for more information.


Originally posted by Haddock
Oh no!!! I ordered a 20 inch Apple display and transfered 999 US$ to Derald Dutchak's account end November. I am living in The Netherlands in Europe and since the prices for Apple products are much higher here, I ordered through MacWhizShop. For two days I'm trying to get in touch with Mr. Dutchak to ask for an update on my order. I did not hear anything, and when I called to the number listed on the site I also heard this tape with the message that nobody was able to help me personally due to busy times. So after searching for clues on the web, I found this thread and now I'm really worried. I sent a mail to Mr. Dutchak and he sent me this reply within 1 hour:

Hi Bastiaan,

Please let me the details of your transaction. How you paid
and the exact date and item you ordered. As soon as I receive
this information I will look into the status and get back to you
as soon as possible.

As for messages about our organization being a fraud please forward
any related information so I can look into this further.


Thank you.

Derald Dutchak
MAC Whiz
President/Owner
derald@macwhi**********

####

Since I already sent my ordernumber in the mail to Mr. Dutchak, he could have traced my order and it's status. This looks like a scam indeed. Bye, bye 999 US$!!!

If you are going to take action, please count me in.

[anibalcascais]

Hi,
I was just browsing this site (I like to read on apple news and stuff, but don't own a mac...yet), this post just made curious. After reading and checking the mac whiz site here's what I (think) found: I went to see the picture of Derald Dutchak, and I got the feeling I saw that picture before somewhere. Did a search on Google pictures, and a after a while I've found it! The EXACT SAME picture. It turns out to be Scott Rose, a professional speaker at macWorld Expo, apple stores, etc... link: http://www.scottworld.com/speaking/
Well, this IS a scam... and I hope this helps somehow...
Thanks,
Anibal

[jxyama]

first thing first... someone who's been a victim should email the guy and tell him that you will be asking the authority to take down that website unless you get a proper response. (i.e. refund)

this website has no business being online. anyone has any experience asking proper ISP or host site to take down websites?

this should be done before more people are victimized.

[brianbbbvan]

THIS REPORT IS NOT TO BE USED FOR SALES OR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES.


A BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF MAINLAND BRITISH COLUMBIA REPORT
M W Computers
342 6540 E Hastings St
Burnaby, BC V6B 4Z5


General Information
Original Business Start Date: Mar-1996
Principal: Derald Dutchak, President
Telephone #: (778) 868-8105
Email Address: info@macwhi**********
Business Classification(s): COMPUTER DEALERS

Web Address: www.macwhi**********


Customer Experience
Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaints.
As of December 1, 2003: The Better Business Bureau advises consumers who have complaints against this company to contact the Compliance and Consumer Services Branch of the Ministry Of Public Safety and Solicitor General at 1-888-564-9963.

As of November 21, 2003: Consumers have complained to the Better Business Bureau about non-delivery of product, specifically, that computers have not been received. Do NOT do business with this company! Please be advised that if you have paid for a computer by credit card you should contact your credit card company to request a chargeback (the reversal of the charge made to your credit card account) due to the product not being delivered.




Additional Business Names
Mac Whiz
Additional Telephone Numbers
(604) 608-3539

BBB Membership
This company is not a member of this Better Business Bureau.

Report as of: 05/12/2003
Copyright© 2003 Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C.

As a matter of policy, the Better Business Bureau does not endorse any product, service or company. BBB reports generally cover a three-year reporting period, and are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. Information contained herein is believed reliable but not guaranteed as to accuracy. Reports are subject to change at any time.

The Better Business Bureau reports on members and non-members. Membership in the BBB is voluntary, and members must meet and maintainBBB standards. If a company is a member of this BBB, it is stated in this report.

[chirag]

> The Macrumors Crime Fighting Squad is at it
> again!

> Good luck to all and I hope you catch him like > you did with that ebay fraudster a while ago.

can you send me personal msg elaborating this case of ebay fraudester? may help in our case.

once again, request to victims: plz. send me your info personally AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE so that we all can take some actions.

[scotty321]

Hello everybody,

Thank you to Donna Temple for contacting me via email. I am Scott Rose, President of ScottWorld (http://www.scottworld.com), and the photo that Derald Dutchak claims is a photo of him is actually me. This many has gone way beyond even fraud -- he is now dabbling in identity theft as well!

I emailed him this letter:

Derald,

You have 24 hours to remove the FRAUDULENT photo claiming to be you & Steve Jobs off of your website. As you know, you have stolen that photo from my website, and you are trying to perpetrate identity theft against me by stealing my idenitity. Due to your fraudulent & immoral activity, you have also caused me a great deal of financial damage by putting this photo on your site.

If this photo is not off of your website within 24 hours, I will be contacting the FBI about the fraudulent activity that you are committing, plus I will be suing you for damages & you will be receiving a letter from my lawyers before the holidays begin. My lawyers are legally authorized to prosecute in Canada, and I will also be pursuing jail time for you as well.

Furthermore, I will be automatically scouring every single page of your entire website every single day to ensure that you never use a photo of mine again.

You should be ashamed of yourself for ever existing on this planet. I don't know how you can look yourself in the mirror in the morning.

Scott

[scotty321]

Also, I wanted to point out that the photo on his website of his "retail store" is actually Creative Computers in Santa Monica, California.

[scotty321]

It seems like his website is being hosted by look.ca. The only page I can find that has some sort of an email address for security complaints is on this page:
<http://look.ca/e/legal/moderator.htm>

Here's the letter I sent:

A customer of look.ca is using your web servers to perpetrate international fraud on dozens of customers.
Macintosh Fraud Alert!

A man named Derald Dutchak, the owner of MacWhizShop, in Barnaby, Canada, is a fraud and has a website claiming to sell brand new Macs at discounted prices by buying from auctions and closing businesses.

His website is:
http://www.macwhi**********/

I was alerted to this man because he is FRAUDULENTLY using a photograph of me and Steve Jobs on his website (click on "About Us" at the bottom of the site), and is pretending that he is me. He clearly stole this photograph off of my own website. The photo of his supposed "retail store" is another fraudulent photograph -- ripped off from Creative Computers in Santa Monica, California.

I was not one of his financial victims, but it appears that there are many victims who order a Macintosh from him and never receive it. He claims to have a problem with your VISA -- says if you would like to pay by another method, he will ship once funds are confirmed.

Once money has been received - nothing. He then stalls people by saying it's on back order, doesn't reply to anyone, no matter how many emails you send. There are many people that have been victims, and are exchanging information and support on the MacRumors.com forums located here:
<http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41856>

I have already sent him a letter threatening legal action for fraudulently using my photo and claiming to be me.

[lildancer]

Hi all you Crime Fighters!

I am Donna Temple (lildancer) who notified Scott Rose (Scotty321)
of his photo fraud by Derald Dutchak.

But I really want to give huge thanks to Anibalcascais for awesome investigative work in catching the false photo. This is actual and blantant proof that this guy is a fraud, and he's pretty stupid to think that he could pull something like that off without it being discovered by true Mac gurus.
But more than that, it was an important break in getting this guy stopped and hopefully some justice being done.

I have also submitted a claim to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center,
ifccfbi.gov. They are asking for more victims. If you want to add to my claim, please log on to complaint# 103121502366053, password:boqofu

Good job everyone. Lets hope we can get our money back and stope his reign of fraud.

[jxyama]

scott -

thank you very much for taking your time dealing with this. i believe you have much better access to useful resources (lawyers, public figure status, viable business and clear personal and business damages from his use of your picture) than many of us.

even though you are an innocent bystander drawn into the mess because of the scum's identity theft, i am sure many of us appreciate your effort. i'm waiting for that site to come down now and this guy to be caught...

[grafikat]

I would suggest also contacting his hosting company look.ca (http://www.look.ca/e/corp/index.html) Other information on his hosting/domain: http://www.whois.sc/macwhi**********

And PLEASE contact the royal mounties!
http://www.rcmp.ca/scams/scams_e.htm

[c1pher]

could also bring him down with a good ol' fashioned Slashdotting, if it makes it into a article posting there :)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by grafikat
[B]I would suggest also contacting his hosting company look.ca (http://www.look.ca/e/corp/index.html) Other information on his hosting/domain: http://www.whois.sc/macwhi**********

[scotty321]

I posted this news story on MacSlash, I suppose I should do it on SlashDot as well.

[scotty321]

Hey, I just wanted to say, what an incredible community the Macintosh community is. I mean, the sheer savviness of that one Macintosh guy who recognized my photo and decided to do a Google Image Search to track dwn the real photo. Amazing!!

[scotty321]

Oh yeah, one other thing! I forgot to mention that Derald just emailed me back and has the HUBRIS to claim that it is HIM in the photograph! Here's the thread:

==================

From: Scott Rose
To: Derald Dutchak <derald@macwhi**********>

Excellent. You've just incriminated yourself via email for identity theft. That is a felony, by the way.

Derald Dutchak (MAC Whiz) at macshopz@macwhi********** wrote:

>
>
> Are you playing games with me? I will call the police you fraudster!
> You think I don't know who I am...
>
> Derald
>
>
> Scott Rose <scott@scottworld.com> said:
>
>> If you're going to play like that, we'll just talk when you're behind bars.
>> My lawyer is already on top of writing you a cease & desist letter.
>>
>> Derald Dutchak (MAC Whiz) at macshopz@macwhi********** wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> What are you talking about?
>>>
>>>
>>> Scott Rose <scott@scottworld.com> said:
>>>
>>>> Derald,
>>>>
>>>> You have 24 hours to remove the FRAUDULENT photo claiming to be you &
> Steve
>>>> Jobs off of your website. As you know, you have stolen that photo from
> my
>>>> website, and you are trying to perpetrate identity theft against me by
>>>> stealing my idenitity. Due to your fraudulent & immoral activity, you
> have
>>>> also caused me a great deal of financial damage by putting this photo on
>>>> your site.
>>>>
>>>> If this photo is not off of your website within 24 hours, I will be
>>>> contacting the FBI about the fraudulent activity that you are committing,
>>>> plus I will be suing you for damages & you will be receiving a letter
> from
>>>> my lawyers before the holidays begin. My lawyers are legally authorized
> to
>>>> prosecute in Canada, and I will also be pursuing jail time for you as
> well.
>>>>
>>>> Furthermore, I will be automatically scouring every single page of your
>>>> entire website every single day to ensure that you never use a photo of
> mine
>>>> again.
>>>>
>>>> You should be ashamed of yourself for ever existing on this planet. I
> don't
>>>> know how you can look yourself in the mirror in the morning.
>>>>
>>>> Scott
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Scott Rose
>>>> President, ScottWorld
>>>> Software. Speaking. Solutions. Since 1992.
>>>>
>>>> (323) 954-1978
>>>> (253) 736-7627 fax
>>>> http://www.scottworld.com
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Derald Dutchak
>>> MAC Whiz
>>> President/Owner
>>> derald@macwhi**********
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Scott Rose
>> President, ScottWorld
>> Software. Speaking. Solutions. Since 1992.
>>
>> (323) 954-1978
>> (253) 736-7627 fax
>> http://www.scottworld.com
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Derald Dutchak
> MAC Whiz
> President/Owner
> derald@macwhi**********
>
>


--
Scott Rose
President, ScottWorld
Software. Speaking. Solutions. Since 1992.

(323) 954-1978
(253) 736-7627 fax
http://www.scottworld.com

[chirag]

well, he took out that picture of scott from his site, but he still shows the picuture of "his" retails store... there's change in the address also in last few days.. earlier it used to be

342-6540 E. Hastings St.
Burnaby, BC V6B 4Z5
Canada

now its

8959 W. 10th Ave
Suite #502
Vancouver, BC V6B 3F8
Canada

i wonder what this guy is upto.. seems too smart, but also greedy..

hats off to those experts on this forum who're doing amazing work even if they're not victims.. keep up the fight..!!

chirag

[JustAGuy]

I'd believe the first one. At least it's a real address. The actual postal code for 6540 East Hastings (real building) is V5B 4Z5.

8959 W. 10th Ave is a fictional address, as W10th in Vancouver ends very promptly at around 4600. If it really did go for another 43 blocks west, you'd be quite a ways out in the Straight of Georgia...

[ovrdrvn]

I'd suggest that any further info be passed to those interested via private message. The likelihood that he monitors this forum at this point is high...why give him any more information about what we know.

[jxyama]

Originally posted by ovrdrvn
I'd suggest that any further info be passed to those interested via private message. The likelihood that he monitors this forum at this point is high...why give him any more information about what we know.

well, even if he sees all this, there's nothing he can do. as the prev. poster said, he likely has given away his real address before faking to another one. and we have one very resourseful person taking legal action against him due to his stupidity in stealing scott rose's picture.

i'd say share away. more people know what's going on, more likely we will come up with means to get this guy. the only thing to watch out for is another case of jamekurtis - the scammer himself or a collaborator posting something bogus here to confuse us.

[anibalcascais]

Hi,

I Just want to say that I'm very happy that I could've be of some assistance in tracking the picture and clarifying this subject. I don't know how US Laws work in this matters, but there should some way of taking the site down (any mac users lawyers there?).
Oh! I'm not a Mac user, by the way; just a mac fan and future user (When $$$ isn't a problem anymore :) Hey, maybe I deserve a Mac as a gift now ;) (just kidding)
Keep up the good work y'all

Scotty:
I'm glad that, at least this whole image issue was resolved. Maybe you could contact that mac reseller you mentioned about their image on macwhiz?

Thanks,
Anibal

[rlhubley]

This sucks! This kind of behavoir is shows mankind at one it's lowest lows, IMHO. I would just like to say to anyone who has been screwed, call your credit card company IMMEDIATLY! You have a certain amount of days to conduct a chargeback(which i think protects you for the full amount minus $50), i think you have 90 days. After that period has passed, your money is gone!!!!! That is why this jerk is stalling so hard. If he can get you to wait long enough, he gets paid. What an a-hole.

One more reminder. Apple sells their products through themselves and through authorized Apple retailers ONLY. This should be reported to Apple IMMEDIATLY as well. Those who have been screwed, contact Apple and make them aware of this guy. Their legal team could, and probably would, take care of this guy.

[chirag]

the guy is smarter than what we think.. thats why he recommends wire transfer and even if you try with credit card, as one person did, he'll say there's some problem with it, and so you better send money by wire transfer.

[Thargok]

This is what I got...

Whois info for, macwhi**********:


Registrant:
MAC WHIZ COMPUTERS
342-6540 E. Hastings St.
Burnaby, BC V5B 4Z5
CA

Domain name: MACWHI**********

Administrative Contact:
Dutchak, Derald macshopz@yahoo.com
342-6540 E. Hastings St.
Burnaby, BC V5B 4Z5
CA
604-608-3539 Fax: 604-608-3539

Technical Contact:
Dutchak, Derald macshopz@yahoo.com
342-6540 E. Hastings St.
Burnaby, BC V5B 4Z5
CA
604-608-3539 Fax: 604-608-3539

Sorry to those who have been scammed.

[lildancer]

I agree with keeping this info in the open for the benefit of the victims. If this hadn't happened, I wouldn't have known about the bogus picture which was blantant fraud that when researched, gave us all an even strong case with the authourities. If I hadn't seen if from Anibal, I wouldn't have looked into it myself and contacted Scott Rose.

Power is in communication and strength is in numbers. I think the more we share the more info we have to empower ourselves, and to hopefully get justice. I'm really proud of our Crimefighting team! Besides that, when you share info as to who to contact for making claims, all the victims benefit.

Great job everyone! Even the non-mac user!!!!

[rlhubley]

Just my thoughts....


... Don't EVER buy on a wire transfer!! That's crazy! do NOT do it!

Use a credit card or a visa check card. That why we have those, they protect us(ironic, isn't, those who take so much of our money and make us so angry actually can PROTECT us. )

[Raid]

Originally posted by chirag
there's change in the address also in last few days.. earlier it used to be

342-6540 E. Hastings St.
Burnaby, BC V6B 4Z5
Canada

now its

8959 W. 10th Ave
Suite #502
Vancouver, BC V6B 3F8
Canada

I've been following this thread and decided to add my $0.02. I looked up the postal code here on Canada Post's website (http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pcl/bin/default-e.asp). The first code belongs to a Mailboxes Etc. store, and the other address (including a reverse postal code lookup (http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pcl/bin/range-e.asp) doesn't exist).

I would join in the chorus of others and ask that people who have been defrauded by this company contact the RCMP, their credit card company and Apple Canada.

I'm all for shutting this guy down if he's trying to rip people off. :mad:

[krimson]

For those in the USA, and were victimized, i'd make a small suggestion, try signing up with Pre Paid Legal (http://www.prepaidlegal.com) , it's $20/month (no contract, and service is immediate), and you should get all the legal counsel, and some other services without charge (certified letters, etc). Court fees are at a discounted rate.

[Haddock]

Guys - great work, this is true synergy.

I'm from Holland, one of the MacWhiz victims as well... I was wondering - in Holland it is possible to block someones bank account legally through an attorney. Is this also possible in Canada? I mean..this is the place where our money is! Maybe this has to be our priority. I'm also trying to establish this to a lawyer over here, but that will take a lot of time/money because it concerns another (non-european) country.

Well, just a thought.

Let's keep up the good work!

I'm in for a 1.079 US$ :( The bastard!

[cbz38a]

I started asking questions about this MACWHIZ on this forum a month ago. I am glad I did. I would also suggest caution with using ESCROW services on any future purchases. I was almost taken in a scam involving an ESCROW service that also required a wire transfer in order to do business. Did I mention they were located overseas? Everything sounded legit, but the wire transfer angle and there location bothered me. The seller and the escrow service were actually either working together or the same person. Spend the extra few bucks and buy from a well known source, you will be glad you did.

[scotty321]

A friendly Mac user posted on MacSlash.com, saying that he lives in Barnaby, Canada, and would be willing to help out if he can. Perhaps he can deal with local police authorities on the people's behalf who were scammed? Here's his posting:
<http://macslash.org/comments.pl?sid=4068&op=&threshold=-1&commentsort=0&mode=thread&pid=60777#60789>

[G4Store]

Originally posted by furryyuri
Has anyone noticed their website looks just like www.g4store.com??

I sent them an email asking about shipping Monday the 24th which they answered late at night. I also called and left a message with other questions plus sent 2 other emails with my phone number, but got no response. Then I emailed Wednesday to complain about the lack of response. I'd also like to know if anyone's bought from them, they have the best price on what I want. I only found them because of their google ad. I think it's weird they mention a retail store and have a picture but no name or address.

After what I've just read, I guess I'll avoid them...


At The G4 Store, we have been approached by the media about this subject, and have been alarmed at what we've been reading about in message boards and forums.

In fact, we have just posted a news alert on our website at:

http://www.g4store.com/news/alert/

Needless to say, this Vancouver website is in NO way affiliated with The G4 Store or any of its partners, subsidiaries, etc. If a few of our great customers had not spoken up about the similarities, or started asking these questions, it could have easily slipped in under the radar.

We have also posted a quick checklist that can help when purchasing computers or software online. It's always important to deal with a reputable company... one that actually answers the telephone during normal business hours.

Please contact us if you have any additional information about these individuals, as we are exploring all of our legal options at this point. And thank you, Mac Rumors readers, for bringing this to our attention.

Sincerely,
Scott Carr
Founder, The G4 Store
www.g4store.com

The G4 Store, a subsidiary of SaveWealth Internet and Media

[jxyama]

wow. no wonder the macwhizshop looks well done... it just ripped off a well established store design!

ok, this guy needs to be busted. he is pathetic. i hope things progress along for a good conclusion in the near future...

[lildancer]

Wow!!!!

This gave me chills! This guy is amazing to think he can rip off other people's identity and complete web site, and not get caught! That means his web host company is also involved in the scam.

When I was shopping formy G4, the G4 Store never came up in the search, otherwise I would have caught this last month when I ordered my! I'm so glad that those he's ripping off like Scott Rose and the G4 Store are taking notice and taking steps to join us in our fight.

I have sent 6 emails in the past two weeks to Derald regarding the staus of my order or refund and have never heard a thing.

[cbz38a]

The best thing all of the victims can do is to get together ASAP and also file with their local Police. You can then send copies of the Police report to the person who is taking the lead in fighting this guy and bringing him and his website down. Believe me, it works. Me and several others victims did this and successfully tracked and caught another thief in Pismo Beach California a few years ago. We were lucky and got our money back after awhile. Good luck!! If sharing my experience can help you, let me know.

[garydj]

I tried to order a 20" display from MacWhiz. They responded to my email and claimed to have 7 in stock. Then the fun started. I received an email that my credit card had been declined, and it would be best if I sent a money order or bank transfer to complete the deal. I knew that was not possible and checked with the credit card company to see if they had ever tried to charge my card. They had not.

Needless to say, I did not send them any money. I think it is a scam.

Avoid MacWhiz!

[_tripper22]

It appears Mr. Dutchak has changed his site format for some inexplicable reason, so that it no longer is an exact replica of g4store.com. who's going to sponsor some prizes for the first person to find which site Dutchak has copied this time?

[baw]

Click this, http://www.macwhi**********/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi

You get the old (COPIED) site. :rolleyes:

[neilah]

Hi, everyone. I hate when fellow Apple customers get scammed, so let me add some elbow grease to this saga.

Mac Whiz's FAQ page states:

Q: Do you charge tax?

A: No sales tax unless you order is shipped to an address in Washington State.


Not terribly surprising, but according to the searches I have just performed at the State of Washington's Department of Revenue's Public Records Database (http://prd.dor.wa.gov/), there is no "MacWhiz" or "Mac Whiz" entity licensed by the State of Washington to collect sales tax.

And as we'd suspect, there is no business owner named "Derald Dutchak" who appears in the same database. The last name 'Dutchak' alone also received no matches.

The only hits I got were for the first name 'Derald', and they are:

DERALD S MARTIN CO
TACOMA

DERALD OLDENBURG CONSTRUCTION
OLYMPIA

DERALDS REPAIR
BATTLEGROUND

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by _tripper22
It appears Mr. Dutchak has changed his site format for some inexplicable reason, so that it no longer is an exact replica of g4store.com. who's going to sponsor some prizes for the first person to find which site Dutchak has copied this time?

They're still using elements of the G4Store's design. For instance, on the front page:


"Supersized" PowerBook graphic and text
Airport Extreme image and text


They even use Apple's layout for the individual product pages...so lame...

[superkatalog]

i think it is just incredible that the guy continues his 'business'... with a 'new' designed site... after all... with the stolen pictures and so on. in the new design he has removed the 'store' picture too...

[neilah]

MAC Whiz corporate offices are located in Vancouver, BC, which includes a 2,500 sq. ft. Retail Store. MAC Whiz also operates a Warehouse distribution Center in Blaine, WA from which all orders are shipped.

Okay.

Blaine, WA. City of Blaine website. (http://www.ci.blaine.wa.us/)

From the City of Blaine website: "Blaine [is] located on I-5, 108 miles north of Seattle and 35 miles south of Vancouver, B.C."

Located right on the border, Blaine is here: http://www.aspenleaf.com/eClassroom/images/blaine_wa_map.gif

According to this site: http://blainewa.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm, Blaine has a population of 3770 people.

Some important numbers:

Blaine City Hall
344 H. St.
(360) 332-8311

Blaine Police
344 H. St.
(360) 332-6769

The folks at city hall were very helpful -- what you'd expect from a small town. The woman who handles business licensing said that it's quite common for Canadians to run businesses across the border in their city. She said they have some warehouses in town, but didn't remember any particular business license application that sounded similar to what we're talking about.

She said she didn't know of a warehouse that might be shipping Apple computer product across the world, but also said that not all business licenses are so specific or so detailed in their intended uses.

She kindly wished us luck.

[neilah]

From their shipping page:

All items are shipped via FedEx Ground.

and...

We ship Monday through Friday from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM PST. Our last pickup time is 5:30 PM PST.


All items are shipped from our warehouse in Blaine, Washington USA.



Blaine, WA's only zip codes are 98230 and 98231, according to the USPS.

FedEx says that the latest time of day that FedEx can perform a scheduled pickup in these zip codes is 3:00p.

After that, the only other way to ship your package is to drive to Bellingham, WA (about 21.5 miles, 26 minute drive) to drop off your package at a FedEx Service Center no later than 5:00p.

[Counterfit]

Man, I checked here when there were about 30 posts or so in this thread. I was wondering why it was still on the front page so much. Now that I found out, go get the ****er!

[lildancer]

Hey, has anyone tried connecting to MacSlash today?

I just tried a while ago and it took forever to connect, then I got a connection failure notice? Seems sort of strange....

[macwhiz]

Please don't confuse "MAC Whiz," the recently-opened online store discussed in this thread, with "MacWhiz Technologies," my consulting business.

I'm not associated with Dutchak's operation in any way. He chose a name that's very similar to my company's name. I've owned macwhiz.com for over five years. Unfortunately, it seems like it's rather difficult to prosecute a domain-name trademark infringement, especially when the infringer is in a different country.

I've received several e-mails from confused "MAC Whiz" customers wondering what's happening with their order. Based on the nature of the messages I've received, I don't think I would trust "MAC Whiz" to fulfill my computer-shopping needs.

Rob Levandowski
owner, MacWhiz Technologies
East Granby, CT, USA

[Thargok]

Anybody up for organizing a DoS attack on macwhi**********?

Can somebody say Apple Copyright Infringement? (http://www.macwhi**********/powerbook.htm)

http://www.apple.com/legal/default.html

I am contacting Apple with this information now, and Jobs has liked the best lawyers since that Windows 1.0 crap from back in the day.

[Thargok]

I have contacted Apple on the issue...

<< Over the past few months the url www.Macwhi********** has been scamming people out of their money, and illegally using copyright material. After finding out that their copyright infringement of www.G4store.com was discovered, they have changed their website. In an attempt to bring the thief to justice, I was browsing 'his new' website and discovered that he is illegally using images and a layout similar to that of the Apple Store.

I have brought this to your attention, not only because of the copyright issues; but because this criminal is attacking your consumers. Hopefully together we can bring this petty thief to justice.

-A*********s

Further info on this issue can be found at,

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41856&perpage=25&pagenumber=1 >>

Then...

<<Thank you for contacting Apple's Copyright Dept. We will investigate and take appropriate action. For further information, please review Apple's Legal Information & Notices/Claims of Copyright Infringement at:
www.apple.com/legal/claimsofcopyright.html

Please note that Apple will be shut down for the holidays from Dec. 24th - Jan. 2, 2004.>>

[ovrdrvn]

All of the information: Apple attorneys, G4, Scott, ISPs etc. has been already shared with all those it needs to be. I've suggested this a few times, but if anyone has any other relevant and/or new information please don't post it publicly. PM myself, a moderator etc. I have a lot of information...far more than has been exposed here. If you can verify who you are with me, I'll share what I can.

[macwhiz]

Mr. Dutchak is quick, but not terribly swift.

In the brief hours since my previous posting, he has already visited my website and sent me what appears to be a prefab DMCA notice. In other words, he has accused me of violating his copyright on "Mac Whiz."

Considering the comments made by others on this forum regarding Dutchak's website, I find the claim quite ironic.

It is patently false, and a total misapplication of the DMCA.

Perhaps he should consult a lawyer about the meaning of "copyright."

In the meantime, I'm certainly not about to alter one thing on my website.

[Counterfit]

I think you would be interested in this link (http://www.somethingawful.com/legal/) A humorous distraction regarding a situation (or several) similar to yours. Enjoy! :D

[lildancer]

I finally got a reply from Derald today after I expressed, again, my frustration regarding no communication, no computer and no refund.

His response:
Donna,

Refund is on it's way.

Thanks for your patience.


Derald


I'll believe it when I see it. He clearly has no computers to ship. I contacted BofA this morning, and yes, OVRDRVN, I am sure that we are probably duplicating what has already been done.

We are all fighting this guy together and there is more than one way to skin a cat!

[scotty321]

Originally posted by macwhiz In the brief hours since my previous posting, he has already visited my website and sent me what appears to be a prefab DMCA notice. In other words, he has accused me of violating his copyright on "Mac Whiz."

Derald doesn't have one legal foot to stand on. He likes to send out empty threats. Plus, Derald Dutchak is probably not his real name anyways. The best thing that could happen would be for him to (laughably) try to pursue any legal action against anybody -- that would be one way of finding his true identity. I, for one, won't rest until he is behind bars.

[lildancer]

Thanks Scott for continuing to be one of our many crusaders for justice. You too were a victim, and it's nice to know there is someone on the "inside" and has a strong affiliation with Apple, its intities and contacts, as well as your own legal team. Thanks for staying involved. It helps all of us.

[Gabriel]

Wow. This guys chutzpah is pretty incredible. I hope you guys nail the bastard.

I wonder if perhaps talking with Blaine WA officials and the RCMP is going in the wrong direction? This guy has lied so much there's absolutely no reason to believe he's actually from Canada at all. He could have just found the address of a Mailboxes Etc. somewhere and slapped it on his website. I noticed that the IP for the fake post here comes from a DSL line in Amarillo TX, perhaps he's located there?

Thinking that this guy might have tried something this sophisticated before I searched LexisNexis for anything similar to the incident described. I didn't find anything, but I probably wasn't searching precisely enough.

Good luck.

[lildancer]

You're all probably right. I think that going thru B of A might be the best bet, because those of us that have sent him money, sent it to that bank in Blaine.
Probably the only place that has real info on him. We have the banks physical address and his bank account #. I contacted them earlier today, because I am a Bof A customer too, letting them know they have a customer that is committing fraud at their branch.

[Thirteenva]

Maybe a sting operation is in order. Someone set up a "fake" order and agree to mail a money order to a certain location, and then hand deliver the money order to that location along with some mounted police.

[Gabriel]

I know a lot of us are very curious about how this investigation will progress, but since it seems like this guy (or an accomplice) has read this thread it would be a bad idea to plan things like a sting operation here.

[ovrdrvn]

As before, the above poster is SO right. I'm glad everyone is bonding as I'm a victim too and quite upset. HOWEVER, by posting and discussing this you are in no way helping the authorities. If you really think that you are trained enough to track down international economic fraud cases, run down to your local FBI office and apply. I suggest you all contact those that are equipped to handle this and find out if I'm right...I know already what the answer is. Feel free to email me or PM as I said before...but if you want him caught, stay out of the amateur detective business.

[lildancer]

Hmmm, let's see...all of the people that had their photos and website ripped were not privy to this information before it was posted here and they were personally notifed. They themselves thanked people here, not the authorities, (not to mention alerting Apple also), which added to the list of victims and charges against this guy.

This is a public forum for the benefit of all, not to be controlled by a few.

I think OVRDRVN, you're missing a key point: Macwhizshop's website was changed but not shut down. Derald obviously is still trying to do business, even after being personally confronted by his victims, Scott Rose, the G4 Store, the retail store he ripped the photo of from, and all of us that he has defrauded, and the other macwhiz.com.

He has been confronted personally, by all of us and is clearly uneffected by threats of notifying the authorities and legal action. I just don't get what your big concern about sharing info here is. We aren't sharing anything that hasn't been told to him directly-and he's still doing business!

[ovrdrvn]

Most people (or certainly quite a lot) have agreed with me and contacted me. If some people think that the appropriate thing to do is to keep playing amateur detective rather than giving any new information directly to the appropriate authorities, then I guess they will do that. I do suggest that if you haven't contacted me with your case if you are a victim, do your research and get your information where it needs to be. If you want this guy caught...don't think that we are all necessarily smarter than he is. Have a little faith that some people are trained to handle things like this...help catch him, don't help him.

[jxyama]

Originally posted by ovrdrvn
As before, the above poster is SO right. I'm glad everyone is bonding as I'm a victim too and quite upset. HOWEVER, by posting and discussing this you are in no way helping the authorities. If you really think that you are trained enough to track down international economic fraud cases, run down to your local FBI office and apply. I suggest you all contact those that are equipped to handle this and find out if I'm right...I know already what the answer is. Feel free to email me or PM as I said before...but if you want him caught, stay out of the amateur detective business.

while i understand your sentiment, one of the primary reasons we've made the progress so far was because one observant member noticed scott rose's picture. that would not have been possible had we not discussed this issue in public.

i understand your sentiment about him or his accomplise reading this site - but i doubt it changes anything. all the changes he's made to his site is primarily (i highly suspect) due to very formal complaint filed by scott rose and the g4shop. he's probably not responding to info on this site ("oh crap, these guys are onto me!"). if he's audacious enough to counter both scott rose and g4shop and claim he is the victim, i have no reason to believe he cares much about what a bunch of rumor site members are discussing.

whether he will know it or not, i highly advise against making direct contact with him in person or doing a sting operation. that is stupid - i applaude wanting to take this matter into your own hands - but that far more dangerous than discussing things here. those things should truly be left up to the authorities. in fact, even if you can "nail" him in action, none of us have the authority to do much about it - we are not police officers.

again, i understand your sentiment, but i personally believe it will serve all of us better by keeping this issue somewhat public so we will have access to the brains and resources of many more than just the victims discussing issues amongst themselves. specifics of your contact with the authority and your victim status should be kept private, of course... that is none of public's business. however, like a poster said before, pretty much everything we've discussed here and found useful, the scum himself have heard already. i just don't see what the paranoia is about.

however, i believe the public has every right to hear about this case, at least until the site is shut down and there will not be any more victims.

[Gabriel]

Yes, we are all amateurs in the detective business, but I think that a large group of people with different backgrounds and experiences can notice a lot more and make a lot more progress than even a professional. However, you're right, we don't want to tip this guy off or compromise any legitimate investigation. Maybe the solution is to set up a private thread or an email list or something so that this guys victims can share information securely.

[ovrdrvn]

All the posted information was known by the authorities. The fact that Scott and the G4 store were notified through here and confronted him while looking like it has made some progress in getting to him...it hasn't and I do emphasize again, if you don't believe me...call the authorities...look them up yourself. There has been one piece of information here that shouldn't have been leaked as it may well have given him a clue about how to cover his tracks. He may be arrogant, but he isn't that stupid. By having a group of amateurs try to crack the case, we are being somewhat arrogant in thinking that we know better than professionals with years of training. That said, if my word means nothing...call those that handle these cases, tell them what you are calling about and see if I'm right. There is absolutely no value to discussing issues of this case here. Other than victims who haven't known what to do until coming here (which IS the great value of this forum) I think if the posters who keep claiming that public discussion is so helpful would due their due dilligence...they would probably stop encouraging this behavior.

[neilah]

Originally posted by Gabriel
[snip]Maybe the solution is to set up a private thread or an email list or something so that this guys victims can share information securely.

Sounds like a private P2P network.

And I thought I'd never think of a good reason to want one!

[ovrdrvn]

If someone wants to make a suggestion about the most secure and compatible app to do this with, we can all share ideas after being verified. Those that have contacted me have been given my real name, phone number and where I am. (After showing me that they are who they claimed to be). If we want to put our collective minds together in an attempt to be helpful as well as share the anger and frustration, I say great.

[jxyama]

if authorities are on this case in such a way that amateurs on this site can come up the same tactic, i see no reason how it would have worked regardless of the "leaks." if they are professionals and have access to much greater resources than us amateurs, then i'd really hope they will conduct their investigation in far more effective fashion than what mere rumor site members can come up with on our spare time.

that said, i'm not really interested in cracking the case. i just want that website torn down so there will be no more victims. i also don't have much interest in nosing into what authorities are up to either - that, is more of a waste of their time.

the only thing authorities have over hundreds of collective brains is just that - authority to take action against this guy. their knowledge, esp. involving technology, is probably nowhere near the collective knowledge on this site. follow slashdot - no one govt/authority body can collect that much information as that site does in a matter of minutes.

if you have contact with the authority, tell them to hurry up and take concrete action. (i sure hope they are getting there.) macwhiz whipped up a free shipping promotion - more and more people will be scammed now and this guys is not going away.

that is another thing - authorities are usually prone to bureaucratic delays. no amout of hush-hush in public can help that...

finally, our of the respect to the victims, i will shut up now. overdrvn - i admire your efforts but i do not know if you have the right to basically represent all the victims. if the only discussions were taking place between the victims already identified, how would new victims become aware of this issue?

that said, good bye and i wish all the victims a somehow better ending in the near future.

[lildancer]

Kuddos! I totally agree. Everyone is totally free to share info privately and that is great too. But if new victims saw this website today, and didn't know the history like we do, they may think that its a safe site. As long as its up, and people order from him, we need to keep new victims aware also.

If others are like me, I never came upon this until a month after ordering, and I only came across it when I did a search for his website. In Nov. I searched
sites under Macwhizshop looking for complaints and found nothing, so I figure d it must be legit. We don't have to disclose everything here, but the format still needs to be open. I bet there are hundreds if not more people out there that don't even know about his site and victim support, and wondering "where in the heck is my computer?"

[kanker]

One thing I would encourage all of you to do is to link to this thread whenever possible. I know that this is probably not the only Mac forum that you frequent, so whenever you see any threads that ask about deals being too good, is this legit, etc..., be active. When this thread was just one or two pages long I linked to it twice on MacNN threads from people who were probably within a day of commiting their money to this theif and hopefully stopped a few others who saw the prices as a result of those threads from buying too. I hope some of you have done the same and wish those of you who have been defrauded luck in getting satisfaction.

[dtwolfe]

Originally posted by Thargok
This is what I got...

Whois info for, macwhi**********:


Registrant:
MAC WHIZ COMPUTERS
342-6540 E. Hastings St.
Burnaby, BC V5B 4Z5
CA

Domain name: MACWHI**********

Administrative Contact:
Dutchak, Derald macshopz@yahoo.com
342-6540 E. Hastings St.
Burnaby, BC V5B 4Z5
CA
604-608-3539 Fax: 604-608-3539

Technical Contact:
Dutchak, Derald macshopz@yahoo.com
342-6540 E. Hastings St.
Burnaby, BC V5B 4Z5
CA
604-608-3539 Fax: 604-608-3539

Sorry to those who have been scammed.

He's updated his registry entry (Dec. 16) new info:

Registrars.
Registrant:
MAC WHIZ COMPUTERS
8959 W. 10th Ave
Suite #502
Vancouver, BC V6B 3F8
CA

Domain name: MACWHI**********

Administrative Contact:
Dutchak, Derald macshopz@yahoo.com
8959 W. 10th Ave
Suite #502
Vancouver, BC V6B 3F8
CA
604-608-3539 Fax: 604-608-3539

Technical Contact:
Dutchak, Derald macshopz@yahoo.com
8959 W. 10th Ave
Suite #502
Vancouver, BC V6B 3F8
CA
604-608-3539 Fax: 604-608-3539

Registration Service Provider:
Look Communications Inc. / Easyhosting.com, postmaster@easyhosting.com
1-877-414-5665
This company may be contacted for domain login/passwords,
DNS/Nameserver changes, and general domain support questions.


Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC.
Record last updated on 16-Dec-2003.
Record expires on 01-Sep-2004.
Record Created on 01-Sep-2003.

Domain servers in listed order:
CNS1.IDIRECT.COM 207.136.100.41
CNS2.IDIRECT.COM 209.148.64.42

He appears to have both registered his domain and is hosting on easyhosting.com/looktown.com contact them immediately! They have the power to shut him down.

[dtwolfe]

I just sent the following email to postmaster@easyhosting.com, and urge others to send similar ones:

Please be advised that the person who has registered the domain www.macwhi********** may be operating a fraudulent business. Whois information seems to indicate that he has registered his domain with you and or uses your hosting services. I ask you to please take a look at his accounts and contact any necessary authorities if you determine his site is a fraud as many former customers have indicated on this bulletin board thread:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41856&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

I would like to state that I have not dealt with this person or his business, but have read the testimonials of those who have and looked at his website which offers goods at unrealistic prices and appears in someplace to contain pirated code, images, and other content form respectable businesses.

Thank you,



========================
Thanks to whoever posted a link on the TSS message board. I hope this is helpful to all those who were scammed.

[cbz38a]

Hey guys, you all make good points. Ovrdrvn is right in that the authorities should be involved at all pointsa with this. The rest of you are also right, the information on this website has helped a lot of people avoid that mess (like me). I would suggest some caution in putting too much information out there. If the guy loses his nerve and bails ... you lost him. No matter how much you tried and how sincere your efforts, you will lose him if you show he has the "whole" Mac world on his As_. You guys are all great in your "sleuthing" but the professionals (though slow as hell) are best equipped to properly nail him. All we do is enable him to disappear, haven't you guys seen "Catch me if you can"?

[dxp4acu]

Yeah, derald probably already knows way too much, and he knows there are people after him. It might be much harder to nail him now than it was before.

That being said, the way we can keep this thread going and yet have information flowing that he can't read is this: For those involved, start a private network/email to talk about it, and for those who do not know about it, someone can keep bumping this forum to the top of the list on the front of the macrumors website.

This way, others will still find out, but no new info will be leaked. It stinks that those of us not involved will not find out about it, but I would much rather be in the dark, if that meant Derald was in the dark as well. Go get 'em Mounties!!!

[jxyama]

i'm sorry, but i think there are some other points to consider.

i understand that i'm not a victim, so my perspective is different. but i think the first order of business is to shut down his site. it's the holiday season and every extra day that site is up on the internet leads to more and more people getting scammed. i understand the sentiment of victims wanting this guy busted and get their money back, but i am personally against that if that means "keeping quiet so he will keep on doing his business until authorities bust him."

to me, preventing future scams is the first order of business and if talking about it here will make him run (and thus shut down the site), then my goal would be accomplished.

i'm not interested in cracking the case. i just don't want any more victims. (of course, he could come back elsewhere... that is another issue... it's a fine line we have to walk, i guess...)

[Raid]

Reading these posts is getting quite amusing. First ovrdrvn, you may have the most nobel intentions of gathering information for the proper authorities, but for all we know you could be this Derald person, hell I could be Derald...

What we need to do is find a central authority that will handle victims information safely and securely. Is there an internet BBB?? ...I'll look for a Canadian authority on this and have a chat with my friend in a law firm to see what he knows about internet law.

<edit:> Check these sites out:
The Internet Fraud Complaint Centre (http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp) seems to be more internationaly based, and is backed/supported/teamed with the US government.
The RCMP Reporting Economic Crime Online (http://www.recol.ca/) is the system set up in Canada to report these types of crime.
Now which one is best?? Opinions?</edit>



To bottom line it for everyone, we should find the proper authority to report this to and direct all victims there.

The underlying theme of ovrdrvn is correct, the victims need to come forward. But sharing this kind of information with private individuals is not very effective, and pretty risky if you don't really know who your talking to.

Just one more thought before I grab lunch. Law enforcement officials could request account transactions to trace the withdrawls and deposits made in the companys name... The net can close around this guy and a fairly airtight case can be made.

Don't give up hope people.

[G4Store]

On behalf of The G4 Store, thank you again for everyone's assistance in this matter.

Despite the fact that the website in question has changed to a degree, that doesn't mean that our work is over. Rest assured we are working diligently on this matter and proceeding forward.

As some have noted, a public forum may not be the most appropriate place for everyone to exchange ideas. However, without the sheer power of a public forum, this entire issue may never have come to light.

To that end, we are hoping to privately collect data, ideas and experiences from people like you. If anyone has any additional information that they would like to share, please feel free to email us at:

alert@g4store.com

This is a special email that will be available for a limited time. Please include your contact information so that we may respond to you as quickly as possble. Some wonderful people have already done so, and are already helping us in our efforts.

Thank you again.

Scott Carr
Founder, The G4 Store
www.g4store.com

The G4 Store, a subsidiary of SaveWealth Internet and Media

[winwintoo]

Originally posted by Raid
Reading these posts is getting quite amusing. First ovrdrvn, you may have the most nobel intentions of gathering information for the proper authorities, but for all we know you could be this Derald person, hell I could be Derald...


The same thought crossed my mind - no ovrdrvn, you did nothing to make me suspicious - I'm just suspicious by nature.

If there's going to internet crime, I, as a Canadian, would prefer that no Canadians are involved.

Get him
M:cool:

[Raid]

Originally posted by G4Store
To that end, we are hoping to privately collect data, ideas and experiences from people like you. If anyone has any additional information that they would like to share, please feel free to email us at:

alert@g4store.com

Ok I think this is a step in the right direction. First we know that the g4store is a valid and reputable company that has involved itself because it too has been victimized by this person. Second Scott has pretty much confirmed his identity or at least proven he can make an email account with the g4store domain... ;)

Thanks Scott I really do think you are who you say you are. :) I would still stress to people that when emailing your experiences keep certain things like your account and credit card #'s out of the posts, ball-park the amount you paid... and to paraphrase Joe Friday 'post just the facts'. Also keep contact information to a minimum until the proper authorities come asking for it, and then give them all the evidence you can. Check out the links in my post above, they have instrcutions on what to do.

[G4Store]

Originally posted by Raid
Ok I think this is a step in the right direction. First we know that the g4store is a valid and reputable company that has involved itself because it too has been victimized by this person. Second Scott has pretty much confirmed his identity or at least proven he can make an email account with the g4store domain... ;)

Thanks Scott I really do think you are who you say you are. :) I would still stress to people that when emailing your experiences keep certain things like your account and credit card #'s out of the posts, ball-park the amount you paid... and to paraphrase Joe Friday 'post just the facts'. Also keep contact information to a minimum until the proper authorities come asking for it, and then give them all the evidence you can. Check out the links in my post above, they have instrcutions on what to do.

Raid, thank you very much for the clarification and vote of confidence. You are absolutely correct. When sending email to our alert@g4store.com address, please do not provide any secure information such as credit cards, social security, etc. We also do not want bank information; just basic contact information and your general experience would be helpful.

Thank you again for your assistance.

Sincerely,
Scott Carr
Founder, The G4 Store
www.g4store.com

The G4 Store, a subsidiary of SaveWealth Internet and Media

[winwintoo]

I'm sure you've all thought of this already. Those of you who gave this creep your credit card number........well, you gave him your credit card number. I know what I'd be doing first thing.


m

[rob_chemist]

My guess is that they are not legit and are a total scam. I tried to but a computer through them, and lets just say their actions were suspect to say the least. I ordered a computer, as with the educator discount they give, the prices were unbeatable. I ordered with a credit card, and asked about a day later if the order had gone through (via Email). I received an Email back from them stating that they tried to use the credit card, but it didn't go through - more on the rest of the Email in a moment. Anyway, I called my credit card company to see what was going on, and they said that they had no one had made an inquiry on that account - I hadn't charged anything to that account in several months. Rather odd, to say the least. Anyway, after saying that my credit card did not go through, the Macwhizshop did say I could expedite things by doing a wire transfer of the funds to their account (or send them a cashiers check!). Also, the name on the account for the wire transfer was not that of the company, but an individual. I didn't send the funds, as it smells like a total scam (foreign company, only want cash, etc.).

[chirag]

you can still find some old pages on macwhizshop copied from G4store.com like this

http://www.macwhi**********/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?keywords=50089613

basically, if you try to place some order, you'll see pages that are still same as G4store. that guy has just changed the outer look. i would like to hear what G4store is doing in this regard and what's the progress - if not in public, then in private. i'm a victim of macwhi********** and can verify my identity.

Chirag
Student
UMass Amherst

[jxyama]

Originally posted by rob_chemist
My guess is that they are not legit and are a total scam. I tried to but a computer through them, and lets just say their actions were suspect to say the least. I ordered a computer, as with the educator discount they give, the prices were unbeatable. I ordered with a credit card, and asked about a day later if the order had gone through (via Email). I received an Email back from them stating that they tried to use the credit card, but it didn't go through - more on the rest of the Email in a moment. Anyway, I called my credit card company to see what was going on, and they said that they had no one had made an inquiry on that account - I hadn't charged anything to that account in several months. Rather odd, to say the least. Anyway, after saying that my credit card did not go through, the Macwhizshop did say I could expedite things by doing a wire transfer of the funds to their account (or send them a cashiers check!). Also, the name on the account for the wire transfer was not that of the company, but an individual. I didn't send the funds, as it smells like a total scam (foreign company, only want cash, etc.).

please read at least some of the thread before posting. we've gone far past the point where we are trying to determine if this is legit or not.

it is a scam and i'm glad you didn't get victimized.

[Counterfit]

Originally posted by rob_chemist
My guess is that they are not legit and are a total scam. I tried to but a computer through them, and lets just say their actions were suspect to say the least. I ordered a computer, as with the educator discount they give, the prices were unbeatable. I ordered with a credit card, and asked about a day later if the order had gone through (via Email). I received an Email back from them stating that they tried to use the credit card, but it didn't go through - more on the rest of the Email in a moment. Anyway, I called my credit card company to see what was going on, and they said that they had no one had made an inquiry on that account - I hadn't charged anything to that account in several months. Rather odd, to say the least. Anyway, after saying that my credit card did not go through, the Macwhizshop did say I could expedite things by doing a wire transfer of the funds to their account (or send them a cashiers check!). Also, the name on the account for the wire transfer was not that of the company, but an individual. I didn't send the funds, as it smells like a total scam (foreign company, only want cash, etc.). Congratulations. 1.) You were smart and didn't get scammed. and 2.) you say it's "probably a scam" now, after lots and lots of posts pretty much confirming that.

I dub thee, "Lieutenant Obvious"! "Captain Obvious" is taken

[Raid]

Originally posted by rob_chemist
Also, the name on the account for the wire transfer was not that of the company, but an individual. I didn't send the funds, as it smells like a total scam (foreign company, only want cash, etc.).

This may be a blessing in disguise! He gave you a name! If the name is ligit then you can help nail this person, please email Scott at alert@g4store.com with the details of this transaction. If it's an alias then there's a good posibility there could be bank fraud charges as well.

<cheer> :) :D :)

[BiPolar]

I just want to say how incredible all of this is. I posted my first question purely as an innocent remark about a company offering low prices for apple products. While my initial thought was "too good to be true", I never would have thought that it would have ended up as a forum for folks who have been defrauded to pull together and prosecute this bastard.

I hope that everything goes well and this guy isn't given merely a slap on the wrist and a chance to do it again under a different business name.

Good luck to all of you, and I hope we stop this guy from defrauding anybody else.

[gemio17]

Just keeping this thread up top-really important to know about these scams esp. so close to the holidays....good luck! Wishing a productive and just 2004 to all those who were scammed

[furryyuri]

Wow! So much has happened here since last I posted. I used to get emails when there were new posts, but I haven't got them for awhile.
I just want to say good job to you all for all the research & work you've done.

I think one thing we can all do is write/call his ISP & let them know that they are hosting a site engaged in criminal activity. I hope that if enough people complain, his account may be cancelled, which would be great. I noticed that someone said it was lookup.ca. I just want to verify that that is still right, since I visited macwhi********** today & saw that the whole site has a new look & feel, and thought he could have moved host as well. How can you look up a site's ISP?

[ovrdrvn]

I've stayed out of this for awhile...just to update everyone, all necessary parties (ISPs/Hosts etc.) all know. There is nothing you or they can do at the moment so save your time and theirs. If you are a victim, there are steps you can follow. Email or PM me if you haven't already.

[furryyuri]

Oops, well in looking at the newest posts, I missed a whole page & didn't realize the ISP had already been contacted. Too bad the site is still up.

[cbz38a]

Just wanted to personally thank ovrdrvn for being on top of this from the start. Although I was lucky and did not fall victim to this scam, I think that you deserve a lot of respect for taking this bull by the horns and running with it.

I want to thanks all of the others who have also bared their teeth to this guy. I am glad you are all on our side!

[kanker]

Nothing new, just putting this back near the top. Maybe it's time for this to be a Sticky?

Kevin

[applemacdude]

I feel like bitch slapping that damn derald even though he hasnt done anything. Any updates?

[latergator116]

I know that you guys have already confirmed that this is a scam, but I just noticed something on their website. If they claim to get computers from business' that have closed, etc., then how is it possible they are selling a custom built xserve that ONLY the apple online store sells ?

[Counterfit]

because they're a scam :rolleyes:

[iJon]

am i the only who finds it amazing that people fall for these types of scams. im glad you guys are going after him and everything and trying to get your money back, but every thing in his FAQ is code for scam.

iJon

[renikm]

I agree iJon...

The whole site, text and payment process(I did a mock order) is so laughable I have trouble having much pity for those that got scammed. Don't get me wrong, no one deserves to get robbed but for christ sake people use some judgement.

I really hope the guy gets caught though.

[winwintoo]

Here's a plan:D :D :D :D

What if we all flooded him with orders, keep him hopping trying to remember which lies he told to who and then when he asks for payment, wire him a dime.

Nah, that's cruel.

M

[ovrdrvn]

Honestly, I think something of that nature might at least keep the next person from being ripped off as he still is in business. Maybe we should coordinate such a plan?

[latergator116]

Sounds good to me. Anyone else?

[Counterfit]

I think I have a penny in my account I can spare...

[gemio17]

got an interesting message when I tried to up to this jerks site today:

"Forbidden You don't have permission to access / on this server"

I hope it's not just my computer and this guy is out of business for good now....or maybe he just switched sites again....

[68k_575]

That happened with me too. . . I guess they pulled his site.:D

[brianbbbvan]

Originally posted by 68k_575
That happened with me too. . . I guess they pulled his site.:D

I also am no longer able to get on this the mac whiz web site. US Consumers should file complaints on ftc.gov.

Happy New Year Everyone.

brian

[jzieske]

This is an amazing story.
Does anyone happen to know who took his site down?

[Thirteenva]

Originally posted by jzieske
This is an amazing story.
Does anyone happen to know who took his site down?

And more importantly, does anyone know if another one has sprung up under a different name?????

[cwall]

In the past, I tracked him by using search engines to price Mac products (e.g., Froogle). He was always the cheapest/first on the list. This worked well when he moved on 3 Vendio sites but I'm not finding him now.

[latergator116]

Is this the next Macwhiz??
http://www.golfcomputers.us/

[grafikat]

fwiw, The site says copyright from 2001, but the domain was just registered. hmmmm...

[latergator116]

Id say definately a scam.

[winwintoo]

All our customers are entitled for a free technical support which is provided by Microsoft and Novell certified technicians._ In case of hardware malfunction customer is issued a return authorization number by our service department._ All returned systems and components are promptly examined and sent back._ All systems that are under manufacturer warranty, will be sent back to the original manufacturer for warranty process. We use only brand new components for repairs._

Hmmm. They need Microsoft certified technicians to work on Apple computers??

m

[solitarycow]

Hi everyone,

I just want to say what an incredible community Mac has and how wonderful it's been reading this thread. I wish the best of luck to everybody in this pursuit.

This reminds me of the Internet phenomenon called The Beast in 2001.

www.argn.com
www.unfiction.com
www.collectivedetective.com

It was then the term "collective detective" was coined. But you guys are in fact real life collective detectives. This is a true reflection of the power of teamwork and community.

I hope this jerk gets caught! Good luck everyone and I'll do my part to help as well!

solitarycow
-Future Powerbook owner

[lildancer]

I checked this site out too.

It is the most vague and unprofessional computer site I have ever seen.
Maybe it's still being developed? No home page...no phone number to call an
order...no address or location of any type, but they say to "come by and visit our store", and whats really wierd is there is no odering info.

So I guess you contact them and say you want to oder something and then they email you back the details? Wow!

I want to get a job with the Feds to go after idiots like these! And its very interesting how Microsoft and Novell techs work on
Macs.

I think I'm going to send them an email and see what they say....

[solitarycow]

If you try a WHOIS on golfcomputers.us you'll come up empty. But if you notice the email address you contact for sales, it is a .biz address. WHOIS this baby and you get the following:


*************
Domain Name: GOLFCOMPUTERS.BIZ
Domain ID: D5958680-BIZ
Sponsoring Registrar: MELBOURNE IT D/B/A INTERNET NAMES WORLD WIDE
Domain Status: ok
Registrant ID: B107272279369790
Registrant Name: Annchristine ****
Registrant Organization: Annchristine ****
Registrant Address1: ******
Registrant City: Chicago
Registrant State/Province: IL
Registrant Postal Code: 60610
Registrant Country: United States
Registrant Country Code: US
Registrant Phone Number: *********
EDIT: ***Censored at Annchristine's request***
Registrant Email: golfcomputersbiz@yahoo.com
Administrative Contact ID: B107272279369786
Administrative Contact Name: Annchristine ****
Administrative Contact Organization: Annchristine ****
Administrative Contact Address1: **********
Administrative Contact City: Chicago
Administrative Contact State/Province: IL
Administrative Contact Postal Code: 60610
Administrative Contact Country: United States
Administrative Contact Country Code: US
Administrative Contact Phone Number: **********
Administrative Contact Email: golfcomputersbiz@yahoo.com
EDIT: ***Censored at Annchristine's request***
Billing Contact ID: B107272279369787
Billing Contact Name: YahooDomains BillingContact
Billing Contact Organization: Yahoo! Inc
Billing Contact Address1: 701 First Ave.
Billing Contact City: Sunnyvale
Billing Contact State/Province: CA
Billing Contact Postal Code: 94089
Billing Contact Country: United States
Billing Contact Country Code: US
Billing Contact Phone Number: +1.6198813096
Billing Contact Facsimile Number: +1.6198813010
Billing Contact Email: domain.billing@YAHOO-INC.COM
Technical Contact ID: B107272279369788
Technical Contact Name: YahooDomains TechContact
Technical Contact Organization: Yahoo! Inc
Technical Contact Address1: 701 First Ave.
Technical Contact City: Sunnyvale
Technical Contact State/Province: CA
Technical Contact Postal Code: 94089
Technical Contact Country: United States
Technical Contact Country Code: US
Technical Contact Phone Number: +1.6198813096
Technical Contact Facsimile Number: +1.6198813010
Technical Contact Email: domain.tech@YAHOO-INC.COM
Name Server: YNS1.YAHOO.COM
Name Server: YNS2.YAHOO.COM
Created by Registrar: MELBOURNE IT D/B/A INTERNET NAMES WORLD WIDE
Domain Registration Date: Mon Dec 29 18:34:25 GMT 2003
Domain Expiration Date: Tue Dec 28 23:59:59 GMT 2004
**************

Accessing www.golfcomputers.biz leads you to an "Under Construction" page.

Thoughts anyone? The contact info is quite different from the rest of the info we've been digging up. Could it be a macrumors poster trying to be a copycat and throw us off the scent?

[bonrad]

Originally posted by Italchef
Did you see the guy's pic? Would you trust that kid?
DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT have any dealings with with MacWhizShop, as I did deal with them, and I got seriously burned! I ordered an iMac from MacWhizShop in September, paid through PayPal, and waited, and waited. I soon got edgy, but the only way to get a hold of this guy was by email. He told me the item had shipped, but didn't provide a tracking number. The next thing he told me was that his ordering and email system was hacked into, and my machine was mistakenly sent to Alaska. HA! I then put a dispute on the transaction through PayPal, but was ultimately only able to recover $545 of the $1597 I paid. This guy is a liar, a fraud, and a cheat.

[lildancer]

Wow!
Great job on getting all that info on golfcomputers. At least its good to know that they are based in the US. Maybe its a kid trying to make some extra bucks, but anyone who knows Macs knows that they aren't worked on by other companies. It's the most generic website I have ever seen. It seems strange that all that information would come up without the name of the person who has registered the site.

Nobody posted that info for Derald Dutchak and we know he had a yahoo email address.

Any thoughts?

[Italchef]

i just want to formally apologize to scott for slagging his picture. i didn't mean any harm and in light of all we've learned about Derald, i was quite angry at him. i'm sure scott, if you're reading this , that you are honest and trustworthy and look as such...i've been thinking about posting this for a while and hoped my rash comments would just go away and be forgotten. Then today i came in from work and there was my post that someone used...oh well...i hope that you can forgive me...
sincerely,
mick

[lildancer]

Sorry!
It had been so long since I checked thru the threads that I had forgotten that there was a posting of a "Whois" with all of Derald Dutchak's info.

[solitarycow]

Any update on what's going on with everyone getting ripped off the macwhiz.com website? Just trying to keep this post on top.

[Squire]

Originally posted by Italchef
i just want to formally apologize to scott for slagging his picture. i didn't mean any harm and in light of all we've learned about Derald, i was quite angry at him. i'm sure scott, if you're reading this , that you are honest and trustworthy and look as such...i've been thinking about posting this for a while and hoped my rash comments would just go away and be forgotten. Then today i came in from work and there was my post that someone used...oh well...i hope that you can forgive me...
sincerely,
mick

Mick,

I'm sure Scott is an educated guy and knows that people have different perceptions of things based on what information is given to them. You had the information that this "Derald" fella was a con artist and then saw what you thought was a picture of him. Your reaction to the picture was affected by the information you had. Nice of you to apologize anyway, though. Scott will probably laugh about it down the road.

Cheers,

Squire

P.S. You live in Maple? Is that near Canada's Wonderland? I think my sister lives there. (Maple not Canada's Wonderland. ;))

[Italchef]

Thanks Squire, I appreciate the kind words.
And yes, Canada's Wonderland is about a 5 minute drive away from me. Are you in Korea?

[Squire]

Yeah. Been here for quite some time.

Maple is a nice area. OK. That is where my sister lives then.

So did this guy ever get nailed? I haven't heard anything so I guess we can assume that the slimeball weaseled away.

Squire

[solitarycow]

Ok...here's something interesting:

I called the number of the person who registered golfcomputers.biz (the sales email address for golfcomputers.us and also believed to be another site of this Derald fellow).

Well I believe it or not, I got a hold of a live person. I asked her about the golfcomputers website and she said she knew nothing about it. Ok now this is where it gets even more twisted. She too just had money stolen from her credit account! But she knows nothing about the macwhiz or golfcomputer websites nor has she made any purchases from a strange company. In fact all her purchases have been from Apple itself both online and at a store. I won't disclose any more information about her, as I have given her the address to this website, so she can feel free to post whatever information she would like on here.

So the bottom line to all this is:
Whoever Derald is, he has made contact with the woman, stolen her credit card information, and used it to register golfcomputers.us and golfcomputers.biz. Considering that this woman wasn't involved in any Apple computer scams, this means that Derald has made contact with her via some OTHER way.

Hopefully the lady I just talked to will come to this website and see what all is going on, retrace her steps, and provide us with more information.

So the chase continues...but I feel we are making progress and getting closer.

[ChoMomma]

Originally posted by solitarycow
Ok...here's something interesting:

I called the number of the person who registered golfcomputers.biz (the sales email address for golfcomputers.us and also believed to be another site of this Derald fellow).

Well I believe it or not, I got a hold of a live person. I asked her about the golfcomputers website and she said she knew nothing about it. Ok now this is where it gets even more twisted. She too just had money stolen from her credit account! But she knows nothing about the macwhiz or golfcomputer websites nor has she made any purchases from a strange company. In fact all her purchases have been from Apple itself both online and at a store. I won't disclose any more information about her, as I have given her the address to this website, so she can feel free to post whatever information she would like on here.

So the bottom line to all this is:
Whoever Derald is, he has made contact with the woman, stolen her credit card information, and used it to register golfcomputers.us and golfcomputers.biz. Considering that this woman wasn't involved in any Apple computer scams, this means that Derald has made contact with her via some OTHER way.

Hopefully the lady I just talked to will come to this website and see what all is going on, retrace her steps, and provide us with more information.

So the chase continues...but I feel we are making progress and getting closer.

Ok so that site does look bogus.. but how is it related to macwhiz? And although you indicate that the woman you contacted has had her credit card compromised... how is it that it is the Mac Whiz jerk? There are plenty of other slimy types lurking on the net. You might want to ask the woman if she was making these purchases with Apple over wireless or at a publicly accessible computer (even say in an office environ) The Macwhiz jerk deserves to be smeared with honey and dropped in a bear pen, but you can't blame every fake mac site on him.

[solitarycow]

The lady who had her identity stolen to register the website has contacted her credit card company and also the host and her information has been removed from the registrar.

I'll email her and see if she can acquire any information regarding the incident and see if it links to Derald at all...

Meanwhile, what's everyone else's situation like??? Did anybody get their money back??

[smharmon]

http://www.macmastershop.com/contactus.htm

It looks like the same guy running the above page, total scam, hes got alot of them out there!

[ovrdrvn]

Please contact me ASAP as I've been requested to tally some information that will lead to some pretty powerful things. Please email me the following (if you are concerned with any privacy issue and haven't contacted me before...check with other users or PM me and I'll give you my phone number etc.)

Name:
Address:
Phone number:
Work address:
Work phone:
Date of transaction:
Total loss in dollars:

If I can tally all this and get it to the individual in the government who requested it...some ineresting things will happen. If you've contacted me already, please do so again with just the above information as I need to compile every last victim I can find and get a total dollar value.

Thanks.

[Thirteenva]

Macmastershop.com does appear to be the same scam.

It claims to be located in Washington(according to the about page). Thought it resides on canadian name servers.

Also claims to have been in business for 6 years, but the domain was only registered 2 months ago and only for he term of one year.

[Italchef]

...here we go again....

[hekal]

...to see this guy on Cops :D

[lawmanca]

I haven't read any of the links or done comparison of the site.

However, I might caution the Mac Rumor editors: I believe that this kind of denigration of character is actionable under slander and libel laws. While he may sure look like a cheat, are you willing to bet a legal penalty? Maybe the original poster is a fraud himself. Maybe the fraud-ster is able to beat the charges in court. Maybe etc.

Bottomline: I wouldn't allege fraud on a specific individual(s) on my servers, unless I could personally guarantee that he was in fact fraudulent, and I'm guessing that none of the Mac/ editors can, no matter how much it looks that way.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by lawmanca
I haven't read any of the links or done comparison of the site.

However, I might caution the Mac Rumor editors: I believe that this kind of denigration of character is actionable under slander and libel laws. While he may sure look like a cheat, are you willing to bet a legal penalty? Maybe the original poster is a fraud himself. Maybe the fraud-ster is able to beat the charges in court. Maybe etc.

Bottomline: I wouldn't allege fraud on a specific individual(s) on my servers, unless I could personally guarantee that he was in fact fraudulent, and I'm guessing that none of the Mac/ editors can, no matter how much it looks that way.

I don't believe anyone who has anything to do with the operation of this site has said anything, one way or another, on this matter.

Forum members are free to say whatever they want and this type of discussion comes nowhere near libel/slander.

[loubapache]

I am a long time PC user and have not gotten my first Mac yet. However, these people operated out of Blaine, WA almost bit me. This, BTW, is my very first post. It is a bit long. So sorry in advance.

They operate under several web domains, http://www.mac-bestbuys.com, http://www.macmastershop.com/, etc.

I am a professor of physics in a college here in Michigan and I could get the Apple educational discount. I was looking for the iBook 933 MHz model. From Apple, it is $1199 + 6% tax = $1271. This place advertises (on the website) the same model for $999 with free shipping.

It sounded too good to me true so I sent an e-mail to sales@macmastershop.com, their sales e-mail address asking about if the iBook is new, with warranty, in stock, etc, on 1/27/2004. I could post all the e-mail communication I have had with them if you are interested, but for the sake of this post, let me just tell you my experience. Neil Hadsworth (neil@macmastershop.com) sent a reply to my e-mail very quickly (on the same day) and told me that the iBook is in stock, new, with warranty, and is qualified for free-shipping. I did more research because I was debating between the 14” iBook or the 15” Powerbook but eventually decided to get the iBook because of the “low” price.

So on 2/7/2004 (Saturday), I sent Neil another e-mail, asking if the iBook is still in stock for $999 and if the 1-year warranty is through Apple. Neil replied on the next day and told me that it is still in stock and the warranty is through Apple. I replied to Neil and told him that a lot of people on the MC discussion forums are interested in what they advertise but concerned about the too good to be true philosophy. He replied back that I need not worry and I will be treated satisfactory.

So on 2/8/2004, I placed an order on their website for the iBook 933 MHz. The website did not have shopping cart so I printed out the order form with the order number etc as a PDF file. I filled out the PDF file with my credit card information and sent it back to Neil.

Things all of a sudden changed. Before I sent in the order, Neil was very responsive. After I sent in my credit card information, I received NO communication, whatsoever.

I was not worried because I know my credit card has excellent protection. I was concerned because I needed the machine. If I cannot get from them, I would need to get from someone else.

So on Monday, 2/9/2004, I e-mailed Neil again about the status of my order and I received no reply. On Monday evening, I called their number (360)364-0966. No one answered the phone and this number shares with their fax number so I left a message.

On Tuesday, I still received no communications from them. So I called again and left another message. I also e-mailed both Neil and their sales e-mail address and again received no reply.

On Wednesday morning, I talked to my credit card company about all this and I was told tat no one has attempted to authorize the $999. I then fired another e-mail to both Neil and their sales e-mail address. I told them what I did, will let others know, and warned them not to try my credit card.

This time, I received a reply from Neil. He told me that my credit card declined their authorization in his words “As we explained in previous e-mails to you”. This is a lie. First of all, they did not even attempt to authorize on my credit card. Secondly, he never e-mailed me. I replied back and told him that no one attempted to charge my credit card, the card is in my name, the billing address and the shipping address are the same, and my credit card is good. I do not expect to hear from them again.

Here is what I figured it out. It is a scam. They love people who pay by cash, cashier’s check, etc, but they do not like credit card. If you want to give them a try, USE YOUR CREDIT CARD. I hope you get a positive experience with them.

Although I did not lose anything financially, I am quite a bit exhausted, emotionally.

I am still Mac-less.

[jxyama]

Originally posted by lawmanca
I haven't read any of the links or done comparison of the site.

However, I might caution the Mac Rumor editors: I believe that this kind of denigration of character is actionable under slander and libel laws. While he may sure look like a cheat, are you willing to bet a legal penalty? Maybe the original poster is a fraud himself. Maybe the fraud-ster is able to beat the charges in court. Maybe etc.

Bottomline: I wouldn't allege fraud on a specific individual(s) on my servers, unless I could personally guarantee that he was in fact fraudulent, and I'm guessing that none of the Mac/ editors can, no matter how much it looks that way.

as rower said, i don't think any of this would come anywhere near libel/slander.

and do we even have one good reason to believe you have no ulterior motives? a newbie with one post? :rolleyes:

alleging fraud on (somewhat) constructive basis is not libel/slander. in fact, many on this thread have already been victimized. i believe many of us have uncovered enough about this character to be plenty justified of our thought process.

if you've followed this thread and links, you'd clearly see it as well. i think you owe us to check at least some of the links and parts of this thread before posting.

[lildancer]

I agree.

Hey Lawmanca, maybe you need to do some research like the rest of us have , before spouting off about claims of slander and libel.
I too, like many of us here, am a victim of outright FRAUD by MacWhizshop.

No, this is not a claim, this is not slander, this is fact: I paid over $1000 for a computer that I never received. That's called INTERNET FRAUD (just ask the FBI), among many other Federal offenses). Since there are Federal and state authorities involved in this case, as we have all filed the appropriate claims, we are stating facts of our experiences in ordering computers from these fraudulant companies.

As victims, our hope is to advise, warn others, and help people who have been part of these scams. We all have proof to back our claims.

The word "Slander" in the dictionary means giving a malicious or FALSE report of someone. There is nothing false about the money these criminals have taken from us.

[svenr]

I didn't get burned, but I was close. Man, I had bookmarked MacWhizShop already for a later purchase! And then I discovered this thread a while ago...

Does anyone know what happened to that scumbag? Did he get caught or did he simply change his domain and lives on happily as macmastershop.com? Is it that the same a**h**e from the Mac Whiz or just a pitty me-too?

After reading loubapache's post above I get chills at the idea that someone out there still keeps on shamelessly cheating unsuspecting customers out of their hard-earned money and although the whole scheme is obviously known, nothing is being done about it! Aren't the authorities informed? How can they allow "firms" like those to continue ripping off people right under their eyes?

Sven

PS: And lawmanca, when some people here report their experiences and post their opinion about those shady operations, it's not Slander it's Freedom Of Speech.

[spinoza]

Thanks guys, I was just about to order from them. I got the exact spiel as loubapache, but luckily I found this thread before ordering.

Somebody should notify froogle.com about them!

[akimbo]

i am in new zealand. i was in the process of ordering a powerbook and accessories from macmastershop.com. i found them at bizrate or some similar site and thought it was ok. i became quite trusting when it was claimed that certain accessories i wanted weren't available - afterall, why would a scam artist pass up the opportunity to make more money? my friend also emailed them and enquired about ordering an ipod, but was told there was a wait of 3 weeks. i also tried to research the address he gave in blaine, washington and saw that it was for a mall type setup, cool. there were, however, no traces of mac master in the blaine yellow pages, weird considering the 6 years that the business had supposedly been operating for and similarly no trace of his name anywhere in washington state. thankfully my credit card didn't have the funds last week to process the order. this morning i emailed the "owner" dennis to tell him that the funds are now there. after i sent the email i tried calling on the number provided, but got a message saying that due to overloading on the lines, no one was able to take the call. for some reason i thought i'd do another search and found this thread. talk about luck! i have been able to cancel my card before this f**ker had the chance to process the order. it'll be interesting to see if he has the balls to email me and let me know that the transaction didn't happen again...thanks guys. you saved me close to US$3000...

[akimbo]

ok, having read most of the thread leading to my post, i went back to all the correspondance i had with dennis charalambides. indentical m.o. to all the macwhiz issues earlier. he claimed i didn't have clear funds in my credit account to make the transaction and because i actually didn't have the funds in my credit card account, i thought nothing of it. with the benefit of hindsight i see now that this is the response i would have gotten anyway. well here are the details he gave me for the bank wiring process:
------------------------------------------------
Bank Wire Transfer Instructions
------------------------------------------------

Wire transfers can be submitted with the help of your banking institution.
Provide your bank with the information below to properly transfer your
payment.

Note: Please be advised that for international wires, your bank may require
and charge you for the use of an intermediary bank.
Bank of America Customers: Funds must be sent to this account as a wire
transfer and not as an account to account transfer.

Bank Name: Peoples Bank
733 H Street
Blaine, WA 98230
U.S.A.

ABA Routing #: 125104425
Credit Account Name: Dennis Charalambides
Credit Account #: 5081016031
Additional Instructions:
(include the order transaction number on the wire transfer)
------------------------------------------------

hopefully there is someone in washington (blaine specifically) who can do something with this info. good luck and get the word out there that macmastershop.com is a fraud as well.

[lawmanca]

This is the second time I've purchased from macmastershop.com.
The powerbook I purchased was shipped promptly, in good condition, and for a great price. I ordered on a Thursday and received my items on Tuesday; very fast! I must admit that the condition of the shipping box was not very good, though this may have been the fault of the shipper and not macmaster.
Paid the first time with my credit card and second time with electronic wire transfer to macmaster's Horizon bank account.Nevertheless, a positive experience.

[loubapache]

Hi, All:

I would be extremely surprised if lawmanca is not one of them in macmastershop.com.

He has made a couple posts in this forum and all are about his "good" experiences with macmastershop.com.

He does not have to have an IP address associated with something in WA to be one of the macmastershopers. In this day and age, he can be anywhere.

If we were all in the dark ages, macmastershop.com can pull tricks like this but now we all have been given the very same "customer care".

If you want to try out macmastershop.com, use a real credit card, not a debit card or any other payment methods. They do not want to commit credit card fraud.

If it is too good to be true, . . .

[loubapache]

HI, all:

If you are going to buy something expensive from an unknown online retailer, think about the following:

1) Does the e-retailer have a secure online credit card transaction mechanism?
2) Does the e-retailer answer phone calls?
3) Does the e-retailer have a separate fax line?
4) Is the website up-to-date? A good e-retailer should have their website tied to some kind of inventory database.
5) Does the e-retailer have favorable reviews by others?
6) Whatever your common sense tells you.

In the last e-mail from macmastershop.com, he stated that

<<
We use a third party credit card authorization provider to process our credit card orders. If they flag orders as "high risk" we immediately cancel the order. This is what has happened with your order. We have no way to verify what the problem is, so we rely completely on what they advise us.

Since this has become more of a problem in the past month we are going to be changing to more reliable merchant account that should be in place by Feb 25 or sooner. The whole transaction will take place online. No need to fax your credit card. You will know real-time if it is authorized or not.
>>
Today is Feb 25 and I see no such system on their website.

After my long post detailing my experience with macmastershop.com, I was offered the following by Neil:

<<
What I am willing to do to make up for lost time and show you that we are selling exactly what we advertise, I will ship the iBook to you on Feb. 23 regardless of our merchant account being setup or not. A tracking number will be sent to you the same day it ships. Once you receive your iBook and are satisfied with the product you can go online and 'complete payment'.

If you are OK with this arrangement I can set one aside for you. You should have it delivered at your door by Feb. 25-26.
>>
I told him NO because I know this is not his final trick. Now thinking back, I probably should say YES to see what he does next.

So, Neil or whatever your real name is, if you are reading this (I am sure you are), send that new, factory sealed, with Apple warranty, 14" G4 933MHz iBook to me. Thanks. BTW, you will get your money if you send me a real iBook, not some earthy dust from WA.

I am not saying you should not try macmastershop or other unknown e-retailer. Just use caution. Never send money before you received goods or services except credit card transactions.

Sometimes, even scammers will try to satisfy a few customers so not all reviews are bad. They can use these a few “lost money” cases to “justify” what they are doing.

[jxyama]

Originally posted by lawmanca
This is the second time I've purchased from macmastershop.com.
The powerbook I purchased was shipped promptly, in good condition, and for a great price. I ordered on a Thursday and received my items on Tuesday; very fast! I must admit that the condition of the shipping box was not very good, though this may have been the fault of the shipper and not macmaster.
Paid the first time with my credit card and second time with electronic wire transfer to macmaster's Horizon bank account.Nevertheless, a positive experience.

go away and think about the people you (or your "friend") are scamming. shame on you.

i'm sure it's a complete coincidence in your first post about libel/slander that you failed to mention your positive buying experience. all of a sudden, your second (and third) posts are contrary to many others' experience. :rolleyes:

[winwintoo]

lawmanca

lawman - an officer of the law

ca - web abbreviation for Canada

Are you trying to impersonate a court official? If you really are a Canadian, charged with upholding the law, identify yourself.

If not, quit trying to intimidate us.

m

[jxyama]

Originally posted by winwintoo
lawmanca

lawman - an officer of the law

ca - web abbreviation for Canada

Are you trying to impersonate a court official? If you really are a Canadian, charged with upholding the law, identify yourself.

If not, quit trying to intimidate us.

m

you know, i was kind of wondering the same thing... there was one guy before, named jamekurtis, that posted earlier. him and lawmanca are the only two with positive reviews of macwhiz/macmaster while we have more than a dozen victims. (both are newbies with these macwhiz/macmaster related postings only.)

jamekurtis was allegedly from Los Angeles. lawmanca can be LA wmanca or lawman CA. who knows.

[kanker]

lawmanca has 3 total posts. All posts are in the MacWhiz threads, 2 are the exact same post in two different threads, the other one was the slander/libel threat. Anyway, I think we can safely say lawmanca is definitely a plant.

[wwjdsong]

I was very skeptical about Mac Master after reading some of the comments posted on here. So instead of passing judgement I emailed them and asked them what their response was to the comments. I got a email back from the customer service manager Neil explaining that they tried to please every customer that purchased through their store. So after several days of consideration and a couple email conversations with Neil I decided to give them a shot.

I told Neil that I would only place my order through him; he agreed and gave me his direct line to reach him at. Called on a Tuesday morning, ordered the iMac 20" plus free shipping. Gave him my information. Also made a bank transfer to pay for it. Anyone that has ever done one knows how much of a pain and time consuming it usually is. But Neil assured me that with no major difficulties they would ship the next day. I though to myself yeah right. But as luck would have it, got an email about 6PM saying they had shipped. Checked the Fedex tracking and sure enough they had shipped and would be here that Friday! That was only 4 days between my order date and delivery! that is oustanding.

Got my new iMac as Friday! I could not have asked for a smoother transaction! I wrote an email to Neil thanking him for his efforts and would like to share it with you:

Neil,

Got my iMac today, just in time for my birthday, and I am very impressed. To me 90% of what makes a good company is customer service; the rest is just an added bonus. Not only did you have the best price on the internet, but also gave me one of the most enjoyable online buying experiences I have had.

I will post good feedback about your company any where I can. I have also made a post on a large Mac Forum, Macrumours.com, about the prices and the service I experienced. I am completely grateful to you and the rest of your staff for the excellent pricing, service and delivery. I will indeed be doing more business with you in the future. Thanks again.

Would most definitly recommend for any online purchase.

God bless,
Anthony

[loubapache]

wwjdsong:

It will take many first-time registers like you for this forum to change their view on macmastershop.com.

I think I am a honest person. My experience with Neil points directly to four letters, SCAM!

As I said, sometimes, scammers will try to do something extraordinary so to hook others.

It is very hard for me to believe that someone in the US, buying a Mac, not use a credit card but rather use wire transfer.

[akimbo]

very interesting that wwjdsong decides to a) register now and b)post here. the timing couldn't be better. if the customer experience was so good, then why is he/she going to so much effort to find this thread. when you've made an online purchase, you don't go searching the web for forums that expose the outfit you bought from for fraud so that you can portray them in a better light. if wwjdsong had been a member for a reasonable amount of time and had a history in this forum, they'd be more believable. i received a very threatening email, ie. a death threat over night from this prick after i exposed him in this thread. if anyone would like a copy, please email me. the sooner this clown is off the streets, the better.

[jxyama]

wwjdsong:

why don't you wire me some money? i'll get you a sweet deal too. and you have my words. :rolleyes:

could you give us the number for the direct line to "Neal" you are talking about? could you post the tracking page of UPS/FedEx/etc (with your personal info erased, if you care) here so we can see that something like a 20" iMac had been shipped from macmaster to your house? (they keep the record for a while, so it should still be there. but why do i suspect you won't find it anyway? :rolleyes: )

edit: i realize that replying to these "trolls" are kinda dumb and borderline spamming. but i hope we have many more who will avoid purchasing from this shop by keeping this thread up near the top.

[jxyama]

Originally posted by akimbo
i received a very threatening email, ie. a death threat over night from this prick after i exposed him in this thread.

right, this guy will blow all of his scam money to fly to NZ and track you down... lol.

man, this is one of those times i wish i was all-powerful - this scumbag would be condemned and instantly vanished from the face of the planet.

[wwjdsong]

loubpache:

I am simply stating my experience with Mac Master. I had come accross this forum when researching about this company. Since no one had actually said they had been scammed by Mac Master I took a chance as explained in my first post.

Yes I am a newbie but so are you loupache and akimbo. Have you lost anything to Mac Master? For all we know you and akimbo could be the same person or maybe the competition? trying to tarnish Mac Master's business because they are selling at better prices than you.


Anthony


Originally posted by loubapache
wwjdsong:

It will take many first-time registers like you for this forum to change their view on macmastershop.com.

I think I am a honest person. My experience with Neil points directly to four letters, SCAM!

As I said, sometimes, scammers will try to do something extraordinary so to hook others.

It is very hard for me to believe that someone in the US, buying a Mac, not use a credit card but rather use wire transfer.

[jxyama]

so can i see a copy of the tracking page?

read the rest of the thread and you'll see ample reasons why many of us suspect macmaster. you may have been an exception but at this point, with the evidence we have here, the burden falls on macmaster and it's "supporters" to prove itself not to be a scam.

anyone (newbie or not) posting about them getting scammed or otherwise left feeling uneasy after dealing with macmaster automatically carries more credibility than one or two posts on how good they were because no one gets hurt by staying away from potential scams.

For all we know you and akimbo could be the same person or maybe the competition? trying to tarnish Mac Master's business because they are selling at better prices than you.

what's with the defensive tone/hypothesis ("tarnish?") regarding a company that you supposedly have no personal stakes in? :rolleyes:

[gemio17]

wwjdsong registered today, and his/her only 2 posts are on this thread...

sounds just a little suspicious considering what this thread is about huh?

[jxyama]

Originally posted by wwjdsong
trying to tarnish Mac Master's business because they are selling at better prices

btw, you must not know very much about apple resellers. no one is allowed to deviate much from the retail prices set by apple for current models. so all legitimate resellers try to increase value by bundling freebies, but you never see the prices being much lower than what's on apple.com online store. legitimate stores don't have to be worrying much about better prices because there are almost none.

[loubapache]

<<
Yes I am a newbie but so are you loupache and akimbo. Have you lost anything to Mac Master?
>>

wwjdsong or Neil:

I did not lose money to macmastershop.com but I lost a lot of time, emotions, and frustrations.

I told Neil before I placed the order that I was suspecting SCAM but he tried to pull it off anyway. I told him that I would share my experience with others.

Any reasonable person with enough IQ can read from your posts that you are either related to them or got special treatment by them to post here. I suspect the former, however.

You can always accuse others for working with the competition. People can read from the lines to judge who has the credibility.

Well, I do not work for any competition. As a matter of fact, I do not own a Mac (yet). I am a very experienced PC user trying to get a Mac.

[kcoelho]

Hi folks ,

Unfortunately I have just found this forum posts . But now it´s too late.
Have past 10 days since I wired the money to :

Bank Name: Peoples Bank
733 H Street
Blaine, WA 98230
U.S.A.
ABA Routing #: 125.104.425
Credit Account Name: Dennis Charalambides
Credit Account #: 5081016031
REF : Order Number #507789436

Valor :US$ $1,098.00

Since I wired the money I didn´t receive any e-mail for 7 days.

So today I received a e-mail from Dennis Charalambides :

Kiko:

We were unable to confirm transfer until Tuesday Feb. 24th.
At this point your iBook had been removed from a hold and shipped to another customer.

Unfortunately your item is now out of stock and on backorder. We are expecting a shipment from our supplier in 3 weeks. Your order will be shipped once we receive it and will send you a tracking number via email the moment it ships. We emailed you several times letting you know about the status however they kept on bouncing back. Please confirm that you receive this e-mail.

Thank you.

Dennis Charalambides
President/Owner
Mac Master
e-mail: dennis@macmastershop.com

----------------------------------------------------

That is very odd because my bank just gave me the FED number , the number that confirms that everything went fine with the transfer.

Them I begin searching for this company and find no records and the same hosting that were used from Macwhi**********

SO ITS CLEAR TO ME THAT THIS IS ANOTHER FRAUD AND SCAM LIKE THE OTHERS SUPER-DISCOUNTS APPLE PRODUCTS DONE BY THE SAME PERSON !!!

I live in Brazil but I would like to help you guys to find this criminal.

I don´t know much about Canadian or American Laws but I think the first procedures is to disable their website contacting their host company ( and maybe Tucows that register the address ) and close their bank account contacting his bank

That seems to me the right thing to do to quick stop this person.

[jxyama]

sorry man... :( :mad:

wwjdsong: why don't you order an iBook for this guy, eh? you seemed to have had better luck dealing with this scammer. are you "happy" now that there seems to be a confirmed victim now for macmastershop? can we start accusing this place of being a scam?? :mad:

[loubapache]

kcoelho:

I feel very sorry for you.

They seem to love international buyers because the one way these buyers can pay is via wire transfer.

Another regular and customary tactic is that when someone makes repeated calls and e-mails, they will pretend that they have contacted you. In my case it was "as in previous e-mails" but I never received any. In this case, it was bounced e-mails.

[loubapache]

I am not the most experienced in terms of internet server/hosting, etc.

I looked around.

1) It seems that macmastershop.com is associated with IP address 216.251.32.98. However, when I pinged it, it timed out.

2) This particular IP address is hosted by
http://bluegenesis.com/

3) Their manager's e-mail address is manager@bluegenesis.com.

4) Blaine Washington has a nice website from which one can find all kinds of information such as police department, etc. It is http://www.ci.blaine.wa.us/. However, even if it says it is in Blaine Washington, it may or may not be. The address give on their website indicated that is a freight company near the airport of Blaine Washington.

5) A people search on http://people.yahoo.com/ using white pages of Blaine WA did not find Dennis Charalambides.

[kcoelho]

Hi Folks ,

I Just received an e-mail from "our friend" Dennis Charalambides right now :

--------------------------------------------------
Kiko,

I have read the post you made on Mac rumors. This is a pretty serious accusation claiming that we have defrauded you. We are not related or associated in any way with the mac wiz company. If we are slow to respond to customers questions or complaints it's because we are busy attending other customers and not because we want to commit fraud.

I have issued a refund as per request. Please note that I will also be taking
full legal action against you for defamation of character.
I have one of the best lawyers in Seattle and trust me you being in Brazil will not stop his firm from suing you.

Dennis Charalambides

--------------------------------------------------

I am a lawyer. So are my Father and my Grandfather.

So I told him that if he give me my money back I can provide him with enough information so we can sue me. No problem..Just want my money back. SIMPLE !!!

If he gives me back my money I will post here my "FORMAL EXCUSES" so everybody can know they are actually a legitimate business. No problem..

But I doubt that... Don´t think the right way to manage a company is treating their angry customers or people complaining about their services.

Something is very wrong....

Kiko

[jxyama]

Originally posted by kcoelho
Hi Folks ,

I Just received an e-mail from "our friend" Dennis Charalambides right now :

--------------------------------------------------
Kiko,

I have read the post you made on Mac rumors. This is a pretty serious accusation claiming that we have defrauded you. We are not related or associated in any way with the mac wiz company. If we are slow to respond to customers questions or complaints it's because we are busy attending other customers and not because we want to commit fraud.

I have issued a refund as per request. Please note that I will also be taking
full legal action against you for defamation of character.
I have one of the best lawyers in Seattle and trust me you being in Brazil will not stop his firm from suing you.

Dennis Charalambides

--------------------------------------------------

I am a lawyer. So are my Father and my Grandfather.

So I told him that if he give me my money back I can provide him with enough information so we can sue me. No problem..Just want my money back. SIMPLE !!!

If he gives me back my money I will post here my "FORMAL EXCUSES" so everybody can know they are actually a legitimate business. No problem..

But I doubt that... Don´t think the right way to manage a company is treating their angry customers or people complaining about their services.

Something is very wrong....

Kiko

well, now we know two things for certain.

1) he does come to MR. (and undoubtedly other mac related forum sites.)

2) he's almost certainly a fraud - what's with the defensive/threatening tone? if you ran a legitimate business, why would you be looking out for rumor sites about your service? good customer service and legitimate business will speak for itself much louder than rumor sites.

[loubapache]

Kiko:

You might have a chance to get your money back but do not have high expectations. You will have a better chance by telling the facts around your experience in all kinds of Mac forums and websites. You should have some e-mail, wire transfer, and other records. You might also contact your ISP and request some e-mail logs to prove.

Usually they want to smother complaints by trying to "satisfy" someone so they can continue what they have been doing.

Since he offered to refund your money. Ask him to give you a date by which the money will be transferred into your account. If not, contact the Blaine police department (but they may not be in Blaine), contact the website hosting company, the bank you wired money to, and various other authorities.

[winwintoo]

Remember before Christmas I suggested that we all flood him with orders - I don't know if anyone responded, but soon after that the macwhiz website was taken down.

Maybe it's time to suggest the same for this new place.

m.

[flowerbug89]

Well, i'm glad I found this forum. i also have had dealings with macmastershop.com
and can only say they suck! i am a college student with a limited amout of money and thought
i could save by ordering from them. i ordered the dual G5 they had advertised for $2699 and paid
with wire transfer since i do not have a credit card. three weeks passed and never received the G5.
my emails were ignored and phone calls never returned. i told my uncle about my experience and he
got his lawyer to try to recover my money. he did a check up on lexis-nexus and told us
mr. caralambides seemed to be somekind of litigation expert and has a long track record of
hauling folks into court. nevertheless, before we could file a claim fedex showed up with my G5.
Of course it was not the model i ordered but the 1.8ghz for $2099.
mr. caralambides said to return it and he would send the right one. since i needed the dual G5
for video production and felt they had sent the wrong one by accident, i foolishly returned it
two weeks ago and am still waiting for them to ship the correct model. being a little nervous
about this whole deal i did some more research online about macmastershop.com and found this forum.
has anyone else had this happen? my uncle's lawyer has sent him an email that if i don't receive it
by next week i will be suing. this was yesterday no response yet. i will post his reply here for
everyone to read.

[timsq]

I have $.02 on www.macmastershop.com.
same IP as macwhizshop
wire transfer or cashiers check? no cart = fraud
No answer to phone calls (email reply instantly)
not AUTHORIZED by Apple
non-existant address
site content stolen
ridiculous prices (cheaper than used)

I came too close to ignoring the obvious and making a big mistake. The lack of a cart sent me searching. Thanks for the forum where it all came together. Let's nail that guy! It can't be hard to shut his site down. Rrrr...

[loubapache]

Great work, timsq.

I just pinged macwhi********** and the same IP (216.251.32.98) showed up.

So he just re-registered his domain for the same IP. There is no doubt now that it was the same person who operated macwhi********** before and operates macmastershop.com now.

[timsq]

here's the whois:

OrgName: InternetNamesForBusiness.com
OrgID: INFB
Address: 500 East Broward Boulevard
Address: Suite 1700
City: Fort Lauderdale
StateProv: FL
PostalCode: 33394
Country: US

NetRange: 216.251.32.0 - 216.251.47.255
CIDR: 216.251.32.0/20
NetName: MEGA-1
NetHandle: NET-216-251-32-0-1
Parent: NET-216-0-0-0-0
NetType: Direct Allocation
NameServer: NS1.MEGANAMESERVERS.COM
NameServer: NS2.MEGANAMESERVERS.COM
NameServer: NS3.MEGANAMESERVERS.COM
Comment:
RegDate:
Updated: 2001-04-09

TechHandle: ZI51-ARIN
TechName: InternetNamesForBusiness.com
TechPhone: +1-954-463-3080
TechEmail: admin@internetnamesforbusiness.com

OrgTechHandle: ZI51-ARIN
OrgTechName: InternetNamesForBusiness.com
OrgTechPhone: +1-954-463-3080
OrgTechEmail: admin@internetnamesforbusiness.com

seems somebody should get some phone calls and email complaints if you get my drift.

[The_Dood]

Originally posted by wwjdsong
I will post good feedback about your company any where I can. I have also made a post on a large Mac Forum, Macrumours.com, about the prices and the service I experienced.

Just my 2cents - after I read this email from wwjdsong to Neil, I thought what a load of crap!! He said his computer came on a Friday, so we are to assume he wrote this email to Neil after receiving it... but then he says in his letter that he already had made a big post on our forum praising MacMaster and their prices. That was obviously a lie, because he didn't make any posts about that until now. If it's true, where is the post? I didn't see anything from him on the 9+ pages before, but there were just the few from lawmanca. Suspicious? Yeah, I'd think so...

[ovrdrvn]

I haven't been checking in regularly nor posting, but just to reiterate and attempt to save people some time, money and breath....all the aforementioned sites, their "supposed" owners etc. are completely fradulent. Don't attempt to do business, don't expect one penny back if you did wire money and don't waste your time debating people who are posting that they received computers, had "real" discussions with anyone or anything resembling actual business.

Pass the word wherever you can and keep and eye out for anything resembling this scam as it will not be the last.

OH and regarding the libel etc.....complete ************....in fact I will go on record as willing to take the complete brunt of the claims...come sue me one and all from any of these "supposed" businesses.

[timsq]

Rock! ...completely fradulent. Don't attempt to do business, don't expect one penny back if you did wire money and don't waste your time debating people who are posting that they received computers, had "real" discussions with anyone or anything resembling actual business.

Pass the word wherever you can and keep and eye out for anything resembling this scam as it will not be the last.

OH and regarding the libel etc.....complete ************....in fact I will go on record as willing to take the complete brunt of the claims...come sue me one and all from any of these "supposed" businesses. Amen!

[kcoelho]

Mac Folks ,

Unfortunately a live in Brazil.. But I wonder if there is not any way we can get together to stop this from happening.

Reading this posts I found at least 5 people that were fooled by this person.
That´s people that found this forum. How much was fooled that we haven´t heard so far ??

Can we fight together ?? Talk to an American lawyer and divide together the costs ??? I can´t be the leader of this quest because need it to be an American...

That's not just because we can have our money back...We can prevent this from happening to others...

That´s all ...

Regards ,

Kiko

[flowerbug89]

i got my G5 today. after waiting for way too many weeks. i guess my uncle's lawyer sent a very intimidating email because i got it express. it is the correct model this time and is brand new. i can suggest to other buyers that have not received their order to call a lawyer at once. looks like it's the only way to get anywhere with mr. caralambides.

[adamjay]

it really pains me to see honest people ripped off like this... and not to exclude anyone but ESPECIALLY ripping off Brasilians, they are the nicest folk in the world that i have met in all my travels.

if there is anything i can do let me know, contact me via email
adamjay at subterror dot com just put iBook RIPOFF in the subject.

i offer my assistance because i travel often, will be in Winnipeg Canada this weekend, back to Canada in April. Brasilia around July, and i live in the US.
So, if you find that you need any assistance in personally filing something in a certain territory or country that i will be in, let me know. i'd love to prevent this scumbag from scamming anyone else over, and can't just sit aside and not offer help.

and keep us updated as to what happens with your ''refund''

[AssassinOfGates]

[Admin Edit: This post appears to be a shill... trying to legitimatize the business.]

Damnit I hate it when they do that. (cough)TigerDirect(cough) o_O

[_pb_boi]

Completely fraudulent.

I can't believe the community here - it's incredible. You guys have it made, with regards to helping each other. It's really impressive.

For what it's worth, even the mail signatures from both MacWhiz and MacMaster are the same, save for the name! In addition, both sites ended correspondance with a "Thank you." IMHO, more circumstancial proof that they're one and the same entity. As if more proof was needed!

I guess I had a lucky escape. Was in correspondance with the guy, planning to buy! Bastard!

peace.

[loubapache]

AssassinOfGates:

I saw you coughed on TigerDirect. Do you have bad experience?

I was thinking about ordering an IBM Thinkpad from them.

Thanks.

[kcoelho]

Just to update you guys ,

Since past 2 weeks no word from our friend Mr. Dennis Charalambides
Tried to call , e-mail him several times and..... Nothing Happend
Didn´t send my money back or my product.

So be aware :

DON´T BUY ANYTHING FROM MACWHI**********
DON´T BUY ANYTHING FROM MACMASTERSHOP.COM

IT´S A FRAUD SCHEME !!!!

DON´T BELIEVE ANY POSTS HERE SAYING THEY HAVE RECEIVED THE PRODUCT ( EVEN IF IT TAKE A LONG TIME ) .. IS NOT TRUE AND POSTED FROM THE SAME PEOPLE SCAMING WITH MACMASTERSHOP.COM


Thanks again..And please...Spread the word !!!

Kiko