online escrow fraud - buyer beware

[dornball]

i apologize for posting this in the "for sale/trade" section, but the topic is relevant.

i recently was scammed by a seller selling some macintosh hardware, and wanting to use a particular online escrow website to secure the transaction. I was scammed out of a lot of money. i have lots of proof about how i got scammed online.

i wanted to post a message warning poeple not to use
www.secure-on-line.com
or
www.safe-service.org

i also want to leave my email: dornball@yahoo.com
so that people may contact me if they have been scammed by either of the above escrow sites. the police wont do anything unless $10,000.00 or more is reported stolen. so i'm trying to gather others how have been scammed, or at the very least warn others.

-dornball

[Kwyjibo]

wow thanks for the update. I can't see GE being too happy about that logo at the top of the one site. I woudl defiantely email thier legal department and make sure that site atelast takes off that logo. I would read this page
http://sol.34sp.com/license.htm and contact the approrate places in NY to see if these liceneses are frauds.

[Nipsy]

All over that Secure On Line site I see the company's acronym:

S.O.L.

Who else knows what that might stand for?

Have we found a scammer with a sense of humour?

[Nipsy]

Hilarious:
________________________
INDEMNIFICATION
The Buyer and Seller agree to indemnify and hold harmless www.secure-on-line.com from any claim or demand arising out of the Buyer's or Seller's use of www.secure-on-line.com services or for breaches of this contract. In the event that the item(s) are unsatisfactory for any reason, the Buyer and Seller agree to look solely to each other for any and all legal remedies.

http://sol.34sp.com/terms.htm
________________________
They are saying, if you lose money, you're screwed. And, we're not going to honor any contacts.

[QCassidy352]

escrow.com is considered reliable and trustworthy, right?

edit: wow, those sites look pretty good, especially the first one. The scammers must have put a lot of work in to those...

[iJon]

hey, lets catch the guy, we caught the last guy who pulled this stunt. give us the info and lets see if we can get this bastard.

iJon

[Nipsy]

Originally posted by iJon
hey, lets catch the guy, we caught the last guy who pulled this stunt. give us the info and lets see if we can get this bastard.

iJon

All I could get from a whois is that they're registered through enom.

They share many similiarities indicating it's one scam on two sites.

The sites are both boiler plate & template built, so all the scammer had to do was pick some suitably bland corporate colors, and cut & paste some text to get that "real look".

[iJon]

thats a start, get us some more info on your purchase and we may be able to help you. well i probably wont but i know there are many smart people on this site who are willing to help, its fun too.

iJon

[rainman::|:|]

im not calling the FBI this time... someone else can do it... that was all too creepy...

i should go check that site, see if it's still around... hmm...

edit: it's not. it, and 4 others, are listed on e-gold's security page as scams...

don't feel bad about posting this, i think it's good info. maybe save someone some $?

pnw

[zimv20]

Originally posted by dornball

i wanted to post a message warning poeple not to use
www.secure-on-line.com
or
www.safe-service.org


did you get burned by both those sites? how did you associate them?

[zimv20]

Originally posted by dornball

www.safe-service.org


i notice for these guys, on the front page, they've got the benefits for the buyers and sellers switched. pretty sloppy.

[rjsweb]

On the website www.safe-service.org, they have a page listing their escrow licenses... somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but to my knowledge, there isn't a "New York Department of Corporations."

Additionally, they say they are registered as a business in all 50 states. Most states have an online registry to check business registrations/licenses. It took but 30 seconds to check my state, and there isn't anything close to www.safe-service.com, Safe Service, Safe-Service, etc.

Also, in my experience, websites with hypens ("-") in them are not trustworthy. I know that isn't very scientific, but it just seems to be accurate. Most legitimate companies have .com addresses. For a commercial business to have a .org, it is pretty fishy.

Just my two cents.

[rjsweb]

Oh, one other thing... I've noticed that several scam websites I've come by lately are registered through Enom. I once needed to call Enom and spent two hours on the phone trying to get a human being. Does anybody know if they are legitimate?

[dornball]

iJon,

what info. would you like?
i would love if you guys help me catch these guys.

i posted this only last night and i've already had 1 person contact me directly about a similar incident with Secure-on-line.com (SOL).

-dornball

[Santiago]

Originally posted by rjsweb
Oh, one other thing... I've noticed that several scam websites I've come by lately are registered through Enom. I once needed to call Enom and spent two hours on the phone trying to get a human being. Does anybody know if they are legitimate?

Enom's a legit registrar. I currently use them, though I may switch to someone cheaper come renewal time in June...

[Sun Baked]

I looked at the link and followed it through to the public company info (MICRO GENERAL CORP - central index key 67383) on the SEC webpage, the escrow company that came "incorporated by MGEN in 1999" up was...

http://www.escrow.com

which was sold in 2002.

I couldn't find any safe-service.org company.

Even looking in the current Fidelity National Financial which purchased Micro General, nothing.

Current Fidelity National Financial Inc Form 10k (http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/809398/000089256903000704/0000892569-03-000704.txt)

http://www.fnf.com

---

Reading it again it looks like they are just "say" they were incoporated by MGEN are using the software made by escrow.com (not named, but they are the company who was that unit) and fail to disclose any vital company info.

So they are just defrauding people on the above companies good names.

[iJon]

Originally posted by dornball
iJon,

what info. would you like?
i would love if you guys help me catch these guys.

i posted this only last night and i've already had 1 person contact me directly about a similar incident with Secure-on-line.com (SOL).

-dornball
im not sure, let other people ask, i didnt help much last time, everything i went to do someone had already done. i was just throwing the idea out, some people will ask what may be usefull, if anything at all. last tiem we did this it was a different situation.

iJon

[dornball]

Originally posted by iJon
last tiem we did this it was a different situation.

iJon

what happened last time? what was the situation, and did you guys catch the guilty parties?

-dornball

[iJon]

Originally posted by dornball
what happened last time? what was the situation, and did you guys catch the guilty parties?

-dornball
well he gave us the guys phone number and email address, just a matter of finding out where he lived. then eric did everything himself. he didnt get his stuff back but someone donated him an ibook and they put the guy behind bars.

iJon

[Sun Baked]

Hmmm....

Both sites are not up at the moment.

Hopefully somebody finally called the companies that were listed as being part of this farce, so the ISPs could be slapped with a cease and desist to pull the sites.

Really looks bad for public companies when their names to be used like this, especially a Fortune 500 company.

[dornball]

yeah

www.secure-on-line.com went offline today.

i contacted the hosting site. this is what they told me:
"I can confirm this site was suspended already. It would appear the site
was purchased fraudelntly.

The account will not be re-instated, especially given your case as well.
We believe the account was purchased with a stolen credit card.

Good luck with your case, please let us know if we can help in any way
with it.
--
Stuart
34SP.com"

well, i don't know if there is much more to do....but one person has contacted me so far about also getting scammed by these guys...mabye there are still more who will come forward.

edit: i went to the www.whois.net website and found who the www.secure-on-line.com website is registered to....take a look:
http://whois.net/whois.cgi2?d=secure-on-line.com

-dornball

[iJon]

maybe if enough people get scammed you can build a case. i dont know anything about that stuff though, i just watch law and order

iJon

[DreaminDirector]

Guys, I'm ready and willing to help out here. Like iJon, I was around for the last time this happened and it pissed me off so much that a fellow mac user got shafted on a computer. iJon is right too, we need more info. Any info would be helpful.

It'll be like a giant folding@home session except we're using our collective brains (eh, maybe our computers too) to solve this!

I'm in.

[dornball]

hey guys,

www.secure-on-line.com is down because the hosting found out they were using a stolen credit card to pay for the site.

however, http://www.safe-service.org is back up, and these are the same guys. for those of you who saw both sites when they were both up, saw the similarities.

i want to shut this site down too.
does anyone know how to find out the compnay that hosts this site? is it in fact that company "enom" that we were talking about earlier in this thread.

thanks for your help. i got taken by secure-on-line.com.
let's get these guys so other people don't lose money, so that we can restore some consumer confidence.

-dornball

[Sun Baked]

Talk to escrow.com the division of Micro General Corp. (NASDAQ: MGEN) that these idiots are loosely claiming to be, to see if they ever licensed the software to these guys.

And talk to Fidelity National Financial, Inc.

---

You can always play dumb, and ask to talk to the President in charge of the safe-service division at the above companies -- because you lost money while using their service. ;)

Nudging them into slapping safe-service with a cease-and-desist is the most you can hope for.

[dornball]

beware of
www.bbbsafe.com

this is yet another fraud online escrow service website.
seems to be the same M.O. (same setup with a different face/colors)

here was the classified ad by which i found this out:
http://classifieds.yahoo.com/display/merchandise?ct_hft=detailnp&intl=&cc=merchandise&cr=United+States&cids=merchandise-1052320097-6089353&refsrc=search

this is what they have typically been doing. selling laptops/desktops for too-good-to-be-true prices.
$1,600 is already ridiculously low for a 17" laptop, as we all know.
i offered the person $1,400 just to see what they say.
the person agreed immediately and told me to register at
www.bbbsafe.com
and that they were already registered there.

see for yourself....respond to the ad with a ridiculous offer like $900. i'll bet you they say yes, and ask you to go to www.bbbsafe.com.

anyway, i just wanted to keep everyone informed.
happy hunting.

-dornball

[Sun Baked]

UR right, it look's like it's the same idiots running the scam under a new name, same old story on the company info. :rolleyes:

[dornball]

i looked on whois.net to find out the website hosting company for
www.bbbsafe.com, but i couldn't find it, or at least i wsn't as clear as www.secure-on-line.com and www.safe-service.ofg

can someone help. i want to shut these guys down......and the next one.....and the next one.....etc.
its a crusade.......we are g.i.joe and they are cobra.

-dornball

[Sun Baked]

Try www.dnsstuff.com

[dornball]

watch out for
www.spess.net
it is bogus.

i have found all of these fraudulent online escrow sites via people selling macs for "too-good-to-be-true" prices on yahoo classifieds.
i'm beginning to think that there isn't 1 legitimate ad on those yahoo classified pages.

anyway here is the typical reply i get, when i say i'm interested.
The Apple PowerBook G4 w/ 23" Cinema Display is in factory sealed box,
never used before, in excellent condition and manufacturer guaranteed. The
warranty is 1-year (parts & labour) Apple full manufacturers Warranty. The
product will be ship with an extended warrantyand with all the Apple
original factory accessories & cables & manuals that you'll need and the
shipping will be covered by UPS ground delivery in few working days. I will
pay all the shipping fees (insurance included), so you'll don't have to pay
anything at the package arrival. My final buy price for this Apple
PowerBook G4 w/ 23" Cinema Display is $2400usd. The payment will be made
through a safe escrow service. So, if you'll agree with this price, please
make all the arrangements with www.spess.net because they will give us,
both, much more safety that any other services. Also, after you'll finish
your registration with www.spess.net and they will notify me that you made
the payment please e-mail me your shipping address and phone number, so I
can make all the shipping arrangements and have the shipment receipt & UPS
tracking number for the package ready to be send it to you. Also, after
you'll received the package you'll have 3 inspection days to see that
everything it's OK. After you'll check the merchandise and saw everything
it's OK, you'll have to release the money to me. Thanks and I hope we will
finish this deal soon and successfully. My best regards and please start
the escrow transaction through www.spess.net and they will notify you and
will provide you the next steps!

Clark Parkhurst
88 Lawndale Ave.
Bristol CT 06010

i posted the same thing on spymac.
good luck, and be careful out there. i'm off to contact the host company of this one and have it shut down.

-dornball
dornball@yahoo.com

[bokdol]

Originally posted by dornball
watch out for
www.spess.net
it is bogus.

i have found all of these fraudulent online escrow sites via people selling macs for "too-good-to-be-true" prices on yahoo classifieds.
i'm beginning to think that there isn't 1 legitimate ad on those yahoo classified pages.
Clark Parkhurst
88 Lawndale Ave.
Bristol CT 06010[/I]

i posted the same thing on spymac.
good luck, and be careful out there. i'm off to contact the host company of this one and have it shut down.

-dornball
dornball@yahoo.com

just to note this is the person who owns it
Registrant:
Shuvradeep, Mukherjee (ZFVVXTUFYD)
19K, Reading Rd
Edison, NJ 08817
US

Domain Name: SPESS.NET

Administrative Contact:
Lycos UK (YPZQOPGNQO) domains@webcentre.lycos.co.uk
Lycos UK
Ireland 52 Grosvenor Gardens
London, London sw1 0au
GB
0044 207 8816 500
Technical Contact:
Lycos Europe (QNFKGENMEO) domains@webcentre.lycos.co.uk
Lycos Europe
79 rue Monceau
Paris, Paris 75008
FR
0033156594545

Record expires on 05-May-2004.
Record created on 05-May-2003.
Database last updated on 23-May-2003 15:05:04 EDT.

Domain servers in listed order:

NSHOST1.ST2.LYCEU.NET 212.78.206.21
NSHOST2.ST2.LYCEU.NET 212.78.206.22
NSHOST3.ST2.LYCEU.NET 212.78.192.249

it seems it was made the begining of this month... though i may be wrong

[gelbin]

dornball, is that you, or is that the scammer??

[dornball]

Originally posted by gelbin
dornball, is that you, or is that the scammer??

clark is the scammer, but its probably a made up name, or they used someone's name/address.
i was quoting the email "he" had sent me.

-dornball

[gelbin]

do a google search on the guy. he is some pyrotechnics guy from connecticut. the search matched his address. need to nail this guy. should not be too hard.

[Huked on Fonick]

god things like this diskust me, this work is so full of dick munches...

[G3-Pwnz-G4]

actually the whole world is full of dick munches and cock bites...just the way things are, unfortunatly....