Selling “Tonic” to the Pioneers
Several clients of ours have now received calls from “Domain Registry Support” which tries to deceive people into buying unneeded .US domains. I lodged a complaint with the FTC and thought the whole incident might be good blog material. First, it can serve as a warning about yet more unscrupulous peddlers of useless “tonics” in these web pioneering days. Second, it may function as an update regarding one of the tools available, for good Internet citizens and sheriffs alike.
After the call I received, I did some quick searches on the web — you can often very effectively find a lot of information by searching under an organization’s telephone number — and confirmed my suspicions (see, eg, http://www.flyteblog.com/flyte/2005/05/domain_registry.html). Then I went to FTC.gov and completed the form under the “File a Complaint” menu option:
Domain Registry Support
Shawn Barker, Supervisor
New York City, NY
one-time one-page notification re. active domain(s)
“Mark”
860-533-1738
“Notification Processor”
Complaint: Domain Registry Support has called both me and a number of clients on several occasions, reportedly to alert us by fax about the possibility that various domain names we’ve registered could be threatened. They use misinformation to acquire a fax number through which they send a statement designed to look like a Network Solutions invoice. Less knowledgeable consumers could easily believe that signing up for their .US domain is somehow necessary and pay whatever fee they require. Apparently “Mark” works in a call center in India; he claimed his supervisor is “Shawn Barker.”
A few days after completing the form, I received this response:
DATE: Mon, 1 May 2006 14:07:44 -0400 (EDT)RE: Response to your complaint Ref No. 8132283
Thank you for visiting the FTC’s web page and for using our NEW electronic Talk To Us form. Here’s what happened to your information after you sent it to us: One of our consumer counselors reviewed the information you sent us. If it was related to the FTC’s law enforcement responsibilities, we entered it into our shared law enforcement data system. We share this data system with law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada. Attached is your electronic response, which includes your reference number. Any enclosures can be found at www.FTC.GOV under the News Releases, Publications, Speeches option.
Information from consumers like you helps Federal, State and Local authorities investigate possible illegal practices and enforce our laws. Someone from the Federal Trade Commission or another law enforcement agency may contact you if they need additional information to help them in an investigation.
Thank you for using our Talk To Us form, and please continue to use the FTC’s web page, www.ftc.gov, to get free information to help you avoid costly consumer problems.
That’s all I’ve seen so far, but let’s report all of the scams we see, and lobby state and federal governments to crack down. (There are already three spam companies that have found a way around K-9 Spam Filter, and now I get about 30 spams I have to manually delete each day, in addition to the 400 spams K-9 automatically removes daily.) NSI has lobbied for tighter anti-spam laws, helping improve legislation (at least slightly) in one state. But at the rate the bad guys are gaining, the calvary needs to arrive over the hill any time now.
I have also rec’d calls from this number, but for another reason. Ever get one of those emails saying they need your help to cash US payments? My sister and I decided to see what actually happens, so we answered one. TWe’ve rec’d two packages from them. They FEDEXed us 6-$500 Amex Trav Chks and UPSed us $4800 cashier’s chk. We’re supposed to deposit in our acct and wire them all but 5% (our commission). Obviosly these are conterfeit, but thye expect their “mark” not to realize this. So, I never made the deposit and now they’ve called to see what’s up. 860-533-1738 is the caller ID.
Interesting: Domain Registry Services’ Lagos office! NSI Partners researches Internet rumors and fraud, and we’re very familiar with the so-called 419 fraud schemes (see http://archive.salon.com/people/feature/2001/08/07/419scams/print.html where Douglas Cruickshank sifts through their “poetic sweetness” and “lavishly stilted prose excavated from an 18th century protocol handbook”).
But we’ve never seen Domain Registry Services tied to this until now. Also, I’ve never heard of them sending actual checks — what do they expect you to think when the bank refuses to cash them?
Keep up your efforts, though — anything to expose them. As of ten years ago this scam has reportedly cost more than $5 billion (http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/)and has been going since the 1920s (http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/nigeria.asp)!
I received a call from a golf distributor in Fla. He asked me if I ordered 2 Ping Drivers on my Amex card. I had not. He sensed something was wrong as my address in in NY and the “customer”wanted them shipped to Miami. The guy had my all my info and even the 4-digit code on my Amex card. The number on the Caller ID was 860-533-1738. The ship to address is a restaurant in Miami. I recently registered a domain name using that Amex card. Who should I contact to investagate this?
thanks
Thanks for writing in!
Was the domain registration the only usage of the card? Many folks assume that an Internet transaction is inherently unsafe, but if the site is secure, it is probably no more risky than handing one’s card to waiter at a restaurant.
Anyone with access to the numbers can attempt to commit fraud in your name. If you want specific anti-fraud tips for the future, just let me know — we provide training in that area.
As for the restaurant that seems to like golf, we spoke with the Miami Police Investigations at (305) 579-6521 who suggests that you contact them with the specific restaurant address. They will refer you to the specific precinct where you can file a complaint with their Fraud and Forgery Department.
Please do file the report. Criminals usually operate in repeating patters, so apprehension of thieves–and prevention of theft for the next person–is often just a matter of data.
I just got a call from what sounded like an East Indian woman from that number. She said that she needed to email me some information. I gave her an incorrect variation on my email, I’m on the do not call list so I’m going to report them immediately.
In searching through our inbound call logs for this phone number, we have had over 2400 calls from 8605331738 over the past year. Someone called, indicating he needed to place an order over the phone for a gift card (expedited) because he’s deployed overseas and can’t order through the web. I listened to a number of the recorded calls from this number, and every one of them was from a customer claiming to be international (Cayman Islands, Barbados, etc), who needed to get a transaction processed. There were numerous red flags indicating they were fraudulent.
I keep getting calls from this number, incessantly. How do I get them to stop?
Thanks for writing in. Domain scams have been around for several years, with scammers calling and faxing businesses. These scammers pay no attention to do not call lists. The FTC (see this page: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/domainalrt.shtm)advises consumers to protect themselves by:
1. Avoiding any domain name pre-registration service that guarantees particular top level domain names or preferential treatment in the assignment of new top level domain names.
2. Avoiding doing business with people who send unsolicited faxes - regardless of the offer. Unsolicited faxes are illegal.
3. Staying on top of the news about top level domain names at the ICANN website, http://www.icann.org.
You can fight back by working to expose scammers. Online communities such as this one on Flickr (see this page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pforret/423419895/) help to expose scammers and alert people to the latest scams. Being vocal in an online community is one way to join the fight against scammers.
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