Escrow (UK)

[Hatz]

Hey everyone. I have a chance to buy something using Escrow. The only thing is the guy says his business has an account with a company in London. I just don't know if this is a legit company.

Has anyone heard of http://AC-Escrow.com

I am a little concerned because I have heard of people making fraudulant companies. I thought maybe some of the people from the UK have heard since it is out of London.

Thanks for any help you could give me.

Hatz

[pacmania_2001]

Maybe it's just me but I'm suspicious of their not being a telephone number listed by them on their site.

Perhaps ring up directory assistance and ask for the number of AC-Escrow and their address.

I'm not sure whether its applicable in the UK but also a company/business name search should yield some results.

[pacmania_2001]

I also digged up this piece of information that seems to be a little bit interesting (and suspicious). From the DNS records:

Domain Name.......... ac-escrow.com
Creation Date........ 2003-10-09
Registration Date.... 2003-10-09  
Expiry Date.......... 2004-10-09  
Organisation Name.... Chris Tyler  
Organisation Address. 121 Mariner Drive
Organisation Address.   
Organisation Address. Ormond Beach  Organisation Address. 32176  Organisation Address. FL
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES
Admin Name........... Chris Tyler  
Admin Address........ 121 Mariner Drive  
Admin Address........   
Admin Address........ Ormond Beach  
Admin Address........ 32176  
Admin Address........ FL  
Admin Address........ UNITED STATES  
Admin Email.......... masaincur@yahoo.com  
Admin Phone.......... +1.2129758275 
Admin Fax............ 
Tech Name............ YahooDomains 
TechContact  
Tech Address......... 701 First Ave.  
Tech Address.........   
Tech Address......... Sunnyvale  
Tech Address......... 94089  
Tech Address......... CA  
Tech Address......... UNITED STATES  
Tech Email........... domain.tech@YAHOO-INC.COM  
Tech Phone........... +1.6198813096  
Tech Fax............. +1.6198813010  
Name Server.......... yns1.yahoo.com  
Name Server.......... yns2.yahoo.com

Mainly the fact that for a so-called UK based escrow company it is based and registered in Florida, America and also uses a free email address is a bit worrying.

[Hatz]

It also says on their main site that they were created in 1999. And your records show that the creation date was 10-9 2003. Am I reading this right?

Another reason I am a little bit suspicious is because this guy is selling me a pretty good camcorder, cheap. Almost half off and he says its brand new in box. I saw it on ebay and he also has a feedback rating of zero.

Also tell me what this means.......if you go to the Contact Us page and it says the General Manager is Stephan Willams but you put your mouse over the picture to see the file name and it says Saul Weiss.....hmmmm

I just want to get to the bottom of this before I get screwed.

Hatz

[Gees]

and the creation date

oops - you spotted it - quicker typer than I am. :c)

And...if I'm not mistaken - or they've changed it since I lived in U.S. - that 212 area code is New York.

Too much conflicting info. I'd steer clear.

[pacmania_2001]

It also says on their main site that they were created in 1999. And your records show that the creation date was 10-9 2003. Am I reading this right?

That is the registration date for their domain name, so when they registered www.ac-escrow.com is what date it will show.

Personally if it was me I would be very reluctant to buy from the seller. I would ask him if he would accept using another escrow service (from Ebay's recommended list) and see what he says.

If he tries to make up some excuse then walk away, if he accepts it then you should be covered by that escrow service.

[Hatz]

Ok I just emailed him and asked him if he would mind using escrow.com. That is the ebay suggested one.

A few other things that are brought to my attention. The date from your DNS report said 10-9-2003 and his register date on ebay was 10-13-2003

Thats pretty close if you ask me. Also when you go to register it says their Credit Card processor is down and will be back in a few days. I contacted the seller and told him about this and he said they would give me another means of payment. I also contacted them asking when they would be back online. So they contacted me and said I could use Western Union. The one thing that caught my eye is that they used my full name when responding after I only gave them my first name( Seller could have givin it), but also they gave the transaction number the seller created.

And of course as I said above if you go to the Contact Us page and it says the General Manager is Stephan Willams but you put your mouse over the picture to see the file name and it says Saul Weiss.....hmmmm

I think I am going to steer clear but I will share his email when/if he responds.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Hatz

[Will Hay]

Hey Hatz,
VITAL: make sure you report your findings to ebay. I can't stress this enough.If you don't someone will get fucked over by this guy.
I'm sure you would have anyway pal
Will

[Will Hay]

And of course as I said above if you go to the Contact Us page and it says the General Manager is Stephan Willams but you put your mouse over the picture to see the file name and it says Saul Weiss.....hmmmm

Even stranger when you consider the picture name:
http://ac-escrow.com/zaravinos.jpg
Why not call it Williams, or even Weiss (presumably the last GM).
Will

[indolikaa]

Hatz,

I would report this to eBay immediately and not complete the transaction. The DNS listing is very fishy indeed. We have a company claiming to be out of the UK but with a Florida business listing and a New York exchange. And no mention of what their previous web address may have been, between last week and 1999? And they're now recommending Western Union?

She-it. I see more red flags in this transaction than a Soviet May Day celebration.

(The 212 area code is known as the 'Greater NYC' area code. Let's see what we can find out about it: there are 741 prefixes in greater NYC, 33 in Manhattan, 1 in Brooklyn and 1 in the Bronx. Hmm, no Florida here.)

[Will Hay]

Not one google search result either.
Report it Report it Report it Report it Report it Report it Report it Report it Report it to ebay investigations.
Will

[indolikaa]

The organization's address is most certainly one of the more posh residences on the Ormond Beach scene. Even at 1-meter resolution, you can't help but notice the straight-line, tract-housing development surrounding 121 Mariners Drive.

Why, I think I can see the special satellite dish used to connect with the Cayman Islands...

[Conquest10]

So they contacted me and said I could use Western Union. The one thing that caught my eye is that they used my full name when responding after I only gave them my first name( Seller could have givin it), but also they gave the transaction number the seller created.

That right there should indicate how trustworthy the seller is. Recommending Western Union?

[indolikaa]

"This is my island in the sun!"

Western Union. The fastest way to send money to the Cayman Islands.

[Hatz]

I contacted ebay. I wonder if there is someone else I should contact?

Check out this you guys. Here is the auction. He still hasn't emailed me back after I asked him to go with a different escrow service.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2957570662&category=3315&rd=1

That same camera.........a Sony TRV-950 that he told me he would sell me for 750, is now up to 10,000. I really hope that isn't somebody else bidding. I don't think people would be that dumb.

Also, you can't see the bid history. For some reason, he doesn't want us contacting other people.

His email address is clark@lexmass.com if you want to contact him yourself and yell at him. Or maybe if you are a good hacker, take him for what he's worth......hehehe.

Hatz

[indolikaa]

Considering you can buy the camcorder itself for $1999.95 from SonyStyle's website...

I wonder if he knows you're onto him?
I wonder if he's jacking up his own bid prices?
I wonder, if he fails to pay for his own bid, will he leave negative feedback on himself?

hack hack crack

[Hatz]

He probably knows I am on to him. He still hasn't responded yet. I'm gonna email him again and see what he says......hahahah.


Hatz

[Roundabout]

Hatz: I did a little more digging and came up with this website : http://chat.auctionpix.co.uk/chat/funchat.pl
Take a look, here is a post from someone scammed by a "company" at the same address that your "escrow company" resides at. Probably has set up a lot of them with the same address and just keeps changing names as necessary. Good thing you were wary!

Here's the post, many more on that webpage.

>>>Posted by: beautymarket on: 04-Sep-2003 at: 7:50 PM (GMT)
escrow services
someone recommended for me to swithc escrow services I have been using and plan on doing that but first need some help, please, please..... I worked with a gentleman in London and mailed a package to him worth $2500.00 We supposedly were working through a company called UKEscrow. I am concerned because I receive answers to my emails but 48 hours later and no answer on wire transfers. IS ANYONE FAMILIAR OR KNOWS IF SUCH AN ESCROW BUSINESS EXISTS IN LONDON, UK Escrow Inc. 1st Floor, 122 Holland Park Avenue, London, W11 4AU Any information would be useful to me, particularly that they do exist and a phone # would really help. <<<

And another one from that webpage, note the same address, but different escrow company:

>>>Posted by: whipporwil@aol.com on: 11-Sep-2003 at: 3:04 PM (GMT)
Possible fraud?
Anyone know anything about this company? La-Escrow, 1st Floor, 122 Holland Park Avenue, London, W11 4AU <<<

Apparently they try the same scam on everyone, tell you the CC processor is down and to send money by WU wire transfer... Lots of gullible people out there would do it. BTW, a Google search says there is a beauty salon at that address!
This guy got screwed by the same guy that you contacted, I guess.
Just goes to show you, if it looks too good to be true...

[Hatz]

Thanks Roundabout. I am so lucky that I decided to dig a little deeper. I was actually all ready to to pay for the thing. The only problem is, I didn't have my credit card on me. I left my wallet at a buddies house and he didn't bring it by until after you guys helped me figure out it was probably a scam.

I don't know if it was coincidence but I like to think that someone is looking for me.

I really hope they find this guy. Man I really wish I knew how to hack......I know its not nice but I would def. go into this guys email account and website and try to get back everything this guy might have taken from people. He would wish he never messed with people.

I emailed ebay twice but either they are too busy with other stuff or they do not care. Maybe I should email Yahoo as well. I wonder if they would care that someone has set up a fraudulant company on one of their domaines.

Hatz

[Gees]

I am so lucky that I decided to dig a little deeper.

No. That was smart. :c)

I was actually all ready to to pay for the thing. The only problem is, I didn't have my credit card on me. I left my wallet at a buddies house

That was luck! :c)

[Hatz]

Gees


Hatz

[Roundabout]

Very interesting story, Hatz!
I love digging into this kind of stuff.
Feeding more into my theory, only a couple of doors down from the address of this non-existent escrow company at 122 Holland Park, is the Embassy of Ukraine at 60 Holland Park. The guy in the picture, whose name shows up as Saul Weiss, definitely a Jewish name, very likely from Ukraine... Hmmm. Could possibly be connected, very close and convienient nearby address to use. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this is being run out of the embassy by an employee there. Lots of Russian/Ukrainian mafia types running around in London, and this would be the easiest scam in the world for them to run. It would be interesting to follow this story on the website I mentioned above. Let's see how many more show up with similar names like "uk-escrow.com". I'm gonna dig a little more and see if I can come up more info.

[Roundabout]

5) Most common online auction fraud scams and ways to spot them.

Wire Transfers overseas (especially Western Union) - seller insists that you pay by wire transfer and your payment is safe because money will not be released without a password or ID code. This is not true! If they insist on a wire transfer it is almost certainly a Scam!
Will only provide you with a mobile, pager or voice messaging system.
Landline number is always engaged or 'please leave a message'.
Hotmail account or another third-party email address.
High priced auctioned item from a member with zero feedback.
Offers to complete the sale before the auction has finished - contact telephone number or email in the text of the auction.
Makes an excuse why they cannot use the Escrow Payment facilities.

Apparently very common scam.
This is from another website:


current known scams
1. distant seller requests payment via Western Union or MoneyGram:
seller often claims that an MTCN or confirmation code is needed before he can withdraw your money - this is FALSE, once you've wired money, it is GONE.
common items currently: laptops, plasma TVs, cell phones, tickets
common countries currently include: Romania, Ukraine (my emphasis), Spain, UK, Italy
deal often seems too good to be true
2. distant seller offers to send you a cashier's check and then have you wire money:
this is ALWAYS a scam, in our experience - the cashier's check is FAKE
sometimes accompanies an offer of merchandise, sometimes not
scammer often asks for your name, address, etc for printing on the fake check
deal often seems too good to be true
3. distant seller suggests use of an online escrow service.
most online escrow sites are FRAUDULENT, operated by scammers
for more info, do a google search on "fake escrow" or "escrow fraud"
if you must do business with a distant seller, insist on a legitimate service, such as www.escrow.com
4. distant seller asks for a partial payment upfront, after which he will ship goods
he says he trusts you with the partial payment
he may say he has already shipped the goods
deal often sounds too good to be true
we've blocked a lot of IP ranges, had numerous scammer accounts shut down, and are working with officials in attempts to curtail these kind of scams .. in the meantime, it's BUYER BEWARE.

And an MSNBC link with more:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/775457.asp?cp1=1

Ebay has a discussion board that deals with these bogus companies:
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/forum.jsp?forum=23

You might want to report this bogus company on that discussion board so no one else gets scammed by him. Now we all know how widespread this problem is. Great information to know!

[Hatz]

Wow, great information Roundabout. I had no idea about this kind of stuff until it almost happened to me. It is quiet sad to see that these kind of people are around. Give me one minute with this guy and I guarantee he would never try to pull this garbage again. He couldn't because he would have no working fingers to do it...

You should be a detective roundabout......it seems you really like this kind of stuff. Thanks again for the great information. I am going to dig a little deeper also on this topic.

Thanks to all of you. You all helped me greatly and without you people I would have lost alot of money.

Hatz

[indolikaa]

Hatz,

I doubt eBay is ignoring this one. More likely, they are playing my all-time favorite game: follow the money! Methinks eBay has some resources available to them that wouldn't be found outside of the J Edgar Hoover building...

.indolikaa.
We Build the Weapons That Make 'Em Scream, "Tyrants!"

[thayne]

Did the guy ever reply to your email? I'm guessing not.

You should tell him you turned him in

[Hatz]

Ya I emailed him back and it was quite a nasty email. I insulted him and his family....hehehe. Told him he was a waste of oxygen and a poor display of the gene pool. Then I went as far as to say his mother should have swallowed that load when she had the chance...

Sorry about that it was pretty gross but she should have. I however did not once threaten him because who knows what kind of trouble I could get into.

Other then that he never emailed me back. Probably because he agrees with everything I said in that email. I did notice that after I emailed ebay, the next day his auction was no longer available. So hopefully this guy gets in trouble.

Hatz

[Roundabout]

Hatz:
A little more digging, the plot thickens...
As it turns out, the person shown on the Whois (DNS) lookup is a real person, and the address is real. Wonder if he knows his name is being used for this purpose, or maybe he is involved?
Next step: Searching the criminal records for this person's name.
Take a look at this from the Volusia County, FL public records:

[Hatz]

Wow Roundabout. Like I said before, Great investigating skills. I wonder if that guy does know he is being used for a location like that. Or maybe Christopher is that guys real name. But I have a feeling that 212 number from New York is the real guy. Not the guy in Florida.......but who knows. Maybe they are in on it together.

I just hope this guy frys. I'm sure nothing will come about it but a guy can hope and dream can't he?

Let me know if you find anything.....hell maybe we can contact this guy and see if its him or not. And if it isn't he could have a lawsuit on his hands possibly. Is there a way to see who that telephone number belongs to? Then criminal record and what not?

Hatz

[Roundabout]

Hatz,
I've been searching the criminal database, so far no hits on that name (though an alias could have been used). I'm trying to find more info on the phone #. It doesn't come up in the reverse lookup. Could be unlisted, or a non-existent number. If you have e-mails from this guy, you can look at the properties of the e-mail and see what domain it was sent from (though it could be spoofed, it might yield some useful info). Did you get and e-mail from both the guy and the escrow site? If so, you can check and see if it came from the same domain. Wouldn't be surprised if it did, most likely the two are one and the same. Still looking, will post if I find more.
I'm not a detective, though I am interested in that type of work. More than once I've solved some difficult "cases" just by using the power of deduction. I found someone in London a few years back who disappeared on me without leaving any kind of trail. Long story, but it was an ex-GF who wanted to vanish and she was extremely shocked when I located her - and I wasn't even in London at the time I found her.
Who knows? I'm unemployed (with lots of time on my hands, most spent on this forum ).
Thanks for the compliment. Will get back to you if I find more.