Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Monday, June 2, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
To DVD Or Not To DVD .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Heads up! Take the action to the right place.
The investigation is grinding to a halt, but why? Like any action-oriented organisation we can't make moves without information. Harsh words, yes, but they are needed!
All we need to act against these scammers is specific information from the victims of these crimes. And yet I see daily postings of complaints at Andy's site while the importent info never hits the net. Now, I hope the trouble is not that people are afraid to get involved, or simply don't care. Rather I'd believe that the format of this site is wrong for sharing information.
In case you prefer a real forum, please post all the information you've got about these scams here: FraudWatchers.org , the best anti-fraud website and forum on the net!
I've made a post here on FraudWatchers.org; ready, easy to find and easy to post in. You don't even need to register, just please give as much information as possible. You can find inspiration about the needed info here.
And now, let's go get these scammers who are taking our money, patience and and pride, and laughing while no one acts on their crimes!
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
All we need to act against these scammers is specific information from the victims of these crimes. And yet I see daily postings of complaints at Andy's site while the importent info never hits the net. Now, I hope the trouble is not that people are afraid to get involved, or simply don't care. Rather I'd believe that the format of this site is wrong for sharing information.
In case you prefer a real forum, please post all the information you've got about these scams here: FraudWatchers.org , the best anti-fraud website and forum on the net!
I've made a post here on FraudWatchers.org; ready, easy to find and easy to post in. You don't even need to register, just please give as much information as possible. You can find inspiration about the needed info here.
And now, let's go get these scammers who are taking our money, patience and and pride, and laughing while no one acts on their crimes!
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
What can WE/YOU do?
These frauds are counting their victims in the thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands. I hope you will help me stop these companies, and thus help yourself and all the other people who have been hurt by these scams and who will be in the future.
You might say that there are a million other, possibly better, causes to fight for and spend your time on. However, in this kind of fight we can actually make a big difference with just a little effort from everyone.
Remember, just because those who run these scams are smart, hard to find and maybe even wield considerable power, it doesn't mean that they can't and shouldn't be punished. Nothing goes unnoticed to the entire world and money and people can't disappear forever. Everything leaves clues; it's just a question of giving enough attention.
So, let's get our options on the table. Speaking about such things openly may seem odd, as the perpetrators can read this as easily as anyone, and probably will. However this knowledge will only leave them one of three actions, all of them satisfying to us:
A1) Stop their business and hide; the track may get cold, but at least the fraud has been stopped.
A2) Continue their business but try to cover their tracks; they'll be punished with stress from being constantly harassed and their business will become a lot harder, and we'll get them sooner or later anyway.
A3) Continue unaffected; we'll get them sooner than they can imagine.
Our options, in no particular order or combination:
B1) Gather all the evidence we can by ourselves, file complaints with anti-fraud agencies and advocate that they act on the case.
You can: File personal complaints here and with international anti-fraud agencies (see the links section to the right of this text) and be careful to indicate that you are not the only one concerned. Provide links to this and similar websites in your complaint.
We can: When we have some hundred reports we can make an organised complaint to the anti-fraud agencies, stating the full seriousness and perspectives of these crimes and with sending all the information we have gathered on the perpetrators.
B2) Raise money for a private/public investigation and ensure it is followed through.
You can: Support the cause by donating funds and suggest that others do likewise.
We can: By collecting enough funds we can pay for the initiation of a private investigation of the companies in question or support public investigation thus ensuring more resources than would else be available.
B3) Warn customers of the scam, through means of the internet and one-to-one communication.
You can: Tell of your experiences and concerns at this website and others like it, tell the truth about the company in reviews and spread the word of the frauds on news boards, forums and blogs. Tell your friends, your family and you collegous at work or at the study. Always inform about this or a similar site so that people can quickly gain as much information as possible about the problem and support the cause.
We can: By gaining influence on the net many customers will check with us before visiting sites, thus avoiding the scam shops and supporting the legal businesses. The more known each independent anti-fraud website is, the more it will be rated on Google and other search machines and hopefully finally end on top of the scammers' own pages. Thus the customers will be warned before making the mistake of buying from any of the known scam shops.
B4) Attack the perpetrators directly by hacking, physical action or other means. I do not recommend this, as it conflicts with the law and thus our interests in a safe internet. Beware: Taking action is this way may damage our cause more than help it and may even force us to stop all of our activities.
You can: Put banners of warning on their websites or close them down. Find the perpetrators in person and make a civil arrest. Take note: None of these methods, if committed through illegal means, are recommended or in any way supported by this community!
We can: We cannot engage in or support illegal activity, but where such action can be done without breaking the law or where legal permission for similar action can be gained, it will be supported in full by this community.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You might say that there are a million other, possibly better, causes to fight for and spend your time on. However, in this kind of fight we can actually make a big difference with just a little effort from everyone.
Remember, just because those who run these scams are smart, hard to find and maybe even wield considerable power, it doesn't mean that they can't and shouldn't be punished. Nothing goes unnoticed to the entire world and money and people can't disappear forever. Everything leaves clues; it's just a question of giving enough attention.
So, let's get our options on the table. Speaking about such things openly may seem odd, as the perpetrators can read this as easily as anyone, and probably will. However this knowledge will only leave them one of three actions, all of them satisfying to us:
A1) Stop their business and hide; the track may get cold, but at least the fraud has been stopped.
A2) Continue their business but try to cover their tracks; they'll be punished with stress from being constantly harassed and their business will become a lot harder, and we'll get them sooner or later anyway.
A3) Continue unaffected; we'll get them sooner than they can imagine.
Our options, in no particular order or combination:
B1) Gather all the evidence we can by ourselves, file complaints with anti-fraud agencies and advocate that they act on the case.
You can: File personal complaints here and with international anti-fraud agencies (see the links section to the right of this text) and be careful to indicate that you are not the only one concerned. Provide links to this and similar websites in your complaint.
We can: When we have some hundred reports we can make an organised complaint to the anti-fraud agencies, stating the full seriousness and perspectives of these crimes and with sending all the information we have gathered on the perpetrators.
B2) Raise money for a private/public investigation and ensure it is followed through.
You can: Support the cause by donating funds and suggest that others do likewise.
We can: By collecting enough funds we can pay for the initiation of a private investigation of the companies in question or support public investigation thus ensuring more resources than would else be available.
B3) Warn customers of the scam, through means of the internet and one-to-one communication.
You can: Tell of your experiences and concerns at this website and others like it, tell the truth about the company in reviews and spread the word of the frauds on news boards, forums and blogs. Tell your friends, your family and you collegous at work or at the study. Always inform about this or a similar site so that people can quickly gain as much information as possible about the problem and support the cause.
We can: By gaining influence on the net many customers will check with us before visiting sites, thus avoiding the scam shops and supporting the legal businesses. The more known each independent anti-fraud website is, the more it will be rated on Google and other search machines and hopefully finally end on top of the scammers' own pages. Thus the customers will be warned before making the mistake of buying from any of the known scam shops.
B4) Attack the perpetrators directly by hacking, physical action or other means. I do not recommend this, as it conflicts with the law and thus our interests in a safe internet. Beware: Taking action is this way may damage our cause more than help it and may even force us to stop all of our activities.
You can: Put banners of warning on their websites or close them down. Find the perpetrators in person and make a civil arrest. Take note: None of these methods, if committed through illegal means, are recommended or in any way supported by this community!
We can: We cannot engage in or support illegal activity, but where such action can be done without breaking the law or where legal permission for similar action can be gained, it will be supported in full by this community.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Monday, February 18, 2008
Unique-DVD .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
DVD Diesel .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
DVD scam netted brothers a fortune - and serious jail-time
Yorkshire Evening Post
DVD scam netted brothers a fortune
Published Date: 17 April 2004
Location: Leeds
BY DAVID BRUCE
YORKSHIRE film fans were among thousands of victims of two brothers who masterminded a counterfeit business that netted them almost £400,000 in just 18 months.
Skinhead brothers Paul and Jason Tame bought counterfeit DVDs from crime gangs in the Far East – and sold them for a hefty profit to unsuspecting customers across Europe.
Investigators said that the money their suppliers made from the illicit trade would have been fed into the seedy world of drugs, prostitution and slave labour in the Far East.
The British-based brothers' business operated from five addresses in the Hastings area. They acquired fake copies of recently-released DVDs including the highly popular Spiderman video.
The brothers advertised the DVDs on the internet as well as local newspapers. Many of their customers lived in the Yorkshire region.
But, the brothers' money-making scam eventually came to an end because of a large number of complaints from customers.
They told police and a film industry watchdog that the films were of such poor quality they were unwatchable.
Raids
Police and investigators from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) moved into action and seized almost 7,000 counterfeit DVDs during raids on five addresses in the south-east.
In March this year, Paul Tame, 34, and his brother Jason, 30, pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court to a sample Common Law offence of defrauding the film industry. Yesterday Paul Tame was given nine months in jail and his brother four months behind bars.
They masterminded a counterfeit video business which is said to have made in excess of £250,000 per year. Over the 18 months they operated their scam they are calculated to have earned almost £400,000.
The counterfeit DVDs were bought from Malaysia for £1 each and sold on through an elaborate Internet mail order operation for £5.
Pat Timoney, UK Theatrical Piracy Manager at FACT, said: "The conviction will send out further warning to those who think they can get away with video counterfeiting and piracy.
"The Tame brothers were blatant in their Internet advertising of their services and they now face a substantial period of time in prison to reflect on this." Their operation was eventually blocked by the internet service provider.
Lavinia Carey, Director General at the British Video Association (BVA), said: "Yet again, FACT has had another success story in the war against video counterfeiting. The Tame brothers were serious film fraudsters, obtaining illegal goods from gangs in the Far East involved in serious organised crime.
"The profits these gangs received from the brothers will have been fed into drugs, prostitution and slave labour."
david.bruce@ypn.co.uk
Copied by Søren Ekelund from http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/DVD-scam-netted-brothers-a.776086.jp, last seen 18-02-2008. Permission pending.
DVD scam netted brothers a fortune
Published Date: 17 April 2004
Location: Leeds
BY DAVID BRUCE
YORKSHIRE film fans were among thousands of victims of two brothers who masterminded a counterfeit business that netted them almost £400,000 in just 18 months.
Skinhead brothers Paul and Jason Tame bought counterfeit DVDs from crime gangs in the Far East – and sold them for a hefty profit to unsuspecting customers across Europe.
Investigators said that the money their suppliers made from the illicit trade would have been fed into the seedy world of drugs, prostitution and slave labour in the Far East.
The British-based brothers' business operated from five addresses in the Hastings area. They acquired fake copies of recently-released DVDs including the highly popular Spiderman video.
The brothers advertised the DVDs on the internet as well as local newspapers. Many of their customers lived in the Yorkshire region.
But, the brothers' money-making scam eventually came to an end because of a large number of complaints from customers.
They told police and a film industry watchdog that the films were of such poor quality they were unwatchable.
Raids
Police and investigators from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) moved into action and seized almost 7,000 counterfeit DVDs during raids on five addresses in the south-east.
In March this year, Paul Tame, 34, and his brother Jason, 30, pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court to a sample Common Law offence of defrauding the film industry. Yesterday Paul Tame was given nine months in jail and his brother four months behind bars.
They masterminded a counterfeit video business which is said to have made in excess of £250,000 per year. Over the 18 months they operated their scam they are calculated to have earned almost £400,000.
The counterfeit DVDs were bought from Malaysia for £1 each and sold on through an elaborate Internet mail order operation for £5.
Pat Timoney, UK Theatrical Piracy Manager at FACT, said: "The conviction will send out further warning to those who think they can get away with video counterfeiting and piracy.
"The Tame brothers were blatant in their Internet advertising of their services and they now face a substantial period of time in prison to reflect on this." Their operation was eventually blocked by the internet service provider.
Lavinia Carey, Director General at the British Video Association (BVA), said: "Yet again, FACT has had another success story in the war against video counterfeiting. The Tame brothers were serious film fraudsters, obtaining illegal goods from gangs in the Far East involved in serious organised crime.
"The profits these gangs received from the brothers will have been fed into drugs, prostitution and slave labour."
david.bruce@ypn.co.uk
Copied by Søren Ekelund from http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/DVD-scam-netted-brothers-a.776086.jp, last seen 18-02-2008. Permission pending.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
