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