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How to track down a scammer?

by Rambo007
24 replies
I just discovered that a dodgy website is selling one of my products at a silly low price $5 from $50 and via paypal.

they arent responding to my emails of legal action and still have it on sale.

I have tried a WHOIS and google search to try and find out who they are or a way to contact them but no joy.

Is there anything more I can do?
#scammer #track
  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    You might want to get in touch with Brian Kindsvater here at the forum. He is an attorney who specializes in Internet Law and legal matters.

    If you want to sue, you will probably need to go through an attorney.

    If you just want to get the site taken down, do a whois to find out who his web hosting provider is and contact them.

    But if you succeed in take-down, it may just pop up in another location later.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bryan O'Neil
      Originally Posted by tpw View Post

      If you just want to get the site taken down, do a whois to find out who his web hosting provider is and contact them.
      ... as well as contact PayPal about it.
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      • Profile picture of the author Rambo007
        Originally Posted by Bryan O'Neil View Post

        ... as well as contact PayPal about it.
        Do you have an idea of how to go about that?

        It seems I can only open a dispute if I actually but something from the person?
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  • Profile picture of the author Karan Goel
    I suggest you send them a legal notice, like DMCA, and if they don't respond in a particular time frame, go get an attorney.

    Best of luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by Karan Goel View Post

      I suggest you send them a legal notice, like DMCA, and if they don't respond in a particular time frame, go get an attorney.

      Best of luck.

      He cannot do that yet, because he cannot determine who the owner of the site is... That was the purpose of this thread, to help the OP discover who to send the legal papers too.
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      Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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      • Profile picture of the author Karan Goel
        Originally Posted by tpw View Post

        He cannot do that yet, because he cannot determine who the owner of the site is... That was the purpose of this thread, to help the OP discover who to send the legal papers too.
        I do not belong to a country where English is first-language, but I responded as far as I could understand this:

        Originally Posted by Rambo007 View Post

        they arent responding to my emails of legal action and still have it on sale.
        Hope this clears.

        Cheers!
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        • Profile picture of the author tpw
          Originally Posted by Karan Goel View Post

          I do not belong to a country where English is first-language, but I responded as far as I could understand this.

          Understand. Not a problem.

          So far he is sending email to the site owner, either through a contact form on the website or thru the domain privacy address at whois.

          Neither method is useful for legal actions, because email is not a valid way to deliver legal papers.

          Neither is delivering legal papers to webmaster@domain.com.

          To deliver any legal papers that will hold water in court, you must know the name of the person you are suing and their physical address.
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          Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
          Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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          • Profile picture of the author Karan Goel
            Originally Posted by tpw View Post

            Understand. Not a problem.

            So far he is sending email to the site owner, either through a contact form on the website or thru the domain privacy address at whois.

            Neither method is useful for legal actions, because email is not a valid way to deliver legal papers.

            Neither is delivering legal papers to webmaster@domain.com.

            To deliver any legal papers that will hold water in court, you must know the name of the person you are suing and their physical address.
            Alright. I get that! Pardon me for being a little less aware of the legal stuff.

            In that case, contacting the host of the site, and seeking expert advice is all that can be helpful.
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            • Profile picture of the author M Thompson
              I've had this before and it's a real PITA... you won't get any joy from Paypal support, at least I didn't.

              It might be worth buying a copy via a credit card then initiating a chargeback.

              When that happens paypal have to look at the issue they can't ignore it., plus the guy will get charged an admin fee from paypal therefore make a loss.

              If you have 5 or 6 friends who do the same it won't be worthwhile him keeping the product on sale...so he might take it down.


              Oh and 1 more thing never issue threats of legal action if you don't intend to follow through with it....
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Rambo007 View Post

    I just discovered that a dodgy website is selling one of my products at a silly low price $5 from $50 and via paypal.

    they arent responding to my emails of legal action and still have it on sale.

    I have tried a WHOIS and google search to try and find out who they are or a way to contact them but no joy.

    Is there anything more I can do?
    Issue a DMCA to their host. Instructions and sample DMCA here.

    http://domainingdiva.com/legal-issue...ipoff-artists/
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    I think I know which site he's referring too and if I'm correct its a self hosted site where the server is probably down in the site owners basement. Forget about finding a hosting company because there is none.

    You'd have to find out who the internet service provider is and I'm not sure how to accomplish that, yet.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rambo007
    Thanks guy,

    I did a whois and his name was blocked but I couldnt work out how to find out who is hosting his account?
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  • Profile picture of the author goneebo
    negative reviews about the seller....
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  • Profile picture of the author DeborahDera
    Does the WHOIS tell you who the domain registrar is? You could start by contacting the hosting provider.

    Originally Posted by Rambo007 View Post

    I just discovered that a dodgy website is selling one of my products at a silly low price $5 from $50 and via paypal.

    they arent responding to my emails of legal action and still have it on sale.

    I have tried a WHOIS and google search to try and find out who they are or a way to contact them but no joy.

    Is there anything more I can do?
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  • Profile picture of the author jerzykaz
    Just wondering, if somone got they WHOIS on privacy settings, what do you do from then?
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Michael
    I know I will probably get a lot of criticism for this, BUT.....

    Why don't you just buy your own product from the guy for 5 dollars?

    You get his personal info in the details page of the transaction. Problem solved
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  • Profile picture of the author Rambo007
    Which personal details will I get?

    I assume it will release his email address which I already have but nothing else?
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    • Profile picture of the author davez
      Buy your product and when sent to download page right click and see the code, if he let his guard down might find some worthwhile info there.

      The other useful info is the recommendation to have friends buy and do a chargeback through their card issuer, PP hates that and will take your complaint seriously.

      Good Luck,
      Dave
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Michael
    I don't know for sure, but I think that when I buy a product, the transaction details page shows their name/address/city/state/country..

    Or maybe thats just when someone buys from me.. I don't know.

    But I DO think its worth a try.
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  • Profile picture of the author ShawnSells
    I like the chargeback idea, especially if the host is out of country. It really bites that someone can do that and probably get away with it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Ames
    Send a message to the Albania cyber army in that site's name saying " I dare you to crack my website you dorks!"
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    Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. -Winston Churchill

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    • Profile picture of the author Alex Kage
      Originally Posted by Scott Ames View Post

      Send a message to the Albania cyber army in that site's name saying " I dare you to crack my website you dorks!"
      Now that's the greatest idea I've ever heard.
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