Monday, November 21, 2005
Domain Name Fun
In can be kind of tiresome when you own a domain name, domain ownership is the sort of thing where many people pay someone else to do the legwork of registration and maintenance.
Those who would seek to mislead know this, it is a perfect area for the scammer as domain owners often know very little about their virtual property, and even the simple things such as when it needs renewal and how to check the Whois data are often a mystery to the owner.
So when official looking letters arrive saying things like FINAL NOTICE a small percentage of us will probably reach for the pen and sign off a payment without actually checking what that payment is for.
I own some domains, stopecg.org and ecgsucks.org, from the Whois database it is possible for the junk mailers to get hold of contact details and send me just such misleading mail. Shame for them that they never bothered to check the content of the website before they set about their little game!
Last week it was in the post, INTERNET LISTING SERVICE, who have a very basic website at www.ilscorp.co.uk
They sent me a 2 sided advert that looks remarkably like an invoice; (I will publish this soon on the website) only at the very end does it note in bold letters that it is not actually a bill. Of course this beggars the question, if you have to print on your advert that it is not a bill, why make it look like a bill in the first place?!!
You can ask ilscorp this question info@ilscorp.co.uk, please post any response you get here.
Then this week it was by email, separate emails, one for each domain name from Domain Listing Center, 8171 Yonge St. Suite# 149, Richmond Hill, ON L3T 2C6, Canada
Man, this one is so blatant I have had to publish it for you to see
My FINAL NOTICE is actually an advert for submission to search engines, well if I was going to buy such a service I would want to see how well the vendor’s website performed…. Hold on… they don’t ACTUALLY APPEAR TO HAVE A WEBSITE! No problem, they have an email domainlistingcenter@hotmail.com, Again, please feel free to contact them and ask them about the layout of their emails.
If you receive misleading communications, please don’t bin them, contact your local trading standards and make sure that a complaint is lodged, while you may spot a scam there are others who will surely fall for it.
Jules Woodell
Those who would seek to mislead know this, it is a perfect area for the scammer as domain owners often know very little about their virtual property, and even the simple things such as when it needs renewal and how to check the Whois data are often a mystery to the owner.
So when official looking letters arrive saying things like FINAL NOTICE a small percentage of us will probably reach for the pen and sign off a payment without actually checking what that payment is for.
I own some domains, stopecg.org and ecgsucks.org, from the Whois database it is possible for the junk mailers to get hold of contact details and send me just such misleading mail. Shame for them that they never bothered to check the content of the website before they set about their little game!
Last week it was in the post, INTERNET LISTING SERVICE, who have a very basic website at www.ilscorp.co.uk
They sent me a 2 sided advert that looks remarkably like an invoice; (I will publish this soon on the website) only at the very end does it note in bold letters that it is not actually a bill. Of course this beggars the question, if you have to print on your advert that it is not a bill, why make it look like a bill in the first place?!!
You can ask ilscorp this question info@ilscorp.co.uk, please post any response you get here.
Then this week it was by email, separate emails, one for each domain name from Domain Listing Center, 8171 Yonge St. Suite# 149, Richmond Hill, ON L3T 2C6, Canada
Man, this one is so blatant I have had to publish it for you to see
My FINAL NOTICE is actually an advert for submission to search engines, well if I was going to buy such a service I would want to see how well the vendor’s website performed…. Hold on… they don’t ACTUALLY APPEAR TO HAVE A WEBSITE! No problem, they have an email domainlistingcenter@hotmail.com, Again, please feel free to contact them and ask them about the layout of their emails.
If you receive misleading communications, please don’t bin them, contact your local trading standards and make sure that a complaint is lodged, while you may spot a scam there are others who will surely fall for it.
Jules Woodell
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Poll Madness
I should have started this blog a long time ago to document the madness that goes on unseen around the stopECG campaign..
Yesterday morning I checked the polls and about 50 people had indicated that when they signed the ECG’s form they had not realised they would be billed, one person had indicated that they expected to be billed. The Novachannel and Fairguide polls were similar in their distribution of votes. By 5 Pm it had all changed with over 2000 votes indicating that they expected to pay when they signed the form on all 3 polls. Now unless the same 2000 people were signed up with all 3 guides that would indicate over 6,000 visitors to stopecg.org; alas, the tracker suggests a figure nearer 250 for the day. The EU Parliament Petition poll had also been tampered with, receiving over 500 new votes
So someone has wasted the time and effort to sabotage the polls, presumably because they did not like the way the results were headed, then of course you have the childish comments posted on the ECG Poll
==================================
if I sign something and place an order then I expect to pay for it 11/16/05 4:43:49 AM MST
it 's my fault 11/15/05 2:09:37 PM MST
mummy ... help me ..... 11/15/05 2:02:48 PM MST
stop crying !!!!!!!!!!!! like kiddies 11/15/05 2:01:48 PM MST
they teach you in school .. read what you sign? 11/15/05 1:58:35 PM MST
they even leave you copy of the contract! that means even every idiot knows what going on!!!! 11/15/05 1:57:00 PM MST
everybody knows: what I sign I must read... 11/15/05 1:55:18 PM MST
I must know what I#am doing! 11/15/05 1:54:16 PM MST
i was so stupid 11/15/05 1:53:52 PM MST
I read the small print ! 11/15/05 1:53:25 PM MST
==================================
LOL, whatever keeps you guys happy…..
Jules Woodell
Yesterday morning I checked the polls and about 50 people had indicated that when they signed the ECG’s form they had not realised they would be billed, one person had indicated that they expected to be billed. The Novachannel and Fairguide polls were similar in their distribution of votes. By 5 Pm it had all changed with over 2000 votes indicating that they expected to pay when they signed the form on all 3 polls. Now unless the same 2000 people were signed up with all 3 guides that would indicate over 6,000 visitors to stopecg.org; alas, the tracker suggests a figure nearer 250 for the day. The EU Parliament Petition poll had also been tampered with, receiving over 500 new votes
So someone has wasted the time and effort to sabotage the polls, presumably because they did not like the way the results were headed, then of course you have the childish comments posted on the ECG Poll
==================================
if I sign something and place an order then I expect to pay for it 11/16/05 4:43:49 AM MST
it 's my fault 11/15/05 2:09:37 PM MST
mummy ... help me ..... 11/15/05 2:02:48 PM MST
stop crying !!!!!!!!!!!! like kiddies 11/15/05 2:01:48 PM MST
they teach you in school .. read what you sign? 11/15/05 1:58:35 PM MST
they even leave you copy of the contract! that means even every idiot knows what going on!!!! 11/15/05 1:57:00 PM MST
everybody knows: what I sign I must read... 11/15/05 1:55:18 PM MST
I must know what I#am doing! 11/15/05 1:54:16 PM MST
i was so stupid 11/15/05 1:53:52 PM MST
I read the small print ! 11/15/05 1:53:25 PM MST
==================================
LOL, whatever keeps you guys happy…..
Jules Woodell
