Check.me Website Review

Recently, my dear mother went to pay a bill online to pay her internet bill and ended up on Check.me, a website that appears to pay your bills for you. Knowing that sometimes companies will intentionally redirect their eCommerce transactions to be handled by a third-party site, my mom completed their forms and supplied her credit card number. Afterward she realized that she may have made a mistake and asked me to find out more. With a little research in her browser history, I realized that she had clicked a link from a Google search page. Looking at their cancellation policy and their BBB rating with 52 complaints in the last 12 months. I realized what this company was actually doing. Their Game:  This company makes their money on convenience fees and short cancellation windows. Their...

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Circumnews.com Scam (sontores.com or inqueritopro.com)

Overview Today I learned of a web site called circumnews.com (server [46.28.65.179] also hosts sontores.com or inqueritopro.com which appear to be Russian and Portuguese versions of the same kind of thing). This site claims to pay you between $2 - $5 USD per article you read. There is no verification system to ensure users read the articles other than a (weak) bot protection system. They say that you must reach a minimum of $100 in order to get paid out and they will pay to a PayPal or Payza account. They claim that the site owners pay them and then they pay you 70% of what they make. Once you request your money, payments are supposed to be paid within 14 days. This has not been verified to actually happen. A Potential Threat! Personally, I have serious doubts about this kind of web site....

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International Christian Followers Crusade Scam

Here is another old, but good example of a Craigslist rental scam.  This one is from the dear Nicholas Bailey at phunkyhome111@hotmail.com. Thanks for your email and interest in renting my house..I am Nicholas Bailey, the owner of the house you are making inquiry of…Actually I resided in the house with my family, my wife and my only daughter before and presently we have moved out due to my transfer from my work now in Warsaw,Poland. Presently my house is still available for rent for $1000 (rent already includes utilities).More so Now, i am currently in the (West Africa)for an international Christian follower’s crusade..Pls i want you to note that i spent a lot on my property that i want to give to you for rent,so i will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this house and...

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Dove Christian Fellowship International Scam

As I have been looking for a new place to rent, I have come across an interesting group that people are referring to as "Dove International" or "Dove Christian Fellowship." Originally I had found this cute little home and the price seemed about right for the area so I emailed right away as they had only left an email address for contacting about renting.  That should have been my first hint that it was a scam. This is a little odd, but I have noticed that a lot of scammers have email addresses that end in hotmail.com or yahoo.com.  Yahoo seems to be more popular for scams so if yous see only an email address for contact and a Yahoo email address, be weary.   This email address was annenc@yahoo.com. As I have come across various scams through renting before, I am always cautious...

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gldd.me - Text Message Scam

Recently I received a text message from an unknown number (18324646571), saying it was from a friend of mine and that I should click a link. The link alone is a dead giveaway that I should be concerned. I decided to trace the request path to see how the link resolved and what would be waiting on the other end. This meant I would have to see where the link took me (this was done in a controlled environment to prevent against possible viruses and trojans). I watched as the domain resolve against several other servers and eventually ended up at the glide.me homepage. Some people online have said this is a virus, but the truth is, that's wrong. This is a simple (and exploited) marketing tactic someone is trying to use to make some money. Basically here is what is happening. A company obtained...

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Tariff DNS Scam Email - DreamHost Phishing Scam

Recently, I received an email that was supposed to have come from my hosting company. It said I needed to confirm a request for changing of a tariff plan. Although, the wording was awful and it was very non-specific as to the recipient. The email I got was as follows: Dear DreamHost client,In your account has been created request for changing of a tariff plan. It is necessary confirmation of this request. You can do it in the section (Change tariff) Virtual Offices :https://dreamhost.com/login.aspx?ts=domain.org?19abc7f04ff-c0ac4315-99bf3-55dcbd7ec5c44AECA3E759B1992CFA6Ad4 Sincerely,DreamHost hosting Team. Someone who is rushing may not read the contents of this email and just click link. This clever scammer set up a catch-all subdomain so that the link would even appear to be...

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RX Relief Pharmacy Discount Card - Healthcare Alliance (Script Relief, LLC) Scam?

Background:  Recently we received the RXrelief Pharmacy Discount Cards from a company called Healthcare Alliance (or Script Relief, LLC) in the mail. We we're going to toss it in the trash and then I noticed the simple letter that accompanied them and what it said. Was it true? Could I really save money on prescription drugs for nothing? I decided I needed to figure out if this was a scam. Who is Healthcare Alliance? I've never heard of Healthcare Alliance before. They're name and logo look pretty generic, too. Who are these guys? Where did they get my information? What is their angle? Like every business they have to make money to stay in business. In the letter they talk about providing discounts for over 50,000 medicines. Other...

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2 Free Southwest Tickets: Scam?

The Gig On Facebook (and other websites) there have been links flying around that tell people you can get 2 Free Southwest Tickets. The Truth This isn't a scam but an incentivized offer. There are many rewards companies that do similar things to this, offering "free" things for only a little information and "participation". Why Information? These companies do several things to try and make money. First, they want to acquire as much information as they can about you (for this offer, they have you give up your Facebook info and then ask you for more). They do this so they can turn around and sell that information. Your information is referred to as a lead and will generally sell anywhere from $0.10 to several dollars. The buyers of this...

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Gephardt Approved Scam?

The Skinny In Utah, there is a company called Gephardt Approved. As I understand, other companies pay them to get reviewed and "approved" all based on the name of Bill Gephardt, a man who claims to be honest and respectable. When someone I know had a bad experience with one of their "approved" companies and emailed Gephardt about it, the Gephardt Approved team emailed his complaint on to the "approved" company with an added message to something to the effect of: "here, you deal with this". The Problem The "approved" company my friend had been dealing with was small and his complaints were first given to the head of the "approved" company, but when they rudely argued that they had done nothing wrong, he reached out to the Gephardt...

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