Wednesday, July 01, 2009
When the News isn't the News - Scammers Using Google to Target the Desperate Unemployed
I was emailing a coworker an editorial cartoon via Gmail this morning when a link to this site popped up at the top of my inbox.
Web ad imitating a TV News website
At first sight it looked legitimate. Even I was taken in initially. After all, why would a news site intentionally lie? But, it is not a news web site on closer inspection. Clicking on the News, Sports, Weather, etc. links leads one here. What's worse is that Google is inadvertently promoting these crooks through their Adsense technology. If they'd have designed the site better with more fake links using redirection to other TV news sites even I might have been taken in. (Google gives 453 hits for the phrase "Jobs: Is Working Online from Home the Next Gold Rush?" not counting the two blogger entries.) Here's another one (see the image below). Notice the use of the same picture of the mother and baby. According to this blog entry they are after your phone number. According to Effin Nerds, it's a scam that will part you from $100 of your cash for a $1 product. Or more, if you pay the $102.69 per month charges. Strangely Perfect dug even deeper than Effin Nerds. My coworker, Neil, stated that the perps for the first one were from the Philippines according to the legal disclaimer in the fine print:
Same scam, same headline, same picture of mother and child.
Unfortunately, without Google these guys would be getting nowhere. With Google, they may be millionaires shortly.
The domain info of the first site is:
Domain Name: KLMT3.COM
Registrar: MONIKER
Registrant [1930936]:
Moniker Privacy Services KLMT3.COM@domainservice.com
Moniker Privacy Services
20 SW 27th Ave.
Suite 201
Pompano Beach
FL
33069
US
Administrative Contact [1930936]:
Moniker Privacy Services KLMT3.COM@domainservice.com
Moniker Privacy Services
20 SW 27th Ave.
Suite 201
Pompano Beach
FL
33069
US
Phone: +1.9549848445
Fax: +1.9549699155
Billing Contact [1930936]:
Moniker Privacy Services KLMT3.COM@domainservice.com
Moniker Privacy Services
20 SW 27th Ave.
Suite 201
Pompano Beach
FL
33069
US
Phone: +1.9549848445
Fax: +1.9549699155
Technical Contact [1930936]:
Moniker Privacy Services KLMT3.COM@domainservice.com
Moniker Privacy Services
20 SW 27th Ave.
Suite 201
Pompano Beach
FL
33069
US
Phone: +1.9549848445
Fax: +1.9549699155
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.TRACKIT202.COM
NS2.TRACKIT202.COM
The physical box is in Pennsylvania:
domain: tsatkin.com
created: 06-Jan-2008
last-changed: 30-Jan-2009
registration-expiration: 06-Jan-2010
nserver: ns57.1and1.com 74.208.2.9
nserver: ns58.1and1.com 74.208.3.8
status: CLIENT-TRANSFER-PROHIBITED
registrant-firstname: Oneandone
registrant-lastname: Private Registration
registrant-organization: 1&1 Internet, Inc. - http://1and1.com/contact
registrant-street1: 701 Lee Road, Suite 300
registrant-street2: ATTN: tsatkin.com
registrant-pcode: 19087
registrant-state: PA
registrant-city: Chesterbrook
registrant-ccode: US
registrant-phone: +1.8772064254
registrant-email: proxy1687786@1and1-private-registration.com
admin-c-firstname: Oneandone
admin-c-lastname: Private Registration
admin-c-organization: 1&1 Internet, Inc. - http://1and1.com/contact
admin-c-street1: 701 Lee Road, Suite 300
admin-c-street2: ATTN: tsatkin.com
admin-c-pcode: 19087
admin-c-state: PA
admin-c-city: Chesterbrook
admin-c-ccode: US
admin-c-phone: +1.8772064254
admin-c-email: proxy1687786@1and1-private-registration.com
tech-c-firstname: Oneandone
tech-c-lastname: Private Registration
tech-c-organization: 1&1 Internet, Inc. - http://1and1.com/contact
tech-c-street1: 701 Lee Road, Suite 300
tech-c-street2: ATTN: tsatkin.com
tech-c-pcode: 19087
tech-c-state: PA
tech-c-city: Chesterbrook
tech-c-ccode: US
tech-c-phone: +1.8772064254
tech-c-email: proxy1687786@1and1-private-registration.com
bill-c-firstname: Oneandone
bill-c-lastname: Private Registration
bill-c-organization: 1&1 Internet, Inc. - http://1and1.com/contact
bill-c-street1: 701 Lee Road, Suite 300
bill-c-street2: ATTN: tsatkin.com
bill-c-pcode: 19087
bill-c-state: PA
bill-c-city: Chesterbrook
bill-c-ccode: US
bill-c-phone: +1.8772064254
bill-c-email: proxy1687786@1and1-private-registration.com
The domain info of the second site is:
Registration Service Provided By: NameCheap.com
Contact: support@NameCheap.com
Visit: http://www.namecheap.com/
Domain name: usajobjournalcorp.com
Registrant Contact:
StressFreeRootCanals.com
David Allison ()
Fax:
5820 Veterans Parkway
Suite 307
Columbus, GA 31904
US
Administrative Contact:
StressFreeRootCanals.com
David Allison (davidallison01@knology.net)
+1.7066609190
Fax: +1.5555555555
5820 Veterans Parkway
Suite 307
Columbus, GA 31904
US
Technical Contact:
StressFreeRootCanals.com
David Allison (davidallison01@knology.net)
+1.7066609190
Fax: +1.5555555555
5820 Veterans Parkway
Suite 307
Columbus, GA 31904
US
Status: Locked
Name Servers:
NS1.cpvcash.biz
NS2.cpvcash.biz
Creation date: 28 Jun 2009 17:24:32
Expiration date: 28 Jun 2010 17:24:32
The physical location of the second site is in Houston, Texas at The Planet.
The domain info for googlestartupkit.com is:
Domain Name: googlestartupkit.com
Registrar: Name.com LLC
Protected Domain Services Customer ID: NCR-904578
Expiration Date: 2010-04-09 07:27:33
Creation Date: 2009-04-09 07:27:33
Name Servers:
NS1.NAME.COM
NS2.NAME.COM
NS3.NAME.COM
NS4.NAME.COM
REGISTRANT CONTACT INFO
Protected Domain Services - Customer ID: NCR-904578
125 Rampart Way
Suite 300
Denver
CO
80230
US
Phone: +1.7202492374
Email Address: googlestartupkit.com@protecteddomainservices.com
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT INFO
Protected Domain Services - Customer ID: NCR-904578
125 Rampart Way
Suite 300
Denver
CO
80230
US
Phone: +1.7202492374
Email Address: googlestartupkit.com@protecteddomainservices.com
TECHNICAL CONTACT INFO
Protected Domain Services - Customer ID: NCR-904578
125 Rampart Way
Suite 300
Denver
CO
80230
US
Phone: +1.7202492374
Email Address: googlestartupkit.com@protecteddomainservices.com
BILLING CONTACT INFO
Protected Domain Services - Customer ID: NCR-904578
125 Rampart Way
Suite 300
Denver
CO
80230
US
Phone: +1.7202492374
Email Address: googlestartupkit.com@protecteddomainservices.com
Googlestartupkit.com resolves to Google in Mountainview, California. Google doesn't need spammers and scammers to promote its technology. However, protecteddomainservices.com resolves back to Denver, CO. The cashsecretclub.com domain was registered to a Scottsdale, Arizona, proxy. It's likely that all of these companies are fronts (see the Strangely Perfect link and the legalese above).
Web ad imitating a TV News websiteAt first sight it looked legitimate. Even I was taken in initially. After all, why would a news site intentionally lie? But, it is not a news web site on closer inspection. Clicking on the News, Sports, Weather, etc. links leads one here. What's worse is that Google is inadvertently promoting these crooks through their Adsense technology. If they'd have designed the site better with more fake links using redirection to other TV news sites even I might have been taken in. (Google gives 453 hits for the phrase "Jobs: Is Working Online from Home the Next Gold Rush?" not counting the two blogger entries.) Here's another one (see the image below). Notice the use of the same picture of the mother and baby. According to this blog entry they are after your phone number. According to Effin Nerds, it's a scam that will part you from $100 of your cash for a $1 product. Or more, if you pay the $102.69 per month charges. Strangely Perfect dug even deeper than Effin Nerds. My coworker, Neil, stated that the perps for the first one were from the Philippines according to the legal disclaimer in the fine print:
This offering is a contract between you the buyer and our business, the seller. The seller is located in Pasig City, Philippines and by doing business with us you agree that this offering is made from Pasig City, Philippines and shall be governed by the laws of the Philippines...
Same scam, same headline, same picture of mother and child.Unfortunately, without Google these guys would be getting nowhere. With Google, they may be millionaires shortly.
The domain info of the first site is:
Domain Name: KLMT3.COM
Registrar: MONIKER
Registrant [1930936]:
Moniker Privacy Services KLMT3.COM@domainservice.com
Moniker Privacy Services
20 SW 27th Ave.
Suite 201
Pompano Beach
FL
33069
US
Administrative Contact [1930936]:
Moniker Privacy Services KLMT3.COM@domainservice.com
Moniker Privacy Services
20 SW 27th Ave.
Suite 201
Pompano Beach
FL
33069
US
Phone: +1.9549848445
Fax: +1.9549699155
Billing Contact [1930936]:
Moniker Privacy Services KLMT3.COM@domainservice.com
Moniker Privacy Services
20 SW 27th Ave.
Suite 201
Pompano Beach
FL
33069
US
Phone: +1.9549848445
Fax: +1.9549699155
Technical Contact [1930936]:
Moniker Privacy Services KLMT3.COM@domainservice.com
Moniker Privacy Services
20 SW 27th Ave.
Suite 201
Pompano Beach
FL
33069
US
Phone: +1.9549848445
Fax: +1.9549699155
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.TRACKIT202.COM
NS2.TRACKIT202.COM
The physical box is in Pennsylvania:
domain: tsatkin.com
created: 06-Jan-2008
last-changed: 30-Jan-2009
registration-expiration: 06-Jan-2010
nserver: ns57.1and1.com 74.208.2.9
nserver: ns58.1and1.com 74.208.3.8
status: CLIENT-TRANSFER-PROHIBITED
registrant-firstname: Oneandone
registrant-lastname: Private Registration
registrant-organization: 1&1 Internet, Inc. - http://1and1.com/contact
registrant-street1: 701 Lee Road, Suite 300
registrant-street2: ATTN: tsatkin.com
registrant-pcode: 19087
registrant-state: PA
registrant-city: Chesterbrook
registrant-ccode: US
registrant-phone: +1.8772064254
registrant-email: proxy1687786@1and1-private-registration.com
admin-c-firstname: Oneandone
admin-c-lastname: Private Registration
admin-c-organization: 1&1 Internet, Inc. - http://1and1.com/contact
admin-c-street1: 701 Lee Road, Suite 300
admin-c-street2: ATTN: tsatkin.com
admin-c-pcode: 19087
admin-c-state: PA
admin-c-city: Chesterbrook
admin-c-ccode: US
admin-c-phone: +1.8772064254
admin-c-email: proxy1687786@1and1-private-registration.com
tech-c-firstname: Oneandone
tech-c-lastname: Private Registration
tech-c-organization: 1&1 Internet, Inc. - http://1and1.com/contact
tech-c-street1: 701 Lee Road, Suite 300
tech-c-street2: ATTN: tsatkin.com
tech-c-pcode: 19087
tech-c-state: PA
tech-c-city: Chesterbrook
tech-c-ccode: US
tech-c-phone: +1.8772064254
tech-c-email: proxy1687786@1and1-private-registration.com
bill-c-firstname: Oneandone
bill-c-lastname: Private Registration
bill-c-organization: 1&1 Internet, Inc. - http://1and1.com/contact
bill-c-street1: 701 Lee Road, Suite 300
bill-c-street2: ATTN: tsatkin.com
bill-c-pcode: 19087
bill-c-state: PA
bill-c-city: Chesterbrook
bill-c-ccode: US
bill-c-phone: +1.8772064254
bill-c-email: proxy1687786@1and1-private-registration.com
The domain info of the second site is:
Registration Service Provided By: NameCheap.com
Contact: support@NameCheap.com
Visit: http://www.namecheap.com/
Domain name: usajobjournalcorp.com
Registrant Contact:
StressFreeRootCanals.com
David Allison ()
Fax:
5820 Veterans Parkway
Suite 307
Columbus, GA 31904
US
Administrative Contact:
StressFreeRootCanals.com
David Allison (davidallison01@knology.net)
+1.7066609190
Fax: +1.5555555555
5820 Veterans Parkway
Suite 307
Columbus, GA 31904
US
Technical Contact:
StressFreeRootCanals.com
David Allison (davidallison01@knology.net)
+1.7066609190
Fax: +1.5555555555
5820 Veterans Parkway
Suite 307
Columbus, GA 31904
US
Status: Locked
Name Servers:
NS1.cpvcash.biz
NS2.cpvcash.biz
Creation date: 28 Jun 2009 17:24:32
Expiration date: 28 Jun 2010 17:24:32
The physical location of the second site is in Houston, Texas at The Planet.
The domain info for googlestartupkit.com is:
Domain Name: googlestartupkit.com
Registrar: Name.com LLC
Protected Domain Services Customer ID: NCR-904578
Expiration Date: 2010-04-09 07:27:33
Creation Date: 2009-04-09 07:27:33
Name Servers:
NS1.NAME.COM
NS2.NAME.COM
NS3.NAME.COM
NS4.NAME.COM
REGISTRANT CONTACT INFO
Protected Domain Services - Customer ID: NCR-904578
125 Rampart Way
Suite 300
Denver
CO
80230
US
Phone: +1.7202492374
Email Address: googlestartupkit.com@protecteddomainservices.com
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT INFO
Protected Domain Services - Customer ID: NCR-904578
125 Rampart Way
Suite 300
Denver
CO
80230
US
Phone: +1.7202492374
Email Address: googlestartupkit.com@protecteddomainservices.com
TECHNICAL CONTACT INFO
Protected Domain Services - Customer ID: NCR-904578
125 Rampart Way
Suite 300
Denver
CO
80230
US
Phone: +1.7202492374
Email Address: googlestartupkit.com@protecteddomainservices.com
BILLING CONTACT INFO
Protected Domain Services - Customer ID: NCR-904578
125 Rampart Way
Suite 300
Denver
CO
80230
US
Phone: +1.7202492374
Email Address: googlestartupkit.com@protecteddomainservices.com
Googlestartupkit.com resolves to Google in Mountainview, California. Google doesn't need spammers and scammers to promote its technology. However, protecteddomainservices.com resolves back to Denver, CO. The cashsecretclub.com domain was registered to a Scottsdale, Arizona, proxy. It's likely that all of these companies are fronts (see the Strangely Perfect link and the legalese above).
Labels: online scam
Comments:
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Those scum. I'm just waiting for abuse of Twitter to become a major issue.
Twitter itself is apparently being run as a non-profit experiment but I imagine it will be packaged and sold to the likes of Google for billions.
Pete
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Twitter itself is apparently being run as a non-profit experiment but I imagine it will be packaged and sold to the likes of Google for billions.
Pete
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