Name and Shame: Verizon is a Traffic Thief!

I have noticed a disturbing situation: internet provider Verizon is stealing traffic from unused domains and subdomains and directing Verizon customers to various places.

For most of the thefts, Verizon customers are directed to a parking page filled with ads.

For example, asad.1-25.com (this is my domain, and the subdomain is unused) goes here for Verizon customers:

http://searchassist.verizon.com/main?InterceptSource=0&ClientLocation=us&ParticipantID=euekiz39ksg8nwp7iqj2fp5wzfwi5q76&FailureMode=1&SearchQuery=&FailedURI=http%3A%2F%2Fsale.1-25.com%2F&AddInType=4&Version=2.1.8-1.90base&Referer=&Implementation=0&method=GET

And even Scamful isn’t immune: asad.scamful.com redirects here:

http://searchassist.verizon.com/main?InterceptSource=0&ClientLocation=us&ParticipantID=euekiz39ksg8nwp7iqj2fp5wzfwi5q76&FailureMode=1&SearchQuery=&FailedURI=http%3A%2F%2Fasad.scamful.com%2F&AddInType=4&Version=2.1.8-1.90base&Referer=&Implementation=0&method=GET

More specifically, if an unused subdomain domain name is similar to another name, Verizon engages some kind of algorithm and redirects it to a specific page.

For example, for Verizon customers, the unused subdomains Sales.1-25.com and Sales.Scamful.com takes them to

http://www.zales.com/home/index.jsp

I have tested this on some of my other unused subdomains, and I have found the same redirect.

In other words, if you own domains (either for business or resale), Verizon is stealing pieces of YOUR unused property to redirect it to their ads on their parking pages and their advertisers.

Even if you aren’t a Verizon customer, you are still affected because if Verizon customers conduct a search on your unused domains or subdomains, they will be redirected to Verizon parking pages or specific pages with similar terms. It doesn’t matter who owns the domain.

Why is this important?

1. THEY ARE STEALING FROM YOU AND MAKING MONEY OFF YOUR DIGITAL PROPERTY!

2. Most importantly, if their ad pages are filled with ads that could be construed as trademark infringement, YOU COULD LOSE YOUR DOMAIN in a UDRP, even though you are completely innocent!!!

This week, I’m going to look into the possibility of hiring a lawyer to send a Cease and Desist letter to Verizon, and perhaps file a contingency or class action lawsuit.

If your internet provider is Verizon, I invite you to test this for yourself, on both my examples and your own unused domains.

By the way, these are Go Daddy domains; unfortunately, Go Daddy does not offer subdomain wildcarding, but, perhaps, they should start.

If you use another registrar, look into the possibility of using a wildcard command to redirect your infinite number of subdomains to one specific page. Unfortunately, if you are using any of your subdomains in your business, this option won’t be available to you.

By the way, other internet providers may also be stealing your unused domains and subdomains; you might want to check how your internet provider handles unused digital property.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep you up-to-date on my plans regarding legal action.

Be Careful Buying Expired Domains from Go Daddy and Then Trying to List Them on the Same Site

*IMPORTANT UPDATE (June 5, 2015):

Go Daddy is more than happy to sell you expired domains, sometimes at high prices.

However, if YOU try listing them on THEIR auction site, don't be surprised if you receive the following notice:

One or more of your domains are not eligible for the aftermarket program.

Dear [Customer's First Name],  Thank you for being a GoDaddy customer. We greatly appreciate your interest in participating in our exciting aftermarket program. Unfortunately, we have had to remove the domain name(s) below from this program at this time because another person or entity owns a trademark that matches one of more terms or words contained in your domain name(s). [Generic Domain Redacted] Again, we very much appreciate your business and we are sorry that this particular service is unavailable for this domain name(s). If you have any questions, please contact us at trademarkclaims@godaddy.com. Sincerely, GoDaddy Aftermarket Team

When I emailed the above address to inquire as to why my generic domain had been removed, I received no response.

It was only after I complained on a public forum that someone finally responded to my inquiry. He tried to convince "the lawyers" to reinstate my domain, but they were unmoved.

This very same domain had been sold to me BY Go Daddy (in their expiring domain listings), so, evidently, Go Daddy incorporates a double standard when it comes to selling so-called TM domains when such a sale fills their own coffers.

The terms in my domain in question is trademarked for manufacturing nuts and bolts by a company in Taiwan; my 5-letter domain was being offered as a possible social media site. One term in my domain is Geographic (not Taiwan) and the other is a completely generic and common word.

So be VERY careful when you bid on or list a domain at Go Daddy's auction site.


*UPDATE: I emailed Joe Styler, Aftermarket Product Manager at Go Daddy, the link to this article. This is his response:

Thanks for the heads up.

I read the article [on this site].

Just to be clear the recent updates in the trademark checks apply to GoDaddy sold names as well so anything we sell going forward is under the same system of checks. 

So effective immediately, Go Daddy will NOT be selling any expiring domains that have any kind of a trademark. 


Moreover, old Go Daddy expiring auction acquisitions have not been grandfathered in.


From now on, if you acquire something like Apple.com, you will NOT be able to list it at Go Daddy because it has a trademark. Apparently, it makes no difference if the domain is a generic.


As a seller, keep this in mind when listing any old acquired names from Go Daddy or any domains acquired elsewhere.


Before listing at Go Daddy, check for trademarks:

Check USPTO.gov (U.S. Trademarks)

Check Trademarkia.com (Global Trademarks) 

I have no idea what this means for domains acquired before trademarks were acquired, but I suspect that Go Daddy will do whatever it must do to cover its corporate a$$.

Thanks to Joe Styler, the only Go Daddy representative who even bothered to answer my queries.      

Beware of Fake Debt Collectors! Sent By Ruben Cano (Probably a Fake Name)

UPDATE: The real Ruben Cano is a retired footballer from Spain, so the one who sent the email is definitely a fake. 

I received this charming message in my spam email; I thought I would share it with you along with my email response to both Microsoft (who owns Outlook.com as per Domain Tools Whois) and the asshat who sent it:

Dear Microsoft:

One of your email customers on outlook is scamming email recipients by sending bogus donning emails for fake loans.

I assure you that I do not owe any money to this loan company or any other loan company.

I have included a copy of the actual email.

If you wish, I can send you a copy of the source code (it's rather long), either in Word or PDF.

I have placed a copy on my blog on Scamful.com

Best wishes,

Jennifer

________________________________

The message: 

On Tue, May 19, 2015 at 5:18 PM, ruben cano <rubencanodebtcollector@outlook.com> wrote:

_______________________________

Arrest warrant ID: - 1045 which will be out on Wednesday 3 PM.

Attention

This is the last and final chance for you.

This Legal Proceedings issued on your Docket Number:10-2678 with one of the Cash Advance Inc. companies in order to notify you that after making several calls to you on your phone number we were not able to get hold of you. So the account department of Cash Advance has decided to mark this case as a flat refusal and have decided to press legal charges against you.

CASE NO:  JV-PM - 851177770

Amount Outstanding $ 833.63

We have already sent you this warning/notification about legal proceedings on March 8, 2015 but you failed to respond on time. Now if you failed to respond in next 4 HOURS, we will register this case in court. Consider this as a final warning. We will be emailing/faxing this issue to your current employer to make sure they take strict action against you. Your salary/wages will be garnished.

Do revert back if you want to get rid of these legal consequences and make a payment arrangement today or else we would be proceeding legally against you. We apologize that this notification will also be sent to your current employer. The opportunity to take care of this voluntary is quickly coming to an end. You are going to lose the option to resolve this before it goes to the next step which is a Lawsuit against you. So you must take an immediate action.

You can Email back to get the payment mode too.

We will be forced to proceed legally against you and once it is processed the creditor has entire rights to inform your employer and your references regarding this issue and the lawsuit will be the next step which will be amounting to $5900.00 and will be totally levied upon you and that would be excluding your attorney charges. If you can take care of this out of court then we will release the clearance certificate from the court and we will make sure that no one contacts you in future.

 Please let us know what your intention is by today itself so we can hold the case or else we will submit the paperwork to your local county sheriff department and you will be served by court summons at your door step.

 Note : This notice is provided to you on behalf of Cash Advance Inc. and its parent company , and their respective family of companies including Cash Advance, its parent company, Cash America International, Inc., and all of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, (hereafter collectively referred to as the “Cash Advance Related Companies,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). The Cash Advance Related Companies include, but are not limited to: Cash Advance, Cash America International, Inc., and all of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, including those that operate under the trade names Cash Advance, 100 Day Loan, Net loan USA, Fax free Cash, Payday one, Sonic Cash, Money tree, Egg loans, Check cash Loan, Quick Payday, Personal Cash Advance, Rapid Cash, Sonic Payday, Speedy Cash, My Cash Now, National Payday, Paycheck Today, Payday OK, Cash Central Loans, Cash Net 500,Cash Net USA, Allied Cash, Super Pawn, Check into Cash, Check Smart, Ez Money Cash America Net, Cash America, Cash America Pawn, Cash land, Super Pawn, Cash America Payday Advance, or any company-owned Mr. Payroll locations. “You” or “Your” means you as a participant in or as a user of the products and/or services offered by a Cash Advance Related Company.

WE MAY REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR ACCOUNT TO CREDIT BUREAUS. LATE PAYMENTS, MISSED PAYMENTS, OR OTHER DEFAULTS ON YOUR ACCOUNT MAY BE REFLECTED IN YOUR CREDIT REPORT.

TERMS & CONDITIONS YOU AGREED.

By electronically signing this Loan Agreement by clicking the "I AGREE" button below, you are confirming that you have agreed to the terms and conditions of the Consent and that you have downloaded or printed a copy of this Consent for your records.

Note: To make the payment you need to contact our email address

Arrest warrant ID: - 1045  which will be out on Wednesday 3 PM.

Attention

This is the last and final chance for you.

This Legal Proceedings issued on your Docket Number:10-2678 with one of the Cash Advance Inc. companies in order to notify you that after making several calls to you on your phone number we were not able to get hold of you. So the account department of Cash Advance has decided to mark this case as a flat refusal and have decided to press legal charges against you.

CASE NO:  JV-PM - 851177770

Amount Outstanding $ 833.63

We have already sent you this warning/notification about legal proceedings on March 8, 2015 but you failed to respond on time. Now if you failed to respond in next 4 HOURS, we will register this case in court. Consider this as a final warning. We will be emailing/faxing this issue to your current employer to make sure they take strict action against you. Your salary/wages will be garnished.

Do revert back if you want to get rid of these legal consequences and make a payment arrangement today or else we would be proceeding legally against you. We apologize that this notification will also be sent to your current employer. The opportunity to take care of this voluntary is quickly coming to an end. You are going to lose the option to resolve this before it goes to the next step which is a Lawsuit against you. So you must take an immediate action.

You can Email back to get the payment mode too.

We will be forced to proceed legally against you and once it is processed the creditor has entire rights to inform your employer and your references regarding this issue and the lawsuit will be the next step which will be amounting to $5900.00 and will be totally levied upon you and that would be excluding your attorney charges. If you can take care of this out of court then we will release the clearance certificate from the court and we will make sure that no one contacts you in future.

 Please let us know what your intention is by today itself so we can hold the case or else we will submit the paperwork to your local county sheriff department and you will be served by court summons at your door step.

 Note : This notice is provided to you on behalf of Cash Advance Inc. and its parent company , and their respective family of companies including Cash Advance, its parent company, Cash America International, Inc., and all of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, (hereafter collectively referred to as the “Cash Advance Related Companies,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). The Cash Advance Related Companies include, but are not limited to: Cash Advance, Cash America International, Inc., and all of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, including those that operate under the trade names Cash Advance, 100 Day Loan, Net loan USA, Fax free Cash, Payday one, Sonic Cash, Money tree, Egg loans, Check cash Loan, Quick Payday, Personal Cash Advance, Rapid Cash, Sonic Payday, Speedy Cash, My Cash Now, National Payday, Paycheck Today, Payday OK, Cash Central Loans, Cash Net 500,Cash Net USA, Allied Cash, Super Pawn, Check into Cash, Check Smart, Ez Money Cash America Net, Cash America, Cash America Pawn, Cash land, Super Pawn, Cash America Payday Advance, or any company-owned Mr. Payroll locations. “You” or “Your” means you as a participant in or as a user of the products and/or services offered by a Cash Advance Related Company.

WE MAY REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR ACCOUNT TO CREDIT BUREAUS. LATE PAYMENTS, MISSED PAYMENTS, OR OTHER DEFAULTS ON YOUR ACCOUNT MAY BE REFLECTED IN YOUR CREDIT REPORT.

TERMS & CONDITIONS YOU AGREED.

By electronically signing this Loan Agreement by clicking the "I AGREE" button below, you are confirming that you have agreed to the terms and conditions of the Consent and that you have downloaded or printed a copy of this Consent for your records.

            Note: To make the payment you need to contact our email address

rubencanodebtcollector@outlook.com

Financial Crime Enforcement Network,

6033 West Century Boulevard #605,

Los Angeles,

CA 90045

_______________________________

If you receive this email or one like it, do NOT send this fool any money! 

It's FAKE! FAKE! FAKE!

DON’T buy ASUS Products – Very, Very BAD.

DON’T buy ASUS computers.

This company sold my husband a lemon; he sent it back to be fixed.

They “fixed” it by sending it back full of malware.

A$$hats!!!!!!

Warning! Avoid the Facebook Scam Involving DisneyCruises-Competition [dot] com

Don’t be gullible, use life before it uses you. Understand there are no free lunches, and for every action you take, there’s a reaction.

 – Sylvester Stallone

________________________

Yesterday (February 24, 2015), this outfit, owners of the domain name shown in the title, set up a Facebook page, advertising a fake contest for a Disney Cruise.

(I’m not going to post the FB link here.)

The domain name is about six weeks old (registered January 4, 2015).

I guarantee you that this domain does NOT belong to Disney, which does not use privacy (see DomainTools for the Disney.com Whois entry. 

Hundreds of people have already jumped onto the FB thread and, supposedly, have clicked onto the website, possibly compromising their personal information and/or catching a good dose of malware.

Unfortunately, stupidity and greed are fertile stomping grounds for criminals and cybersquatters.

I’ll do my best to bring these evil people from behind the shadows, by posting their details, such as they are, but I’m not optimistic – I keep seeing the same people posting the same-old, same-old Facebook scams, even after they have been warned.

DomainTools whois for DisneyCruises-Competition.com:

Domain Name: DISNEYCRUISES-COMPETITION.COM
Registry Domain ID: 1894008863_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.name.com
Registrar URL: http://www.name.com
Updated Date: 2015-01-04T15:48:54-07:00Z
Creation Date: 2015-01-04T15:48:19-07:00Z (New domain registration)
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2016-01-04T15:48:19-07:00Z
Registrar: Name.com, Inc.
Registrar IANA ID: 625
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: 
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.17203101849
Reseller:
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: Whois Agent
Registrant Organization: Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc.
Registrant Street: PO Box 639
Registrant City: Kirkland
Registrant State/Province: WA
Registrant Postal Code: 98083
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.4252740657
Registrant Fax: +1.4259744730
Registrant Email: disneycruises-competition.com@protecteddomainservices.com
Registry Admin ID:
Admin Name: Whois Agent
Admin Organization: Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc.
Admin Street: PO Box 639
Admin City: Kirkland
Admin State/Province: WA
Admin Postal Code: 98083
Admin Country: US
Admin Phone: +1.4252740657
Admin Fax: +1.4259744730
Admin Email: disneycruises-competition.com@protecteddomainservices.com
Registry Tech ID:
Tech Name: Whois Agent
Tech Organization: Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc.
Tech Street: PO Box 639
Tech City: Kirkland
Tech State/Province: WA
Tech Postal Code: 98083
Tech Country: US
Tech Phone: +1.4252740657
Tech Fax: +1.4259744730
Tech Email: disneycruises-competition.com@protecteddomainservices.com
Name Server: ns1543.websitewelcome.com (Also registered under privacy)
Name Server: ns1544.websitewelcome.com
DNSSEC: Unsigned Delegation
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/

More Scamful/Scumful Behavior at Network Solutions and New Ventures Services!

Yakov Kiffel, a commentator on DotWeekly.com, reports yet another Scamful and Scumful move by Network Solutions and New Vultures, uh, Ventures Services:

Well, it looks like they’ve gone to a new low. I got an email from Network Solutions 3 weeks ago that my domains will expire if I don’t make a payment ASAP. I called them up within hours of getting the email, and the rep said they tried to run an old card and it was rejected. I gave her my new credit card information and renewed for 5 years. The rep said it was taken care of and my domains were safe. Three weeks later and without any further notification from Network Solutions (I even went through the countless junk emails they send me to be sure) my domains were gone, and now owned by Ventures Services!!

Read more here.

Wickedputia!

Vladimir Putin
(Wink, wink)
___________________

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”

– Oscar Wilde

In recent news (November 16, 2014), Time magazine has reported that Vladimir Putin plans to create Russia’s own version of Wikipedia.

I suppose the truth hurts too much, so Mr. Putin has decided to rewrite Russian history to fit his agenda.

We believe that Mr. Putin’s version should be called

WickedPutia

We find Vladimir Putin extremely Scamful – perhaps even “Scumful”!