Forum running Ponzi ads

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Master Baiter Joined: 07 Sep 2012 Posts: 100

Continued from this thread:
http://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=222916

My original post:

Quote:

I'm a member (different name and e-mail) of a certain forum that specializes in money matters. There is a lot of legitimate information and discussion there, from how to start and register a small business to bank deposits to stocks and mutual funds to Google Adsense.
The problem is the Advertisements sub-forum. It's just thread after thread of Ponzi schemes. Stuff like "10% profit a month". The site admin/owners seem to be taking a hands-off approach to the whole thing.
The irony is that there's also a Scams sub-forum. Every few months someone posts there that the checks from the above-mentioned Ponzis are starting to bounce.
What's the safest way to take the Ponzi ads down without affecting the legitimate users?

Here's the forum url:
http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/forum/index.php

And a sample of a Ponzi ad. They advertise online but the scam is run offline:
http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=17355.0

And now the aftermath of said "investment scheme":
http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=32684.0

Here's what happens:
1. Scammer posts their ad.
2. Scammer, accomplices, and potential victims post on the thread asking for more info.
3. More info is given via email, phone, or sometimes even face-to-face meetings.
4. Accomplices (and maybe even victims) post on the thread thanking the scammer for the cleared checks.
5. Ponzi runs its course, checks start going bad. Scammer goes into hiding.

It's impossible that the site owners don't know what's going on.

Master Baiter Joined: 07 Sep 2012 Posts: 100

The whois info:

IP address: 69.73.174.171
Registrar: GODADDY.COM, LLC (Sponsor: GoDaddy.com, LLC (http://www.godaddy.com))
Referrer: http://registrar.godaddy.com
Created: 2005-03-01
Updated: 2011-03-04
Expires: 2021-03-01
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientRenewProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Name Server: ns1.pinoymoneytalk.com
Name Server: ns2.pinoymoneytalk.com

Registrant:
PinoyMoneyTalk.com
Seodaemun-gu
Seoul, 102809
Korea, Republic

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:52 pm

It is hard to prove that the forum owners are involved in fraud, though I have no doubt they are. The question is, how does one prove fraud in this case? That is hard. I have no belief any of this is real. Its a site that targets Filipinos, registered in South Korea, and hosted in the US.

Basically, ALL HYIP is a scam. There is no way to guarantee %5 a month interest. I see references to %10-20 per month, which is highly improbably. I KNOW the forum, itself, is a scam, too. By generating enough traffic on the site, they find new victims, who see the "conversations" ongoing and believe they are witnessing dialog between people who are making money. I doubt any of the people posting about making money are genuine. Again, difficult to prove.

I would look up Go Daddys terms of reference. A lot of hosts and registrars prohibit this sort of activity. If they expressly forbid it in their terms of reference, then make a formal complaint, from a baiting account, not tied to your real life, outlining where the fraud is and how it runs afoul of their terms of reference.

I once closed a porn site that was full of "girlfriend" shots of victims where I live. Many of them were under age, and all the hots were stolen in one internet cafe who captured email addies and PW and stole the pictures from these womens email accounts. Go Daddy refused to shit it down. So... I posted on their FB page asking why they hosted kiddy porn sites, along with the URL and the Who is. That site was closed within a day. You may need to shame them.

Master Baiter Joined: 07 Sep 2012 Posts: 100

Hmm... good points. It is very difficult to prove. I've seen others try to post warnings on the forum. Typical for these things, they're shouted down or their posts buried by the accomplices' non-stop "me too" and "thanks" posts.
I'll see what (largely circumstantial) evidence I can find.

Just curious, can you speak Filipino?