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| Thursday, February 03, 2005 | |
Mike Glaspie, of BannersGoMLM fame, has launched a real dud with his new NoBSZone.com site. I play with programs like this occassionally just to see what's going on around the Net. What got my interest on this one was a product called IconAlert, which is another product that is supposed to deliver news to your desktop. I installed this program on Dec 31 and have yet to receive any news through it. But this is not what concerns me about this program. It's Mike G's choice of a credit card processing merchant. Are you ready to have your credit card stolen?
Mike chose a provider that goes by the name of "Pay-CardBill.com", "Pay-Charge.com" or "Pay-Comms.com", I really haven't figured out which. They may all be aliases for the same. This company appears to be based out of Basseterre, St. Kitts.
I was very surprised this morning as I was paying bills to note some strange charges on my business credit card. I noted 2 charges that would have been related to NoBSZone.com, but there were 2 more! In researching this charges, I found the customer service website of this payment processor at http://custserviceco.com, The Internet Support Group. There transaction lookup system worked fine and allowed me to see the transactions made against my credit card. Boy was I surprised to see that the 2 unknown cards were for a membership at an adult website. A charge for $1.99 (the cheap preview?) and then another $39.95 for a recurring membership.
The only logical explanation is that a person in the employ of the Internet Support Group is stealing customer credit card numbers. Are they being sold? Used internally? I do not know, but I immediately called my bank and cancelled this credit card number. Of course, now I have to reestablish accounts with other legitimate vendors that use this account.
Why would Mike G choose an offshore credit card processing vendor? There are many good companies that do not hide behind aliases. My recommendation to you is to stay away from NoBSZone.com and, if you did already join, check your credit card statement. You many find some illegal charges.
BTW, IconAlert has now been uninstalled, membership at NoBSZone cancelled, and the vendors contacted to request appropriate refunds for unauthorized charges. I'll let you know how successful this is.
Posted on 02/03/05 at 10:41:43 by Jim Gray
Category: Scams
Comments
Yo, is anyone still out there?? This problem is still ongoing. Now, how about anyone who has actually received commissions from NoBSZone, speak up here!
I have not received any commissions since Dec, paid in Jan. Has anyone received money from MIKE??
Mary
well i was chg 49.99 i tried the website that was given from the # on my cc bill it wont even come up i have no idea how my # was even gotten i sure would like to know what to do about this where is this guy based
Hi All.... It looks like this board isn't getting the traffic it was a month go but hopefully the "die-Hards" (like Steven A) will keep up the pursuit.
I also was charged $1.99, $19.99 & $49.99 + chg for $29.99. All were done in Feb. I cancelled my debit card & my bank has reimbursed the charges. I didn't lose the money but that's not the point. I've never been involved with Mike G or any of the websites/services listed here. I have bought several things around the internet & have contacted each company about this. (Amazon, Carol Wright, Pet Shed, eBay, PayPal, mp3downloading, AOL, MyCheckFree & Real) I can't see that any of these have been compromised. Obviously, something has!!!
It is absolutely outrageous that this can go unabated and unpunished. The internet is such an awesome tool. The creeps out there that are so dishonest & greedy can't be allowed to spoil it for the rest of us.
If I can do anything, please email me!!
I have been trying for 3 weeks to get a response from "commissions" and still nothing. Should change the name to "All Hype"
Dear Grayscales / NoBSzone Community,
Mike G here...Once again I would like to apologize to all of you who have been affected by this issue with Merchant Solutions.
The NoBSzone staff has been aggressively tracking and pursuing all of our members who had unauthorized charges from Merchant Solutions and working diligently to insure that all refunds were issued as expeditiously as possible. There were many more than MS originally quoted to us, and only through our extensive efforts were we able to locate all unauthorized charges. I'm sure you will not be suprised to hear that there were not only 34 members, but 553!! This costed us much time and energy to resolve for everyone.
I feel confident that the majority (90% +) of refunds have been issued and credited by now.
IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR REFUND YET: Please contact your financial institution/issuing bank for your credit card (their 800# will appear on the back of your card) and dispute the charges (chargeback). We have done everything within our control to have all the refunds issued and have given Merchant Solutions more than enough time to get them processed.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, please contact Robert Tedders (our 'Top Brass' at NoBSzone) and he will have an answer to your question or a solution to your problem asap, robert@nobszone.com.
Sincerely,
Mike G, founder
NoBSzone.com
These people who work for pay-comms.com are assholes... that's all I have to say about it.
P.S.
I can confirm that my experience is similar to that posted on March 2nd at 12:43:06 by John Zinda: during the last days I had evidence of intrusions on my computer and of the presence of worms and spyware very difficult to remove.
The same thing happened to me too. I got the same sequence of three credit card charges 1.99-39.95-49.95 USD from pay-comms.com during the last 30 days.
Yesterday I had to cancel my CC account and request a new CC.
I still do not know which transactions the charges are related to, and like several other victims I never had nothing to do with Nobszone, I never used Icon Alert and I do not have the palest idea about how my credit card number has been stolen and used.
Nevertheless, even if I have no direct evidences, I can say that I suspect some spyware activity on my computer but I cannot relate it directly to Icon Alert.
The same thing happened to me. I got 3 charges last month by pay-comms. com for $39.95 and $1.99. The second $39.95 was credited back to me as it showed on my statement. Then this month I got a charge of $49.95. It was just my debit card too and I never use it. It's definitely a scam by them.
If you do a search for Glaspie and tedders and bob wilson you will see that Bob Wilson is also a partner of his and he lives in Kansas.
If that is the same Bob Wilson who is running the domains for cc processing then just maybe there is a provable link.
Bob Wilsons link (or one of them)
So Glaspie and Tedders working together again please read this then go here for the rest
http://www.1worldline.com/t...
A recurring theme with Robert has always been that he's “out of money.” Is it because he's had an incredible streak of bad luck, or because he's an extremely poor CEO/manager? It's hard to say. We know that Robert has gone through 5 different software platforms in the last year, 2 of them ridiculously overpriced and all of them totally underdeveloped with little or no product base. We also know of at least one major legal issue with one of his first software teams so that may be a factor as well. He was able to pay our past due commission before our last campaign as well as all the members we were aware of (one of our stipulations was that all member's past due commissions be paid before the new campaign was to start), but it has gone downhill since then and we still don't know why. He hasn't paid any commissions at TML now since March, which breaches our contract again, and we have not heard from him on this in over 2 months. In our perspective, the numbers just don't add up and he should have more than enough company revenue to pay OWL members and us past due commissions. There has been no explanation from TML and there have been only 3 or 4 email updates from TML in the past 6 months!!! We suspect he has depleted TML company revenue with non-TML related issues but it looks like we'll never know. He disappeared for about a month in May, and we later found out he picked up and moved from Arizona to somewhere in the North West USA. He didn't tell Mike G, his support staff, us, anyone… just one of a number of strange occurrences with him since the Spring of 2004.
Bottom line is that it's over. We are done with TML. We tried our best to make it work, and we brought a large team to the program. The TML/CE experience was morbid and disgusting, and it unfairly hurt the reputation of OWL… but the book is closed and we don't plan on looking back. The air is now clear and we hope this information helps answer some questions that have surely bogged down a large number of our members. We're very excited to start the next chapter of OWL, and our next program is proving to be a great one...
Rating: F
Recommendation: If you are still getting billed for TML, Cancel immediately
*** Mike Glaspie kindly asked us to clarify the extent of his involvement with TML. He has always been just an investor in TML. He advanced TML the start up capital back in late 2002 and under contract received stock in the company. He was not part of the TML management nor did he have any legal control over the company or its operations.
No refund yet!! A week ago Robert from NoBSZone called me and promised me my money in 48 hours. Last night he called me again!! I think they want me to shut up and go away. But I refuse, I want everyone to know that Mike Glaspie is not to be trusted. They claim that it is not their responsibility that Merchant Solutions took our money. LMAO. Are they not responsible for the choices they make? I believe this is all a setup. NoBS lured me into upgrading with the promise of FREE advertising to 1 million people, Then after they got my credit card information they added bogus charges. I wonder if Mike G owns the adult site we were charged with ordering!!!! Is Mike G also a smut peddler in addition to being a crook? It wouldn't suprise me. If anyone in this forum hasn't already done so, please warn everyone on your personal lists to either not join or dump NoBSZone ASAP!!!!! I have also removed all code from my webpages for Banners Go MLM. Which Mike G owns if you are a member of Banners I urge you to do the same. I will never do business with this man ever again and I hope everyone else follows suit. I will also be drafting a letter to send to all the safelists I belong to warning those people about Mike G and NoBSZone. I have made it my personal mission in life to take this crook down. I may be a small fish in a big pond, but I have very sharp teeth and a great appitite. I will keep bitting off chunks until my mission is acomplished.
I got hit, too.
I got my bank statement this morning, and what do I find?
17 Feb 05 Pay-Comms.com $1.99 USD
21 Feb 05 Pay-Comms.com $49.95 USD
24 Feb 05 Pay-Comms.com $49.95 USD
I did a search on google, and I found three pages listing this company as a fraud.
I tried going to pay-comms.com to see if there was any way to search transactions to find out what I'd been charged for, but there no information, and if I follow the link on the main page, I get a very unprofesional website with little identifying information, and the "contact support" link is just a crappy webform.
I already called my bank and cancelled my credit card and reported the transactions as fraudulent. I also sent an e-mail through the webform for pay-comms.com telling them I've already reported the fraud and asking if there's some way they can tell me what I've been charged for.
They can try to fuck up my credit rating by putting me on a blacklist, but I doubt reputable companies (like amazon.co.uk where I buy) will give a damn what they have to say.
I shredded my credit card around Christmas of 2004 so I've not been able to make any charges on it myself since them, and I have no idea where anyone else has gotten my info from.
Hopefully my bank will get it sorted and I'll get refunded. That's about 60 pounds worth of transactions on my card.
At least now I've canceled no more can go through, but still this is a pain in the ass.
"I suspect icon alert as a new virus that collects personal data."
That is not necessarily the case... if I'm correct, icon alert is from MarketingTips - I've used it and have not had spyware. Not all desktop apps are spyware.
I will give you a few tips to help avoid spyware:
1) Use netscape Or possibly mozilla firefox, but definitely one of the two. If an install is forced on your pC, you will be told - and SAY NO unless its something you specifically requested.
2) If you really want to use IE - go to your Tools / Internet Options / Security and turn activex controls OFF, even "safe" ones. With them on - spyware and other software CAN install on your pc without you knowing.
Also make sure you set your temporary internet files to DELETE ON CLOSE. That helps prevent cached content (ccards, etc).
3) Get a good anti-spyware program.
4) there's a good article on some of this prevention - obviously there's no guarantee, but it gives good tips on it. If you want me to send you the URL, just email me by clicking on my name and request it. (Yeah, its free, just don't want to get in trouble for posting a URL here)
Lastly, avoid going to MOST websites (ANY FINANCIAL website) by clicking a link in an email!
Always open your browser and manually type it in (i.e., http://www.paypal.com). That ensures you aren't duped by a possible email phishing issue.
I haven't been charged (at this point) on my ccards, but I'm watching.
the name of the site Processor for my PAY-COMM charges was Pangea Processing and the number 1-800-961-9859
I had charges from PAY-COMM.COM, in Dec, Jan, Feb and Mar. The site lists a number of pharmaceutical online outlets. I found the processing company and phoned. The woman said they were in Seattle. She said she didn't have my name, email address or Visa # in her system. I got her to look up each one. She advised me to call Visa and they changed my #. Just today, I started checking into 2 charges through CCBill and they are probably related. I couldn't get much info about the site that was billing for them. I had charges from MY SITE Inc and my bank's VISA kept refunding them, but it took close to a year to get them stopped. That was one of Mike's sites. I should never have got involved with him again.
I was also stung on 2 different credit cards 2@ $1.99 & 2@$39.95 from pay-comms.com (They told me this was related to membbership in adultmegaplex.net which I never heard of!) ALSO I was stung on one of those 2 cards for an additional $50.00 from a pay-sigma.com. I encourage everyone to stop those credit cards that have been billed, report this to your credit card companies,get new account numbers And file fraud charges against them. I wrote to customerserviceco. (a link "contact us" on pay-comms.com site) I was threatened by them = "Please do not attempt to
dispute any of the charges made to your account as full refunds will be
given for erroneous transactions. If repudiations are received we will
add your details to a negative database which will make it very hard for
you to purchase products online in the future."
After many "No replies" to customer support tickets, this morning I get a reply stating that my money will be credited back to my card in 10 days = not holding my breath because many have been promised & recieved nothing!
I am Not a member of Nobszone & never heard of them either. I do not know who is responsible for these charges.
When you call the pay-comms.com phone # on CC statement, it refers you to merchsolutions.com. I have emailed them & have heard nothing.
I am sickened & frustrated with this whole mess & credit card fraud = individuals behind it AND would love to see them behind bars!!
So what it looks like from Mike G. is that Merchant Solutions is involved in some form of fraud, given the fact that they have severed ties, and that the majority of us here are not members of the noBSzone.
I just want to thank everyone for the information, because I too was stung for 39.95. Now I know what to do. And I will pass on this information in my next article.
Publisher Note: The following comment by Mike G. is a cut & paste of comments he's making on other highly ranked Google items reporting this scam. Mike G (Mike Glaspie) did not make the refunds he claims (at least he skipped me) and his customer service center has been totally unresponsive.
Dear NoBSzone Community,
Mike G here...I wanted to drop by and respond to everyone's
concerns about the prevailing over billing issues with Merchant
Solutions(pay-comm.com, pay-pays.com) and to let you know what
has been done to clear this situation up.
First of all, we apologize for the inconvenience that this has
caused the NoBSzone members who were affected by this debacle.
This situation has been very frustrating for us and I know it
has been for those who were affected as well. I assure you that
this will never happen again, and let me tell you the steps that
were taken to rectify and prevent BS like this from ever happening
again:
1) Our attorney Ted Lindauer ( http://mlmlawyer.com) and our
corresponding counsel in Australia (Merchant Solutions/pay-comm is a
AU based merchant account provider) have been contacted and the
appropriate counsel has been initiated.
2) We have completely severed our business relationship with
Merchant solutions. They will no longer have the authority to bill
our customers.
3) All customers who have been unauthorized charges have been
identified, contacted by Merchant Solutions, and refunded for all
charges.
4) A "negative scrubb" has been performed on the Merchant Solutions
databases to completely remove any of our customers data from their
data storage facilities to prevent anyone being billed or emailed
from any other vendors.
5) We've posted a sample of the letter that was sent by Merchant Solutions
today, delivered to EVERY member that was affected by their mistake.
This letter confesses their full responsiblity for the unauthorized billing(s)
and was in no way incited by any deriliction or defect on the part of
NoBSzone. You can view the sample letter by visiting
http://nobszone.com/merchso...
When you joined NoBSzone.com I promised I will not let you down and i'm
not going to. Yes, this incident is unexcusable. Yes, this circumstance
is a little bit of BS. But rest assured that my staff and I are working
around the clock with vigilant, relentless, professionalism and have
remedied the sitaution.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Robert Tedders. He
is my "Top Brass" at NoBSzone.com who will have an answer to your question
or a solution to your problem ASAP. His email address is: robert@nobszone.com.
If you would like to contact Merchant Solutions directly, their General
Manager, Ross Temby is the man to call. His details are:
Ross Temby
General Manager
http://www.merchsolutions.com
p: +617 32540110
f: +617 32540990
ICQ: 10742841
AIM: rossmerchsol
MSN: sprinkl0r@hotmail.com
Taking the good along with the bad is not BS, that's life. I hope that these
former circumstances do not alter our friendship. We are moving forward from
this debacle to continue offer the best business opportunities the web has to
offer, to have fun, and to make money together, No BS - I won't let you down.
Sincerely,
Mike G, founder
NoBSzone.com
Well, add me to the list. 2-07:$1.99. 2-12:$39.95. 2-27:$49.95. I called my CC and disputed the charges, and cancelled my account, and started a new one. I have never been to nobszone, and RARELY use this CC (maybe once every 2 months to gas up my car), and I only open strange emails so I can add them to my "blocked senders" list. I have my email set to block pictures, etc that may be unsafe. So, HOW did this weak &*!! get my account number??!! Sorry, just FRUSRATED!!!
This Christopher AppleBy character is a complete fake and has said nothing but nonsense. Everything he said in his post is untrue. There is no "script" and no software installed on your computer. Everyone's issues seem to be stemming from an underhanded credit card processor in St. Kitts (and possibly some underhanded web site owners who claim to use Stormpay, but do not).
If you have become a victim, call your CC company to have the charges removed and get a new card. I am sure we will all be more careful next time....
Found the problem ;-)
It was the only thing none of us thought. In any of the emails you receive from NoBSZone there is a script (check if you don't beleive me) that requires a cookie to be made for it.
Then while you are connected and have been idle for a while that cookie starts to do something which loads info on computer.
Its a special program. But guess what. That grabs your credit card number, expiry date, 3-digit code on back and postcode.... because while you are surfing there's sometime your going to type your creditcard or look at the statements for it.
So it captures emails basically. If you have unhidden this (I have only been able to do it because I am a Computer Engineer and a Professional Hacker "Forcefield" part time for the F.B.I*)
* You may ask why the hell am I in this forum. Well you see my son used my credit card for an adult site and I started getting payments from "Pay-Comms.com"
I typed it in google and this forum came up. So it made me think to use my skills to reveal this program thats been made undetectable with a layered and transparant "always on top" interface.
So I did, and it sits justs above your status bar. Collects valuable details and then sends these DIRT CHEAP leads with creditcard numbers to their subscribers.
And guess what. Not naming names (unless you email me personally and I will tell you) but that company has got a TOP 100 promoters list.
Am guess what. "Pay-Comms.com" is listed as a member who pays to receive these details for basically SPAMMING and bonus charging. "NoBSZone.Com" is in there and he's been a naughty boy signing up for a second and third account under the username "MikeG.com" and "NoBSBSZone.com" but obviously those URL's are fake.
Anyway back to the point. The members have this installed on their computers as "MEMBERS" not "VICTIMS" but it still collect their info.
So NoBSZone.com customers info is being captured by the software and sent to the other members of the illegal Creditcard number giveway program and viceversa.
So basically in order for MikeG to be able to receive "Pay-Comms.com" customers info, MikeG has to let this software give HIS customer info to "Pay-Comms.com" and other members.
Theyed should know better that it's rigged to spread AS MUCH INFO AS POSSIBLE. "Send 5000 captured prospects to ALL our members, and receive 1000 from only one of our members but sent to ALL of our members"
Haha! That's what it should bloodi say.
Anyway this is too small for F.B.I's or things to deal with. In court you would get knowhere. If there was even the slightest possibility that MikeG did not intentionally give out your details , he would win.
Etc. Etc. I could go on all day but it's my free day and I'm hitting the bars ;-)
There needs to be somesort of "Internet Police" that gives fines etc. So for doing illegal things, that domain is disabled or suspended for a certain amount of time (eg 2 months) or disabled or removed permanently.
Kinda like arresting someone and keeping them in custody for a week will hopefully make them realise their actions and be free'd with no intention to repeat the crime.
Then if they repeat you send them behind bars for life **TRANSLATION: put their domain behind bars, get the user barred and hosting account deleted.
Anyway am off out no, hope ive left you with some ideas.
Thanks,
If you would like to contact me then use the email address I've just created. I've stopped using just one address and I make a new email every week or so and never post my personal or work email.
special_c@hotmail.co.uk - Do not send me any sort of SPAM or I will just delete this email address and you will waste this opportunity for the rest of them.
YOU SHOULD DO THE SAME. 1 Email account for Traffic Exchanges and Programs, 1 for business related and bills and payments and banking, 1 for posts, discussions, safelists and subscription to mailing lists.
Christopher Appleby
Federal Bureau Investigation Protection and Security Officer
Feel free to check up on me :P
I was billed 29.95 for Dec.2004 Jan.2005=29.95
Feb.2005=29.95
March2005=x29.95
USAmedsonline.com has billed my cc. and I contacted FDC.
Attorney General State Of Texas
If we let this billing go on in our country it will hurt more than just myself. I wrote my Congressman Kay Grainger a letter and want a bill to to limit access of companys.This is the same as mail fruad which cares a stiff penalty is USA..
Hey,
I have go this charge on my account too.
Reported to my Credit card co. they couldn't tell me what it was for. But now I know. Thanks for spotlighting this.
I had one on the 7th Feb for 1.99 and then the 39.95 on 10th Feb. I joined NBZone way back when and never did anything with it. So now I know.
My Bank will be getting this information.
I was also a victim of "Nothing but BSZone"
I sent a complaint to abuse@godaddy.com in addition to all the things others have done. This is where the bs zone domain is registered
Hi, I'm from Norway and I just became aware of this unauthorized charge from my credit card. 39.95 in february and another 49.95 a couple of days ago. The same happened to my father and he has only used his cc ONCE on the internet back i August 2004 when he funded a Stormpay account. We cancelled both cc's today, and I'm now contacting all friends which I helped with Stormpay funding back in August. I'm really pissed today and would gladly help anyone who's going after these crocks both financially and physically!!!!
You could all be right. But how many of you have received an e-mail from paypal,stormpay, ebay, citybank or even your own bank wanting updated info to include your cc#s. Do not reply to any of these. Just thing
#1 did you every give your bank your email address
#2 would your bank use the internet to request such info.
as for the rest do not click on the url provided in is bogus and may inclued spyware.
useing another email addy comtact the site in ? and ask if they have requested the info.
There is also a connection between ebay and paypal. someone got into my ebay (which is easer to get into than pp) and got all the info they needed to set up a bogus subscription.
If you have access to another computer use it for and only for money related issues.All other times it should be disconnected from the internet. This will not protect you form having info opptained through these com. but your worries about sypware should be eliminated.
and never use your home email as your email addy with paypal or any other pay processor set up one that is not all over the net.
It's frustrating to know that someone has that kind of access to my debit/checking accout. I have been charged 3 times in less than a month.
2/10/05-$1.99
2/13/05-$39.95
3/7/05-$49.95
After the second one I created a "support ticket" with the support group. Gave them the info they asked for and instead of being refunded as promised I was charged again. I am beyond pissed. Any suggestions?
I wonder if this is related to the choicepoint hack, http://www.choicepoint.com I’ve heard reports that upwards of 600,000 individuals were affected. Go visit their site and research them it’s scary how much info they have on people. The Feds use them to do background checks on people. I’m sure they have CC, Banks account numbers, and SS #’s for a lot of people
I have filled a report with the Australian High Tech Crime Center http://www.ahtcc.gov.au/ I would urge you all to do the same it is a very short form you e-mail to them. Merchant Solutions HQ is Brisbane Australia
Maybe you are interested in reading this other discussion as well. The people there seem to have additional information:
http://boards.xbiz.com/show...
Add me to the list - I just got my credit card and saw the 1.99 and the 39.95 charges. When I called visa I was told there was another 49.95, dated Feb 26`05, that is on my next bill. I disputed the charges and am waiting for a form to fill out and sign saying they aren't mine. Then I found this site. I immediately called back and reported the charges to the fraud division - they have canceled my card and are issuing a new one. The only thing I use that particular card for is paypal - I purchase something maybe 2 or 3 times a year on paypal with that credit card and have never had a problem. Except, once, back in Aug 19`04 I had to use Stormpay, since the supplier only used that. The charge came through my visa bill as PAY-MYBILL.COM...needless to say, I won't be using STORMPAY again.
Just wanted to add to the list as well. I was charged first 1.99, then 39.95, then again 49.95. It seems to be set up as a monthly charge that just keeps increasing. My only thing is that I have never even visited this "nobszone" website. My authorization for the initial 1.99 and 39.95 went through at the exact same time I signed up for a netflix account on the regular site, netflix.com. I don't know how that happened, but it was the pay-comms.com site that authorized it, just like all of you. I have no idea whats going on, other than this has been a HUGE pain trying to get it all figured out. I think Im gonna have to end up cancelling my debit card. Good luck to ya'll...
Anna,
I just wanted to let stormpay know someone was using there name and see if they had anything to say. The letter Parvez shared is a standard reply. I had hoped that since stormpays name was involved that they would conduct their own investigation. I do agree with you Anna, Stormpay is 100% above board and are not involved in any wrong doing. Also on 1-20-05 a file was installed on my computer called toolbar.dll So far I have not been able to get rid of it and until I do I am not going to use my new cc online. Has anyone else found this file on their computer and if so , have you been able to get rid of it? Thanks to all for sharing. This saga has made me more acutly aware of the lengths to which the dishonest element will go to steal anothers hard earned money. As for me I used a debit card and know that Ian not going to get reimbursed. It isn't even about the money for me anyway, it is about principal. I would like to see action taken. That is unlikely as it appears that the fraud has occured in the caribbian. By learning all we can about this and making that information avaliable to others we we can help to teach others about shopping online safely.
Anna, I already asked storm pay about it. They conveyed that storm pay has nothing to do with (see mail from them below) and any transaction will appear as StormPay Inc. However, I replied back, asking explanation, regarding a transaction which was through them in Aug 04, which appeared as PAY-MYBILL.COM. And they haven’t replied till now.
Earlier mail from storm pay:
From: "Funding" <funding@stormpay.com>
Subject: RE: UNRECOGNIZED CREDIT CARD CHARGE
Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 05:51:16 -0600
Hello,
I would strongly advise that you contact your bank to reverse all
charges
from that company back to your card. StormPay has no relationship with
any
third party card processors. Any purchases made via StormPay.com will
reflect as "StormPay Inc." on your bank or credit card statement.
Thank you,
StormPay Support
John,
I don't know what Stormpay can say about all this. I've always known that they have always been reliable.In my case I can't really complain about them. The transaction I made through them was legit. They just did what I asked them to do: make a payment to Easy Chair Club( it was made by clicking on a button on the ECC site though)
They just did their work. I can't hold Stormpay liable if 6 months later PAY-MYBILL.COM may have used my CC information to make fraudlent charges.
There's one thing I don't unterstand though. Why a STORMPAY payment has been charged my PAY-MYBILL on my CC account. Perhaps Stormpay can answer that ???
just wanted to add my name to the list of victims. same charges and same dates as everyone else . im in california and trying to find out how they got my debit card number. it sounds like this scam is taking off like a wild fire though. good luck to all of us.
The whole matter is simple really. Just contact your credit card company and tell them your card has been compromised. Tell them to reverse ALL transactions to the paycomm or whatever they are going by now. Your card company will usually put a new card in your hand in a matter of days. Also, if paycomm starts getting all the reversals they will lose their status with the credit card companies and will be out of business.
Thanks Robert for your information ! I appreciated that very much.
I tracked the email I got after I made that transaction through Stormpay ( mine was a payment to Easy Chair Club too.........????!!!!!!!)For sure pay-mybill and pay-comms have one thing in common. they are both based in Basseterre - St. Kitts.
Here's the email I received from the payment proccessor:
Thankyou for your order of a "Funding StormPay Account (online sales)" from our distributor: "StormPay Inc."
Your order has been approved! The transaction will appear on your statement in U.S dollars. For your convenience it will appear on your statement as "Pay-MyBill.com"
If you have ordered a product please allow (3) THREE WEEKS FOR DELIVERY! Please make sure someone over the age of 18 is available to sign for the delivery.
The delivery of "Funding StormPay Account (online sales)" was arranged with our friends at "StormPay Inc." to be delivered in a timely manner by either e-delivery (virtual products) or mail/courier delivery - depending on the product you purchased.
We have a very friendly customer support team, so if you have any questions
or queries, please don't hesitate to email or phone us We're here to help
and we value your patronage!
For all customer support queries, please visit: http://www.internationalbil...
----------------------------------------------------
Thanks for your order,
PAY-MYBILL.COM / INTERNATIONALBILLING.NET
a division of Fidelity Enterprises, Inc.
Basseterre, St. Kitts.
Hi All,
I have sent a brief description of what is going on to stormpay.com and a link to this page. Hopefully they will add a comment for us. I am still collecting information and will be updating my support page on this issue in the next day or two. The support page on this subject can be found here.
http://www.puzzleattic.com/...
Hi Anna,
on http://www.supportecom.net you click on "HERE" and you come to http://www.supportecom.net/... and there you can select one of these:
PAY-ECOM.NET, IPAY-ADREV.COM, PAY-EZYD.COM, PAY-WEB13.COM, PAY-DELTA.COM, PHARMGROUP.COM, PAY-IGAGENCY.COM, PAY-GENSALES.COM, PAY-SIGMA.COM, PAY-CELLWIRELESS.COM, PAY-COMMS.COM, PAY-QUEST.COM, PAY-QUAD.COM, PAY-IDBILL.COM, PAY-E-BRACKEN.COM, PAY-NETSHOP.COM, PAY-SECURE-I.COM, PAY-EPGATEWAY.COM, PQAY-EVASUPPORT.COM, PAY-CNDPHARM.COM, PAY-ONLINEPHARM.COM, PAY-1ST-RETAIL.COM, PAY-SHOPS.COM.
This does NOT mean that they (all or any) are responsible in any way. It does only mean that there is a relation between them and the current case, so maybe it's a good idea to check your CC invoices for one of these companies.
I bet we all made a completely normal payment last year to one of these.
I also was charged by PAY-MYBILL_COM in august 2004, it was when i joined MMD, (Easy Chair Club). And that was a payment through STORMPAY...
Hi all, You can add me to the list.I got that trial charge on Feb 12 and the membership charge on Feb 14. I had to cancel my CC account. that really caused some hassle.
Robert ! Are you sure pay-comms are connected to pay-mybill.com. I followed your advice and founf I've got an authorised charge by PAY-MYBILL.COM (206)350-3992 K . way back in August 2004. It was a payment through STORMPAY WOW !!! Stormpay is supposed to be safe. Does K stand for Korea? If PAY-MYBILL is connected to PAY-COMMS, the answer is right there. Good job Robert.
Another victim. I also got my credit card statement (UK based) with 2 extra transactions of 1.99usd and 39.95usd titled PAY-COMMS.COM, (206)202-0445. I never visited NoBSZone.com site. But first transaction is on of the same day as of another website ( http://www.indiaplaza.com), which I used to send a gift to India. Is it possible that their database has been compromised or may be they use same credit card payment processor? I have written to gift site, asking about information who is their credt card payment processor. But they haven't come back to me yet.
they got us too
39.95 and 1.99 the support no doesnt work the card people cant do anything either help the card was cancelled in oct. any help i can get would be great!!!!!!!
I wondered where they got my credit card number?! Now I probably found the source; on Sep 07 I was (correctly) charged by "PAY-MYBILL.COM (206)350-3992".
So maybe it is also useful for you to check your lastyear creditcard invoices..
Thanks Robert,
After reading your message, I checked back a couple of months on my checking account and found two other charges from pay-comm.com On 1/31/05 a charge for 1.99 and on 2/02/05, a charge of 39.95, and with the 49.95 withdrawal on 2/25/05, I'm out 91.89, plus any overdraft charges created by these withdrawals. I've already filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, contacted my bank, contacted the website that used pay-comm.com,(under a different name), and contacted pay-comm through their customer service site called internet support group or ISG. I have received no response back from any of the people I contacted. Very frustrating so far.
I'm also a victim of these guys. I was charged by PAY-COMMS.COM with $1,99 on Feb 2, $39,95 an Feb 6, and another $49,95 on Feb 20. There seems to be a preference for sunday?
I'm a german citizen and I have absolute no idea where they got my credit card number.
I got an email about a month ago saying I had a membership to adultmegaplex.net.
I just deleted it as the usual spam porn that comes in my email. I just noticed today, February 25, that I had a charge from pay-comm for 49.95. I emailed them to find out what the charge was for, but in the process, found this site. Obviously I am another victim of pay-comm's scam. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do other than cancel my credit card.
Well... I'm the latest victim. $1.99 on 2/16 and $49.95 on 2/19. They have upped the anti. Cancelled my CC and asked my bank to investigate. I Don't do porn and NoBSZone & Mike G were a joke from the beginning (didn't send them a dime of my money... so how did they get me CC info?) Has anyone contacted a lawyer? Even though the amounts are small is a class action suit a possibility? Mad as Heck! D
Jason, I saw the info at boards.xbiz.com, fortunately that board is oriented to adult website businesses and at least the board didn't contain graphic images... whew! Anyway, this payment processor is even getting a bad rap by the guys that run adult websites. They know how this could hurt them as well.
I sent all this information on to cribsurf.com they host pay-comms servers. Got a reply back they are opening an investigation and have forwarded the information on to the authorities. I won't my breath though it is in St. Kitts
I joined the above board and placed all the info I found about Pay-Comms there under JB1 as user name. I also sent the info to the PuzzleAttic website to be posted.
I knew Mike G. was bad news the first time I saw a sex ad rotated through a BannerGoMLM script. Then I later read about it in the iCop newsletter. That really got jl's dander up. I dropped that one like a hot rock. Just another reason to stay away from him.
Hi Everyone, I guess you can add me to the list, except it looks like mine is the most recent: $1.99 on 2/11 and $39.95 on 2/14. I have visited the nobszone site but have not made any purchases through/with them. I have canceled my card and am getting a new one issued. I'm not much of a retribution kinda guy but if I can help anyone with my experience let me know.
Stewart
I have received the letter above from the NoBSzone Management team. I am however still wainting for the promised refund. Has anyone received a refund yet? Please let us know. Or you can e-mail me at http://www.puzzleattic.com/... Thanks to all of you for your support in this matter.
John
RE: Unauthorized Charges
It came to our attention last week that
one of our merchant account providers
had accidentally charged 34 of our members for "adult content" membership.
We actually use several merchant accounts and spread our volume among them . The one referenced above is a company called Merchant Solutions.
As soon we became aware of the problem
we notified them and they immediately
hurried to correct the issue .
Rest assured your credit card has NOT been compromised . Our servers and our customer database have not been compromised. There was not a security breach of any kind. Merchant Solutions had a data base/human error which caused 34 of our members to be charged
for something they did not purchase.
By now everyone affected should have received a note from them , informing of their error and that the charges are being credited back to your card . If you have not received this note from them, no worry. Because you are receiving this from us , your card is being credited.
It may take a few days for it to show up on your account , but it will.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you . It was a human error on their part , for not catching the data base error. It will NOT happen again .
Sincerely,
The NoBSzone Management Team
And me :( Just got a CC statement for a card I haven't used for ages, with the same 1.99 and 39.95 charges dated 27th Jan and 2nd Feb to PAY-COMMS.COM.
I had never heard of NoBSZone or IconAlert until reading this thread, so its unlikely to be either of them in this case. I run OSX and as far as I can see IconAlert isn't written for Mac yet, or is there a variant?
Hi,
I am the editor of Scam Alert Newsletter and I found this topic very interesting.
I will include the link in my next edition.
I ran a story on Zabang a few weeks ago which is also owned by Mike Glaspie.
Zabang is another scam site which has been set up simply to collect email addresses.
No doubt these are sold to his contacts or customers.
If you would like a copy of the story please send me an email with Mike G in the subject line.
I've been ripped too, and I can't see an obvious connection between all of us. I have no MLM involvement, and have never participated with any activity related to nobszone.com. I just found this charge on my debit card today, and came to this site much the same way others had, through a simple google search after pay-comms.com url turned up nothing. I have no idea how I can be charged for using an adult site when it's not even possible for me to do so. I'm a soldier in the US Army, and currently serve in the mideast, all of our web traffic is so strictly filtered for security purposes that there's really no way this is even possible. Looks like I'll be staying up tonight and trying to get a phone line to the states to change my CC info. Good times... I'll do my best to stay tuned to what's going on here, it's nice to know that at least I'm not the only one.
I am feeling really duped. I first noticed on about the 8th Feb that two rogue payments had been charged to my credit card. I have only just today had time to chase up what this was and a search for pay-comms.com sent me to this site. What an awakening. I have reported this to my bank and they are arranging for me to complete necessary forms. I haven't yet cancelled my credit card but think I may have to. I have heard Mike G name before in relation to other "opportunities" that my husband has investigated. The only solution I think for any of us is to realise that there is no easy way to make money and that usually the words MLM should ring alarm bells for anyone who does not wish to be scammed
well.. looks like i'm another on the list. jeez, what a hassle. gotta get new CC now and try to get re-inbursed for something i never asked for.
please help... we just found the same charges on our bank statements one for the 7th of Feb and one for the 10th. We have not been to the NoBSzone as far as I know and have not gotten any IconAlert, how do I contact someone about getting reimbersed?
P.S. I have just been to the NoBSzone site and discovered that there is now no mention of there being 27 wonder-workers behind it, there's just Mile G.
I found this site because I looked on Google to find info about Pay-comm. Guess why - because I had found rogue payments just like everyone else here. I rang my card processor and they had no more info but gave me Pay-comms no. I rang them and they had no record of my card no. or my email addresses.
Only when I read all this (and another forum) did I realise the NoBSzone connection. I'm asking my card people to repay me and I'll try to email the other "gurus" connected with NoBSzone.
Now, too, I have remembered the accusations made against Mike Glaspie about his antispam program by the people he failed to pay for developing it.
By the way, I never downloaded IconAlert so that isn't the cause of the scam.
hey guyz i also got garges to this same pay-comms.com.I have one charge of 1.99 and another that was 39.95 one was feb 07,2005 and the other was feb08 2005.the bad thing about is i have not used this account in 2 years.i think leagle matters need to take place. keep me in touch of whats going on.
email- jmjonesy@msn.com
Got an email today from NOBSZone:
It came to our attention Tuesday that
one of our merchant account providers
had accidentally charged 34 of our members
for "adult content" membership.
We actually use several merchant accounts
and spread our volume among them . The
one referenced above is a company called
Merchant Solutions.
As soon we became aware of the problem
we notified them and they immediately
hurried to correct the issue .
You are receiving this email because you
were one of the 34 of our members affected
by this .
Rest assured your credit card has NOT been
compromised . Our servers and our customer
database have not been compromised. There was
not a security breach of any kind. Merchant
Solutions had a data base/human error which caused
you and 33 other of our members to be charged
for something you did not purchase.
By now you should have received a note from
them , informing you of their error and
that your charges are being credited back
to your card . If you have not received this
note from them, no worry. Because you are
receiving this from us , your card is being
credited.
It may take a few days for it to show up on
your account , but it will.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience
this may have caused you . It was a human
error on their part , for not catching the
data base error. It will NOT happen again .
Sincerely,
The NoBSzone Support Team
No other emails received from anyone about this so I still wonder..
Jules
hey, I had the same thing happen, except I am not a member of NOBSZONE. but look her for some more info...
http://www.stadtaus.com/for...
BTW, I have protection on my cards that if any online or over the phone transactions happen they have to CALL me for verification. So I refused the charges and canceled my cards and am awaiting new ones.
I have created a support page on my web-site for this subject. It includes links to other blogs on this subject and a link to the page to try and get a refund from the company that made the unauthorized charge. Here is the address to this page.
http://www.puzzleattic.com/...
John
To Bob A: The site was http://www.adultmegaplex.net, I tracked them down throught the pay-comms support, which wasn't very friendly but still managed to get the info I needed. They sent me a email at adultpix and I emailed them about the purchse, after all inquires to them I got about 6 emails saying the exact same thing
"Dear Sir/Madam,
I have cancelled your membership on your behalf and made certain that no
further charges will be made to your card. Please do not attempt to
dispute any of the charges made to your account as full refunds will be
given for erroneous transactions. If repudiations are received we will
add your details to a negative database which will make it very hard for
you to purchase products online in the future.
If you have any further questions, queries or comments regarding your
account please don't hesitiate to contact us anytime as we are always
more than happy to help!
AdultMegaPlex Support"
Nothing was getting sent back to me and no refund was being processed and a SECOND charge had occured after this so I got mad, as I tend to do and sent them another email stating I would despute these charges anyway I felt needed and threating me with negative database addition was NOT going to scare me off. In about 2 hours after that email was sent out AdultPix sent me a FULL refund for all transactions from there site.
i figured that I had nothing to lose and wasn't going to get burnt :) again..
As for the NOBSZone refund I am still waiting on that one..
Jules out..
I also had the ame thing happen to me. I suspect icon alert as a new virus that collects personal data. I don't know this for sure but it is possible, especially since that program just sat there and didn't do anything visible for 2 months. Has anyone been charged that didn't download icon alert? This information will help with figuring out what icon alert is really about.
Here's whe Whois info for NoBSZone
NoBSzone.com, Inc.
7469 W. Lake Mead Blvd
Suite 200
Las Vegas, Nevada 89128
United States
Registered through: GoDaddy.com
Domain Name: NOBSZONE.COM
Created on: 19-May-03
Expires on: 21-Nov-07
Last Updated on: 08-Oct-04
Administrative Contact:
Glaspie, Michael mtg@mysiteinc.com
NoBSzone.com
7469 W Lake Mead Blvd
Suite 200
Las Vegas, Nevada 89128
United States
6164944358 Fax -- 8016973325
Technical Contact:
Glaspie, Michael mtg@mysiteinc.com
NoBSzone.com, Inc.
7469 W Lake Mead Blvd
Suite 200
Las Vegas, Nevada 89128
United States
6164944358 Fax -- 8016973325
To J. Gibson: Who was the porn site and how did you get your refund?
I too found out that the same exact charges & the dtae was also the same. Which the funds were to be taken from my account. But I had noticed the deductions for the $1.99 & $39.99 and it said the Company was (Pay Comm Com). And contacted my Bank which holds my card. And cancelled the card and was early enough to stop payment before it was paid. But this is some ploy which is a federal offence. And wonder if the F.B.I. should get involved?? I make note. I had not gone to any adult site for them to be able to of gotten my info. So who and what is this Pay Comm Com?? It makes you think if you should ever do anything on-line at all!! I will check back if any1 else thinks the FBI should get involved and soon. Thx G
I am new subscriber here and want to share that I also reported fraud to my bank after seeing an unauthorized charge for $1.99 from "Pay-Comms.com" on Jan. 31st. I investigated and also found it was a charge from an adult website. I contacted my bank immediately to report fraud and had my CC cancelled.
Prior to this, I was also a paying member of NoBSZone.com and cancelled in December because the Icon Alert wasn't working. In fact, I cannot remove Icon Alert from my Add/Remove programs in the trafitional way. if anyone can tell me how to remove it, please share it here.
Anyway, I will never do business with Mike Glaspie after finding out he would subject hundreds of subscribers to an off-shore merchant.
I am sure glad I found this forum, for I was suspecting that my CC number was stolen by those merchants and this indeed verifies that.
Relieved but angered,
Dave
Just got this email from NoBS:
------
Hi Jules,
Your refund has been issued. It will take up to 10 days
for your refund to be credited back to your account.
Kind Regards,
The NoBSzone Support Team
-----
Well its been 15 days so far so I guess 10 days is just an excuse.
Jules again, I have been refunded the fraud charges from the adult site but still no word from nobszone, it would appear they took my cash and ran...
Someone go get them as I really have no idea where to start to try to recover funds if nobszone won't reply to me. I even tried the direct email to Mike himself but no reply.
Confused...
J.Gibson
This is George McClelland again. I was mistaken, I have been fraudently charged and have reported the fraudulant activity to my credit card company and that account has been cancelled.
Actually, I have heard through the grapevine that since Mie's anti-spam software was such a flop and so many refund requests were made, he had to chage credit card processors. However, with places like 2checkout.com and authorize.net which are SO easy to get, I'm really surprised that Mike would stoop that low. If I can help anyone with the investigations, please let me know.
Thanks for the info. To my knowledge I have had no problems, but I'll take a closer look.
I've been a little leary (but perhaps not as much as I should) of Mike since his spam killing softward that never worked came out. I lost money on it along with a few friends.
George McClelland
Hi Jim.
Thanks for the info :)
I tried that BS,and i didnt like it,and when they wanted to charge me,i said No,and cancelled everything.There was something i didnt like,but i couldnt "pinpoint" it,but you did.THANKS
Regards
Marius
Wow, same thing happened to me. Purchase the NoBSZone membership, had my card used for a adult site puchases, caught it before the 39.95 charge though but got nailed with 2 1.99 charges. Canceled card waiting for any reimbursement for those transactions. Canceled my NoBSZone membership got an email from them saying REFUND GIVEN but have not seen a refund or heard anything from them since. Email them many times about it and still no word. Been about 12 days now since they told me I have gotten my refund. Still no refund.... I suggest STAY AWAY also... I will keep you updated also if I ever do get a refund.
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I have not received any commissions since Dec, paid in Jan. Has anyone received money from MIKE??
Mary