Over the last few weeks stopECG and other organisations have received messages from UK based medical practitioners affected by Med1web who have been suddenly released from the claimed contracts.
The reason given by United Directories Lda is that these people are part of the UKs National Health service (NHS). We do not know the reasons for United’s change of heart but this is certainly good news for many people in the UK who are in dispute the directory.
UK practitioners who are with the NHS and in dispute with United as a result of signing forms mailed under the names med1web or TEMDI should reply to letters of demand noting that they are NHS Registered and asking for the contract to be annulled.
Kamis, 17 Desember 2009
Rabu, 04 November 2009
Defeat At The Highest Level
Novachannel AG has rarely been out of the news this year, and again and again it has been condemned for its business practices. Today’s news is actually the culmination of a story that has gone on since 2006.
In that year the Swiss secretariat (SECO) brought civil a case against Novachannel based on unfair competition they, quickly won in the lower courts with Novachannel ordered to cease mailing the deceptive contracts. As is almost always seen with these guides, Novachannel appealed, first to the district court and finally to Switzerland’s Supreme Court; appealing allowed them to continue mailing the forms and to continue to rake in the cash, the income almost certainly outweighed the legal costs.
You can read SECO’s press release here: English | German | Italian | French
While appealing may have made financial sense in the short term by getting this case into such a high court, Novachannel may have dealt a fatal blow to the Ludenbach model of deceptive form. SECO’s case appears to have painted a fairly broad picture of the scam and the overall layout of the form. This is very important because it has been a ruse of guides to draw courts into detail and then to simply produce a variant of the form which addresses these minor details. In such instances prosecutors are forced to return to court while all the time the guide is making money. There has also been a risk of stalemate, where a form would emerge which still mislead but where legal channels to prevent it became exhausted.
Switzerland’s laws are closely aligned to those of the EU countries so this case will resonate in countries like Spain, Portugal and Germany where associated guides continue to operate. Indeed the laws in these countries are often stricter than those in Switzerland, they just need to be implemented! Now we have a very significant ruling showing that this form of deception can be stopped by civil action.
Of course for Novachannel and the company’s former CEO Michael Rowe it does not end here, there is still a huge criminal investigation into the activities of the former Ludenbach companies. Also The Portuguese company, United Directories bought many of Novachannels disputed contracts and has continued to harass victims from outside Switzerland
Christian Bütikofer has published information on the court case in the Swiss Newspaper Tages Anzeiger (Scan below) In the article he goes on to flag up the new Portuguese outfit which is being fronted by a certain Debora Schaer (Schär). He cites anonymous sources who state that she previously worked for Micael Rowe of Novachannel as a secretary, if this is verified it will cast significant doubt on the assertion that United has no link with Novachannel.
In that year the Swiss secretariat (SECO) brought civil a case against Novachannel based on unfair competition they, quickly won in the lower courts with Novachannel ordered to cease mailing the deceptive contracts. As is almost always seen with these guides, Novachannel appealed, first to the district court and finally to Switzerland’s Supreme Court; appealing allowed them to continue mailing the forms and to continue to rake in the cash, the income almost certainly outweighed the legal costs.
You can read SECO’s press release here: English | German | Italian | French
While appealing may have made financial sense in the short term by getting this case into such a high court, Novachannel may have dealt a fatal blow to the Ludenbach model of deceptive form. SECO’s case appears to have painted a fairly broad picture of the scam and the overall layout of the form. This is very important because it has been a ruse of guides to draw courts into detail and then to simply produce a variant of the form which addresses these minor details. In such instances prosecutors are forced to return to court while all the time the guide is making money. There has also been a risk of stalemate, where a form would emerge which still mislead but where legal channels to prevent it became exhausted.
Switzerland’s laws are closely aligned to those of the EU countries so this case will resonate in countries like Spain, Portugal and Germany where associated guides continue to operate. Indeed the laws in these countries are often stricter than those in Switzerland, they just need to be implemented! Now we have a very significant ruling showing that this form of deception can be stopped by civil action.
Of course for Novachannel and the company’s former CEO Michael Rowe it does not end here, there is still a huge criminal investigation into the activities of the former Ludenbach companies. Also The Portuguese company, United Directories bought many of Novachannels disputed contracts and has continued to harass victims from outside Switzerland
Christian Bütikofer has published information on the court case in the Swiss Newspaper Tages Anzeiger (Scan below) In the article he goes on to flag up the new Portuguese outfit which is being fronted by a certain Debora Schaer (Schär). He cites anonymous sources who state that she previously worked for Micael Rowe of Novachannel as a secretary, if this is verified it will cast significant doubt on the assertion that United has no link with Novachannel.
Selasa, 03 November 2009
Are UNITED Directorios, Lda Expanding their operations?
United Directories based in Lisbon, Portugal bought many of the disputed contracts of Novachannel AG a company forced into liquidation in Switzerland and currently the subject of a huge criminal investigation in that country. (See This Blog tomorrow for some important Analysis of Novachannels recent loss before the Swiss Supreme Court)
The contracts in question related to the medical directory, med1web and were of the classic misleading format that has become known as the Ludenbach style after the man behind many of the companies that have used this layout.
Staff at United Directories were left in no doubt by frustrated victims of the Novachannel scam that the contracts were subject to the Swiss code of obligations, and were void due to their deceptive nature, this did not stop United from writing aggressive letters demanding payment and threatening legal action, nor did it stop them from contriving their own, very similar contacts which were mailed from Portugal and are now also the subject of dispute.
Recently med1web have been fairly quiet, with few complaints received, usually an indication with such guides of legal problems or of an ongoing project that is using resources; now the next stage may be evident.
In October a few complaints appeared online about forms from a guide calling itself The European Medical Directory – the complaints note that a price is inferred and that the contracts are misleading (StopECG has not yet seen these contracts to assess the complaints)
Some research has revealed that the directory does exist, calling itself The European Medical Directory (TEMDI) with a website at www.temdi.com
Although the website was registered using a company that allows the owner to remain anonymous a quick look at temdi.com reveals the following contact information
UNITED Directorios, Lda
Av. Joao Crisostomo 38c
1050-127 Lisbon
Portugal
Telephone +351 211 148 777
Fax +351 211 148 755
Email info@temdi.com
Commercial – Register 508'829'402
VAT - No. 508'829'402
Digging a little deeper the following unused domains can be found, registered using the same Anonymous Registration service and hosted at the same IP address of 213.58.174.50
www.ammedi.com
www.ammedi.us
www.tapam.com
www.tapat-guide.com
www.tapat-guide.us
www.tapat.us
It appears an American Medical Directory is planned and possibly an American Directory of Patents and Marques
On the very next IP block of 213.58.174.51 and again using the same Anonymous Registration service is just one domain
www.un-legalservices.com
Could it be that a new debt collection outfit is on the way?
The contracts in question related to the medical directory, med1web and were of the classic misleading format that has become known as the Ludenbach style after the man behind many of the companies that have used this layout.
Staff at United Directories were left in no doubt by frustrated victims of the Novachannel scam that the contracts were subject to the Swiss code of obligations, and were void due to their deceptive nature, this did not stop United from writing aggressive letters demanding payment and threatening legal action, nor did it stop them from contriving their own, very similar contacts which were mailed from Portugal and are now also the subject of dispute.
Recently med1web have been fairly quiet, with few complaints received, usually an indication with such guides of legal problems or of an ongoing project that is using resources; now the next stage may be evident.
In October a few complaints appeared online about forms from a guide calling itself The European Medical Directory – the complaints note that a price is inferred and that the contracts are misleading (StopECG has not yet seen these contracts to assess the complaints)
Some research has revealed that the directory does exist, calling itself The European Medical Directory (TEMDI) with a website at www.temdi.com
Although the website was registered using a company that allows the owner to remain anonymous a quick look at temdi.com reveals the following contact information
UNITED Directorios, Lda
Av. Joao Crisostomo 38c
1050-127 Lisbon
Portugal
Telephone +351 211 148 777
Fax +351 211 148 755
Email info@temdi.com
Commercial – Register 508'829'402
VAT - No. 508'829'402
Digging a little deeper the following unused domains can be found, registered using the same Anonymous Registration service and hosted at the same IP address of 213.58.174.50
www.ammedi.com
www.ammedi.us
www.tapam.com
www.tapat-guide.com
www.tapat-guide.us
www.tapat.us
It appears an American Medical Directory is planned and possibly an American Directory of Patents and Marques
On the very next IP block of 213.58.174.51 and again using the same Anonymous Registration service is just one domain
www.un-legalservices.com
Could it be that a new debt collection outfit is on the way?
Senin, 24 Agustus 2009
Novachannel AG in Liquidation
Scam guide operator Novachannel AG has been put into liquidation continuing the process of closing down the Swiss hub of former the Ludenbach guide empire.
Novachannel started its life providing video chat and other services associated with the porn industry but with the liquidation in Lichtenstein of the Tour and Travel Guide which had scammed the tourist industry for many years the need within the guide industry arose for a new operation. Many addresses from the Tour and Travel guide were simply transferred to the new Novachannel database and Tourist Directory was born.
Novachannel was notable for its aggressive litigation against those who dared to criticise the company, litigation that usually went disastrously wrong, When Michael Plumpe, a German citizen described the operation as ‘mafia like’ Novachannel sued, bringing the case in Switzerland, after spending substantial amounts of money they lost with the courts agreeing with Plumpe.
StopECG was also attacked with various ISPs hosting the site receiving lawyers letters, but before litigation could commence the intervention of the British press and MEP Richard Corbett lead to substantial unwanted publicity and the publishing of Ludenbach’s photo in the media.
People who previously worked for Novachannel still work for Eye-net Gmbh in Germany which runs a defamation forum were Novachannel boss Michael Röwe used to post personal attacks. The current fate of Röwe is not known but he is believed to be amongst those arrested in Switzerland.
For victims of the tourist directory it is all over, expect no more demands for money. Another Former Novachannel Guide, Med1web continues to trade from Portugal and appears to be in the process of expanding its operation while a further guide the Yachting Almanac which was displayed on Novachannels website was still born with no contracts or demands ever mailed
Expect a new guide targeting the tourist industry to appear with forms ever-so-slightly different to those used by Novachannel.
If you used to work for Novachannel StopECG would be interested in hearing from you, even if your work was transient or part-time employment such as translation. You can get in contact by mailing stopscamguides@yahoo.co.uk your information will be treated in confidence.
Novachannel started its life providing video chat and other services associated with the porn industry but with the liquidation in Lichtenstein of the Tour and Travel Guide which had scammed the tourist industry for many years the need within the guide industry arose for a new operation. Many addresses from the Tour and Travel guide were simply transferred to the new Novachannel database and Tourist Directory was born.
Novachannel was notable for its aggressive litigation against those who dared to criticise the company, litigation that usually went disastrously wrong, When Michael Plumpe, a German citizen described the operation as ‘mafia like’ Novachannel sued, bringing the case in Switzerland, after spending substantial amounts of money they lost with the courts agreeing with Plumpe.
StopECG was also attacked with various ISPs hosting the site receiving lawyers letters, but before litigation could commence the intervention of the British press and MEP Richard Corbett lead to substantial unwanted publicity and the publishing of Ludenbach’s photo in the media.
People who previously worked for Novachannel still work for Eye-net Gmbh in Germany which runs a defamation forum were Novachannel boss Michael Röwe used to post personal attacks. The current fate of Röwe is not known but he is believed to be amongst those arrested in Switzerland.
For victims of the tourist directory it is all over, expect no more demands for money. Another Former Novachannel Guide, Med1web continues to trade from Portugal and appears to be in the process of expanding its operation while a further guide the Yachting Almanac which was displayed on Novachannels website was still born with no contracts or demands ever mailed
Expect a new guide targeting the tourist industry to appear with forms ever-so-slightly different to those used by Novachannel.
If you used to work for Novachannel StopECG would be interested in hearing from you, even if your work was transient or part-time employment such as translation. You can get in contact by mailing stopscamguides@yahoo.co.uk your information will be treated in confidence.
Rabu, 12 Agustus 2009
Important Swiss article on the Directory Scams
Journalist Christian Bütikofer has done a great deal of research into the directory scam industry and Yesterday stopECG published an English translation of his latest article which came out in the Swiss Newspaper Tages Anzeiger
Here are added a few notes on the content of the article
Under the headline Systematic challenge of Court decisions it is noted that the guides use a ruse whereby they can continue to trade as long as condemnations are under appeal, of course such laws are there to protect us but with the scam guides it is standard fare to take appeals all the way to the highest court and to drag out the legal process. Thus the ECG’s fine and condemnation of September 2003 was not finally confirmed until April 2008
Similarly Construct Data appeared to agree before the Austrian court to cease demands for money against those who had signed the companies trick contracts, only to circumvent the agreement and continue to rake in money for another year. By the time Austrian law finally closed in on Construct Data an almost identical company had appeared in Mexico
In Switzerland Bütikofer has discovered that Novachannel were condemned in 2008 but that they simply appealed and continued to trade unabated. The appeals gave Novachannel time to do a mass mailout on behalf of its Med1web directory, then before the final police raids the disputed contracts were simply sold to a Portuguese company.
As well as the widely reported penalties against the ECG Bütikofer has uncovered the penalties against Novachannel in Switzerland and a whole string of fines in Italy which brings the total known fines incurred by the Ludenbach guides since 2003 to around 1,000,000 Euros. The actual fines are almost certainly dwarfed by the legal costs of appealing them, these figures give a window on how much money is at stake.
The article also exposes how Intercable Verlag sold its disputed contracts to a Hungarian company. Central European Advertising Kft. (CEA Kft) The ownership of the new outfit is hidden through a holding company called Central European Advertising LLc based in Delaware, USA.
Under the heading Mud attack against Seco The article draws together previously reported links through the pornography industry between the scam guides and the German company Eye-Net GmbH which hosts a forum used to defame anyone who dares to stand up to the guides. The posts that named Seco staff have been removed but a huge body of content remains on the forum, and the account used to defame Seco is still active
CEA.Kft appeared at the very end of 2008, it remained unnoticed until May 2009 when it purchased the disputed contracts of scam guide Intercable Veralg AG. These disputed contracts and the subsequent demands for money when people signed them in error had resulted in a criminal investigation against Intercable in Switzerland. Just over a month after unloading the contracts to CEA, Intercable was raided, staff arrested and the company put into liquidation.
In addition to the information in the article stopECG can reveal that an Intercable related company that was only recently established, VS Verlag Service is also in liquidation. This company had as one of its board members a former long-term employee of Intercable Veralg.
Prior to liquidation they were looking for personnel and wrote that their main customer was to be a publishing house in Hungary.
Below are some addresses for persons in dispute with CEA Kft, they're reproduced here because some of the Hungarian characters corrupt on the stopECG website. For full advice please visit stopECGs page on CEA Kft
Mayor of Budapest
Mr. Gábor Demszky Mayor
Városház u. 9-11, 1052,
Budapest,
HUNGARY
tel : +36 1 3271038
fax : + 36 1 3271809
Web: http://www.budapest.hu/
Contact person: Ms. Maria Tomanek
Office of International Relations
Office of International Relations,
H-1052 Budapest,
Varoshaz u.9-11.
Hungary
tel: +36 1 3271075/76
fax:+36 1 3271807/82
Email: TomanekM@Budapest.hu
General Inspectorate for Consumer Protection
General Inspectorate for Consumer Protection
(Fogyasztóvédelmi Fofelügyeloség)
1088 Budapest,
József krt. 6.
Hungary
Web: http://www.fvf.hu/
E-mail: fvf@fvf.hu
Hungarian Police
http://www.police.hu/
Here are added a few notes on the content of the article
Under the headline Systematic challenge of Court decisions it is noted that the guides use a ruse whereby they can continue to trade as long as condemnations are under appeal, of course such laws are there to protect us but with the scam guides it is standard fare to take appeals all the way to the highest court and to drag out the legal process. Thus the ECG’s fine and condemnation of September 2003 was not finally confirmed until April 2008
Similarly Construct Data appeared to agree before the Austrian court to cease demands for money against those who had signed the companies trick contracts, only to circumvent the agreement and continue to rake in money for another year. By the time Austrian law finally closed in on Construct Data an almost identical company had appeared in Mexico
In Switzerland Bütikofer has discovered that Novachannel were condemned in 2008 but that they simply appealed and continued to trade unabated. The appeals gave Novachannel time to do a mass mailout on behalf of its Med1web directory, then before the final police raids the disputed contracts were simply sold to a Portuguese company.
As well as the widely reported penalties against the ECG Bütikofer has uncovered the penalties against Novachannel in Switzerland and a whole string of fines in Italy which brings the total known fines incurred by the Ludenbach guides since 2003 to around 1,000,000 Euros. The actual fines are almost certainly dwarfed by the legal costs of appealing them, these figures give a window on how much money is at stake.
The article also exposes how Intercable Verlag sold its disputed contracts to a Hungarian company. Central European Advertising Kft. (CEA Kft) The ownership of the new outfit is hidden through a holding company called Central European Advertising LLc based in Delaware, USA.
Under the heading Mud attack against Seco The article draws together previously reported links through the pornography industry between the scam guides and the German company Eye-Net GmbH which hosts a forum used to defame anyone who dares to stand up to the guides. The posts that named Seco staff have been removed but a huge body of content remains on the forum, and the account used to defame Seco is still active
CEA.Kft appeared at the very end of 2008, it remained unnoticed until May 2009 when it purchased the disputed contracts of scam guide Intercable Veralg AG. These disputed contracts and the subsequent demands for money when people signed them in error had resulted in a criminal investigation against Intercable in Switzerland. Just over a month after unloading the contracts to CEA, Intercable was raided, staff arrested and the company put into liquidation.
In addition to the information in the article stopECG can reveal that an Intercable related company that was only recently established, VS Verlag Service is also in liquidation. This company had as one of its board members a former long-term employee of Intercable Veralg.
Prior to liquidation they were looking for personnel and wrote that their main customer was to be a publishing house in Hungary.
Below are some addresses for persons in dispute with CEA Kft, they're reproduced here because some of the Hungarian characters corrupt on the stopECG website. For full advice please visit stopECGs page on CEA Kft
Mayor of Budapest
Mr. Gábor Demszky Mayor
Városház u. 9-11, 1052,
Budapest,
HUNGARY
tel : +36 1 3271038
fax : + 36 1 3271809
Web: http://www.budapest.hu/
Contact person: Ms. Maria Tomanek
Office of International Relations
Office of International Relations,
H-1052 Budapest,
Varoshaz u.9-11.
Hungary
tel: +36 1 3271075/76
fax:+36 1 3271807/82
Email: TomanekM@Budapest.hu
General Inspectorate for Consumer Protection
General Inspectorate for Consumer Protection
(Fogyasztóvédelmi Fofelügyeloség)
1088 Budapest,
József krt. 6.
Hungary
Web: http://www.fvf.hu/
E-mail: fvf@fvf.hu
Hungarian Police
http://www.police.hu/
Selasa, 11 Agustus 2009
Intercable Verlag AG and Premium recovery AG in Liquidation
Today it has become apparent that the above companies are being wound up, such news is not formally announced but the status of these companies has changed in the Swiss company registers.
You can see the status of Intercable Verlag here and Premium Recovery Here
Although the page is in German you can see the names of the directors scored out and the Liquidators appointed at the end of the list. Some of the names associated with Intercable are men who have been involved with the scam guide industry for many years, but none of them has been around as long as the company itself. Below is a brief obituary for these 2 companies.
Intercable Verlag was the oldest guide in the group, it can be traced back as far as 30 years to the genesis if the scam guide industry in Hamburg. This liquidation will ring loud in the ears of Mienolf Ludenbach for it was back in Hamburg that he worked for Intercable and quite possibly there that he learned the trade he would in time turn into a global industry.
Years later he would buy the company that had once employed him and would move the base of operations to Switzerland. For many years Intercable continued to use the original method of sending salespeople to target companies these salespeople would dupe persons into signing contracts that they believed related to a free listing. The arrival of many former soviet bloc countries in the EU provided the perfect opportunity for Intercable, trick forms were mailed in huge numbers with wording that made it easy for recipients to confuse them with an offer relating to a Swiss fund to assist companies in the new EU member states. Add to that the fact that the forms were mailed in English and many recipients were bamboozled into signing. The Swiss Government was forced to issue at least one warning about this trick.
Not surprisingly when people were invoiced for their listings in Intercable's near worthless directory they refused to pay. Many banded together to expose the scam. In spite of all this Intercable then went to court to enforce the disputed contracts, not as the contracts stated, under Swiss law but in the counties where their victims lived. As the original contracts had been mailed in English Intercable conveniently provided translations to the courts with all the misleading aspects of the contract layout removed, the outcome was that they won some cases and were able to use these to bludgeon other victims into paying. Whereas most of the guides persuade less than 20% of their victims to actually pay Intercable was getting close to 100%.
After StopECG broke the news of the police raids last month it became a major story in the 2 worst affected nations, (the Czech Republic and Sovakia). On some Czech News bulletins it was the top story of the day! Video 1 Video 2
Alas Intercable has sold the disputed contracts and there have been some new attempts to enforce them; more on this tomorrow.
Premium Recovery was a newcomer, Established to take over the business formerly managed by Ovag international AG it appears that the sole purpose of the Premium Recovery was to terrorise victims of several scam guides into paying. Masquerading as a international Debt Collection agency it employed mainly foreign staff to harass guide victims in their own language. Staff were offered substantial bonuses for bringing in disputed debts and a no-holes-barred culture appeared to exist in how far they could go to intimidate people. As far as we know Premium Recovery never took anyone who refused to pay to court they but almost always threatened legal action, often looking up the names of local courthouses on the Internet and then naming them in letters and faxes.
In the pressure cooker atmosphere of Premiums offices it was not unusual for staff to become threatening and abusive on the phone. Few will rue the demise Premium Recovery!
At the same time as Premium Recovery was established a similar Debt collection outfit, Gravis Inkasso was set up in Austria. Gravis has not been subject to the law enforcement activities in Switzerland but it does appear to have ceased all activity related to the scam guides. Indeed at present it appears that the guides of the Ludenbach stable are without a debt collection company, this may not last. Expect the surviving guides get themselves a new company soon, I would predict that any such company will probably appear in a Latin speaking nation such as Spain or Portugal or perhaps South America.
You can see the status of Intercable Verlag here and Premium Recovery Here
Although the page is in German you can see the names of the directors scored out and the Liquidators appointed at the end of the list. Some of the names associated with Intercable are men who have been involved with the scam guide industry for many years, but none of them has been around as long as the company itself. Below is a brief obituary for these 2 companies.
Intercable Verlag was the oldest guide in the group, it can be traced back as far as 30 years to the genesis if the scam guide industry in Hamburg. This liquidation will ring loud in the ears of Mienolf Ludenbach for it was back in Hamburg that he worked for Intercable and quite possibly there that he learned the trade he would in time turn into a global industry.
Years later he would buy the company that had once employed him and would move the base of operations to Switzerland. For many years Intercable continued to use the original method of sending salespeople to target companies these salespeople would dupe persons into signing contracts that they believed related to a free listing. The arrival of many former soviet bloc countries in the EU provided the perfect opportunity for Intercable, trick forms were mailed in huge numbers with wording that made it easy for recipients to confuse them with an offer relating to a Swiss fund to assist companies in the new EU member states. Add to that the fact that the forms were mailed in English and many recipients were bamboozled into signing. The Swiss Government was forced to issue at least one warning about this trick.
Not surprisingly when people were invoiced for their listings in Intercable's near worthless directory they refused to pay. Many banded together to expose the scam. In spite of all this Intercable then went to court to enforce the disputed contracts, not as the contracts stated, under Swiss law but in the counties where their victims lived. As the original contracts had been mailed in English Intercable conveniently provided translations to the courts with all the misleading aspects of the contract layout removed, the outcome was that they won some cases and were able to use these to bludgeon other victims into paying. Whereas most of the guides persuade less than 20% of their victims to actually pay Intercable was getting close to 100%.
After StopECG broke the news of the police raids last month it became a major story in the 2 worst affected nations, (the Czech Republic and Sovakia). On some Czech News bulletins it was the top story of the day! Video 1 Video 2
Alas Intercable has sold the disputed contracts and there have been some new attempts to enforce them; more on this tomorrow.
Premium Recovery was a newcomer, Established to take over the business formerly managed by Ovag international AG it appears that the sole purpose of the Premium Recovery was to terrorise victims of several scam guides into paying. Masquerading as a international Debt Collection agency it employed mainly foreign staff to harass guide victims in their own language. Staff were offered substantial bonuses for bringing in disputed debts and a no-holes-barred culture appeared to exist in how far they could go to intimidate people. As far as we know Premium Recovery never took anyone who refused to pay to court they but almost always threatened legal action, often looking up the names of local courthouses on the Internet and then naming them in letters and faxes.
In the pressure cooker atmosphere of Premiums offices it was not unusual for staff to become threatening and abusive on the phone. Few will rue the demise Premium Recovery!
At the same time as Premium Recovery was established a similar Debt collection outfit, Gravis Inkasso was set up in Austria. Gravis has not been subject to the law enforcement activities in Switzerland but it does appear to have ceased all activity related to the scam guides. Indeed at present it appears that the guides of the Ludenbach stable are without a debt collection company, this may not last. Expect the surviving guides get themselves a new company soon, I would predict that any such company will probably appear in a Latin speaking nation such as Spain or Portugal or perhaps South America.
Selasa, 30 Juni 2009
Big News From Switzerland
For days now I have been getting reliable reports that the police have moved decisively in Switzerland against the Guides and associated companies.
I can confirm that at Novachannel AG, Intercable Verlag AG and Premium Recovery are not trading at this time, that arrests have been made and that at least one senior executive is reported to have evaded arrest and to be on the run.
I must qualify the obvious delight felt by all who have been touched by these companies, because it is not over yet, firstly this will all now go to court where the guide owners are sure to hire the best lawyers money can buy, secondly they have already moved parts of the operation out of Switzerland.
Around the turn of the Year Novachannel passed their med1web operation to United Directories Lda. In Portugal, United immediately set about actively hounding people who had signed Novachannels earlier mailouts, they have been very persistent and are also now mailing their own forms, forms almost identical to those previously sent by Novachannel.
Then on 1st May Intercable Verlag AG transferred disputed contracts to CEA Kft. of Budapest Hungary. CEA has already set about writing to Czech and Slovak victims who have signed Intercable forms in error. I will publish updated advice for people in dispute with the new companies soon.
These new companies are just the latest twist in a complex web of firms straddling the globe but primarily based in Europe. For over 30 years straw men and trustees have fronted holding companies that provided logistics, technical support and infrastructure, parts of individual guide activities have been secretly managed by these companies and while it is near impossible to ascertain the true owners of many of these firms money flows between them with great ease both as payments and loans. Again and again the core perpetrators have evaded justice, to such a point that some of them now feel above the law.
I know that employees of these companies, both current and past will read this blog, so I appeal to those of you reading to seize this opportunity and go to the police! You will have information that is almost certainly no longer in the paper trail. Details you consider minor might aid the case and make it harder for the guide operators to set up afresh. It is not just the current operators, if there is a resounding conviction in this case it will make it harder for people elsewhere in the world to run similar scams.
I will update this article and stopECG with details of how to contact the Lucerne police directly but in the meantime why not take what you know to your local station, even if you think the guides are unconnected.
Update: 2nd July / 6th July: as promised here are the contact details for Swiss Police, you can also pass information to me on stopscamguides@yahoo.co.uk and I will pass it on, as it is unclear who has overall responsibility I have published all relevant addresses.
Lucerne Police
Kantonspolizei Luzern
Kommando
Kasimir-Pfyffer-Strasse 26
Postfach 6002 Luzern
Switzerland
Tel +41 41 248 81 17
Fax +41 41 240 39 01
E-Mail info.kapo(at)lu.ch
Zug Police
Zuger Polizei
An der A
6300 Zug
Tel. 041 728 41 41
Fax 041 728 41 79
info(at)polizei.zg.ch
Ask for investigation officer Mr Daniel Stein
Swiss Courts
Eichwilstrasse 26010
Luzern Switzerland
Tel. +41 318 15 25
Fax +41 318 15 13
I can confirm that at Novachannel AG, Intercable Verlag AG and Premium Recovery are not trading at this time, that arrests have been made and that at least one senior executive is reported to have evaded arrest and to be on the run.
I must qualify the obvious delight felt by all who have been touched by these companies, because it is not over yet, firstly this will all now go to court where the guide owners are sure to hire the best lawyers money can buy, secondly they have already moved parts of the operation out of Switzerland.
Around the turn of the Year Novachannel passed their med1web operation to United Directories Lda. In Portugal, United immediately set about actively hounding people who had signed Novachannels earlier mailouts, they have been very persistent and are also now mailing their own forms, forms almost identical to those previously sent by Novachannel.
Then on 1st May Intercable Verlag AG transferred disputed contracts to CEA Kft. of Budapest Hungary. CEA has already set about writing to Czech and Slovak victims who have signed Intercable forms in error. I will publish updated advice for people in dispute with the new companies soon.
These new companies are just the latest twist in a complex web of firms straddling the globe but primarily based in Europe. For over 30 years straw men and trustees have fronted holding companies that provided logistics, technical support and infrastructure, parts of individual guide activities have been secretly managed by these companies and while it is near impossible to ascertain the true owners of many of these firms money flows between them with great ease both as payments and loans. Again and again the core perpetrators have evaded justice, to such a point that some of them now feel above the law.
I know that employees of these companies, both current and past will read this blog, so I appeal to those of you reading to seize this opportunity and go to the police! You will have information that is almost certainly no longer in the paper trail. Details you consider minor might aid the case and make it harder for the guide operators to set up afresh. It is not just the current operators, if there is a resounding conviction in this case it will make it harder for people elsewhere in the world to run similar scams.
I will update this article and stopECG with details of how to contact the Lucerne police directly but in the meantime why not take what you know to your local station, even if you think the guides are unconnected.
Update: 2nd July / 6th July: as promised here are the contact details for Swiss Police, you can also pass information to me on stopscamguides@yahoo.co.uk and I will pass it on, as it is unclear who has overall responsibility I have published all relevant addresses.
Lucerne Police
Kantonspolizei Luzern
Kommando
Kasimir-Pfyffer-Strasse 26
Postfach 6002 Luzern
Switzerland
Tel +41 41 248 81 17
Fax +41 41 240 39 01
E-Mail info.kapo(at)lu.ch
Zug Police
Zuger Polizei
An der A
6300 Zug
Tel. 041 728 41 41
Fax 041 728 41 79
info(at)polizei.zg.ch
Ask for investigation officer Mr Daniel Stein
Swiss Courts
Eichwilstrasse 26010
Luzern Switzerland
Tel. +41 318 15 25
Fax +41 318 15 13
Kamis, 04 Juni 2009
Scam supporters latest tactic
I have posted here before about Internetvictims, a German forum which carries posts by persons sympathetic to, quite possibly involved with the scam guides
The forum is maintained by persons who have in the past worked for a company that now profits from the mailing of misleading contracts and they have shown by the removal of comments critical of the scam guides that they are not independent moderators of the discussion there.
A recurring name used to post is Der Weisse Ritter (The White Knight) (sic), the person (Or persons) behind posts in this name show by their content a close affiliation with, and deep understanding of more than one guide. They post against, and attempt to harm individuals who have taken a stand against the scams.
Often the targets are peripheral to the battle, people who, because of their position are forced to take action against the scams.
The latest posts name certain MEPs who have taken a stand against the scams and implore people not to vote for them, Of course the chances of a constituent for one of these MEPs seeing the post, much less being moved to vote against them is minimal, that is not the goal. The objective of the Der Weisse Ritter posts appears to be to deter those in authority, those who have the power to stop these scams from entering the fray, less they be defamed.
It is not the place of StopECG to offer political affiliations but the rather infantile activity on Internetvictims does raise an issue. Many readers of this blog have the chance to vote on Thursday and they should ask what their MEP has done for them.
Has your MEP assisted you in fighting the guide scams?
Has your MEP shown that they understand the problem?
When The Parliament looks at the matter again in early 2010 can you be sure they will do what is best for you as a victim of the scam?
If so, I hope you will be moved to vote for them!
That is Democracy 'Ritter', Knights belong in a time when it was OK for the feudal lord to steal from his subjects; your choice of name is very telling!
Jules Woodell
The forum is maintained by persons who have in the past worked for a company that now profits from the mailing of misleading contracts and they have shown by the removal of comments critical of the scam guides that they are not independent moderators of the discussion there.
A recurring name used to post is Der Weisse Ritter (The White Knight) (sic), the person (Or persons) behind posts in this name show by their content a close affiliation with, and deep understanding of more than one guide. They post against, and attempt to harm individuals who have taken a stand against the scams.
Often the targets are peripheral to the battle, people who, because of their position are forced to take action against the scams.
The latest posts name certain MEPs who have taken a stand against the scams and implore people not to vote for them, Of course the chances of a constituent for one of these MEPs seeing the post, much less being moved to vote against them is minimal, that is not the goal. The objective of the Der Weisse Ritter posts appears to be to deter those in authority, those who have the power to stop these scams from entering the fray, less they be defamed.
It is not the place of StopECG to offer political affiliations but the rather infantile activity on Internetvictims does raise an issue. Many readers of this blog have the chance to vote on Thursday and they should ask what their MEP has done for them.
Has your MEP assisted you in fighting the guide scams?
Has your MEP shown that they understand the problem?
When The Parliament looks at the matter again in early 2010 can you be sure they will do what is best for you as a victim of the scam?
If so, I hope you will be moved to vote for them!
That is Democracy 'Ritter', Knights belong in a time when it was OK for the feudal lord to steal from his subjects; your choice of name is very telling!
Jules Woodell
Kamis, 14 Mei 2009
StopECG attacked
Some of you will have noticed repeated outages for the StopECG website over the last few days, these have been the result of renewed DDos attacks
It is exactly 3 years since I reported, on this blog the first Denial of Service attack against StopECG, in the intervening period the site has been under almost constant bombardment but we have found ways of deflecting or absorbing the extra traffic.
Last week a new sort of attack was launched, this was far bigger and more sophisticated than past attacks, based on the data flows and the type of attack I have been advised that this was almost certainly purchased from international criminal gangs and that a botnet
of several hundred thousand machines may have been involved.
At the peak of the attack on Tuesday 5th march several thousand websites were taken down, these were sites for small businesses and individuals and the economic damage was considerable, it was decided that it was not reasonable to remain with our host while such attacks were occurring.
StopECG was not the only site attacked, in fact almost every website in the world that comments on Business to Business guide scams has suffered DDos attacks in recent weeks, in what appears to be a coordinated effort to remove advice from the WWW
StopECG site is being moved from host to host on a temporary basis and will soon be located on a server dedicated to websites that are subject to such attacks. Alas this will cost more… If you have benefited from the advice on Stopecg.org please consider making a donation so that others can continue to benefit from the service we offer.
You can do this by Paypal to stopecg@yahoo.co.uk or, if you would prefer to send a Cheque please email stopscamguides@yahoo.co.uk and I will provide a postal address.
StopECGs accounts are managed by a 3rd Party and are used solely for the actual costs of running and defending the website
Thanks!
Jules Woodell
It is exactly 3 years since I reported, on this blog the first Denial of Service attack against StopECG, in the intervening period the site has been under almost constant bombardment but we have found ways of deflecting or absorbing the extra traffic.
Last week a new sort of attack was launched, this was far bigger and more sophisticated than past attacks, based on the data flows and the type of attack I have been advised that this was almost certainly purchased from international criminal gangs and that a botnet
of several hundred thousand machines may have been involved.
At the peak of the attack on Tuesday 5th march several thousand websites were taken down, these were sites for small businesses and individuals and the economic damage was considerable, it was decided that it was not reasonable to remain with our host while such attacks were occurring.
StopECG was not the only site attacked, in fact almost every website in the world that comments on Business to Business guide scams has suffered DDos attacks in recent weeks, in what appears to be a coordinated effort to remove advice from the WWW
StopECG site is being moved from host to host on a temporary basis and will soon be located on a server dedicated to websites that are subject to such attacks. Alas this will cost more… If you have benefited from the advice on Stopecg.org please consider making a donation so that others can continue to benefit from the service we offer.
You can do this by Paypal to stopecg@yahoo.co.uk or, if you would prefer to send a Cheque please email stopscamguides@yahoo.co.uk and I will provide a postal address.
StopECGs accounts are managed by a 3rd Party and are used solely for the actual costs of running and defending the website
Thanks!
Jules Woodell
Rabu, 25 Februari 2009
Copyright Infringement Demands to UK webmasters
A growing problem for website owners is the receipt of demands for many hundreds of pounds for ‘Unauthorized Use’ of copyrighted material, most commonly images. Getty Images and Corbis are widely reported to sending these to small firms who, often inadvertently, have placed copyrighted images on their website. The senders claim that regardless of the fact the images were often obtained in good faith, a liability exists if it has been used for commercial gain.
However no one seems to be able to identify any instance where the owners have actually gone to court, even when their demands are simply ignored. I.e. Even if these companies believe they have rights they are reluctant to test the matter in court, making the demands appear to be little more than a money grabbing exercise.
I will not cover this matter in detail as it has been analysed very thoroughly here
http://www.fsb.org.uk/discuss/forum_posts.asp?TID=1106
Suffice to say that if you obtained the image in good faith the act of removing it should be enough, you are unlikely to end up in court for refusing to pay.
More recently I was notified of a case of a secondhand record seller who received a demand because it is claimed that the artist name on an old record they listed was copyrighted and the seller had published that name on the website.
The record company demand appears to be a scam, it was pretty inevitable that, with rights holders making claims others would step in and make more suspect demands, when the whole thing is conducted by post, what assurance do you have that you are paying the actual rights holder even if the name on the letters is that of a reputable company?
If you receive a letter that you consider spurious you should take it to trading standards and try to get them to investigate to see if the sender is committing an offence. As a rule it is probably advisable not to pay any demand you receive claiming copyright infringement without seeking legal advice as you may find you have simply lined the pockets of a scammer.
That said, once notified you should remove the disputed image or text as a precaution as well as sending a reply noting that you have done this and that you refute the demand.
However no one seems to be able to identify any instance where the owners have actually gone to court, even when their demands are simply ignored. I.e. Even if these companies believe they have rights they are reluctant to test the matter in court, making the demands appear to be little more than a money grabbing exercise.
I will not cover this matter in detail as it has been analysed very thoroughly here
http://www.fsb.org.uk/discuss/forum_posts.asp?TID=1106
Suffice to say that if you obtained the image in good faith the act of removing it should be enough, you are unlikely to end up in court for refusing to pay.
More recently I was notified of a case of a secondhand record seller who received a demand because it is claimed that the artist name on an old record they listed was copyrighted and the seller had published that name on the website.
The record company demand appears to be a scam, it was pretty inevitable that, with rights holders making claims others would step in and make more suspect demands, when the whole thing is conducted by post, what assurance do you have that you are paying the actual rights holder even if the name on the letters is that of a reputable company?
If you receive a letter that you consider spurious you should take it to trading standards and try to get them to investigate to see if the sender is committing an offence. As a rule it is probably advisable not to pay any demand you receive claiming copyright infringement without seeking legal advice as you may find you have simply lined the pockets of a scammer.
That said, once notified you should remove the disputed image or text as a precaution as well as sending a reply noting that you have done this and that you refute the demand.
Kamis, 08 Januari 2009
Constoppers: UK Tax Deadline Scams
This Message was sent to the Constoppers email list, a free opt-in service, sending very occasional warnings about scams that affect SMEs and charities.
To join and get warnings direct to your inbox simply email: constoppers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To report a scam, email: constoppers-owner@yahoogroups.com
The UK Tax office, HMRC, is reporting a rise in so called Phishing Scams. These scams take the form of emails or phone calls relating to the tax deadline or a rebate where the victim is asked for sensitive information which could allow the scammer to access bank accounts and steal money. Emails might also link to a fake website which could install malicious code on your computers and compromise security
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/phish-scam-0109.pdf
HMRC states that it only ever contacts businesses by letter and would never request such information by phone or email.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/spoofs.htm
They are also providing up-to-date information on emails and tactics used by the fraudsters
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/fraud-attempts.htm
If you receive an email purporting to be from HMRC please forward it tophishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk or call the helpline on 0845 302 0203
It is very refreshing to see a government body taking such a proactive stance against scams, hopefully this will mark a new dawn in the way government works to protect and forewarn small businesses.
Jules Woodell 08 Jan 2009
To join and get warnings direct to your inbox simply email: constoppers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To report a scam, email: constoppers-owner@yahoogroups.com
The UK Tax office, HMRC, is reporting a rise in so called Phishing Scams. These scams take the form of emails or phone calls relating to the tax deadline or a rebate where the victim is asked for sensitive information which could allow the scammer to access bank accounts and steal money. Emails might also link to a fake website which could install malicious code on your computers and compromise security
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/phish-scam-0109.pdf
HMRC states that it only ever contacts businesses by letter and would never request such information by phone or email.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/spoofs.htm
They are also providing up-to-date information on emails and tactics used by the fraudsters
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/fraud-attempts.htm
If you receive an email purporting to be from HMRC please forward it tophishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk or call the helpline on 0845 302 0203
It is very refreshing to see a government body taking such a proactive stance against scams, hopefully this will mark a new dawn in the way government works to protect and forewarn small businesses.
Jules Woodell 08 Jan 2009
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