Same Thing!

ZebraChild · 12-14-2010, 10:11 AM

Same thing here! From Charles Venturi - same email body, too. Quite frankly, you think he'd/they'd try and be a bit more original.

kelvo · 12-15-2010, 03:27 AM

I also recieved an email, same wording but different names!
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/warnings-and-alerts/690227-name-business-solutions-llc.html

Sadly I thought this was my first sale, lucky I am suspicious of everyone and everything, or is that a sad reflection on this world ha!

See below...........

Hello,

I'm reaching out on behalf of Dennis Thompson who is interested in this domain. Please email us your price.

He is also looking for easy-to-remember names with different extensions for his online businesses.

If you have other names for sale please email us your list with prices.

Can we get your answer this week if possible?

Regards,

Charles Venturi

Sales Executive

Name Investors Union LLC

thefreshtwist · 12-17-2010, 10:08 AM

thank goodness for google right...

now i just put 27 domains for sale and the one i was contacted for was the one with 2nd most traffic so i thought it could be good , right, well google name of biz Name Investors Union LLC and see bbb reports

then i see a link to this thread, ha
so know i know its kaka, ty

nielsencl · 12-17-2010, 10:25 AM

Hi Ty,

I saw your other posts. You listed your sites on SEDO, right? Some other members have said that after listing on SEDO they got messages like these.

I think it is time to contact SEDO so they can warn people that list with them.

sdsinc · 12-17-2010, 10:39 AM

I doubt Sedo has anything to do with it.
In fact, everybody can compile lists of newly registered domains on a daily basis, and spam domain holder.
Rationale: among those registering fresh names there must be a certain amount of rookies that may fall for the scam.

nielsencl · 12-17-2010, 11:44 AM

Yes, but a number of people have specifically said that they were contacted by a scammer AFTER posting domains on SEDO. I am not saying that is the only way the scammers find victims, but it may be one of the ways.

I did a test a couple of months ago when I heard this and posted about 100 domains to my SEDO account and waited. I was not contacted until about 2 months later, but my SEDO account had been open for a few years. The experiment did not prove anything either way.

At the very least, SEDO is in a great position to warn users about this scam and they have nothing to lose by doing so. I have contacted a number of companies including Godaddy about this problem, but to date I don't know of any that have made the small effort to warn people about this scam. Perhaps SEDO will be the first...!? :-)

sdsinc · 12-17-2010, 12:48 PM

Courtesy of Sedo:

Domain Scams and How to Avoid Them
Domain Appraisal Emails-Not Affiliated with Sedo

nielsencl · 12-17-2010, 01:16 PM

That helps, and I think the June post might have been a result of my contacting them. But I think they need to send a message when an account is created or domains are posted. I think the chances of a new user seeing some old news post is pretty small. :-(

thefreshtwist · 12-17-2010, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by sdsinc

I doubt Sedo has anything to do with it.
In fact, everybody can compile lists of newly registered domains on a daily basis, and spam domain holder.
Rationale: among those registering fresh names there must be a certain amount of rookies that may fall for the scam.

the domain they contacted me for a domain that is old as dirt

i said i would not pay a dime and they still replied back with their garbage lines.... i think the whole process is automated(a bot)

they tell people to look at ::::

Quote:

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal companies. Please check this blog with suggestions from other sellers and buyers:
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227
http://www.thenamepros.com/Archive/935175246.htm

well i am going to add a link to this thread for next reply,lol

nielsencl · 12-18-2010, 07:54 AM

Two members have contacted me via PM and stated that it looks like refund requests made to SWREG are only being forwarded to the apprasial company. If this happens, I would send a message to SWREG using the form on their site, but use another option and not the "refund". Explain to them about this thread and the fact that they are NOT providing refunds for this scam.

If they don't respond or say they cannot help, send me a PM with your order number and email address and I will call them since it is a local call for me.

Also, the appraisal company is using different domains for their site. and they are also advertising their services!!! ResearchAppraisals.com is one I found today.

When I started really doing some research into this, I kept finding more and more domains, sites, ads, and listings by honest people that have paid for these worthless appraisals. I have to stop now, it's getting to be too depressing. Please consider looking around and telling just one person or site owner about this, I think it will really help because no one is really trying to fight this crime but us.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227

Some of these domains may have expired and been purchased
by new owners, but other domains they are using include:
================================================== ===========
researchappraisals.com
bestdomainexperts.com
namesaleshop.com
certifieddomainvalue.com
theonlinebrokerage.com
domainsecondhand.com
thedomaininvestors.com
elitenethosting.com

Those doing research should check Elliot's Blog

And I just found another site that talks about being scammed by these people.

And this site, http://www.domainregn.com/sale_list.html is selling domains that have all been appraised by the same company. The domain owner is in Thailand and may or may not be connected to this scam. If not, he should get a refund on all those appraisals...!

thefreshtwist · 12-19-2010, 02:47 AM

i put a link to this thread and they stopped emailing me

nsteja1 · 12-20-2010, 04:37 AM

Hi all! Sorry I am late!
Yeah! SWREG refunded the money to my credit card.

Lets do everything we can to stop this scam.

jan1 · 12-20-2010, 09:32 AM

Hi,
I too was contacted by this Charles Venturi fellow with the same email, word for word. I wrote him back and of course he offered a large sum for one domain. At the same time I wrote Sedo.com where I have that domain name for sale. Here is their reply:

Thanks so much for getting in touch with us.

We've been notified of similar situations in which sellers are approached by "interested buyers" who make an offer and then ask for a domain name appraisal. While it's difficult to say that this is necessarily fraud, the common occurrence of this scenario should be cause for scrutiny. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent it from happening, but there are ways you can protect yourself:

????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227
1. Always refer interested unknown/un-trusted bidders to a third-party marketplace to make offers. Marketplaces, such as Sedo, offer more privacy, confidentiality and security via escrow services. You should avoid agreeing to transfer a potentially valuable domain without the assistance of an escrow provider.

2. You should only have your domain appraised if you want to. Sedo offers manual appraisals that anyone may order for any domain. While we certainly recommend that you - as a seller - consider having your domain(s) appraised for your personal knowledge, any interested bidder may order his/her own. It is not your responsibility to provide appraisals at the request of another party. If you would like an appraisal for your own records, please visit the URL below:

http://sedo.com/us/services/domain-a...d=&language=us. You can also list the domain in your Sedo account and use our free Price Suggestion tool: http://sedo.com/faq/faq.php?&faqid=2...artnerid=38758

3. If your registrar offers a privacy protection service for your Whois records, use it. This makes it more difficult for buyers to contact you directly, and may help to reduce incoming (and possibly unwanted) solicitations.

If you deal with any party that refuses to acknowledge your requests to work with an escrow agent, you should avoid continuing negotiations. Any trustworthy party should be more than happy to use an escrow service to finalise a sale and to prevent loss (whether it be loss of a domain, or loss of funds).
We hope this information helps. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Sedo's Security & Compliance staff at fraud@sedo.com.

If you have any further questions or comments, please log into your Sedo account then visit our Customer Support Center at http://support.sedo.com.
Best regards,
Your Sedo Customer Care Team

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jan

Spongebob 401 · 02-26-2011, 02:16 AM

Hi , I am the REAL ryan gralinski. ANd i am PISSSED!!! I have been on the net for 16 years i have posted news paper articles, written magazine articles, done all kinds of stuff and i just found out someone is using my name as a scammer! I am floooored by this, i have such an uncommon name i cannot believe someone would use my name to do this i am just unbelievably pissed off about this. Its ruining my reputation, and i dont need people posting links to my facebook page calling me a scammer its rediculous.
Clearly whoever is doing this would not use their real name so please take that site down you are only causing the real ryan gralinski problems and not your scammer. god i hate scammers!!!!!!!

Thanks, The real ryan gralinski who has never scammed anyone in his life!! Ive been online for 16 years posting under my real name, I do not hide from anything, i would never do something like this.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227

Ryan

nielsencl · 02-26-2011, 11:12 AM

Ryan,

If you are really who you say you are, it is not that bad. Most people know that scammers almost never use their real names unless they are really, really stupid, and this person has been using other names besides yours.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227

You have posted here about this and I would just try to keep your posts professional, offer information that can be verified about you, and keep saying it is not you.

I don't think any of the posts are going to be removed as it would remove the warnings that people have been finding and it has helped many, many people to avoid the scam. You don't want people to fall for the scam do you? That is why it needs to remain in my opinion.

Your username doesn't do much for credibility, but if you PM me your real contact info and a domain you own, I will do what I can to help you if I can. For now I have no idea who you really are... :-)

Spongebob 401 · 02-27-2011, 08:53 AM

I dont expect the post to be deleted. I am just defending my name.
Thanks.

Ryan

nielsencl · 02-27-2011, 10:03 AM

Ryan has sent me a nice message and shared a couple of his domain names. At this point I think he is being hurt unfairly by all the negative posts. Please reconsider posting about him personally or creating a site with his name to warn people. I think that is going too far unless you have actual proof that the scammer is really named "Ryan Gralinski".

Even then you need to provide more information about him and his location so that others that may have the same name are not affected.

Warn about the scam, not about the fake name that was used.

Spongebob 401 · 02-28-2011, 12:35 AM

Thanks for helping me again, it isn't really their fault i understand why they did what they did just trying to warn people i mean normally it wouldnt matter but i just have such a VERY uncommon name, and i also have real stuff posted all over the internet. If people really google me they will see lots and lots of stuff that is the real ryan gralinski, and just recently in the past 3 months stuff of a scammer named ryan gralinski.
But posting a link to my facebook? Its just a weird situation.
ANyways my website is www.bong.net, and www.gralinski.com that is everything you need about the real ryan gralinski links to my facebook, myspace, xbox, newspaper articles i wrote etc. would someone with all that info right out there under his real name be going around scamming people? Not me anyways !
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227
The guy who owns ryangralinski.com has agreed to transfer it to me so that is good news as well ..

Thanks,
Ryan

12-14-2010, 10:11 AM	#51 (permalink)
ZebraChild New Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 7	Same Thing! Same thing here! From Charles Venturi - same email body, too. Quite frankly, you think he'd/they'd try and be a bit more original.

12-15-2010, 03:27 AM	#52 (permalink)
kelvo First Time Poster! Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 1	Me too! I also recieved an email, same wording but different names! ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/warnings-and-alerts/690227-name-business-solutions-llc.html Sadly I thought this was my first sale, lucky I am suspicious of everyone and everything, or is that a sad reflection on this world ha! See below........... Hello, I'm reaching out on behalf of Dennis Thompson who is interested in this domain. Please email us your price. He is also looking for easy-to-remember names with different extensions for his online businesses. If you have other names for sale please email us your list with prices. Can we get your answer this week if possible? Regards, Charles Venturi Sales Executive Name Investors Union LLC

12-17-2010, 10:08 AM	#53 (permalink)
thefreshtwist NamePros Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: http://www.clientsolutionspro.com Posts: 45	thank goodness for google right... now i just put 27 domains for sale and the one i was contacted for was the one with 2nd most traffic so i thought it could be good , right, well google name of biz Name Investors Union LLC and see bbb reports then i see a link to this thread, ha so know i know its kaka, ty __________________ new here but not new to the web : ) http://clientsolutionspro.com

12-17-2010, 10:25 AM	#54 (permalink)
nielsencl Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 2,516	Hi Ty, I saw your other posts. You listed your sites on SEDO, right? Some other members have said that after listing on SEDO they got messages like these. I think it is time to contact SEDO so they can warn people that list with them. __________________ Lorraine Bowman - Internet Expert Witness - Bankrupture - Ad Creation Marketplace - How To Sell Domain Name

12-17-2010, 10:39 AM	#55 (permalink)
sdsinc Domains my Dominion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Web 1.0 Posts: 9,946	I doubt Sedo has anything to do with it. In fact, everybody can compile lists of newly registered domains on a daily basis, and spam domain holder. Rationale: among those registering fresh names there must be a certain amount of rookies that may fall for the scam. __________________ NameNewsletter.com - free lists of available domain names ZoneFiles.net (beta) - ccTLD and gTLD droplists

Same Thing!

Me too!

Domain name apprasial Scam

Feedback from Sedo regarding Appraisal scam

I am the real RYAN GRALINSKI and i am NOT HAPPY!

12-17-2010, 11:44 AM	#56 (permalink)
nielsencl Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 2,516	Yes, but a number of people have specifically said that they were contacted by a scammer AFTER posting domains on SEDO. I am not saying that is the only way the scammers find victims, but it may be one of the ways. I did a test a couple of months ago when I heard this and posted about 100 domains to my SEDO account and waited. I was not contacted until about 2 months later, but my SEDO account had been open for a few years. The experiment did not prove anything either way. At the very least, SEDO is in a great position to warn users about this scam and they have nothing to lose by doing so. I have contacted a number of companies including Godaddy about this problem, but to date I don't know of any that have made the small effort to warn people about this scam. Perhaps SEDO will be the first...!? :-) __________________ Lorraine Bowman - Internet Expert Witness - Bankrupture - Ad Creation Marketplace - How To Sell Domain Name

12-17-2010, 12:48 PM	#57 (permalink)
sdsinc Domains my Dominion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Web 1.0 Posts: 9,946	Courtesy of Sedo: Domain Scams and How to Avoid Them Domain Appraisal Emails-Not Affiliated with Sedo __________________ NameNewsletter.com - free lists of available domain names ZoneFiles.net (beta) - ccTLD and gTLD droplists

12-17-2010, 01:16 PM	#58 (permalink)
nielsencl Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 2,516	That helps, and I think the June post might have been a result of my contacting them. But I think they need to send a message when an account is created or domains are posted. I think the chances of a new user seeing some old news post is pretty small. :-( __________________ Lorraine Bowman - Internet Expert Witness - Bankrupture - Ad Creation Marketplace - How To Sell Domain Name

12-18-2010, 07:54 AM	#60 (permalink)
nielsencl Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 2,516	Domain name apprasial Scam Two members have contacted me via PM and stated that it looks like refund requests made to SWREG are only being forwarded to the apprasial company. If this happens, I would send a message to SWREG using the form on their site, but use another option and not the "refund". Explain to them about this thread and the fact that they are NOT providing refunds for this scam. If they don't respond or say they cannot help, send me a PM with your order number and email address and I will call them since it is a local call for me. Also, the appraisal company is using different domains for their site. and they are also advertising their services!!! ResearchAppraisals.com is one I found today. When I started really doing some research into this, I kept finding more and more domains, sites, ads, and listings by honest people that have paid for these worthless appraisals. I have to stop now, it's getting to be too depressing. Please consider looking around and telling just one person or site owner about this, I think it will really help because no one is really trying to fight this crime but us. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227 Some of these domains may have expired and been purchased by new owners, but other domains they are using include: ================================================== =========== researchappraisals.com bestdomainexperts.com namesaleshop.com certifieddomainvalue.com theonlinebrokerage.com domainsecondhand.com thedomaininvestors.com elitenethosting.com Those doing research should check Elliot's Blog And I just found another site that talks about being scammed by these people. And this site, http://www.domainregn.com/sale_list.html is selling domains that have all been appraised by the same company. The domain owner is in Thailand and may or may not be connected to this scam. If not, he should get a refund on all those appraisals...! Last edited by nielsencl; 12-18-2010 at 09:50 AM. Reason: found errors so edited

12-19-2010, 02:47 AM	#61 (permalink)
thefreshtwist NamePros Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: http://www.clientsolutionspro.com Posts: 45	i put a link to this thread and they stopped emailing me __________________ new here but not new to the web : ) http://clientsolutionspro.com

12-20-2010, 04:37 AM	#62 (permalink)
nsteja1 New Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: India Posts: 13	Hi all! Sorry I am late! Yeah! SWREG refunded the money to my credit card. Lets do everything we can to stop this scam. __________________ Ahoy!

12-20-2010, 09:32 AM	#63 (permalink)
jan1 First Time Poster! Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 1	Feedback from Sedo regarding Appraisal scam Hi, I too was contacted by this Charles Venturi fellow with the same email, word for word. I wrote him back and of course he offered a large sum for one domain. At the same time I wrote Sedo.com where I have that domain name for sale. Here is their reply: Thanks so much for getting in touch with us. We've been notified of similar situations in which sellers are approached by "interested buyers" who make an offer and then ask for a domain name appraisal. While it's difficult to say that this is necessarily fraud, the common occurrence of this scenario should be cause for scrutiny. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent it from happening, but there are ways you can protect yourself: ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227 1. Always refer interested unknown/un-trusted bidders to a third-party marketplace to make offers. Marketplaces, such as Sedo, offer more privacy, confidentiality and security via escrow services. You should avoid agreeing to transfer a potentially valuable domain without the assistance of an escrow provider. 2. You should only have your domain appraised if you want to. Sedo offers manual appraisals that anyone may order for any domain. While we certainly recommend that you - as a seller - consider having your domain(s) appraised for your personal knowledge, any interested bidder may order his/her own. It is not your responsibility to provide appraisals at the request of another party. If you would like an appraisal for your own records, please visit the URL below: http://sedo.com/us/services/domain-a...d=&language=us. You can also list the domain in your Sedo account and use our free Price Suggestion tool: http://sedo.com/faq/faq.php?&faqid=2...artnerid=38758 3. If your registrar offers a privacy protection service for your Whois records, use it. This makes it more difficult for buyers to contact you directly, and may help to reduce incoming (and possibly unwanted) solicitations. If you deal with any party that refuses to acknowledge your requests to work with an escrow agent, you should avoid continuing negotiations. Any trustworthy party should be more than happy to use an escrow service to finalise a sale and to prevent loss (whether it be loss of a domain, or loss of funds). We hope this information helps. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Sedo's Security & Compliance staff at fraud@sedo.com. If you have any further questions or comments, please log into your Sedo account then visit our Customer Support Center at http://support.sedo.com. Best regards, Your Sedo Customer Care Team Hope this helps. Cheers, Jan

02-26-2011, 02:16 AM	#64 (permalink)
Spongebob 401 New Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: RHODE ISLAND Posts: 4	I am the real RYAN GRALINSKI and i am NOT HAPPY! Hi , I am the REAL ryan gralinski. ANd i am PISSSED!!! I have been on the net for 16 years i have posted news paper articles, written magazine articles, done all kinds of stuff and i just found out someone is using my name as a scammer! I am floooored by this, i have such an uncommon name i cannot believe someone would use my name to do this i am just unbelievably pissed off about this. Its ruining my reputation, and i dont need people posting links to my facebook page calling me a scammer its rediculous. Clearly whoever is doing this would not use their real name so please take that site down you are only causing the real ryan gralinski problems and not your scammer. god i hate scammers!!!!!!! Thanks, The real ryan gralinski who has never scammed anyone in his life!! Ive been online for 16 years posting under my real name, I do not hide from anything, i would never do something like this. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227 Ryan

02-26-2011, 11:12 AM	#65 (permalink)
nielsencl Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 2,516	Ryan, If you are really who you say you are, it is not that bad. Most people know that scammers almost never use their real names unless they are really, really stupid, and this person has been using other names besides yours. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227 You have posted here about this and I would just try to keep your posts professional, offer information that can be verified about you, and keep saying it is not you. I don't think any of the posts are going to be removed as it would remove the warnings that people have been finding and it has helped many, many people to avoid the scam. You don't want people to fall for the scam do you? That is why it needs to remain in my opinion. Your username doesn't do much for credibility, but if you PM me your real contact info and a domain you own, I will do what I can to help you if I can. For now I have no idea who you really are... :-)

02-27-2011, 08:53 AM	#66 (permalink)
Spongebob 401 New Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: RHODE ISLAND Posts: 4	I dont expect the post to be deleted. I am just defending my name. Thanks. Ryan

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02-27-2011, 10:03 AM	#67 (permalink)
nielsencl Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 2,516	Ryan has sent me a nice message and shared a couple of his domain names. At this point I think he is being hurt unfairly by all the negative posts. Please reconsider posting about him personally or creating a site with his name to warn people. I think that is going too far unless you have actual proof that the scammer is really named "Ryan Gralinski". Even then you need to provide more information about him and his location so that others that may have the same name are not affected. Warn about the scam, not about the fake name that was used.

02-28-2011, 12:35 AM	#68 (permalink)
Spongebob 401 New Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: RHODE ISLAND Posts: 4	Thanks for helping me again, it isn't really their fault i understand why they did what they did just trying to warn people i mean normally it wouldnt matter but i just have such a VERY uncommon name, and i also have real stuff posted all over the internet. If people really google me they will see lots and lots of stuff that is the real ryan gralinski, and just recently in the past 3 months stuff of a scammer named ryan gralinski. But posting a link to my facebook? Its just a weird situation. ANyways my website is www.bong.net, and www.gralinski.com that is everything you need about the real ryan gralinski links to my facebook, myspace, xbox, newspaper articles i wrote etc. would someone with all that info right out there under his real name be going around scamming people? Not me anyways ! ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=690227 The guy who owns ryangralinski.com has agreed to transfer it to me so that is good news as well .. Thanks, Ryan