Dynadot

Is Adam Dicker a criminal? You decide.

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This story starts with DNF; a barren wasteland that once was a leading forum within the domain industry. While the forum itself played a huge role in propagating the myth that is Adam Dicker, the story really begins with DNF College in the summer of 2011.

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Updates / Reports
These are in no particular order.

From what I understand, Adam still owes north of $33,000 to previous customers and business partners. As I receive more information, I will update this figure.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Who are the major players? Part of the issue is that there is a lot of hero worship in the first place. Why do you need major players to say anything.. and who are they? I think the most evident thing here is that major players in the domain space really just aren't all that important in the real world.

They're more important than some when it comes to influencing malleable minds.... convincing them it's easy to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in their spare time but they're not that important. There isn't even really a true industry. Sure we like to think that transactions in domaining are massive but they are dwarfed by most other real businesses. Sedo does under $100 m in transactions a year. Tiny.

But does the industry include what Adam is even guilty of failing to deliver on? It's not a domaining issue but a service issue. Adam has screwed people on website development which is a totally different area than what most think of as big players are interested in. Who are the industry players in SEO and website delivery? Microsoft? Acquia? Automattic ? Or is the business best suited to being smaller and more local based (imho, yes).

it's why people like Adam can get away with what they do. They are small and in a small space and it's not dominated by large players.... and it's why there are so many more people LIKE Adam. Who's going to chase down the industry (SEO) scumbags? Every day thousands of small businesses are ripped off by people and every day their opinions and businesses are repaired by better people that have genuine customer concerns. Some of the victims don't even know they are being ripped off and just think lackluster results is because it's just hard and they must have the "wrong keywords" or "not spent enough". If you don't know what you're buying how can you judge what you receive (unless it's pitifully bad like the sites Adam put together). If you get some positive reviews from Fiverr you think it's working.

While no one taken advantage of should be treated as anything less than a VICTIM the reality is that there are few shortcuts to the promise land of financial security that don't involve work and / or luck. The idea of getting a LOT for NOTHING is the core, fundamental issue. If you want to start with the big players you should have people start with the Google's of the world that promise by simple trickery you can get to #1 and a fortune.. or Amazon that says do nothing but setup a store and make a fortune. Then one by one work through the multiple levels of garbage get rich quick schemes. Let's get rid of parking and passive revenue and that solves TWO problems - sh*t on the internet and the associated scams... and the wasted advertising spending that some people unwittingly spend. Throw real traffic domains baby out with the bathwater- no one actually loses.

From my limited knowledge of domain blogs:

DNJournal
It's not really all that relevant anymore (outside of some perceived authority on sales numbers). Don't think anyone has really read anything on here in years other than some compiled lists of sales that have been "verified".

Domaininvesting / DomainSherpa etc
Mostly self interest stories and gathering revenue via ads and clicks. Typical videos that I don't watch include such subjects of "Making $21K in 4 months from 2 domains". Sure it can be done but what's the point of these types of interviews? Education? Or attention...

TheDomains
If it's not about Mike it's about something that impacts on a bigger level (UDRP, ICANN,etc.). I don't think he really cares about this type of story to be frank. One of the few blogs I do actually read on occasion.

DomainShane did post on the story. I came off as more critical of it in an earlier post than I intended by focusing on what I would like to see versus the fact that he took any step at all.

DNWire/Acro/DomainGang/TLDInvestors (@equity78)
They posted stories on it. Probably not big enough?

Rick
Does he give a sh*t about anything to do with domaining that isn't self-serving anymore..or did he ever?

TheRealShane
I guess he broke the story but based on his blog I'm not sure anyone would take it seriously.

Anyone else a big player?

If you're looking for a big blow up story you're looking in the wrong places or have wrong expectations. I kind of thought the same thing but then why would bloggers who have a reliance on ads from various entities risk that revenue? Companies don't like negative articles and even less so when it's not based on a lot of actual legal or personal knowledge. What are they supposed to post? Beware of Adam Dicker because he might be up to no good. And even then... who cares, at large, what Ray/Shane/Acro etc. thinks?

If I'm buying a service I look to more appropriate sources of information. If I was developing a name? The ABSOLUTE LAST place I would go for help is to a domainer, even if they promised the world. Of course, if my idea of development is getting fools to click on ads then maybe it doesn't matter who you go to.

The above is my knowledge of domain blogs - some of which I haven't visited in a while.

I'm not intending to belittle, demean, or denigrate anyone above (except Adam). I'm not being critical of the blogs, their reach, or your perceived idea of their importance etc. It's just my opinion.


I don't hero-worship anyone in this industry.

I have purchased no services from industry "giants."

I just think that more could have been discussed on the blogs so that new people can be warned. Domain Shane and Domain Gang seem to the only ones who have really addressed the issue head on.

As a consequence, AD will likely get a free pass and the opportunity to rip off yet more people.

It will be interesting to see how AD's reputation plays out and the role of the people who blog regularly.
 
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They're more important than some when it comes to influencing malleable minds.... convincing them it's easy to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in their spare time ...
...
It's not a domaining issue but a service issue.
...
Who's going to chase down the industry (SEO) scumbags? Every day thousands of small businesses are ripped off by people and every day their opinions and businesses are repaired by better people that have genuine customer concerns. Some of the victims don't even know they are being ripped off and just think lackluster results is because it's just hard and they must have the "wrong keywords" or "not spent enough". If you don't know what you're buying how can you judge what you receive...
...
While no one taken advantage of should be treated as anything less than a VICTIM the reality is that there are few shortcuts to the promise land of financial security that don't involve work and / or luck. The idea of getting a LOT for NOTHING is the core, fundamental issue. If you want to start with the big players you should have people start with the Google's of the world that promise by simple trickery you can get to #1 and a fortune.. or Amazon that says do nothing but setup a store and make a fortune. Then one by one work through the multiple levels of garbage get rich quick schemes. Let's get rid of parking and passive revenue and that solves TWO problems - sh*t on the internet and the associated scams... and the wasted advertising spending that some people unwittingly spend. Throw real traffic domains baby out with the bathwater- no one actually loses.
...
If I'm buying a service I look to more appropriate sources of information. If I was developing a name? The ABSOLUTE LAST place I would go for help is to a domainer, even if they promised the world.


basially that sums it up
that's what I tried to post here with my limited english knowledge

thank you - DU
- I highly doubt you are the world worst domainer-
at least are a decent guy ;)
 
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As a consequence, AD will likely get a free pass and the opportunity to rip off yet more people.

He still has a stack of awards to impress people with and a place in a self-appointed domaining Hall of Fame. That gives him a big advantage over the run-of-the mill bad developers and bad SEO folk that DU rightly mentioned.
If the people giving the awards want to appear clean, and want anyone to accept their awards in future, then they need to rescind the ones to Adam Dicker.

Maybe it's time for some new awards like the Ignobel ones and Bad Science ones - how about an annual UnNameable award ceremony? Got a better idea for what to call it?

One name I noticed in the mugshots biz associated with Adam Dicker is
www.normanhaga.nl/blog/az/mugshots-affiliates/
Partner Chuck Fleming (Charles), Chicago
Is this guy involved in any scandals, scams or crimes?
Seems hard to find that guy's LinkedIn profile now, but hasn't a Chuck Fleming or Charles Fleming written emails as a VP of nichewebsites.com? That might give Dickers's operations an interesting USA presence for legal purposes. Also interesting is checking to see if any of the various INC LTD and LLC names they used are really incorporated companies - some we know are not. It's one thing to just use a trading name such as Nichewebsites, another to misrepresent yourself as a company when you are not.

This site also lists a lot of mugshot domains associated with Dicker and the laws that apply: http://mugshot-extortion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/mugshot-owners-website-mugshot-owners.html especially ones about criminal offences of profiting from unauthorised use of copyright material.

Interesting old story here about someone Adam Dicker hired getting in trouble with the law: http://domaingang.com/domain-news/DNF-blue-polo-shirt-guy-arrested-for-possession-of-narcotics/
 
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Hi DU you have made a lot of really good points putting this "industry" into context. One thing we forget when we focus on domainers is the registries and registrars. As in gambling, the house always wins. If say 80% of domains are speculatively held by domainers, it is very much in the interest of the registrars and registries for there to be highly visible and apparently highly lucrative domaining activity to keep the registrations and renewals going. And for big "industry" figures to sell high-ticket domains it helps to promote the belief that they inherently generate traffic and profit, so despite his dubious figures Adam Dicker was indirectly running a huge marketing campaign for the "industry". Would anyone up there want to stop him?

Who are the industry players in SEO and website delivery? Microsoft? Acquia? Automattic ? Or is the business best suited to being smaller and more local based (imho, yes).

Wix, Weebly, Godaddy, 1&1 and others offer large-scale paid website creation systems. Often the product sucks and the client doesn't or can't know that, but these companies don't lie about the product, deliver stolen content, or just deliver nothing and then refuse to respond.
 
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And for big "industry" figures to sell high-ticket domains it helps to promote the belief that they inherently generate traffic and profit, so despite his dubious figures Dicker Dicker was indirectly running a huge marketing campaign for the "industry".


well slowly you understand why it's hurting us all

He has not only helped the registrars and the registries aka " the industry" in doing so
but each and everbody who tries to make money with domains
has been indirectly supported
as he has grown the size of the potentiel customer list
 
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that's what I tried to post here with my limited english knowledge

DU wrote this:
"While no one taken advantage of should be treated as anything less than a VICTIM"

But you had written this:
"somebody who was not delivered what he ordered is not a victim"

It looks to me like what he's saying is the exact opposite of what you said. Maybe you misunderstood him?
 
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He has not only helped the registrars and the registries aka " the industry" in doing so
but each and everbody who tries to make money with domains
has been indirectly supported
as he has grown the size of the potentiel customer list

I can see how Adam has hurt me by adding to the public's negative perception of domainers, but I'm having a tough time seeing how anything that Adam has done has expanded the base of end users that might potentially buy a domain from me. Maybe you can give an example to clarify your point?
 
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TheRealShane
I guess he broke the story but based on his blog I'm not sure anyone would take it seriously.

:D
 
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Remembering the time when Adam's son Jordan whom was working on my project asked me for more money! This was after they produced awful foreign sounding text on my sites. I had written them numerous times pointing out their mistakes. Jordan the little Dicker is following proudly in his fathers foot steps. I also told Chuck Fleming whom also was working on my project that there was a virus on my sites. The virus would lock up your screen and give you a Tech support number to call. I told Chuck that all 10 of my sites were infected. He wrote back saying all were fixed but a quick check proved that the virus was still there. Now who could have been the recipient of such nefarious placement? Adam and I talk often and he said I'll be paid right after Lynda but I'm not holding my breath.
 
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I hear you.

I knew about Adam Dicker's bidding at Go Daddy, but I liked the idea of redemption -- that people deserve a second chance. I really bought into that narrative (I didn't know about Satan's Playhouse or the mugshots deal) and was willing to believe that he was now going on the straight and narrow. I even said so on this forum...

I shouldn't have been shocked when the narrative didn't turn out so well.

I am very disappointed that the major players seem to be turning a blind eye -- it's definitely a black mark on the industry.

Are they afraid of legal ramifications?

Or do they believe that all these people who claim to be victims are lying?

Or do they think that the truth may hit too close to home?

Or is it stunned disbelief that someone so cherished could be so dishonest?

Or are they looking for Part 5 of the redemption story?

And to think that he's still in business! That takes a lot of balls!

"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."


Well, I must tell you, I have some issues with your post. I've always liked you and appreciate your posts in all threads. So please don't take this as an attack, it's just an observation and opinion. Okay, here goes:

You say: "I knew about Adam Dicker's bidding at Go Daddy, but I liked the idea of redemption."
Redemption? As far as I know (and I've been waiting) I've not seen any kind of admission that perhaps he made a mistake bidding against outside customers while an insider (VP of TDNAM auctions) at Godaddy.
His apparent arrogance and lack of soul-searching was quite telling. Only Godaddy stepped up to the plate after the wired.com article http://www.wired.com/2008/06/godaddy-vp-caug/ Redemption? I don't think so.

You say: "I am very disappointed that the major players seem to be turning a blind eye -- it's definitely a black mark on the industry.

Are they afraid of legal ramifications?"


No, they just don't care. IMHO, most probably knew about all of it anyway and just went along with the charade. Worse yet, perhaps they didn't even think it was an ethics issue! Either way, it's obvious they certainly are NOT part of the solution. They certainly can't be afraid of legal ramifications. The TRUTH is the TRUTH. Courts like the truth, and don't frown on those who use it for a defense. The facts speak for themselves.

You say: "And to think that he's still in business! That takes a lot of balls!" I don't see that. To me it means he's got nothing else going for him. How sad.
 
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DU wrote this:
"While no one taken advantage of should be treated as anything less than a VICTIM"

But you had written this:
"somebody who was not delivered what he ordered is not a victim"

It looks to me like what he's saying is the exact opposite of what you said. Maybe you misunderstood him?

correct: my definition of a victim is different
I missunderstood that part
 
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Are they afraid of legal ramifications?"

No, they just don't care. IMHO, most probably knew about all of it anyway and just went along with the charade. Worse yet, perhaps they didn't even think it was an ethics issue! Either way, it's obvious they certainly are NOT part of the solution. They certainly can't be afraid of legal ramifications. The TRUTH is the TRUTH. Courts like the truth, and don't frown on those who use it for a defense. The facts speak for themselves.

Hi and from what you said before he kicked you off DNF and threatened to sue you for talking about the Godaddy Scandal.

For anyone that missed the earlier post referencing the legal definitions of libel in the USA at https://www.namepros.com/threads/is-adam-dicker-a-criminal-you-decide.883579/page-123#post-5079076 it would be very, very, very hard for a Dicker, who is a public figure, to pursue anyone for libel, that is, written defamation.

"To win a defamation case, a plaintiff must show four things: 1) a false statement purporting to be fact; 2) publication or communication of that statement to a third person; 3) fault; and 4) damages, or some harm caused to the person or entity who is the subject of the statement."

"Thus, for instance, public officials and public figures (people who are famous) must show that statements were made with actual malice to recover in an action for defamation. Actual malice means that a statement was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether or not it was false"

Bloggers and news media can certainly report on Adam Dicker in full if they want to.
 
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I can see how Adam has hurt me by adding to the public's negative perception of domainers, but I'm having a tough time seeing how anything that Adam has done has expanded the base of end users that might potentially buy a domain from me. Maybe you can give an example to clarify your point?


Domaining / Domainer
and
Domain / Website Development is not the same

Adam has gone wrong in Domain Website Building
not in Domaining
as far as I read no one complains about
wrong advice in buy / sale activities in reagard to domains

In attaracting a lot of newbie domainers
to his DNF facebook group (1.000+ people )
and offereing help ( for free )
in publishing his telephone number
as well as his skype ID
he has inspired people to become a newbie domainer
or become more engaged as a domainer

those additional people are multipliers
to our customer base
as we all do reselling to other domainers once in a while
- I assume
 
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@frank-germany

exactly what I was thinking... some of the advice he gave on domain sherpa or elsewhere related to Domaining was fairly useful. Too bad for the rest.. I had a bit of suspicion when I visited his website once and it looked cheaply made with some links which weren't even working when he's offering a website building service.. but I guess being a famous (or now infamous) domainer and dnf, I turned a blind eye.. was prob 2-3 months away from investing for a small site to test out.. thank God I didn't
 
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Ok, I hope those affected get sorted out, I don't know AD and I don't know anyone here. I will however try and give some advice to those affected if they wish to move their sites to other hosting etc.

Using wordpress themes is normal for a web designer, a coded wordpress from scratch will be well over $5k. On average a wordpress site can cost $300 - $2k depending on number of pages etc. You will also notice most web designers will charge annually for hosting, first year is usually free then a set fee which is clearly displayed, of course you are free to move the site away, but in general most stay. The importance of charging for hosting is simple, good web designers will not overload servers and typically use big brand hosts who can deal with issues quickly.

Typically large hosts scan servers for viruses, you rarely are even aware the server had one. Also note if a server gets a certain type of virus it will affect every site on that server. If a site is hacked, unless malicious code is then used, only that site is affected. Protecting your site is actually pretty easy, ALWAYS use a wordpress generated password, no exceptions. Brute force attacks will never guess it. There is way to make sure that they never get the chance. There is a plug in called securi, it enables you to hide your wordpress folders, for example if you can see the following folder

yourwebsite.com/wp-content

potential hackers can see the type of plugins, versions etc you're using, securi will help hid that (securii plug in is free btw). If you don't think your site is being targeted, install the securi plug in, it will email you everytime someone attempts a log in, I've seen hundreds of attempts per hour. How do you stop it, simple install the limit log ins plug in and set it 1, yes one. Carefully copy and paste your username and password. It literally stops brute force log ins in their tracks.Be warned it will lock you out if you get it wrong, but that is the point of the plug in !

Backing up your site is often overlooked, that is until something happens, most big hosts do have weekly back ups but will charge you and it can take a while. Use the duplicator plugin, once you have the back up, your site can be transferred to another host and live within 5 minutes. I use this plug in when developing sites offline with xampp and then making them live. You will need to check the links have updated but in most cases everything is smooth sailing.

The aim of this post is to simply help those affected to move their site away or make it more robust while the issues get sorted out. If you need more specific help you can pm me but youtube has plenty of videos on the above plug ins etc.

To make it clear I am not defending anyone who doesn't complete work paid for, the aim is simply to help those who may feel more comfortable if their sites are more secure or wish to move them to other hosting.
 
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@frank-germany

exactly what I was thinking... some of the advice he gave on domain sherpa or elsewhere related to Domaining was fairly useful. Too bad for the rest.. I had a bit of suspicion when I visited his website once and it looked cheaply made with some links which weren't even working when he's offering a website building service.. but I guess being a famous (or now infamous) domainer and dnf, I turned a blind eye.. was prob 2-3 months away from investing for a small site to test out.. thank God I didn't

Fairly useful...? Give me a break... He used DS to promote his other businesses. He didn't care about viewers or new domainers, he was just trying to attract new customers for his web development business. His valuations were all made with that in mind. How many times have you heard him saying... "that's a great domain, it's a business in a box... give me a call and I will transform that domain into a successful business netting thousands of dollars each month". His speech didn't change even if talking about crappy names. So, if you ask me whether I'm gonna miss his videos... my answer is no.
 
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im not saying anyeone is going to miss him.. but the first 1-2 videos about domains were useful.. I use zfbot.com as a result of hearing it on there.. some negotiation tactics mentioned were useful , some strategies were also.. not going to name specific points..
I think his actions were deplorable in terms of the web development like I said. Not defending the guy, just saying what I think is true
 
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Fairly useful...? Give me a break... He used DS to promote his other businesses. He didn't care about viewers or new domainers, he was just trying to attract new customers for his web development business. His valuations were all made with that in mind. How many times have you heard him saying... "that's a great domain, it's a business in a box... give me a call and I will transform that domain into a successful business netting thousands of dollars each month". His speech didn't change even if talking about crappy names. So, if you ask me whether I'm gonna miss his videos... my answer is no.


I do not know his intentions
but what he did was growing our audience / client base
and the awareness about domains as an investment in the public
 
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but what he did was growing our audience / client base
and the awareness about domains as an investment in the public

When you say 'our audience/client base' you make a lot of assumptions about how everyone here runs their businesses. If you're personally making money off of new domainers that Adam has introduced to this business, then the fair thing to say is that that's something that YOU are grateful for as opposed to suggesting that we all owe him a debt of gratitude. Speaking for myself, I sell to end users and would be amazed if anyone could show me that I've made an additional penny as a consequence of anyone Adam has brought into this industry. OTOH, I do know that domains are costing me more money now than they did a few years ago thanks to new competition on the buying side of the business.

All of this, however, is somewhat besides the point. Even if I had somehow benefited from whatever Adam did to enrich himself, I'd have a tough time with the idea that that in some way should mean that I now have an obligation to turn a blind eye to, or make excuses for his bad conduct towards others.
 
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When you say 'our audience/client base' you make a lot of assumptions about how everyone here runs their businesses. If you're personally making money off of new domainers that Adam has introduced to this business, then the fair thing to say is that that's something that YOU are grateful for as opposed to suggesting that we all owe him a debt of gratitude.


who is making assumptions here?

I sold domains since 2003
about 99% to end users
1% testing new channels
like flippa
which had cost me much more then earned
- no complaint - my own fault -
 
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who is making assumptions here?

It's not an assumption. You wrote "what he did was growing our audience / client base". Note the word "our". When you use the word "our", it clearly means that you're making an assertion that applies to you as well as others. Did you mean to write "your"? If so, maybe you can you could clarify whose client base you think has been expanded thanks to Adam. So far, I only know that it isn't mine or yours.
 
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Guys I think we're sort of attacking each other's character for no reason. I think what Frank is saying is that there were alot of people that got encouraged to more heavily try to expand their domain business based on some of the videos by Adam.. After all there was a reason why the videos on domain sherpa were highly ranked and alot of people had gained information from it... in some of the videos he was actually talking about end user sales and so-on (most probably exagerated). Before his web design part came out, nobody was really arguing that the strategies he mentioned were wrong.. As far as I read, nobody is saying to turn a blind eye to anything.

When is part 2 going to come out before we start going at each other!
 
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I think what Frank is saying is that there were alot of people that got encouraged to more heavily try to expand their domain business based on some of the videos by Adam

Do you have an explanation for why Frank would think that when people expand their own domain business that that translates into "growing our audience / client base", or that "those additional people are multipliers to our customer base as we all do reselling to other domainers once in a while"? I'm a bit confused since he now seems to be saying that he himself hasn't benefited from that expanded "audience/client base",
 
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well I can't know 100% for sure, and 1 person's 1% business can still represent alot of money.. but what I understood from that is that for example 4L domains and other keyword rich names for example , yes it created more competition as more people are looking to buy names, but also more people to potentially sell to also as a result.. I don't think anybody here is saying Adam shouldn't be held fully responsible for his actions..it's I guess just a shame that the good he did bring in terms of strategies and info especially for new domainers got fully offset by what seems to be greed and fake deals.

that being said. it's actually cool to see the domain community actually act as one and support each other to this extent
 
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I don't think anybody here is saying Adam shouldn't be held fully responsible for his actions.

This thread is about claims by Adam's customers and employees that they've been cheated. If Adam's alleged contribution to our bottom line isn't being mentioned to garner sympathy for him, then I'm at a loss to understand how it's relevant to this thread.
 
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