status-resolved 2 users on forum are the very same and bid up their own auctions

[Jay-EBN]

Well, I will post this as an OPINION so potentially I wont be banned but most likely I still will. With that being said, if I am banned, you all are awesome and its just sad that a great forum like this will allow some crap like this to go on.

So here is the run down:

The following two users are the very same person:
namepros.com / members / steitieh.48045/
namepros.com / members / dnbank-com.188748/

How I can verify this? Quite simple actually. If you run a who.is search on dnbank.com, you will see the nameservers at trilotns.com. If you run the whois on trilot.com, as used in Steitieh's paypal(pp at trilot.com), you will see it has his name directly listed on the whois.

As well, the sure fire giveaway that I some how did not realize until not, if you look at his signature, he has a link to his facebook( .facebook.com / DnBankCom)

For the love of god this guy could have chose a dozen different ways of doing this. He has been upbidding his OWN auctions rigging prices and it almost worked on me on his listing of eckko.com and was damn close to working on me on pictured.net which would have cost me some serious money.

The admins refuse to do anything about this as the users supposedly supplied two different ID's for two different people supposedly proving they are different. However, the proof is clear as day. As well, I will most likely be banned for this, so thanks for the short time here but I refuse to be ripped off.


*Please excuse the extra slashes, had to add these to post the links.

 

[Eric Lyon]

Update: Status Resolved

Thanks for pointing this out again in case we missed something, however, at this time our investigation has shown that they are not the same person and that @DNBank.com simply likes to buy the other members' domains. Whois on all the domains they bought has changed over to the new owner. Payment was confirmed and domains were pushed. Our investigation revealed that they are not the same person and there are no unethical intentions.

This situation became suspicious because the domain name DnBank.com and its business model was purchased from @steitieh (who has a Facebook link in his signature with the business's name as its username from when he owned it - Update: At the time, he didn't know how to update the Facebook username after he sold the business but has since learned how to and updated it). The website for DnBank.com was hosted on Steitieh’s hosting company (NS: TRILOTNS.COM) when he sold it and it still uses his hosting company after @DNBank.com purchased it. In light of all the evidence we’ve gathered, received, and carefully reviewed, there is nothing wrong with @DNBank.com using Steitieh’s hosting company.

We made Steitieh send us video proof of him logging into respective accounts (paypal, dynadot, godaddy, email, etc.) and show us that what he claimed was true, with transactions from the past before any of these reports surfaced. Everything checked out and matched up with WHOIS records and completed deals on NamePros.

Keep in mind that much of our evidence is private staff information that we cannot fully share, but we are confident in our investigation.

We invite Steitieh and DnBank.com to provide any information they feel comfortable sharing, but that is not required because we’ve already thoroughly investigated this matter. If new evidence surfaces, we will thoroughly review and investigate further.

You are free to start a thread on public evidence and then if either member wants to explain things publicly, that's their choice to make. The issue of these two members being the same person has been found to not be true. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to investigate anything you wish and bring it to the attention of our mods or the public in a new thread. We investigate every report.

Thanks for helping to keep NamePros a safe and transparent community.


To address the concerns in this thread about my character and judgement:

I think that the history of my direct, public, and precise actions against scams, spam, and any form of fraud speaks for itself over the years. I have a zero tolerance for such activity and play no favorites. Every member must comply with the same rules and undergo the same investigative policy as the next. Until there is new evidence to backup the claims that we have not already investigated against a member or our investigation uncovers fraud, we are unable to take any further actions in this matter.

Please feel free to contact me anytime if you need something or want us to look into a matter to make sure nothing fishy is going on. I’m always here to help.

 

[Eric Lyon]

I will most likely be banned for this, so thanks for the short time here

We do not ban anyone for voicing their opinions or concerns, as long as it's done with tact. While you have very limited information at your disposal about this, it sounds like your intentions are good.

We will produce a summary for you once we finish gathering the details.

 

[briguy]

Love the "uber ultra" positive reviews!!!
://www.namepros.com/tradereviews/dnbank-com.188748/view/for

 

[N-A]

I'll come out in public and state that I know for a fact Rami or @steitieh ran questionable auctions as I've tracked the bidders of 50+ auctions and 1 bidder always appeared, but never won (@tha-she). There was one or two instances when the bidder won, and the domain never transferred. The excuse? They settled it via pm to cancel those particular auctions.

Rami has always been shill bidding on namePros and he can attribute some of his success towards this.

While those two bidders aren't allowed to bid against each other anymore, I too, have been tracking him to ensure he hasn't been anymore. It's questionable, but a valid issue.

@Eric Lyon , this is the second accusation against @steitieh using namePros to shill bid and profit on unsuspecting buyers. As discussed, and when you verify these bidding patterns again... you need to take final action. As we spoke the first time, the first allegation should have removed his PRO status on namePros, but, it didn't. This should close the deal; PROs don't earn money this way (oh, also limited marketplace and a possible ban).

This will most likely be an unpopular post, but I'm just on nP to protect members.

 

[Electric-Shadow]

Whilst it is not my place to make any ruling on this issue and I understand that these situations can be frustrating when they arise I would like to advise (not suggesting anyone has done otherwise) that involved parties conduct themselves in a mature, professional manner and refrain from inflaming the situation further whilst it is dealt with in due course by Namepros Administration. Thanks.

 

[Eric Lyon]

It would be an embarrassment to namePros for facilitating the following auction(s) if they take action

It would not be an embarrassment at all. Everyone makes mistakes, and we learn from ours. If it were embarrassing, it would not stop us from taking action. We've proven that multiple times with public posts that highlight and correct our mistakes when they happen.

Please try to contribute to the discussion instead of spreading misinformation. If you take this thread off topic, your posts will be removed.

 

[Eric Lyon]

I know damn well you guys bid up each others auctions.

Here's the part from my summary that you may have overlooked:

We made Steitieh send us video proof of him logging into respective accounts (paypal, dynadot, godaddy, email, etc.) and show us that what he claimed was true, with transactions from the past before any of these reports surfaced. Everything checked out and matched up with WHOIS records and completed deals on NamePros.

Many members on NamePros are friends: some in real life and some online only. That does not make them shill bidders.

 

[Haris]

guys guys guys.. you are missing something important here.. why does a person starts an auction, creates another account (or used a friend's account), bump his auctions and spend time on all this stuff, bidding and bumping??? WHY? The only benefit of shill bidding is to increase the ending SALE price! When there is no sale then there is no benefit to the shill bidder. 90% of the time DNBank wins the auctions, what benefit does Rami has from it? Why go through all that only to 'sell' the domain to yourself (or to your friend) and get no benefit, only loss of valuable time pushing the domain to other account, leaving +ve review, faking a paypal payment (also paying fees)... No one is that stupid.

What would you do when you are bidding your auctions up using another account? Your target is to sell the domain to another member and not yourself. If Rami is shill bidding then it's obvious that he isn't achieving his target. He is losing money and precious time. I hope you guys think about it.

 

[Haris]

NOTE: I am just sharing the evidences I found. I am not accusing Rami Steitieh of shill bidding, I accused him before but according to NamePros moderators, they verified it and there was no link between the two members.


Rami last updated his status on Nov 3 2015 which said "DNBank.com". He recently deleted it AFTER NP moderators found no link between the two guys. He could've deleted his status before starting shill bidding (if he was shill bidding) as every member would go to their profile every once in a while, No one is that stupid that they would use one of their domains (former) for shill bidding, or name the shill bidder account with the same domain name. As I said above, DNBank.com was probably sold by Rami to DNBANK.com guy. As we can see on DNBank's profile, his previous name was "nabeels" and it was changed to DNBank.com on Aug 22, 2016. Why would a shill bidder pay for a name change for his 2nd account? No one is that stupid guys.

Alright, now the 'evidences'.

- Will leave the auctions list, we all know DNBank.com has bid on dozens of Rami's auctions.

- Trade reviews for DNBank.com
https://www.namepros.com/tradereviews/dnbank-com.188748/view/for
This guy buys domains from other too (including me)

After these evidences were reported, Amanda (moderator) said "These two members were actually brought to my attention a few days ago. I did quite an extensive check on both of them and was unable to find anything to link the two at this time. I am going to be keeping an eye on both because I do see the same issues that are being reported."

- Check the domains listed on http://dnbank.com/category/COMDOMAINSFORSALE
A lot of listed domains have whois' showing Steitieh's name

- Rest is what was found my the OP. Trilotns.com etc

In the end, I will quote the OP.

"For the love of god this guy could have chose a dozen different ways of doing this."

 

[N-A]

If most people believe Rami is a scammer on NamePros and admins will rule in his favor. It will reflect on NamePros and if people can ever trust judgement of its admin. I think you understand that credibility of namepros is on the line here?

Nothing will happen to Rami, and if it does, I would be surprised. There will be "no link" found, because frankly, the administration fails to look deep enough. I had to scour each auction, track winners, and do a whois on the domains 8-10 days after auction end (7 days the max to complete a sale per rules). I ended up providing all the evidence in the shill bidding ring involving @steitieh and @tha-she (others also appeared, but I couldn't definitively connect them without the whois as it did update).

It would be an embarrassment to namePros for facilitating the following auction(s) if they take action, cause I'm sure they may have been well aware of prior allegations with "no link" at this time as well.
https://www.namepros.com/threads/liquidation-event-domain-auctions.879190/

That's all I have regarding this matter and hope that the proper action is taken this time.

 

[ZapNano]

Ok ok....ok. Enough..enough... Said this and that already
Let NP incharge staff to take care of this current issues.

Be professional and be human being.

 

[Jay-EBN]

Thank you for your input David Walker. I don't know if I should feel better that I am not the only one that fell for this or feel even worse that this wasn't stopped before. I just hope that the Admins do what's right and blatantly obvious at this point.

 

[ksusha64]

David is One of the most Ethical guys on here. I think most REAL PROS would agree that Rami has been cheating. He has been reported by many people, but he still gets newbies in his net of shill bidding. I think to prove shill bidding you do not have to prove its same person bidding. Its a NET of cheaters that pump up his auctions. Every PRO on NAMEPROS TOLD ME IN PRIVATE RAMI IS A CHEATER. I Know ask them to come on this thread and confirm it!

 

[Electric-Shadow]

It is not my place to comment, I'm here simply to keep the peace meanwhile.

 

[iAchilles]

I'll come out in public and state that I know for a fact Rami or @steitieh ran questionable auctions as I've tracked the bidders of 50+ auctions and 1 bidder always appeared, but never won (@tha-she). There was one or two instances when the bidder won, and the domain never transferred. The excuse? They settled it via pm to cancel those particular auctions.

Rami has always been shill bidding on namePros and he can attribute some of his success towards this.

While those two bidders aren't allowed to bid against each other anymore, I too, have been tracking him to ensure he hasn't been anymore. It's questionable, but a valid issue.

@Eric Lyon , this is the second accusation against @steitieh using namePros to shill bid and profit on unsuspecting buyers. As discussed, and when you verify these bidding patterns again... you need to take final action. As we spoke the first time, the first allegation should have removed his PRO status on namePros, but, it didn't. This should close the deal; PROs don't earn money this way (oh, also limited marketplace and a possible ban).

This will most likely be an unpopular post, but I'm just on nP to protect members.

I can back up the above, same thing happened to me, domain never changed hands. I reported it but no connection was found by the mods. At the time I chalked it off to whois wasn't updated and I left it at that.

 

[ksusha64]

The bidding is suspect here as we npers don't normally raise bids in such large increments. Legitimate reputable auction houses all over the world hire shill bidders to raise prices which in turn increases the auction houses commission. It may not be right, but it is legal.
https://www.namepros.com/threads/pictured-net.976465/page-2

Shill bidding is legal? I would strongly disagree with it. Its obviously a form of fraud that injures third party. You can check statutes in your state. It's obviously depends on amount and frequency of fraud. I am not saying Interpol should be on this case, but shill bidding is FRAUD.

 

[N-A]

There will be "no link" found, because frankly, the administration fails to look deep enough. I had to scour each auction, track winners, and do a whois on the domains 8-10 days after auction end (7 days the max to complete a sale per rules).

instead of spreading misinformation

Feel free to delete this post, but don't even state I'm spreading misinformation in regards to the first paragraph. I can only come to my conclusion regarding the auction due to hearsay prior to those auctions taking place.

 

[cyc]

I was one of the reporters about this issue.

For making a shill bidding, it's not required to use different contact details, websites etc.

This could be an another trick to show everything as publicly as normal within same information, because of being reputable member others wouldn't need to find any relationship to dispose or what those have been found wouldn't be so suspected.

Also, sometimes having reputation is a bit risky, as hall of fame may return into fall of shame.

Maybe, previous auctions about her wife's disease was a bit game too, i've seen such a same story in a different forum via different style.

 

[ksusha64]

@ksusha64, I understand your concern+s. However, this situation cannot be resolved using intense inner negativities. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in any side. However, it needs to be dealt proffessionally; and that is the only way that this kind of situation can be resolved.

We are super positive and hopeful it will get resolved! The facts are always the key, not anything else. Also professional experts opinion would be used in any court. If you show pictured.net auction to any pro domainer they will tell you its a scam. The name is not worth $20 going for $800 in wholesale place like NP. Judges and jury always listen to experts opinions. The name is 2 years old past tense NET. This is just stating the obvious. There are many facts people collected and presented before about each auction. If you look at all auction you can see patterns of cheating from same users. One time he was caught using same paypal address on 2 accounts etc. Whois never changes when he buys from himself. It goes on and on. There is more evidence than needed.

 

[Jayseen]

Just when I thought NP was free of shill bidding...
Just when I thought I could trust the pros...

imo, I find it strange that @DNBank didn't try to defend his reputation as much as @Haris100 was doing [for them]... I guess he has nothing to lose as he's not @steitieh ....
Or perhaps I skipped the post when he did so...
I also find it scary that steitieh has been accused of this before....
No, wait....
I find it distrubing...
There is usually a truth in every lie.
If it turns that steitieh is innocent, then he has my deepest apologies, I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I will avoid his auctions like the plague from now on.
Trust is like paper...

 

[Haris]

Yippi Ki Yea

Great job @Eric Lyon

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

He got 11 positive trade reviews on page 1 alone from dnbank. Thats what friends are for

 

[steitieh]

@Eric Lyon , is it safe to say that @DNBank.com is no longer permitted to bid on @steitieh 's auctions due the circumstantial evidence of shill bidding and and being admitted personal acquaintances?

While I agree that friends aren't necessarily shill bidders, you don't perhaps think that these deals could've been made, perhaps, over the phone?

It's a Choice we have as it's not against the rules - and yes, he wont be bidding on any of my auctions (probably I wont be putting auctions no more - Just fixed prices and Make offer as in those sections there are no doubts whatsoever)

So to save Eric some time - the answer is YES

 

[N-A]

We will allow that to help with any bidders who want to retract their bids from those auctions.

Please make a public notice so that bidders are aware of this. Otherwise, this thread may go unnoticed and the auction continue with invalid bids.

I mean, @Jawed did bid up sKorea.net $100 from @DNBank.com. I think he deserves notice that he may retract his $400 bid. Well, he does now. But, it should be mentioned in the specific threads mentioned.