Beware of This Scam

[Ghos7]

I feel like I'm obligated to put this post in multiple place but I'm sure the moderators wont like that. Hopefully the guys in the beginner section will come across this because I'm a novice myself.

Today I received an email asking if a domain of mine was still available for sale. This is the email below:
_____________________________________________________________
"Hello!

My client is interested in purchasing xxxxxxxxxxxxx.com for a new project.

The buyer is a rich investor from Qatar.

He does not speak English very well and I represent his interests in International deals.

Are you still interested in selling?

The buyer can offer a good price.

If you have more names I can help you to sell them.

Are you an experienced seller?

Best Regards,

David Abramovitz

Domain Broker

Goulston & Storrs attorney

Hagdud Haivri Street, Jerusalem 92345.

Israel"
__________________________________________________________

I replied stating that the domain was still available and I was currently considering offers basically. The scammer then replied with whats is below:
____________________________________________________________

The buyer offers $15,000.
Do you have a certificate?

He needs this for accounting/tax purposes.

If you don't have it's not a problem. You can order it online.

He needs it from a source he knows and trusts.

The certificate must include the following:

1. Independent valuation of the market price. It will show your domain name is not overpriced. On the other hand if the valuation comes higher, he will increase the price accordingly. In the domain name industry, there are many appraisal tools that people use to estimate the value of a domain name. My client does not want to risk and doesn't accept services that use scripts. If you are unsure about some service feel free to ask me.

2. Trademark infringement verification. It proves your domain has no trademark problems. He would like this verification to be included in the appraisal report. It's not a problem because some companies include the TM verification for free.

I’m also interested in a good estimate of the market price because he pays me % on each sale.

You can read about certification agencies at (WONT LET ME POST THE LINK HE SUPPLIED HERE)(“Domain Broker” is my nickname).

The process is very easy:
1. Go to the certificate agency site and order a certificate. Just submit your domains and let them know you have a buyer with $XX,XXX offer. It will help you to get a better valuation.
2. Send it to me and we will start the sale process. As soon as he receives your certificate he will buy your domain via an escrow service. Any escrow service will be able to pay you via Paypal, Wire, Western Union or any other method you prefer.

He wants to ensure the safe delivery of the funds to you. Furthermore, since this is our first time conducting any business, I believe that using a third-party escrow service can provide a safe, well defined process.

If you are new to certifications, I can send you step by step instructions.
___________________________________________________________________

RED FLAG 1: Why make an offer and then ask for an appraisal???
RED FLAG 2: The google answers link is a .net, not a .com...
RED FLAG 3: The the link in the google discussion page leads to a NOT to be trusted site that has only been up for 3 Days. Once again I would post a link but this thread wont let me.
____________________________________________________________________

Basically this 'entity' did NOT want to use any Escrow service, paypal, Sedo etc. I found this article (thank you Raymond Hackney!) and basically sent my final reply stating the same thing the reader did. (READ: "so now our reader replies".

Heads-up and thanks for reading guys.

 

[gilescoley]

Yes, the same line is a dead giveaway every time

The buyer is a rich investor from Qatar

If you were trying to buy a domain for your client, you would be trying your best to get them the cheapest price, do they really think telling you their client is "rich" is the best negotiation tactic? :D

 

[iowadawg]

The warnings and scam forum is overrun with this exact thing.
Not new, but still, too many fall for it.

 

[jedaprin]

Yea i had the Same thing happen to me for Cermonious.com but the weird thing was the email was from Someone who owns 123-registry because the email address was like David or somthing @123-registry.com

 

[techname]

Yea i had the Same thing happen to me for Cermonious.com but the weird thing was the email was from Someone who owns 123-registry because the email address was like David or somthing @123-registry.com

I had that same one, but if you look at the email address closely, you'll see that it isn't the same as the one used by the real 123-registry.

 

[bltechno]

The buyer is a rich investor from Qatar.

Last year same happened to me for LLLL domain, fortunately that was not a rich from Qatar, but a business house & their attorney ( pretend so ) contacted me. Asked me same questions, also provided me a link to buy appraisal certificate, in fact he insisted that such a small amount shouldn't matter.

I replied him to pay an token advance, just to cover the certificate fee, that same small amount. In return I even offered him deep discount!! LOL

I never had his mail since then, rather I followed up for some time.

 

[Sam Roy]

This is very old type of scam and most domainers here are aware of it.

 

[Dineshkp]

If I recall correctly googleanswers.net was an expired domain. I remember coming across it a week back or so. I assumed newbies would register such domains seeing the Monthly Searches Value and being fooled to think it has a lot of value. But omg! I never expected it to be used for such scam.

Before using any escrow service, make sure the site runs on SSL and the SSL certificate is verified by a well known SSL issuer. Make sure to google the name of the escrow service and check with the URL in your browser address bar. Go with an escrow service that is being used commonly.

 

[Salai Domains]

I feel like I'm obligated to put this post in multiple place but I'm sure the moderators wont like that. Hopefully the guys in the beginner section will come across this because I'm a novice myself.

Today I received an email asking if a domain of mine was still available for sale. This is the email below:
_____________________________________________________________
"Hello!

My client is interested in purchasing xxxxxxxxxxxxx.com for a new project.

The buyer is a rich investor from Qatar.

He does not speak English very well and I represent his interests in International deals.

Are you still interested in selling?

The buyer can offer a good price.

If you have more names I can help you to sell them.

Are you an experienced seller?

Best Regards,

David Abramovitz

Domain Broker

Goulston & Storrs attorney

Hagdud Haivri Street, Jerusalem 92345.

Israel"
__________________________________________________________

I replied stating that the domain was still available and I was currently considering offers basically. The scammer then replied with whats is below:
____________________________________________________________

The buyer offers $15,000.
Do you have a certificate?

He needs this for accounting/tax purposes.

If you don't have it's not a problem. You can order it online.

He needs it from a source he knows and trusts.

The certificate must include the following:

1. Independent valuation of the market price. It will show your domain name is not overpriced. On the other hand if the valuation comes higher, he will increase the price accordingly. In the domain name industry, there are many appraisal tools that people use to estimate the value of a domain name. My client does not want to risk and doesn't accept services that use scripts. If you are unsure about some service feel free to ask me.

2. Trademark infringement verification. It proves your domain has no trademark problems. He would like this verification to be included in the appraisal report. It's not a problem because some companies include the TM verification for free.

I’m also interested in a good estimate of the market price because he pays me % on each sale.

You can read about certification agencies at (WONT LET ME POST THE LINK HE SUPPLIED HERE)(“Domain Broker” is my nickname).

The process is very easy:
1. Go to the certificate agency site and order a certificate. Just submit your domains and let them know you have a buyer with $XX,XXX offer. It will help you to get a better valuation.
2. Send it to me and we will start the sale process. As soon as he receives your certificate he will buy your domain via an escrow service. Any escrow service will be able to pay you via Paypal, Wire, Western Union or any other method you prefer.

He wants to ensure the safe delivery of the funds to you. Furthermore, since this is our first time conducting any business, I believe that using a third-party escrow service can provide a safe, well defined process.

If you are new to certifications, I can send you step by step instructions.
___________________________________________________________________

RED FLAG 1: Why make an offer and then ask for an appraisal???
RED FLAG 2: The google answers link is a .net, not a .com...
RED FLAG 3: The the link in the google discussion page leads to a NOT to be trusted site that has only been up for 3 Days. Once again I would post a link but this thread wont let me.
____________________________________________________________________

Basically this 'entity' did NOT want to use any Escrow service, paypal, Sedo etc. I found this article (thank you Raymond Hackney!) and basically sent my final reply stating the same thing the reader did. (READ: "so now our reader replies".

Heads-up and thanks for reading guys.

Same here

 

[Ghos7]

Yea i had the Same thing happen to me for Cermonious.com but the weird thing was the email was from Someone who owns 123-registry because the email address was like David or somthing @123-registry.com

The person that this scammer claimed to be was an actual attorney in Boston, I looked him up on his firms website. The firm was actually real and they really do have an association with an Israeli law firm. I wonder if these individuals and corporations are aware that their information is being used by crooks.

 

[Gabriel Lykkegaard]

Why are people making this scam, I don't get it?

 

[Ms Domainer]

Why are people making this scam, I don't get it?

Money.

There are many suckers out there who will fall for this and pay out "appraisal" money.

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

 

[Dineshkp]

There are many suckers out there who will fall for this and pay out "appraisal" money.

Very True. There are many people who don't realize that online(internet) gives anonymity which can bring danger. I have some friends who are as simple minded as well. They think everything that comes to their gmail is legit because gmail is Google's. Hope you get the point on that.

There are scammers in every field who try to drain something out of the simple minded people. IMO: The only way to get rid of them is for people like us to educate those around us.

 

[Nattydomain]

LOL just got the same email but he tried to say he was the vice president of 123 Reg Hosting a real place BUT not real email address....

Hello!

Our client is interested in purchasing _________ for a new project.

I located your contact information in a domain name whois lookup.

The buyer is an investor from Qatar.

I represent his interests in this deal.

Are you still interested in selling?

The buyer can offer a good price.

If you have more names I can help you to sell them.

Are you an experienced seller?

Best Regards,

Ian Goldberg

Vice President

123 REG HOSTING

 

[Dineshkp]

same here: https://www.namepros.com/threads/is-this-a-scam-or-legit.888985/

 

[Peteymane]

This was the one I got today sounded like a scam and to good to be true

Our commission is 5 %. It's paid after you receive the funds.

He buys 5-10 domains for each project to get the maximum traffic possible.

The buyer will pay you the appraised value stated in official certificate. He needs an independent expertise because you and me are interested in a high sale price and my buyer does not want to overpay. He also needs it for accounting and tax purposes. The buyer guarantees to pay you the price stated in your certificate.

Based on my experience, I think your name is in $200,000 - $500,000 range.

Do you have a certificate of the appraised value from an independent authority (not your broker or auction site)?

If you don't have it's not a problem. You can order it online. I may suggest the best source where we can get a good valuation.

The certificate will increase the value of your domain. It's a must do if you wish to sell your domain to a professional investor with a good budget.

The certificate must include only 2 things to be accepted by my buyer:

1. Independent valuation of the market price. Only manual valuation is accepted. No valuations generated by scripts.

2. Trademark infringement verification. It proves your domain has no trademark problems. He would like this verification to be included in the appraisal report. It's not a problem because some companies include the TM verification for free.

You can read about the recommended certification agency at Google Answers answers-google online/answers/threadview/id/35160428 (“Domain Broker” is my nickname there).

The process is very easy and will take only two minutes of your time:

1. Go to the certificate agency site and submit your domain for the certification. Please let them know you have a buyer with $XXX,XXX offer. It will help you to get a better valuation. In the comment field please ask them to guarantee that the appraised value will be higher than the appraisal service fee. In this case you will not risk to pay and get a low appraisal. I suggest you this company because they protect you as the seller from getting a low appraised value. They will send you the payment instruction only if your domain is worth appraising. Otherwise your request will be declined and you will not pay them anything. Other companies does not offer this option.

2. If your request will be approved, please pay them the fee and wait for 24 hours. Then send me the results via email and we will start the sale process. As soon as he receives your certificate, he will buy your domain via Authorize Domain escrow service. This escrow service will be able to pay you via Paypal, Wire, Western Union or any other method you prefer.

He wants to ensure the safe delivery of the funds to you. Furthermore, since this is our first time conducting any business, I believe that using the escrow service can provide a safe, well defined sale process.

If you are new to certifications or domain sales, I can send you step by step instructions. I will also help you during the whole sale process. You will be able to contact me at any

me wrote:
Asking price is $250k American - USD

Sent from my iPhone


On Aug 22, 2016, at 7:14 PM, wrote:

Hello!

I represent an investor from the Great Britain who wants to buy My domain name for a new online project.

The buyer is a professional investor.

I located your contact information in a domain name whois lookup and understand that you own the domain name.

Are you still interested in selling?

I help clients of our hosting company to buy and sell intellectual properties.

If you have more names I can help you to sell them.

Best

 

[ivey]

Oldest scam in the book: The valuation scam.
I need to pay to sell my domain to you, after you made me an offer: Hilarious!

 

[wayne wooldridge]

I would make an official looking certificate like the one he describes with a valuation of 1 trillion dollars. Then reply and say, well, yes I just so happen to have one already, can you break it out in $5 bills???