Domain Appraisal SCAM!!!

[gdubs]

I got an email from a guy today saying that he was interested in buying a domain, but that he needed an appraisal and directed me to a thread, which basically said That Alldomains.com was the only reasonable place to get appraisals (here is the thread http://domaintalk.ourplace.com/Archive/40156.htm)
He said he wouldnt buy the name unless I got an appraisal. The funny thing is , that about a month earlier I got almost the exact same email from "TRC Consulting" about another domain which basically said exactly the same thing.
I looked up domain appraisal scam on google, and I think this has happened alot. I just found another thread on webhostingtalk.com where another person got exacly the same email and was directed to the same thread at http://domaintalk.ourplace.com/Archive/40156.htm
This is definately a scam. Both of the emails I got came from someone at the email phreaker.net
Watch out for this!!

Here's the first email:
Hello,

I'm interested in your domain name listed for sale.

Can you drop me your desired price?

If I can afford it I'll reply.

By the way, did you receive offers from other buyers?

I run a software development company. Selling & buying names is not my
main business. Just another way to invest money and make additional
income.

Please keep our correspondence confidential.

Best regards,

Anthony Calagna, Ph.D.
President
TRC Consulting
------------------------------------
2nd Email:

850 USD. Ok.

Do you sell a developed site or domain only? I prefer domain names but
may
consider web sites too.

How do you prefer to get paid: www.PayPal.com, www.escrow.com, check or
wire?

Do you have an independent valuation from third party experts
(appraisal)? I
need an appraisal certificate for domain priced in your range. I
consider
your name as an investment. In other words I'm going to sell your name
later
and make a profit. If I overpay I won't be able to make a profit in the
future.

But I heard some appraisal companies often made inaccurate appraisals.
So
appraisal from each and every site is not acceptable. I will only
accept
appraisals from independent appraisal companies I know and trust.

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal
companies
in a forum
http://domaintalk.ourplace.com/Archive/40156.htm

Juck check this posting. After I verify an appraisal from you we'll
continue
our negotiations.

Hope we can come to an agreement fast.


Here's the guys email address:
[email protected]

 

[hrishi11]

nice. I'll watch out for that

thanks!

 

[JMJ]

allfordomains.com scam scammers theifs cheats liers and stealers. thought I would add a few more keywords for search engine purposes.. lol

 

[Mark]

Old news - but always worth renewing Scammers , Liars , Rip Offs , Losers , Low Lifes , AllForDomains.com

Hey this adding keywords is rather Therapeutic

http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=77782&highlight=allfordomains.com

 

[gdubs]

it seems like alot of people know about this, or have been taken by them.
The guy sending out the emails either has to own the site or work for them
Here's the whois for allfordomains:
I still cant figure out how this guy makes money off of this. Unless he owns or works for allfordomains.com
SForces
3041 S. 6th Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
US

But I did notice that the whois had been changed or updated about every 3 days

 

[scrsteven]

That email is very common scam.. he either gets paid off by alldomains or owns it himself. old news

 

[redz]

recived many already

 

[omnia]

I see this scam is still going strong. I just deleted an old email (about 2 years old from memory) in the past few days that somehow had missed the cull, was virtually word for word as above, except for the name, title, company. Obviously, someone falls for it every now and again.

 

[Virgil]

I cannot believe this guy has gotten away with this for so long.

 

[cindyda1]

Domain Apprisal Scam

Yeah, Unfortunately I fell for it a while back when I was brand new and searching for a reputable place to get an appraisal...spent money for several of their appraisals and then figured out when the appraisals came back valued in the thousands of dollars that there was no way....the last email i got from this guy, i sent him a copy of a SEDO appraisal that I had and haven't heard from him since. I think people should just start replying back to him and say "I already have an appraisal/s...Name Pros or whoever say it's worth such and such....it's for sale..here's my price, here's how to pay for it". Hard to believe they are still getting away with this.

 

[gdubs]

I emailed allfordomains and told them i thought they were involved in the scam and got this response back:

Dear Garrett,

We are fighting with scam for several months.

Looks like our company (SForces) became a victim of a charge back fraud
scam.

Please read the following thread
http://www.DNF/showthread.php?t=88864

Someone (using different addresses and names) contact sellers and ask
them
to order appraisals at Afternic, Sedo or our site. Then this person
posts
about it in forums and make serious damage to our business reputation.

At this time our security department is trying to find the real
location of
the scammer. We already contacted his ISP and email service provider.
Probably, there is a well organized group of scammers. Anyway, they
will be
caught sooner or later.

Of course, our company is not involved in any fraud. If you suspect
that
someone is not a genuine buyer just ask him/her to order appraisal
services
himself/herself. Both seller and buyer can order this service without
limitation. This easy step will help you to avoid possible scam.

Thanks for the information. We'll continue our investigation.

Sincerely,

Thomas Cooper

Site Manager

Their excuse that someone is just trying to make them, sedo, and afternic go out of business is totally rediculous. there is no way a person would be this persistent and send out so many emails to people, just because they don't believe in appraisals.
Also i tried to get him to use sedo and he refused and insisted I use allfordomains.com

This guy needs to be stopped, and i really have no idea what to do
Where can allfordomains be reported to? beside the betterbusiness beureu

 

[cindyda1]

Domain Apprisal Scam

Very true. He never asks for or refers anyone (as far as I know) to any other appraisal service...only ALLFORDOMAINS. As I said, when I sent him my SEDO appraisal, he never responded back...that letter is BS. They know exactly who he/she/they are doing this. :imho:

 

[Jeffrey]

This scammer probably is one co-members here in Namepros just under another name. Well i still believe in the principle "whatever you planted you shall reap."

 

[mahadeva]

Domain Appraisal Scam - continued!

I just wanted to add the emails that followed what is already mentioned in this thread. Needless to say I am one of the victims of this scam.

---------------------------------------------------------------


Michael Henson
to me

Thank you. Nice to work with you. Looks like this company provides
reasonable appraisals but I expected a lower valuation.

Anyway now I see that your name has a very good potential and offer you the following.

I set the starting price based on your appraisal. Then I find a buyer. Then
I pay you the appraised value and earn the difference. It takes time to find
a buyer. Can you wait for 30-40 days before I find someone? I want to make
money without a risk.


I don't claim exclusive rights to sell your domain. You can try to sell your
domains too.

I've already bought opt-in lists from
http://www.1-bulk-email-mailing-address-list.com site to promote your
domains.
I invested about $250 in these lists. Unfortunately, I cannot list your
names with brokers and auctions because I'm not the owner. You can list
your names with brokers. We should list names with at least three-four
brokers. The more exposure the better. Moreover, using different selling
strategies we can achieve better results.

Just email me your auction links and I'll use them in my email campaign.
Looks like many buyers prefer to make deals through brokers because it's
more secure.

May I use your appraisal in my promotional emails?

Deal ?

P.S.
If you have other names for sale, I can try to find buyers for all of them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I haven't heard from him since!