Legal consultant advice about domain transaction -Please help stop these scammers

[petrosc]

Hi,
I was recently a victim of an appraisal scam , as you can see in the following thread. http://www.namepros.com/warnings-and-alerts/165976-fallen-half-way-into-popular-appraisal.html

In a joke-email I sent the scammer, I told him that I will sell the name to him for 1$ ans split the escrow fees.

He replied that what I said is binding according to his lawyer and internatina laws and I am now obliged to sell it to him for 1$. I find his remarks stupid, as I made an offer to a person which does not actually exist, he used fake name and company.

Anyway, he has sent me 6 emails since annoying me with this matter, that he will sue me and get the domain if I don give it to him. I am pretty much sure that he has no case but I would like to hear a legal expert's opinion on this.

Is what I said about giving the name for 1$ binding? Is there a law that forces me to give out the name? And more importantly, if yes, does it matter that the person to whom I supposedly made an offer was not using his real identity?

Please give me an answer because he is really annoying. I reported him to FBI for the scam, told him, and he still wont give up.

 

[labrocca]

We recently had a long thread debate over a similar problem where a 'joke' was made and it became apparent that joking is a bad idea. However as you stated the person doesn't exist. Maybe you should simply agree to sell and continue asking for proof and such. It might be time that you add whois guard. Maybe you can say you sold it already for $1 to someone else. At this point it seems they are harrassing you but imho you are asking for trouble when emailing back these scammers. That just means you read their junk email.

Good luck..interesting story. Can you post any emails?

 

[Gene]

Tell him is was only a five-minute special, and he missed out.

 

[petrosc]

Here is a summary of his mails

I send you 0,99 as agreed. No jokes. I already forwarded copy of your offer to FBI. They approved the deal. A;l your emails were documented so 0,99 was a binding offer. I aslo sent a copy to my lawyer.
Please note that International law doesnt take into account that you are stupid and offer name for a low price. Offer is offer and everything was documented.

Please email your banking details and I'll send you 0,99.

It's nice to do busisness with you.

I did not want to scam you. I wanted to protect my investment. It's not illegal to ask for appraisal.

Then you offered me your name for 0,99 and I agreed. I can send you money right now.

If you want to get your offer back it's a clear scam and my attorney will protect my rights and you'll have to sell me your name for 0,99 + cover all atorney fees. This is a serious matter.

If you disagree to sell me your name for 0,99 as you offered I'll sue you.
My attorney will contact your local police office. I hate scammers.

Send me your payment details within 24 hours or I'll proceed with a legal action! No more jokes!

 

[Kate]

Replying to spam is a mistake, it's a sure way to get even more spam and harassment.
One thing you could do is check the IP the mail was sent from (in the mail headers) and report this to their ISP. If they use a domain name report to their registrar too.

 

[petrosc]

Thats one solution, but how can I stop him from claiming my domain?

 

[gamehouse]

If I were you, I would just ignore his emails.

There is no case against you. That said, I dont suggest to play with scammers at any level.

Gamehouse

 

[labrocca]

What bullshit. Ask him for his attourneys name and credentials and your attourney will contact him. Also say you made the same offer to someone else and they just took it...so the name was sold BEFORE he could respond....just place the name in whois guard or change the owner name and email to something else that's yours. You can wiggle out of this pretty easy...hey start discussing with him other really good deals you have.

 

[DNQuest.com]

I replied to this in the other forum and yes, this was talked aobut before where a lawyer discussed the legals of contracts. Yes, you entered into a contract. There is no getting around that. Say anything you want, but the legal side is agaist you.

As far as some of the other advise given here, remember, you haven't committed fraud yet (you would be if you listened to some of these suggestions and could be subject to punitive damages). You put yourself in a bad position and if they pursue action, they have a good start on you. Thier motives will mean nothing and thier hidden identity will mean nothing, they are a nonfactor. You initiated the offer, not them. You tried to get cutesy and failed.

Now, as far as a resolution, depending on the name (I thoutht you said it was about a $150.00 domain), if you get ignoring them, they just might go away. If it is a good domain, they could come after you, get a good lawyer. (selling the domain after this contract means you sold sometihng you no longer have possession of, therefore, you committed fraud with the second person you sold it to).

First rule of business... no joking.... I hope lesson learned here.

 

[petrosc]

Ok I understand that it is serious and I know that i made a serious mistake. You know I wasnt serious, every rational person understands that. You wouldnt want the scammers to win this case would you?

So please if someone knows a way for me to get out of this situation, please let me know. Even if it involves me agreeing to the sale but setting irrational transaction conditions which he will not be able to follow, like some members have sugegsted.
Can anyone give expert advice on how to keep my domain?
Thank you

 

[Dave_Z]

Sigh, and to think in that thread I said this shouldn't be taken for granted.

 

[DJ-Sound]

lol, I can't believe someone would take this serious. block his email and call it a night...

he would not even be able to prove that it was you that replied to his email.

 

[petrosc]

my ISP has logs from email sent, so it can be proven unfortunately...

 

[labrocca]

How about telling him you will only accept payment in person in cash?

Again I don't think DNQ is looking at this from a realistic standpoint. A LOT of bullcrap goes on in this world whether it's legal or gray area. If the president can break the law with an excuse so can you. No one is above the law but at the same time...the law is a moving object and can be avoided.

I really don't see why he can't say he already sold the domain BEFORE the person responded accepting the $1 offer. If you said this what kind of response could they make? They can't sue you for damages on something they never owned. I would get the domain under whois guard asap and say it was already sold.

I wouldn't worry about them if I was you.

 

[Caloute]

No Issue

Hello,

I studied law for three years, from what I understand you had a gentlemen's agreement, gentlemen's agreement are not legaly binding. Gentlemen's agreement are based on honor, not laws.
So there is not much to go for a lawyer.
Take the case in reverse, myself had a gentlemen's agreement in three different cases recently where people were going to buy domain names from me, one was US$50, the second one was $200, the third one was US$500.
None off the deal went ahead, though the buyers said they will buy, although we had an agreement in the three cases, none have put the money. I cannot force them to buy, and they cannot force me to sell, and that is how it goes. If they was any money transaction it would have been different cases, but they was no money transaction.
The way I see it, is you are just being intimidated, because you do not know your rights. Even if you had sign a sale contract it all depends of the conditions, not all sale contracts are legally binding, it all depends of the conditions set before.
If all gentlemen's agreement were legally binding, then the court will be full 24/7 for the next 30 000 years, for sure ebay would be out of business.
I have to agree with one of the earlier post, no joking in business, but on this one, I say there is nothing even the most skilled lawyer can do against you.
You can change your mind, and no one can force you in selling anything, even if you told them you were selling it for 1 cents, so long there is no signature and contract.
I am under the impression you do not even know this guy's name, so I would say how can there is something binding between you and, what is name again...

Cal

 

[petrosc]

thanx for that caloute

 

[sdtrader]

This guy spams everyone here at namepros with his purchase requests.Quit spamming everyone you turkey-I know he reads these posts.

 

[petrosc]

How about telling him you will only accept payment in person in cash?

Again I don't think DNQ is looking at this from a realistic standpoint. A LOT of bullcrap goes on in this world whether it's legal or gray area. If the president can break the law with an excuse so can you. No one is above the law but at the same time...the law is a moving object and can be avoided.

I really don't see why he can't say he already sold the domain BEFORE the person responded accepting the $1 offer. If you said this what kind of response could they make? They can't sue you for damages on something they never owned. I would get the domain under whois guard asap and say it was already sold.

I wouldn't worry about them if I was you.

I agree with that, I am coming to the conclusion that he cant do anything about it. Even if he does have the right to claim it for 1$, there are ways to make him pay more than he can aford to before he gets it.

 

[DNQuest.com]

Ah, the dillsuional reality we like to beleive in..... That's right, only believe what you want to beleive... Stay in your fantasy world.

Gentlemans agreement???? umm, this agreement was in writing, gentlemans agreement is over a handshake. This is clearly not the case here, email is considered valid writings. This has been support already (then again, many people tend to not listen to lawyers either).

If you read what I wrote before (which I doubt), depending on how bad the other person wants it will depend on how this turns out. If you just ignore him or if you say take you to court, then he has to make the next move. He would have to pay lawyers and waste his time (risk/reward factor). He will try to bully you until he acts or gives up. If he acts, then it will be your turn to act.

Labrocca, are you saying there is no contract here? Are you saying the person who accepted the offer intitiated by petrosc has no rights? Are you saying this is not actionable? I am interested in just yrs or no answers please.

The bottom line here is this is actionable, but is it worth it for the buyer. If you ride out the bullying, he may just give up (a reality)

Caloute - you assessment is wrong, an actual lawyer discussed this already in this forum along a similar subject. But as far as saying thee was no contract, you are wrong. As far sa saying you can't force someone to buy after a contract is made, you are wrong. As far as saying you can change your mind after you enter a contract, you are wrong (unless the contract gives you a way to canelt he transaction). As far as you saying that there is no signature so there is no contract, you are wrong. If you went to law school for 3 years, you needed a better school. As far as the offers you had, yes, you could have taken action against the buyers, but it wasn't worth the time so you just gave up, right?

Yes, I live in reality, more people should too....

 

[petrosc]

DNQuest, thank you for your remarks on the subject.
The thing is that I do not think that such a domain is worth the trouble for him.
I did not specify anything about the escrow, so if he will want to buy it, I will want him to pay for the escrow, I believe I have the right to do so. I will also want him to come down to czech republic to my attorney's office where the transaction will be held. Making a legal move against me means that he will reveal his identity too. Transferring the domain as well. If I will transfer the name to someone, at least I have to know who that person is. This is a person who's business relies on anonymity. His scams are being continued because nobody knows who this person is. If he takes legal action against me, and comes to czech republic to take the domain, his anonymity days are over and he knows that well. Many people are looking to find him, he wouldnt want that to happen. Is all that trouble worth for this domain? It may have an end user value of $3000 but is it worth spending $x,xxx to get it + revealing his identity?

DNQ you seem to critisize this matter alot but you do not try to give a suggestion for solution. If you know alot about these subjects, why dont you help the situation by suggesting an action, so that the scammer wont end up with the name in his hands. He has made enough money already with his scams. Ok I made a mistake. Instead of critisizing my action(which is not wrong, i did make a mistake), concider the fact that a scammer is practically trying to control the situation here. Why dont you try to suggest something to prevent him