Scammer wants to sell me back my domain!

[randomo]

EDIT: I have gotten back my stolen domain, CZV(.)net.

I promised the guy I got it from (apparently not the thief) that I would keep our latest correspondence private. I did reimburse him for the amount he said he paid for it (well below its value). It's now locked up safe and sound in my GoDaddy account.

Thanks again to everyone who offered advice and support after I lost it! :great:

Cheers,
Dave

P.S. Anybody wanna buy a slightly used LLL.net?

**********
**********

Hi folks,

As many of you know, I had an LLL.net domain stolen by a scammer recently (details are in this thread). Both GoDaddy (where the push occurred) and PayPal (which deposited the payment into my account, then removed it because it was unauthorized) have been no help at all.

Yesterday, I noticed that the whois info had changed. So I sent the "new owner" an email, warning him that the domain had been stolen and that I was pursuing legal options to get it back. This is how the next few emails went:

HIM: Hi,
Yes I bought this name and I can't refund what i paid for
the name. So what's your advice?

ME: I'm not sure what advice to give you - this is the
first time a domain has been stolen from me.

I'm in touch with a lawyer who specializes in domains,
and will let you know what I find out. In the
meantime, please keep your ownership of the domain.

HIM: I can return name for $50

*****

That must be the scammer.

What do you think about this? Should I get law enforcement involved, in the region shown in his whois listing (it's in the U.S.)? Should I tell him I'll buy it back if we use an escrow service? (I doubt he'll agree to that.) Other ideas?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Pound]

Make sure you don't agree to his demands (i.e. buy it back) until you have more information. By agreeing to buy the domain back, any future threats of legal action will have no effect whatsoever because he will feel like he is running the deal.

The fact that the whois changed and the scammer is listed as in the US is very likely to be an alias - he could live in outer Mongolia for all we know. There's no harm in giving the local law enforcement a ring and seeing if there is such a person and, if so, whether they can do anything about it.

Sorry I can't be any more help, but legal issues are not my speciailty! Just don't give in to his demands until you know more about the situation / possible actions.

 

[gramma]

if he would go for escrow.com - i'd just spend the $50 and get it back - much cheaper than legal action

 

[Mike]

if he would go for escrow.com - i'd just spend the $50 and get it back - much cheaper than legal action

As painful as it may be, i think that's the cheapest way to go. All you want is your domain back. Escrow is the best option. If he goes for that and you actually get your DN back, you've saved yourself quite some cash. I'd move the domain to Moniker then and have it under lockdown.

Not much help, but the cheap way out.

 

[psalzmann]

Something tells me this scammer is simply watching your every post here on namepros. I have nothing to do with your dealings but I find myself always opening your threads as your titles seem very readable

Keep in mind you are on a public forum. He knows your userid obviously and you couldn't do enough here in this thread to let him know your next move. Did you not think of this? seriously speaking?

I'd refrain from being so open about it, take some suggestions already posted in the thread, have a mod close your scammer threads down and pay the $50 to get the domain back. I would try to go via Escrow. That should work.

Just some friendly advice.

And try to be careful next time. Paypal is good only if you use it properly. As I previously mentioned in another topic, if you are selling something non-tangible then be sure to wait 48 to 72 hours before you give any product.

I've stuck to this method for over 2 years without any issue. However there is a "Reuben" guy lurking around here and DP which is a total scammer. He comes accross as a mint programmer and then dazzles you with some "code talk" to earn your trust and then takes your money and runs. Watch out for him.

 

[champ_rock]

whats the harm in trying to get it via Escrow? you have nothing to loose in that situation.

also, i think it is the scammer himself who has changed the WHOIS

 

[randomo]

Something tells me this scammer is simply watching your every post here on namepros. I have nothing to do with your dealings but I find myself always opening your threads as your titles seem very readable

Keep in mind you are on a public forum. He knows your userid obviously and you couldn't do enough here in this thread to let him know your next move. Did you not think of this? seriously speaking?

Yes, maybe he is watching, though I did my deal with him at DNF, not here.

...

And try to be careful next time. Paypal is good only if you use it properly. As I previously mentioned in another topic, if you are selling something non-tangible then be sure to wait 48 to 72 hours before you give any product.

After that event, I have been waiting 72 hours for anyone with a low trader rating. A couple of them didn't like it at first, but after I explained, they went along with it.

Thanks for your advice. Still figuring out the best approach.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

Bite your tongue and throw him $50. A call to your lawyer will cost $50.

See if he'll transfer the name to you before you pay him...yeah right!

Seriously, you have an email record now of his admission of possession and willingness to sell for $50 so you have some sort of a contract.

Any updates?

 

[randomo]

I wrote back and asked him if it would be OK to use an escrow service.

His reply:

"Sorry sent you inccorect sum, $500 not $50."

Ha ha.

 

[champ_rock]

bad luck i guess

 

[.X.]

I wrote back and asked him if it would be OK to use an escrow service.

His reply:

"Sorry sent you inccorect sum, $500 not $50."

Ha ha.

You may have to a bit ugly with him, It is against the law to possess stolen property, Rather he is aware the property is stolen or not.

 

[BeZazz]

one thing that comes to my mind is to get the IP of this person out of the email as it may be of some help tracking them down

 

[labrocca]

Pay the $50 and pray you get the name.

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

PM me with the name if you want and I'll have a look. Also, tell me how much you have invested in the name and how much you think it is worth at this time.

Also, post this in the legal section and get some comments from people who understand the legal side of this business.

 

[labrocca]

LLL.net...it's worth at least $500-$700 no matter what the letters are.

 

[yphost.com]

i think at this time...godaddy is the only one who could be of any help to you.

 

[Acroplex]

LLL.net...it's worth at least $500-$700 no matter what the letters are.

More like $800+ minimum.

 

[WORDSWORTH]

As I previously mentioned in another topic, if you are selling something non-tangible then be sure to wait 48 to 72 hours before you give any product.

Hi,

I have heard about scams, one recently in this forum, where a seller was paid for a valuable LLL.net domain by PayPal. A couple of days later, he received correspondence from PayPal that the transaction had occured without the account holders consent. The result: the seller lost his domain name and his money.

In the resulting discussion, the seller was advised to wait for 72 hours in future before pushing the domain to the buyer. This would eliminate the risk of an unauthorised transaction by giving PayPal time to get in touch if the transaction was fraudulent. RIGHT?

WRONG! I have just contacted PayPal by telephone and they told me that they can reclaim fraudulent payments made to the seller at ANY time, if the buyers address is unconfirmed. I had begun to adopt the 72 hour policy for significant sales but now realise this won't be of any help.

My advice: only accept PayPal payments from new buyers with VERIFIED accounts that also have a CONFIRMED address. That, or risk losing your money.

Matt.

 

[Acroplex]

Only a few countries support address verification. Better still, avoid using Paypal for large transactions and use escrow services.

 

[arejayell]

You can try readnotify.com when you send out a email

for $3 a month, 1 month will be worth the information you will get.

 

[JacoH]

Hope you get it sorted, try the Escrow, you have nothing to loose, thats if you really want back your domain.

 

[ehoez.com]

I wrote back and asked him if it would be OK to use an escrow service.

His reply:

"Sorry sent you inccorect sum, $500 not $50."

Ha ha.

i hate a holes like him..

 

[randomo]

Just FYI, I have gotten back my stolen domain, CZV(.)net.

(See the first post in this thread.)

Cheers,
Dave

 

[sibaong]

:tu:

 

[BinderGang]

Nice to hear that there are "happy" endings.