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Abuse / Warning page
To all aidmates:
Please, DO NOT POST YOUR EMAIL addresses! Keep your privacy. Communicate via private or public AIDPAGE MESSAGES - it is easy, convenient and above all it is SAFE.


--- August 3, 2006


I was approached by an aidmate with question about a fraudulent loan offer. This gave me the idea to create an Abuse / Warning page where all aidmates can post their similar experience in order to warn others.

Given the number of aidmates that are talking about financial problems, and the fact that Aidpage is free for everybody, unfortunately, it is unavoidable to have spammers, liars and dishonest people. We are doing as much as we can to keep the system open and at the same moment to identify such parties. The system is performing automatic post-processing for known fraudulent schemes and is deleting the identified accounts. Aidpage is removing some accounts – mostly international Nigerian-like “loan givers”. This is why, once in a while, some of you are receiving email notifications for messages. Then, when you login, there is no message - it was deleted in the meantime by the system. Unfortunately, we are far from 100% successful in this identification process.

So, what should we do? Here are several suggestions I can think of:

  1. Use common sense!
  2. Be careful and communicate through Aidpage only. Nobody needs your email or phone to talk to you. They can do it easily on Aidpage and yet they would not have access to your information (unless you let them).
  3. Any legitimate lender or grant giving organization should identify itself publicly. Such institutions cannot be hidden or secret.
  4. Whoever claims to represent an organization should be able to post all pertinent information about him/herself and the organization – address, phone, full name, type of business etc – right here on Aidpage. This is a simple advertising for the company and it cannot be a secret. On the other hand, you don’t have to give any information about yourself – their business info is public, your personal info is not!
  5. Once you’ve got all the info, go ahead and check them out. Ask aidmates that you can trust for advice. Make sure you know with whom you are dealing.
  6. Then, there are individuals willing to help. This is the best thing happening on Aidpage. However, their personal information is as private as yours. They may not want to expose themselves publicly and this is absolutely understandable. Anonymous charity is common.
  7. In case someone wants to send you money, they can do it via Paypal. You just need your own Paypal account – it is easy and free. This way, you don’t have to give out any sensitive personal information – like home address, phone, bank accounts, social security number, birth date, etc. You may consider creating a special email for Paypal only.

I do believe good people vastly outnumber the bad guys, anyway.

 


Report Spam, Scam, Fraud, Obscenity, Harassment

Use this space to do what the title says...

This is a public space! When reporting cases of inappropriate use of Aidpage, do not post personal information that you don't want to be seen on the web.

How to protect ourselves from scammers?

How to protect ourselves from scammers?

It is a real world and there are many types of people. I do believe that the vast majority consists of honest, decent people, unfortunately, there are also scammers, liars and so on. In most of the cases we are unable to recognize them from the first contact. If this contact is via anonymous communication it is even more difficult. Additionally, if the other person is a scammer, the chances are that you will be dealing with a person way more experienced than you with the Internet. Most of the scammers prefer to talk to you one-to-one. Of course! This way it is much easier to create a believable story and it is way more difficult to check this story. Sounds dangerous, doesn’t it? Yes it does, but only sounds like that. In reality it is not that difficult to protect yourself. There is a way to greatly minimize the risk of being scammed. I will try to explain it as simple as possible.

Everything starts with a simple rule:

USE COMMON SENSE!
It is not that difficult at all! Do not give your personal information! Do not give your email - it is a personal information!

 

  1. Assume that the scammer is smarter than you. It doesn’t matter whether it is actually true. That assumption will help you a lot. Less ego is safer! If you do think that the scammer is smarter it is more likely to ask somebody else for help. Therefore, more likely to identify possible scam.

  2. All of you are used in the old way – ‘…here is my email, phone number or (even worst) my address – contact me…’. I know, it appears simple and forward, but it is stupid and dangerous. How about a new way of communication? How about keeping your privacy and keep communicating at the same time? Yes! There is a new way – use aidPage! Keep ALL of your communication with the aidmates via aidPage only. You have choice of public and private messages. It is even more convenient that the old email. What is more important – you exact location and email address are protected. So, the other party has no way to get this private information unless you give it to him/her yourself. Which brings us to the next question – when, how and how much information should we give to the other party?

  3. Will you give your home address or phone number to a complete stranger on the street? Probably not. Why you are doing it on the net?! What would be the common sense action on the street? You will try to get to know this person better. Perhaps, you will meet somewhere else; perhaps, you will take a friend with you…; perhaps after you feel more confident you may give him/her some more personal information about you. Sounds natural, isn’t it? Well, it is! Do exactly the same thing here. Talk to anybody you like. Ask other aidmates for their opinion about this person. Give yourself enough time to know this person.

    I do understand that when you are in trouble there is not much time and you would like to get help as soon as possible. That is probably true, but it is also true that you don’t want more troubles. So, remember – Patience is a virtue! What was the first rule - The scammer is smart. Ok, maybe, but being smart the scammer don’t like to invest too much time with you. He/she is in this for an easy catch. If you are patient, careful and you are asking questions you are not an easy catch. Most likely he/she will loose interest or in the mean time will be identified as scammer by you or some other aidmate. So, you are safe. On the other hand, if the other party is a decent person he/she will not be offended by your questions. He/she understands your worries and will be patient too. A person that is willing to help you will not ask you for anything in advance. It is not a trade – it is help!

  4. Let us say, you found an individual that is willing to help you by sending you some item that you need. There may be shipping charges involved. You might be willing to cover these charges. It is ok, but PLEASE don’t do this in advance! Think! Most likely the other person is better situation than yours. So, he/she can take care about these charges at least temporarily. Once, you receive the item, you can send shipping charges back. If you trust him/her with your address it is just fair to expect such trust back.

  5. If there are money involved. The best way is to use Paypal. It is easy, free and it is safe. Yes, it is easier to get a money order or a check, but it is also easier to counterfeit them. Remember – you are patient and you are not looking for trouble!

    One important note: If somebody is sending you money with a condition to distribute some of them to other parties this is almost 100% scam. Ask yourself why he/she needs this? If he/she want to send money to several people it is easy to be done. Why sending money to you to send them to somebody else? It is a scam!

  6. If the other party claims to be an organization then it is even easier. Any legitimate organization has a public website, publicly known address, phone and officers. If some of this information is missing or withhold there is something wrong! Alter all it is simple advertising for this organization. Ask yourself why it should be a secret? Ask them to publish this information on aidPage. This way other aidmates will be able to check them too.

  7. A word for the people willing to help. The above rules of communication are easily applicable to you too. After all you also don’t want to be scammed by dishonest individual claiming certain needs.

  8. Share your experience whether bad or good with other aidmates. Give yourself a chance to be warned on time and make aidPage a safer place by exposing the scammers.

Follow these simple rules and you will have safer and pleasant experience on aidPage.

Again, be patient and apply common sense!

 

Comment: Hi Everyone, I am new to this...
Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Abuse / Warning page"

Hi Everyone, I am new to this site but I have been reading all your comments regarding equimark investment group. I was searching for this company and this site came up. I was actually scammed yesterday with a similiar company. The name is Brace Lending Group in Long Beach California. I was contacted by them telling me that I was approved for a loan and I needed to wire $1000 to some guy named Peter Walsh in Canada. I was leary but I asked questions and checked the Better Business Bureau. There were no negative reports on them. They sent me a loan contract and I had someone else look it over. He said it looked legit. I wired the money yesterday. Today the money was supposed to be in my account it wasn't. I called the person I was dealing with Millie Kaleri and left 8-10 messages. She never returned my calls. I also started dialing in extensions and what a surprise nobody picked up their phone. On the website www.bracelendinggroup.com it lists two customer service numbers when you call them one disconnects you and the other is a pager. I called information and they had no number or address listed. If they were legit you should be able to get ahold of them. I am so upset right now. I filed a complaint on the labbb site. I am in such a financial mess right now. I don't know what to do. I am also scared because they have all my information and bank account number. I don't want this to happen to anyone else. Please beware. I also received a call from Andrew Bennett at Equimark Investment Group and he had approved me on a loan also with 4 payments upfront. I called him to ask questions about the loan and he asked me for the information and told me that they had a fraud department and maybe they could help me out. Oh my Gosh. I am telling him about all this and Him and his company are also a scam. How are all these people involved in this when they know they are hurting people and nothing has been done about it? How come they haven't been prosecuted? I also called moneygram of course they received the money on the other end. The girl that told me this said this is a huge scam right now with Canada and Nigeria. She said to file a police report and then maybe they could track this person down in Canada that took the money. Apparently they have to show id. I don't know what to do. Thanks for listening.
Comment: I Guess Equimark Investment...
Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Abuse / Warning page"

I Guess Equimark Investment strikes Again, I myself have been scammed, and now I have a big debt to pay. These people are riduculous! And somebody needs to stop them! Ps. I need a way to get a 5000 loan asap and get back on track.... I need some financial help...somebody please help me........
Comment: Hello, I was recently contacted...
Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Abuse / Warning page"

Hello, I was recently contacted by Netwest Finance through a person calling himself Kevin Wong. He promised to lend me a large sum of money etc. I checked out Netwest on the web and found that the company name was being used as part of a scam. I never answered the ad. There is another USA based scam from a group calling itself American Loan Request. The principal person called himself Andy Campbell and his sidekick is Bob Sullivan, they scammed me out of $1800.00 through false loan promises. At the time they were operating out of Denver Colorado. Arnold
Comment: does anyone out there no where...
Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Abuse / Warning page"

does anyone out there no where i can get a legitimate loan of around $5000 for bad credit. I dont want ot be scammed and i was wondering if any one can help. thanks ranna1119
Comment: Got a call from Equimark today...
Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Abuse / Warning page"

Got a call from Equimark today same story as yours buyer beware. Also got a call from Highland Financial Group located in Ontario beware of them also same story co-signer with at least 60,000 per year income, 10-15% down sent to canada,super low payments, only problem is there is no company by that name there except a Insurance group. And when asked for a web site it showed they were located in Frankfurt Illinois. BIG SURPRISE their not there either!
Comment: hello i wish i had found this...
Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Comment: Hi Everyone, I am new to this..."

hello i wish i had found this website before equimark got my money.I FEEL SO STUPID!Iknew something was not right,but like some of you i had someone look over the contract and they thought it was ligit also.Did anyone get back anything?
How to protect ourselves from scammers?

How to protect ourselves from scammers?

It is a real world and there are many types of people. I do believe that the vast majority consists of honest, decent people, unfortunately, there are also scammers, liars and so on. In most of the cases we are unable to recognize them from the first contact. If this contact is via anonymous communication it is even more difficult. Additionally, if the other person is a scammer, the chances are that you will be dealing with a person way more experienced than you with the Internet. Most of the scammers prefer to talk to you one-to-one. Of course! This way it is much easier to create a believable story and it is way more difficult to check this story. Sounds dangerous, doesn’t it? Yes it does, but only sounds like that. In reality it is not that difficult to protect yourself. There is a way to greatly minimize the risk of being scammed. I will try to explain it as simple as possible.

Everything starts with a simple rule:

USE COMMON SENSE!
            It is not that difficult at all!

  1. Assume that the scammer is smarter than you. It doesn’t matter whether it is actually true. That assumption will help you a lot. Less ego is safer! If you do think that the scammer is smarter it is more likely to ask somebody else for help. Therefore, more likely to identify possible scam.

  2. All of you are used in the old way – ‘…here is my email, phone number or (even worst) my address  – contact me…’. I know, it appears simple and forward, but it is stupid and dangerous. How about a new way of communication? How about keeping your privacy and keep communicating at the same time? Yes! There is a new way – use aidPage! Keep ALL of your communication with the aidmates via aidPage only. You have choice of public and private messages. It is even more convenient that the old email. What is more important – you exact location and email address are protected. So, the other party has no way to get this private information unless you give it to him/her yourself. Which brings us to the next question – when, how and how much information should we give to the other party?

  3. Will you give your home address or phone number to a complete stranger on the street? Probably not. Why you are doing it on the net?! What would be the common sense action on the street? You will try to get to know this person better. Perhaps, you will meet somewhere else; perhaps, you will take a friend with you…; perhaps after you feel more confident you may give him/her some more personal information about you. Sounds natural, isn’t it? Well, it is! Do exactly the same thing here. Talk to anybody you like. Ask other aidmates for their opinion about this person. Give yourself enough time to know this person.

    I do understand that when you are in trouble there is not much time and you would like to get help as soon as possible. That is probably true, but it is also true that you don’t want more troubles. So, remember – Patience is a virtue! What was the first rule - The scammer is smart. Ok, maybe, but being smart the scammer don’t like to invest too much time with you. He/she is in this for an easy catch. If you are patient, careful and you are asking questions you are not an easy catch. Most likely he/she will loose interest or in the mean time will be identified as scammer by you or some other aidmate. So, you are safe. On the other hand, if the other party is a decent person he/she will not be offended by your questions. He/she understands your worries and will be patient too. A person that is willing to help you will not ask you for anything in advance. It is not a trade – it is help!

  4. Let us say, you found an individual that is willing to help you by sending you some item that you need. There may be shipping charges involved. You might be willing to cover these charges. It is ok, but PLEASE don’t do this in advance! Think! Most likely the other person is better situation than yours. So, he/she can take care about these charges at least temporarily. Once, you receive the item, you can send shipping charges back. If you trust him/her with your address it is just fair to expect such trust back.

  5. If there are money involved. The best way is to use Paypal. It is easy, free and it is safe. Yes, it is easier to get a money order or a check, but it is also easier to counterfeit them. Remember – you are patient and you are not looking for trouble!

    One important note: If somebody is sending you money with a condition to distribute some of them to other parties this is almost 100% scam. Ask yourself why he/she needs this? If he/she want to send money to several people it is easy to be done. Why sending money to you to send them to somebody else? It is a scam!

  6. If the other party claims to be an organization then it is even easier. Any legitimate organization has a public website, publicly known address, phone and officers. If some of this information is missing or withhold there is something wrong! Alter all it is simple advertising for this organization. Ask yourself why it should be a secret? Ask them to publish this information on aidPage. This way other aidmates will be able to check them too.

  7. A word for the people willing to help. The above rules of communication are easily applicable to you too. After all you also don’t want to be scammed by dishonest individual claiming certain needs. 

  8. Share your experience whether bad or good with other aidmates. Give yourself a chance to be warned on time and make aidPage a safer place by exposing the scammers.

Follow these simple rules and you will have safer and pleasant experience on aidPage.

Again, be patient and apply common sense!

Comment: I recently received an e-mail...
Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Abuse / Warning page"

I recently received an e-mail from a guy named DR. Ted Pearson. He said he found my loan application on an ad. He said I needed to write a formal letter telling why I needed it, what I needed it for, and if I had any collateral, he then said e-mail it to me and I will forward it to our datamanagement department for consideration. He said he was in africa at the time working on a $9 million dollar collateral deal. He said if I was considered, I would receive an e-mail back from the datamanagement department saying I was considered. Well I just received a consideration e-mail back and it said I now need to request a "grant form" from this dr. ted pearson guy and then it would take them two days to determine if I would get the loan or not. It is a place called ROYAL FINANCE, and the guys name from datamanagement was Anton Whyte. Does anybody know about this?
Comment: I was scammed by equimark....
Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Abuse / Warning page"

I was scammed by equimark. I was contacted by a matthew davidson and a colin baxter. They said that they could get me a high loan with a low intrest rate. I filled out all the "paper work" and then they said they needed a collateral payment of 1200 and that my money would be in my bank the next day,it wasn't. I called them over and over but all they would give me were excuses and then they would put me on hold or hang up or they wouldn't even answer. I filles a comlaint with bbc and fdc and filed a police report. Everyone says there's nothing I can do. Basically I lost all my money. If anyone knows what I can do, please help.
Comment: I also go this same email,...
Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Comment: I recently received an e-mail..."

I also go this same email, but I am dealing with Dr.Rose Betley. I have contacted the lawyer and he wants money 1000 fast 2 day turn around -1200 one week turn around time to sign the papers half-payment now then the rest when I recieve the money (sent Western Union). I have not sent any money nor will I. I have asked Dr Betley about a thousand question and she is very good about answering everyone of them. I have also tried to back several times and she pulls me back in everytime. I can't imagine them working this hard for 500 to 600 dollars. I will continue to play the game for awhile. If you find out anything else please let me know
Comment: i wish i would have seen this...
Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Abuse / Warning page"

i wish i would have seen this sooner, i placed a loan for 5,500 and it cost me 864.00 to apply. well they didn't call me and when i got through they told me i was declined for the loan and they were supposed to wire my money back but no. every time i call, they hang up on me, no one ever answers the phone i think i got screwed
please help I am so behind

can anyone out there help me i desperately need 5000 dollars to catch up some past do bills and pay off several cash advances.  My husband does not knoow about any of this and i cannot tell him for fear that he will leave me and take the boys.  I made a huge mistake in our checkbook and before i was able to catch it the damage was done,  now my only hope is to obtain the money to fix it and catch up.  I would have been able to do this however about three months ago I was let go from my job and it took me nearly two months to find a new job it is a better job with better pay but getting caught up is almost impossible.  please help

Aidpage group discussing "Identity theft"...

Feel free to participate in this public group space.

Two easy ways to do this:

  1. Add a comment or a question here - on this page... or on any other page in this space.
  2. Or, if you want to start a separate thread - make a new page.

Either way is good - the important thing is your participation. On Aidpage, people support each other by speaking out and by paying attention to each other - as simple as that.

Aidpage group discussing "abuse"...

Feel free to participate in this public group space.

Two easy ways to do this:

  1. Add a comment or a question here - on this page... or on any other page in this space.
  2. Or, if you want to start a separate thread - make a new page.

Either way is good - the important thing is your participation. On Aidpage, people support each other by speaking out and by paying attention to each other - as simple as that.

Spam-scam crackdown nets $2 billion in fake checks

This is from Reuters:

"An international crackdown on Internet financial scams this year has yielded more than $2.1 billion in seized fake checks and 77 arrests in the Netherlands, Nigeria and Canada, U.S. and other authorities said on Wednesday.

The scammers, often West African organized crime groups, use ploys such as "spam" e-mail offering to pay recipients "processing fees" for depositing checks, which later turn out to be phony, and sending the ostensible proceeds to the scammer, authorities said.

The ruses are aided by U.S. financial practices that quickly credit a bank customer for deposits even though it can take far longer to discover a fake check and reclaim the money from the customer. The victims find themselves out the money they forward when the checks prove to be fake."

Read the full article...

Aidpage group discussing "complain"...

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Two easy ways to do this:

  1. Add a comment or a question here - on this page... or on any other page in this space.
  2. Or, if you want to start a separate thread - make a new page.

Either way is good - the important thing is your participation. On Aidpage, people support each other by speaking out and by paying attention to each other - as simple as that.

Aidpage group discussing "spam"...

Feel free to participate in this public group space.

Two easy ways to do this:

  1. Add a comment or a question here - on this page... or on any other page in this space.
  2. Or, if you want to start a separate thread - make a new page.

Either way is good - the important thing is your participation. On Aidpage, people support each other by speaking out and by paying attention to each other - as simple as that.

Aidpage group discussing "customer service"...

Feel free to participate in this public group space.

Two easy ways to do this:

  1. Add a comment or a question here - on this page... or on any other page in this space.
  2. Or, if you want to start a separate thread - make a new page.

Either way is good - the important thing is your participation. On Aidpage, people support each other by speaking out and by paying attention to each other - as simple as that.