Alert: eBay and SquareTrade scam, Part 3

Are you being scammed? Need to know the definitive answer right now?

READ THIS ARTICLE and then come back to this page when you're finished (if you like).

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Infopackets Reader Bill P. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

After reading your 'eBay and SquareTrade scam' article alerts [Part 1 | Part 2], it prompted me to write you about a wonderful new anti-scam / anti-phishing toolbar called FraudEliminator Pro. The review over at pcMag.com summed up its features nicely:

' FraudEliminator Pro is a toolbar for Internet Explorer or Firefox that warns you if the web site you're visiting is not what it seems. When you visit a known fraudulent site, it will alert you with a popup. It can also alert you to sites with questionable features such as status bar misdirection or URLs that contain IP addresses [typical signs of fraudulent activities].

For every site you visit, [FraudEliminator Pro] displays the country of origin and date the domain was created [crucial information used to determine 'fly by night' scam web sites] ... hovering the mouse over this information displays full WHOIS data in a popup window [hint: WHOIS displays information about the web site owner, contact information, etc; if the information is invalid, then it would be wise not to trust the source]. A free version [of FraudEliminator is] also is available with [significantly] less-frequent database updates. ' (Source: pcMag.com)

I tried the free version and liked it, but soon upgraded to the Pro version because it provides updates every 15 minutes (instead of monthly updates with the free version). As you know, phishing scams and other fraudulent web sites can appear -- literally -- overnight and then disappear within 24 hours ... but not before they've scammed hundreds (or thousands) of dollars from unsuspecting users! So, you can see that it is crucially important to have daily updates to suspect web sites. In my opinion, the Pro version (reasonably priced at $19.99) was well worth the investment and the protection! "

My response:

I was fairly impressed with what Bill P. had told me, and decided to research some more information about FraudEliminator Pro. There were a number of rave reviews from reputable sources on the web (including pcMag.com, pcWorld.com, and a few others) -- but the best information I could find which described how the product actually works came directly from the FraudEliminator.com site:

' FraudEliminator prevents users from accessing known fraud and phishing websites, and employs advanced artificial intelligence that can recognize and block all yet-undiscovered fraud sites. We maintain a real-time database that tracks information about every known online fraud threat. As soon as our fraud analysis team positively identifies a phishing or fraud site, our entire userbase is instantly updated; everyone using our product is immediately "inoculated" against the threat, without having to do anything.

We collect fraud information from two sources: our own network of "honeypots" (email accounts that are specially designed to attract fraudulent phishing emails), and from users who report fraud incidents to us by clicking on the "Report Fraud" button on their FraudEliminator toolbar. Our team of Fraud Analysts reviews each submission, and if found to be a real threat, it is immediately added to our Real Time Threat Database.

Even without the Threat Database, our software contains a set of advanced rules that we have developed that are designed specifically to recognize telltale signs of fraud. For example, should a user in Virginia be giving out his or her credit card number to a 'CitiBank' located in Russia? [Answer: Absolutely not!] Through analyzing things such as domain name, website content, geolocation information, and common tricks that phishers play, we are able to proactively warn our users before it's too late. "

As Bill P. pointed out, email phishing scams (which link to fraudulent web sites) and other fraud-related sites typically have a *very* short life and re-appear with a new web address (and a new scam) practically over night. Notably so; the daily updates [which update every 15 minutes] offered by the Pro version of FraudEliminator are a critically important feature.

FraudEliminator Pro: Download

FraudEliminator Pro can be downloaded from the FraudEliminator.com web site.

Download FraudEliminator Pro

On a related note, I'm *very* pleased to announce that after publishing the eBay scam articles on our web site [Part 1 | Part 2], it appears that the transaction-squaretrade.com web site (a well-known scammer web site / the soul purpose for writing the articles) has been permanently relinquished [shut down]! Congratulations and thanks to those who read our articles and then immediately contacted the Registrar to complain of the scam!

And just to remind anyone who is reading this article:

SquareTrade does not do "deals". If someone says they're using SquareTrade as a "third party" so that you can get your money back if the deal somehow sours or if you're dissatisfied, it's a SCAM! I repeat: SquareTrade does not accept cash, store goods, or work as a "third party" for deals that have not yet gone through. Furthermore: if the person you're dealing with has emailed you repeatedly "on the side" and says that they prefer you to wire the money directly to them, it's a SCAM!

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This article is part 3 of a 4 part series. Click to read the remaining series:

• Alert: eBay and SquareTrade scam
   
• Alert: eBay and SquareTrade scam, Part 2
   
• Alert: eBay and SquareTrade scam, Part 3
   
• Alert: eBay and SquareTrade scam, Part 4  <-- read this should you have any doubt whether you are being scammed.