INTERNET FRAUD - Are you a victim?

[#1]

It's come to my attention that many of you have registered your domain names through a 3rd party, Sarah's Marketing Service. This individual is no longer associated with Etsy and has had their accounts deleted.

If you have registered your website through them, you can pull the WHOIS information http://www.ip-adress.com/whois/ and find out the fake name this individual has used to register your site and get your domain name back.

You can then use that information to make a formal complaint to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as you have been a victim of Internet Fraud.

The Canadian Anti- Fraud Centre:

Toll Free: 1-888-495-8501

Toll Free Fax: 1-888-654-9426
Email: info@antifraudcentre.ca

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As well, for US citizens, please contact the Federal Trade Commission:

www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

You may also call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

Also contact your State Attorney General.

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As well, please contact Etsy Trust & Safety at trust@etsy.com and forward your complaint to them. The more information Etsy has on these individuals the better equipped they will be to fully remove their presence from this site.

[BrazenDesignStudio]

I would ask for a refund anyways, or perhaps more effective file a paypal dispute about a fraudulent purchase.

[thesetinytreasures]

I asked for a refund and tried to dispute through paypal. Paypal won't refund since it has been over 45 days. This was her response to me:

"I am unable to refund you as you are months outside the refund time limit - also your domain can be switched to your name at any time and address or even transferred to you - its not like I'm holding it for personal reasons I simply registered and set it up for you. Your claims against me are false.

Sincerely,
Sarah Beattie"

I think I am just going to try to get the domain in my name and move on. The $ sounds like it is gone.

[extradigital]

I just sent her an email (I own J Magnolia Designs, and I just posted a few posts back-- I had to switch to my other shop, so uh hi!).

I basically told her I found out about her fraudulent business practices, and if she didn't refund my money, that she was going to have a lot more than a paypal dispute on her hands. I got my $25 back (I bought the "marketing package") in about 5 minutes after the e-mail was sent, no questions asked, and no harassing/nasty e-mails from her.

[thesetinytreasures]

Jessi,
How long ago did you purchase this? She told me she couldn't refund it because it had been too long (Feb 25th was when I purchased). She is going to transfer the domain over to me though.

[extradigital]

I purchased it in December of 2011. so definitely past the "45 day" mark.

[Former_Member]

Well I don't have any involvement in any of this, but I am appalled at how despicable this person is.

FYI since she continues to register here I'm sure she's lurking and reading posts such as these. Maybe you don't care, but you might want to consider making these threads private when you start them, that way only members of this team can see them.

[thesetinytreasures]

I don't understand why she won't refund to me when she will everyone else. Not sure if I should let it go or try harder. Maybe I wasn't being aggressive enough?

[Former_Member]

Lets do it Amber! Mine was a while further back and thought about letting it go but my husband earned that money that paid for that scam. He has been the financial backing of my operation.

[thesetinytreasures]

Stephanie have you asked for a refund yet? I asked her why I wasn't getting one when others were that were longer ago than mine. I haven't gotten a response yet.. I'm guessing she is getting pretty busy here

[BrazenDesignStudio]

Well, well, well. I just found the original owner of that Mom and Baby photo she uses in all of her marketing materials. Her sister Jana is a professional photographer and is located in Port Moody, BC. Now most likely it could have been stolen and used without this poor woman's knowledge, or it could indeed be 'Sarah'. Either of which make this all the more interesting.

I hope she IS lurking and reading every damn word. She needs to realize the game is up and the net is closing in.

[Former_Member]

Just sent her a ''request'' and said she had 24 hrs to return my money or I was reporting her for internet fraud and I will if she does't reply.

[thesetinytreasures]

I just did the same Stephanie. I am never that aggressive, but I guess you have to be right off the bat with her. I'm really sick about this, not for the money but the deceptive nature of it. I have always tried to be an honest person with everything I do and when I hear of something like this it just makes me sick. I always want to see the good and best in people, it just makes it harder.

I will also report her if she doesn't refund the $. She can keep the $ for the domain if she does transfer it to me, but I would like the other $ back. I asked her to prove to me that the work she did was legit, and she didn't defend it, just said she would transfer the domain.

[BrazenDesignStudio]

Amber - Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault you trusted someone, it's HERS. She used a pretty photo of a woman and a baby to lull people into a false sense of security and that's what con artists do. They prey on nice people so just chalk it up to a learning experience. Thank God you found out, and can now do something about it. We're here for you so don't feel alone, you'll get through this.

[thesetinytreasures]

Thanks, I'm hoping this all turns out for the better.

[Former_Member]

I'm afraid she's going to open a paypal complaint against me, since she sent money but it wasn't in refund form since it's been over 45 days. I'm assuming since she (he, it, they, whatever) is a con artist, this may have been an unwise move, but hopefully, since I had tried to file a paypal dispute, they will realise why I received money from her. I suppose I'll update everyone if that is what takes place. This person is going to have a huge problem on her hands if she tries to rip anyone else off.

It really irritates me that most of us found her ad on places like craftcult and etsylush. If I'm not mistaken, that just means she paid to have ad placement there, correct? I wish websites would just do a better job of verifying who's ads they were placing and not just happily take money for adspace. :-\

Regardless. If this person is giving refunds back so easily, it probably means she made quite a bit of money off of this scam :(

[FabulousWire]

Amber, try harder!
Even $1, it's your hard-earning, you can't let it go without get something in return.

Me too, I don't have any involvement in any of this.
But the fact that register a domain for a customer, but don't use the customer's name, address information, is not a ethical business practice!

[thesetinytreasures]

She refunded my $$ and is transferring the domain name to me. Huge relief, I hope its the end of it for me. I hope everyone else out there does ok with this too!

[SleepingKnight]

I have read through most of the comments and this is very sad that someone would scam people, especially people who are new to Etsy. I have been blogging free help and advice for a long while. I have had the name "Market My Shop" for some time and it seems that the bad apples have made it difficult to run a legit business. Not all are out to get you though. Doing a little research before you buy can but does not always help. Getting a domain name is easy as spending $50 these days.

[BrazenDesignStudio]

We've managed to find out these individual's real names and location. Please contact me privately if you would like this information so you can make a formal complaint with the proper authorities.

[somsstudiosupplies]

marking.

[wildwomanbeads]

Keep bumping these posts up, please, so as many people as possible who have been caught in this scam will be notified.

[thesetinytreasures]

She responded to my emails fairly quickly. Looks like all should be ok with my account. I don't think she has been reading this thread though from things she said in her email. She does want people to contact her directly. Paypal won't refund your $ if it has been more than 45 days, even if you open a dispute with them they will just close it.

[FabulousWire]

@R.Rizzi
No need to make these threads private, if she/He/They is/are lurking and reading these posts, why not come out and tell us the other side of the story? No?

If there is other side story, I'd love to read!

[Studiomoonny]

@ Freeman

Exactly!

[Former_Member]

She refunded and told me I was hurtful and to not write back. Thanks Brazen!