2012 has finally arrived, and with a new year comes new money making opportunities. 2011 was profitable until the year's end. What will become of 2012? I guess we'll see as the year progresses. I'm ready for a fresh start.
Reopening the Nick Brown case. You may remember this person's blog which I introduced in July: Duane's blog -- His name is Duane Browning, and the object of his posts is to help people fight against text spam. My entry from July: "The night explodes..." -- We'll start with the following comment posted to his blog on June 14, 2011.
Blog link: http://fixedgear808.blogspot.com/2011/06/filing-complaints-with-domain.html
Comment:
"Anonymous said...
There seems to be dozens of these MONEY70, PAY600, GIFT50 etc web sites sending spam SMS messages. They all seem to link to doublemypayday.com. The domain owner is:
NetTangerine Inc.
2225 E. Bayshore Road
Suite 200
Palo Alto, CA 94043-3220
Tel: (650)641-0184
Fax: (866)723-2155
contactus@nettangerine.net
I called them up and spoke with a person called Amy. She admitted that her company owns the web site doublemypayday.com. She stated that they do not directly send SMS messages from her company, it must be some affiliate of theirs that is doing non-compliant things. She did not want to admit a direct responsibility for the text message we all receive, but my argument was that they should be controlling their affiliates. She admitted that this is not something they want happening either as it damages their brand image. She promised to investigate who is doing this, and NetTangerine would shut them down.
I promised to Amy that I will post this information on every complaint site I can get my hands on.
I suggest everybody gives a call to NetTangerine Inc Tel: (650)641-0184 and complains about the SMS messages. I'm sure the more calls they receive, the more motivated they are in finding out and shutting down which ever affiliate of theirs is doing this.
June 14, 2011 2:37 PM"
My research has shown that gift50.com and gift90.com, both domains registered to Nick Brown, linked to CRS and Product Test Panel. According to the comment above, gift50.com linked to doublemypayday.com like many other sites. If Amy at NetTangerine denies SMS messages ever being sent from her company, and suggests that it's an affiliate of theirs, then there must be a 'Nick Brown' at one of their affiliates? Someone is responsible somewhere.
whois info for another domain:
pay14.com expired October 7, 2010; the original report is no longer around, I just happened to find it here: http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-347-822-1925 -- There is also a different e-mail in the registrant info below.
So we have Brownmobile, Inc., and the e-mail nickbrown012@gmail.com. I don't know exactly how old this corp is, but pay14.com was registered before Nick Brown's most recent domains. The current sites registered to Nick Brown now don't have any corporation in the registrant. Here are the results from Business Net Pages and YellowPages.ca.
The first screen shot for Business Net Pages shows that "Brown mobile" is a welding shop in Canada. The second screen shot has the full corporation name: Brown Mobile, Inc. The only difference is that the corporation name in the whois info for pay14.com is Brownmobile, Inc. without the space. If we could prove that "Brown Mobile" is in fact Brownmobile, Inc., then that would mean that Nick Brown has Canadian ties.
I Googled the 7454 Lancaster address and found this site: http://whoscall.in/1/3479259811/ -- The following comment on this site confirmed the 7454 Lancaster address is a mailbox.
"MFMD
2011-06-06 20:46:40
Unknown
From a 2006 State of Delaware Supreme Court decision when Sean Sisson appealed a conviction on SIX counts of child Pornography... nice guy! Netvantage appears to be the homebase.
"7. Your Affiant verified that Sean Sisson is employed by Netvantage
Solutions Inc., located in Hockessin Delaware. Your Affiant
completed a business check, through the Better Business Bureau,
for Netvantage Solutions. The check revealed that the principle
[sic] of the business is Sean Sisson. Netvantage Solutions offers
intranet development, computer support, and software integration
and Internet services and is located at 7454 Lancaster Pike,
Hockessin, De.
8. Your Affiant completed a search for 7454 Lancaster Pike … and
found that this address is a Mailboxes Etc. Mailboxes Etc. offers
mailboxes “drop boxes” that a person may rent."
Link to the Delaware Supreme Court decision: http://webservices.lexisnexis.com/lx1/caselaw/freecaselaw?action=OCLGetCaseDetail&format=FULL&sourceID=bcfbc&searchTerm=eLhQ.XHDa.aadj.edEQ&searchFlag=y&l1loc=FCLOW -- Sean Sisson's appeal isn't the topic of discussion, however, I scrolled down the court document to find the part about Mailboxes, etc. I wanted it straight from the source.
Then there is this comment:
"MFMD
2011-06-06 20:46:40
Unknown
That's Sean M. Sisson - don't want to drag anyone else in on this!
Sean (and wife Susan) are in:
Netvantage Solutions, Inc.
Incorporated by Sean M. Sisson, Susan Sisson, Netvantage Solutions, Inc. is located at 3837 Northdale Blvd Ste 191 Tampa, FL 33624. Netvantage Solutions, Inc. was incorporated on Monday, June 01, 1998 in the State of FL and is currently not active. Sean Sisson represents Netvantage Solutions, Inc. as their registered agent."
Netvantage Solutions, Inc., NetTangerine, Inc., amongst other businesses with the 7454 Lancaster address are predisposed to public censure, even the local restaurants and banks on that street. They all should be aware of this textspamming issue so it doesn't leave a bad impression on the city's inhabitants. My next finding will reveal a new person in connection with the Nick Brown case. Look at the whois info.
This person is named Eric Brown. Who is Eric? It started with Nick Brown, then we met Bart Brown, now there is an Eric Brown, hm... The e-mail in the whois report for getgreencamps.com is the same as the one registered to Nick Brown. I posted it again with the whois report. Doesn't someone usually have their own e-mail address? Why would Eric be using Nick's e-mail? And what's the point in registering domains with multiple names if you've already used your own? I think Bart Brown and Eric Brown are a product of Nick Brown's work. As for Bucks Media Group, Inc. that is in the registrant info, I found "Bucks Media Group, LLC.", a business consulting company out of New Hope, PA. But I don't know if its connected to Bucks Media Group, Inc. or not. I need to investigate this further.
More info on CRS! A member sent me an e-mail a couple nights ago to give me Dave's status at CRS. His contract with CRS ended, and his e-mail no longer works. Somebody else now works in Fulfillment, and I'm waiting to hear back on who it is. To learn more about this, please see our correspondence below.
Member:
"from member xxxx@xx.com
reply-to xxxx
to "diyfreebies@gmail.com"
date Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 1:45 PM
subject you don't know me, but I have completed many sites through CRS :)
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of the people in the conversation.
hide details Dec 28 (2 days ago)
Dear wozniack,
You don't know me, but I am one of your many readers and I have also completed CRS sites 7 times. I was paid every time and have made around $14,000.00 not including what I had to pay out in order to complete each site. I have only completed sites through CRS and I am considered one of their long standing members as I have been completing sites through them for almost 2 years now.
I got to know Dave a little and he actually called me a friend. I spoke with him last month and found out that his contract with
CRS has ended. I was able to get a hold of him via the personal cell phone number he had given me. I just wanted to make you
aware of this so that you might let other members know that this is why his email no longer works. I am currently trying to
find out more information from the company on who the new person is that handles sending out prizes. I also got confirmation that the new sites
we have been seeing are indeed CRS'. I called them up and specifically asked them what the name of their company was. The funny thing is that the rep had to actually go and ask a supervisor who they worked for. He came back and told me the name of the company was
Consumers Reward Solutions. He said it really slowly like he was reading it off of a piece of paper. So apparently they are still in business like we thought. I feel for the members who lost out. I have personally never had any problems with them. When I work with them I never trust their sites
ability to track when I complete each and every offer. I always save every bit of information I can proving I completed offers. I then would send them to Dave etc. I highly recommend when doing sites like these to be sure to file your taxes and make sure to pay whatever taxes that are owed to the government. If you have any question for me, feel free to ask. If I find out anymore information, I can let you know if you want.
I would like to remain anonymous as I do not want my communication with you to cause issues for my membership with CRS.
By the way, I love your blog!"
My reply:
"from [Busy] diyfreebies@gmail.com diyfreebies@gmail.com
to member
date Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 2:18 PM
subject Re: you don't know me, but I have completed many sites through CRS :)
mailed-by gmail.com
hide details Dec 28 (2 days ago)
member,
Thank you for contacting me with this information. On the confirmation, are the sites you're referring to in connection with Nick Brown? The domains registered to him have also linked to Product Test Panel, as well as numerous marketing companies. Could you let me know if you find out who now handles Fulfillment at CRS?
Congratulations on the large profit you received from CRS! $14,000.00 is an impressive amount, and I hope you have enjoyed your earnings. I always keep a spreadsheet of my completed offers, and I do agree with what you on paying taxes. And need not worry, I'll make you anonymous so your relationship with CRS is not affected. I wouldn't want to mess that up for you. :)
Thanks again,
wozniack"
Member:
"from member xxxx@xx.com
reply-to member
to "diyfreebies@gmail.com"
date Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 3:09 PM
subject Re: you don't know me, but I have completed many sites through CRS :)
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by yahoo.com
Important mainly because it was sent directly to you.
hide details Dec 28 (3 days ago)
Honestly I don't know anything about Nick Brown. The sites I am talking about are the ones that say they are located in
Honk Kong, United Kingdom etc. They have the exact same layout as the CRS sites with contact information for Canada. Yes Dave really
surprised me one time when he sent me 3 checks at once. The reason being I had completed 3 sites at one time. Let me tell you that was not easy to do. You have to keep track of every little thing. But it was definitely worth it. The checks totaled $7000.00
It all helped because I am a stay-at-home mother of two little ones. I can never have an outside job due to a disability. So in a way, I consider this my job. I will absolutely let you know if I find out anything more about CRS."
My reply:
"from [Busy] diyfreebies@gmail.com diyfreebies@gmail.com
to member
date Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 4:33 PM
subject Re: you don't know me, but I have completed many sites through CRS :)
mailed-by xxxx.com
hide details Dec 28 (3 days ago)
Oh yes, I know the sites you're talking about... I had written about them several months ago. Wow! 3 checks arrived all at once. How exciting. :)) You probably are aware of their 30-day cancellation limitation which was put in place in April. I wanted to get an idea of just how hard, if at all, 30-day rule is with CRS, and exactly what they require. Nuitech has gotten kind of difficult because you have to get the sponsor to report back to them on top of everything else. I haven't heard any complaints about that sort of thing with CRS, and I'm considering doing them again which is why I'm asking.
I really appreciate the information on CRS and Dave. Thank you for that; and I hope you continue to be successful in your freebie endeavors.
Thanks,
wozniack"
Member:
"from member xxxx@xx.com
reply-to member
to "diyfreebies@gmail.com"
date Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 8:15 PM
subject Re
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of the people in the conversation.
hide details Dec 28 (3 days ago)
I haven't found it difficult in the least. The important thing is to make sure you don't cancel more than 2 offers and wait 30 days before canceling the others. I simply pay attention to offers that are already 30 day trials, and I keep close attention to the cost of each offer after the trials are up. With that info I just simply decide which I cancel right off the bat and which ones I can afford to stay with longer. It is very important that you follow the rules exactly. I truly go into each offer with a heart of actually trying each product. It's exciting for me to get different products in the mail, kind of like Christmas. I save every email, statement, screen shots of orders, you name it. Then I email, request fax numbers, ask to talk to supervisors. I do whatever I can to get my information and proof to them so that they can see I am a legit member that takes the process very seriously. I have actually introduced myself recently to the reps when I called and I let them know that I have been completing sites for them for quite a while. Their response was "oh so you are one of our long standing members" I try to be super nice and appreciative with them. I found that it really helps to be patient and understanding and very honest. Oh and always keep track of the sites you complete, so as to not complete them again until a year has passed. Another new thing is if you compete an offer, you cannot get credit for that offer for 6 months. Sometimes I call up just to thank them for what they have done for me. I want them to see that when they actually follow through and pay out like advertised, their members really appreciate it. It's my subtle way of hopefully encouraging them to not cheat us. I am currently waiting for a supervisor to call me back with the info about the newbie who sends out the incentive checks. Hope this helps. :)"
Who will replace Dave? I miss him already. His contract is up which is why his e-mail hasn't been working. I wish him all the best. I will update you all next month when I find out who is in Fulfillment. Thank you, anonymous, for allowing me to share your e-mails.
Next comes Ifficient. A member contacted me about the problems he was experiencing with Ifficient's sites. His following e-mail preceded the phone call he made to Ifficient. Below is my correspondence with this member as well as the audio recording of the phone call.
From member:
"from member xxxx@xx.com
to diyfreebies@gmail.com
date Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 2:27 PM
subject Fwd: Non-working Offer Links for $1000 Visa Gift Card at globalonerewards.com
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of the people in the conversation.
hide details Dec 17 (12 days ago)
Wozniack,
I am trying to participate in the $1000 "choose a gift card" DIY freebie at www.globalonerewards.com. Over half of the offer links are broken / non-working and display an error page. Currently, it is impossible to complete the required 13 offers on this site because only 7 of the total offer links are even working. I tried emailing both fulfillment@globalonerewards and remove@globalonerewards.com and the remove@globalonerewards.com account returned a failed delivery error.
I am hoping since you posted a conversation with Sean McCormick at Ifficient you could offer me some advice. I have already contacted them via their "Contact Us" link on www.globalonerewards.com and sent the email below. Thanks for reading!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: member
Date: Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 1:24 PM
Subject: Non-working Offer Links for $1000 Visa Gift Card at globalonerewards.com
To: remove@globalonerewards.com, fulfillment@globalonerewards.com
I am trying to complete offers for the $1,000 Visa Gift Card and getting very frustrated. I understand that I am required to complete 13 offers before I am eligible to receive my free gift. I am trying to do so, but at this time it appears it is IMPOSSIBLE to participate in the 13 required offers. I clicked through all three offer pages, by clicking on every offer link and clicking the Next button at the bottom of the page to advance to the second and third offer pages. At this time, the majority of your offer links result in an error page.
Only 7 offer links on your entire site are working correctly!
I will list the working links:
Working:
Netflix
24 Hr. Fitness
Disney Books
Dr. Seuss Books
Hammer X Driver
Renaissance Health (Priozil)
Discover Escape Card
I will also list the non-working links that you need to fix immediately.
Non-working:
Equifax Credit Report
ADT Home Security System
Amber Alert GPS
Columbia House DVD Club
Proactiv Acne Treatment
National Family Protection (Identity Theft Protection)
E-Cigarettes
DirecTV Satellite
Sirius Satellite Radio
Simple Savings Network
Purse Hook Links to Hammer X Driver Golf Club site
When I click on these offer links, which all seem to be served by hbatrack.com, my browser displays the following error:
"404 - Not Found
Invalid CID"
How do you expect members to participate in and complete the 13 required offers if only 7 offer links work at all? If you do not maintain the site and all of the offers result in errors, you are advertising a contest with requirement that can not be completed.
Please view the following screenshot for proof of the error:
http://i.imgur.com/uwCn8.png
Please fix these issues immediately. It is incredibly frustrating and I will complete no offers on your behalf until these critical issues are resolved. Thanks."
Second e-mail to me:
"from member xxxx@xx.com
to diyfreebies@gmail.com
date Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 2:47 PM
subject Fwd: Non-working Offer Links for $1000 Visa Gift Card at globalonerewards.com
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of your interaction with messages in the conversation.
hide details Dec 17 (12 days ago)
Wozniack,
Shortly after I sent you that last email, I dialed the telephone number listed on Ifficient's "About Us" page.
http://ifficient.com/aboutus.php
303.945.2808
To my surprise, Sean McCormick answered the phone! I informed him of the non-working links on globalonerewards.com and he said they no longer promote that website. I asked him which sites Ifficient was currently promoting and he replied that they no longer promote any websites of that nature. Sean made it sound like Iffiicient is no longer in the "freebie" scene.
I have attached the recording of the phone call with Sean.
You can also listen to the recording on SoundCloud:
http://snd.sc/tSN56l
This might make for an interesting Blog article and/or update to the DIY Freebies forums. Thanks for reading!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: GOR Member
- Show quoted text -
2011-12-17 time 15_30_05 Outgoing Telephone Call +13039452808.mp3 2011-12-17 time 15_30_05 Outgoing Telephone Call +13039452808.mp3
758K Play Download"
My reply:
"from [Busy] diyfreebies@gmail.com diyfreebies@gmail.com
to member
date Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 3:15 PM
subject Re: Non-working Offer Links for $1000 Visa Gift Card at globalonerewards.com
mailed-by gmail.com
hide details Dec 17 (12 days ago)
Hi Chad,
I guess that after so many problems they've been having maintaining their gift sites, they decided to discontinue their rewards program. When I spoke to Sean McCormick back in January, he wanted to "tighten" Fulfillment in order to provide better service. It took their customer support over a month to respond to me though, and this was after my discussion with Sean. But I tried signing up for one of their sites anyway since Sean had told me via e-mail that they were paying $1,000.00 cash or check on their sites. The last time I looked at their sites, however, was in the spring. I wasn't able to complete their sites then due to a lack of offer variety. Apparently now, their sites are beyond impossible to complete. And with your permission, I'd like to share your correspondence with me for my readers. With this news coming straight from Sean McCormick, it is confirmed that they no longer offer a gift program.
Would it also be alright if I posted the phone call as well? I could try writing it down word-for-word, but it is hard for me to hear certain words through my laptop. I will listen to it again to be sure of what I heard. If you will allow it, I will e-mail Sean to get the OK from him as well. I do thank you for sharing this with me. :)
Thanks again,
wozniack"
Member's reply:
"from member xxxx@xx.com
to "diyfreebies@gmail.com"
date Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 10:27 PM
subject Re: Non-working Offer Links for $1000 Visa Gift Card at globalonerewards.com
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because it was sent directly to you.
hide details Dec 17 (12 days ago)
Wozniack,
Thank you for replying. You do indeed have my permission to post anything that I have emailed to Global One Rewards, to yourself, or I have posted in the forums. Sharing is caring! I would be happy if you posted the phone call as well, although I did not ask Sean for permission to record the conversation. You may want to get his go ahead before posting. If you don't hear back from him, I would assume a transcript would do just as well.
Chad: Hi Sean. Is this Sean McCormick?
Sean: Yup.
Chad: Interesting. Ok. My name is Chad. I'm a member trying to use one of your rewards websites - globalonerewards.com
Sean: Uh-huh.
Chad: ..and over half of the offer links listed on that webpage, that website, are resulting in an error right now.
Sean: Yeah Chad, we're not promoting that website. The promotion's down.
Chad: Oh, what are your current promotions websites?
Sean: We don't have any. We don't have any. We're not doing that anymore.
Chad: Ok, I was unaware of that.
Sean: Yeah.
Chad: Ok, thank you.
Sean: Alright, buh-bye.
Chad: Bye.
Thanks for listening and taking an interest in this change that affects DIY Freebies members."
Then I asked permission from Ifficient's CEO, Sean McCormick:
"From [Busy] diyfreebies@gmail.com diyfreebies@gmail.com
to Sean McCormick
date Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 7:01 PM
subject Phone call...
mailed-by gmail.com
hide details Dec 17 (12 days ago)
Sean,
A member said they called you today, and provided me with the details of the telephone conversation. Would it be okay if I posted the phone call on my blog? Then everyone would know the gift program is no longer in operation, and wouldn't have to inquire about your sites. I wanted to ask before making the audio recording public. I will try to print the conversation if you'd rather me not post it. Thanks.
Have a blessed holiday,
wozniack"
Sean McCormick's reply:
"from Sean McCormick xxxx@xx.com
to "diyfreebies@gmail.com"
date Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 9:11 PM
subject Re: Phone call...
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of your interaction with messages in the conversation.
hide details Dec 17 (12 days ago)
Absolutely."
Phone call:
2011-12-17 time 15 30 05 Outgoing Telephone Call +13039452808 by wozniack
Ifficient no longer offers a gift program as they are "not doing that anymore." Our list of companies to test is one down, as we just have LeaderDirect, WinHundred, and Brightfire. Thanks to this member, and Sean from Ifficient for their permission to post the phone call.
I-Deal sent me this for Christmas!!
I qualified for a $1,000.00 gift card + $250.00 bonus. Originally I was supposed to get a Wal-Mart gift card, but I was sent a $1,000.00 Wells Fargo Visa and I am not complaining. The $250.00 bonus checks were shipped December 20, 2011. I-Deal said the bonuses are shipped at the end of every quarter, no matter when you completed the site. Haven't gotten mine yet, because my mail has been on hold; I was out of town during the holidays. Before I cash it I will snap a pic and post it next month. Thanks I-Deal.
The first two gift cards are from MyPoints. I cashed out on $50.00 to Lane Bryant which I gave as a Christmas gift, and kept the $10.00 to CVS. The other gift card ebates sent me for qualifying for their promotion. It was for $10.00. I'm also expecting to receive 3,300 in bonus points from MyPoints for reaching my Shopping Tally goal. 3,300 points almost equals a $25.00 cash out, BUT I already have a 1,526 point balance, so I can still cash out on $25.00! And I'm going for the $25.00 CVS card, so that should give me $35.00 total when combined with my $10.00 CVS gift card. Last but not least I got a $10.00 Wal-Mart gift card from my bank's points program.
I have switched from Paypal to Serve for donation payments. Serve is a money payment and transfer service by American Express that allows you to send and receive money and transfer funds to your bank. They also send you a prepaid American Express card, which can be used at an ATM. Their current promotion is a $10.00 bonus if you sign up by January 5, 2012. And if you play their trivia game at PlayMoneyMover.com you earn ten more dollars! My experience so far with Serve has been fantastic, and I have already spent a portion of my free money with my prepaid card and it works. However, you can only send up to $100.00 per day, and accept no more than $250.00 a month. A customer service rep told me that.
Until my Paypal is resolved, any donations can be made to my Serve account by clicking on the Serve banner under where it says ‘Donations.’ But first you must register. If you want to take advantage of their promotions, please send me in e-mail at diyfreebies@gmail.com so I can refer you.
Raise your glass to these deals...
*links 'n such*
I-Deal--
http://www.consumerrewards.us.com/?config=6613 - 10 offers, 2 refs/$1,000.00 Visa
http://www.internetresearchsurveys.com/?session_id=e8bcedae337511e1b9933521b8df804b - 10 offers, 2 refs/$1,000.00 Visa
producttestpanel--
http://shoppingthanet.com/ruslimo/index.php?lid=ruslimo_16028_2696_155882459&add_offerid=665343&addomain=avgauge10.com&addomain_id=63&uniclk=true - offers unknown/$1,000.00 Toys R Us gc + misc. gifts
http://shoppingthanet.com/holidaygiftcards/index.php?lid=holidaygiftcards_14354_-preview&add_offerid=754164&addomain=rsgauge10.com&addomain_id=62&uniclk=true - offers unknown/$1,000.00 merchant gift card of your choice + misc. gifts
The new year for DIY is pretty active, so there will be more investigating, research and site hunting! I'm strongly considering doing another CRS site. I'd like to find another $2,000.00+, though most of their sites are now $1,000.00. There are two things I need to work on-- our forum, and my blogs. One of my images disappeared, so I uploaded it again and a week later it's gone. So I'm changing my image storage service. It'll take me a while to upload the images to another site since there are over 60 entries, but I need to get it done. As for our forum, I know about the spam, and will try to get it fixed. Our forum needs to be updated, but I haven't had time to do it myself.
My e-mail and PM inboxes are full, so it may take a few days for me to reply. If you have any questions, please send them to: diyfreebies@gmail.com; sometimes I respond faster to my gmail.
Take care,
wozniack
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