Email Fraud Alert


Email Fraud Advisory

Fraud Name: eBay / GeoTrust Transaction scam -- Updated November 2005

Emails / Communications from:

• Joe Craparotta / joe.craparotta@googlemail.com
• fast2sell@aol.com
• Frank David
• geotrust-transaction@consultant.com
• support@geotrust-transaction.com
• The New Company 2005
• Dave Ben
  

Description:
Email from scammers that are apparently working from within the eBay structure to sell a variety of items including iPod nanos, Nokia cell phones, and PlayStation Portables (PSPs). When a buyer contacts the scammer he requests that the payment for the goods be wired via Western Union and not through eBay. The scammer then claims he never received the payment due to a stop payment that was placed on the transfer and refuses to send the merchandise. In some particular instances -- the wired funds have been confirmed to be picked up at Western Union.

In an attempt to add legitimacy to this scam, the scammer is claiming affiliation with GeoTrust and requires the sender to deal with a payment processor called GeoTrust Transactions. Follow-up emails (see examples below) purport to be from GeoTrust Transactions and claim that the seller is verified by the "GeoTrust Web Safe Buying Online Services and any transactions done through the seller are protected by a GeoTrust insurance policy."

Please be advised that GeoTrust sells identity verification products and trust services for e-business. Our Web security services include SSL server certificates which are issued only after business and web site ownership are verified through a comprehensive authentication process. This business and/or individual was never issued a GeoTrust SSL certificate and therefore has NOT been through our business authentication process.

GeoTrust is not a payment processor or insurance company and is in no way connected to eBay or Western Union. Additionally, geotrust-transaction.com is not a legitimate GeoTrust web or email address.

Some follow-up emails also contain a spoofed GeoTrust Registered Member Verified DomainT site seal. This site seal is NOT REAL and has not been issued by GeoTrust. A real Verified Domain site seal contains a dynamically generated GeoCode - a randomly generated color and number pattern that changes frequently and can be verified by clicking through to the GeoTrust web site to verify that it matches the official GeoCode. Each time a visitor accesses a Registered Member site, GeoTrust will check its database to ensure that the site is still in good standing, and then dynamically push out a site seal for display on that site. The code ensures end-users that they are getting information in "real-time", not from a static or spoofed seal such as the one that appears in this scam email.

The Verified Domain site seal in this scam email is spoofed and static -- and therefore the GeoCode would not match the official GeoCode on www.geotrust.com

Other seals that appear on the emails, including eBay, VeriSign and BBB Online also appear to be spoofed.

Recommended Action: The email does not appear to come from a legitimate company. We would advise that you do not respond and do not send any money or personal information.

GeoTrust Action: GeoTrust is working towards tracking down and contacting the senders of these communications and the owner of www.geotrust-transaction.com and associated domains.

Additionally, we have:

• Added www.geotrust-transaction.com to the Anti-Phishing group as a black-listed domain;
• Requested that the www.geotrust-transaction.com domain be removed or shut down by the hosting company;
• Sent communications to eBay and Western Union regarding this matter and to inform them of the scam.