The scam scenario is always similar. The landlord offers to rent the apartment, where you pay the deposit and rent via Airbnb. Once you agree on the rental, payment instructions will arrive “from an Airbnb representative”. However, Airbnb has nothing to do with the rental. Scammers abuse the name of a well-known service to gain the victim’s trust.

The goal is to lure money quickly and then cut off communication. There is no property tour, and they never hand over the keys. I have been tracking rental scams since 2014. I know people who have lost thousands of euros. However, hundreds of people have saved money because they found out about this type of scam in time. I am continually updating the article with new findings to keep the number of people defrauded to a minimum.

How to recognize a scam apartment rental

1. Signals in the ad

   Scammers prey on victims on rental ad sites and less often on Facebook. First, they create a rental offer and usually steal some other offer’s ad text and photos.

   If English is not the first language in your country, but some lesser-used language (such as Hungarian or Finnish), they will use a translator.

   Even someone who wants to rent their apartment becomes a victim.

   It is already possible to suspect fraud from the advertisement. The more of the following points apply to the advert, the more likely it is a scam:

   Suspiciously low price

   The advertised rental price may be significantly lower than the normal market rent. While this is €800 a month, excluding fees, the scammer offers the same property for €400 with all the extras. He needs to impress.

   Ad is on free servers

   Scammers place rental offers exclusively on free ad servers or Facebook. Often, only an email address is the contact, with no phone number or information on whether it is the owner or a real estate agent.

   Sometime since 2020, scammers have learned to bypass phone number verification. Do not be surprised if a phone number with your country code appears next to the ad. It may still be a scam, and you will never reach the phone number listed.

   It is not possible to see the apartment in person

   You can never see the apartment before you send money. A popular excuse is that the owner currently abroad has the only pair of keys.

2. Communicating with the landlord and building trust

   The landlord almost exclusively uses email to contact you. This gives him the guarantee of anonymity, time, and the ability to communicate in a foreign language. Although the scammer is usually a foreigner, he can communicate from your country’s email address. In the email, he may ask to communicate in English, which is easier for him.
   A tell-tale sign for some languages is the confusion of masculine and feminine — where a person with a female name writes as a man.

   The scammer will invent a false identity and their relationship to your country. He aims to appear as respectable as possible, to give the impression of being a decent and fair person. He often claims to have lived in the country for several years and is now using the apartment as a summer residence or that he works as a doctor or police officer. Who could be more serious than a policeman?

   To increase his credibility, he can include scanned documents – driver’s license, passport, service card, and a few private photos. In all cases, it is either identity theft (stolen or copied photos of another duped unfortunate) or photo montages.

   You can easily verify the photos’ authenticity by uploading and searching Google images. Verify all the photos the tenant sends you this way. If Google finds the image, it is most likely a scam. If you go through a few of the links, you will confirm it immediately.

   This tends to be suspicious

   A stranger has email from a local provider

   Even though the scammer admits to being a foreigner, he uses an email address that resembles your country to communicate. Often, they also use pseudo-local names. Because they are unfamiliar with local realities, it may be easy for a native to recognise that no such name exists. It is like I made up a name that sounds Dutch… and there is not one.

   The scammer sends you stolen documents

   What better way to inspire confidence than to send the victim your documents? Who would suspect that a passport, a driver’s license, a police officer’s service card, or a private photo is either fake or stolen?

   One of the first misused identities was that of Detective Luca Paight from Cleveland, UK, around 2014. Scammers obtained his passport, police ID, driver’s license, and a photo of him with his family and used it to build trust with victims.

   

   I know of several cases where scammers have taken advantage of a Slovak or German citizen. However, I have managed to track them down. I have spoken to them, and they have confirmed how the fraudsters achieved this.

   How to inspire trust

   The scammer may claim to have lived in your country for several years. However, they do not speak the local language and use a translator. Although he does not offer an apartment, he always acts like he does. For example, he asks for information about the number of tenants, the date of moving in, or scanned documents.

   Do not send him personal documents under any circumstances. You are putting yourself at risk of identity theft and abuse. In addition, the fraudster may offer rentals or commit other criminal activity on your behalf. If you have sent scans of your ID to fraudsters, report them as stolen (or misused).

3. Airbnb will make renting safer

   In one of the steps, the scammer suggests that Airbnb will arrange the rental. They will take care of the payment and hand over the keys to the tenant, as the scammer can now come to town.

   This is nonsense; Airbnb does not hand over any keys.

   To increase trust, scammers sometimes prepare fake websites that are supposed to resemble the Airbnb website. You can identify the fake page with several small details.

   Wrong address

   If you look closely, you will notice that the site address is not Airbnb. Instead of com/ it is conferma-paysafecard.com/. Or any other, but it is always what comes before the first slash of the address that matters. If you have any doubts about the site’s authenticity, check the address.

   This method is called phishing. It aim is to slip the user a fake page that looks as much like the official one as possible, for example, a domain or email address.

   Copied design

   The design of the fake scammers’ website copies the design of Airbnb. However, it has nothing to do with this website; in fact, it is damaging the brand and reputation of Airbnb.

   Unreasonably high ratings and a number of guests and reviewers

   At least, in this case, the scammers were being unreasonable with the number of raters and guests. While other Airbnb hosts have ratings in the tens, at most in the lower hundreds for the most active users, the scammer boasts 1,639 guests and ratings from 563 users. The ratings are, of course, the highest possible.

   This is especially suspicious for someone offering property for long-term rental.

   Superhost badge

   The scammer also added a superhost badge to his profile.

   This status is for users who meet several conditions. These include a minimum of ten completed bookings, a response index of at least 90%, a user rating of at least 80%, and closure of each booking. Checking the compliance with the conditions is four times a year.

   Links lead nowhere

   If you click on any link on the site, it either does not work or redirects you to a non-relevant page on the actual Airbnb site.

4. Payment Instructions

   If you do not cut off communication even at this point (which I recommend), it will inform you that it has passed the whole thing on to Airbnb for resolution. It will tell you to wait for an email from them with further instructions on how to proceed and, most importantly, where to pay.

   Shortly after, you get an email pretending to be sent by Airbnb. In reality, it is the scammer, which you can easily tell from the address from which the email arrived. In the email, there is a confirmation of the information provided by the scammer (not to be, since he sends the emails) and payment instructions.

   1⃣ Pay anonymously with Paysafecard

   Sometime before 2019, people often used prepaid Paysafecard cards to transfer money.

   Paysafecard is a reputable system operating around the world. Unfortunately, fraudsters also favour it. Money transfers through it are quite difficult to trace.

   A scammer, or a scammer posing as Airbnb, will ask you to buy Paysafecard vouchers in the agreed rent amount. They will then ask you to send them the numbers and PINs of your purchased coupons. Once you send them to the scammer, you will lose money.

   The scammer immediately turns the money into cash, and it is almost impossible to recover it.

   2⃣ Payment to a bank account

   In 2019, transfers of “rent” to foreign bank accounts, most often in Germany, have become more prevalent. For example, I have personally come across an account with SolarisBank, operated under a German license.

   There is some indication that bank accounts are white horses, and the principle of operation of SolarisBank may allow fraudsters to set up an endless number of unique account numbers.

5. What to do if you have been scammed

   It depends on what point you are at, however, I recommend following these steps:

   1⃣ Stop the flow of money

   If you have sent money by bank transfer, contact your bank immediately and ask them to stop the transfer. Do the same if you give the other party your credit card number.

   Spoiler: The likelihood of you getting your money back is relatively low. I know of only one case from August 2022 where a victim from Slovakia contacted the bank and had the money back in his account the next day. However, call the bank.

   If you have already purchased Paysafecard coupons, block them immediately.

   2⃣ Go to the police to file a criminal complaint

   Go to your nearest police station and file a criminal complaint against an unknown offender for fraud. The police will write everything down, and you can document the emails from the fraudsters as evidence. Do not delete any emails.

   If you sent copies of your documents, report this to the police and ask for confirmation that your documents can be misused. It is highly likely that fraudsters will use your name and documents in future advertisements.

   If the police contact Paysafecard or the bank, provide them with information about who is on the other side of the transaction.

   Spoiler: the police are unlikely to detect the culprits. They have to follow the law and the fraudsters are from abroad. Often from countries where international cooperation is extremely difficult. For example, the Facebook Marketplace fraudster I exposed lived in Burkina Faso.

   3⃣ Report the advert and email address as fraudulent

   Write to the site where you found the advert and alert them to the fraudulent behaviour. You can send a link to this article. The aim is to delete the advert from the internet as soon as possible so that there are no more fraudsters.

   In the same way, have the email used by the scammers blocked.

   4⃣ Let me know

   And finally, please: If you have come across a different scam scenario than I describe in the article or other stolen identities, please notify me at novak@vpnwiki.com. This way I can stay in the loop and warn other potential victims. The more information you provide about the scam, the better.

6. Updates and changes in offender behaviour

   In the summary below, I list the known identities that scammers use in advertisements and communications. In addition to names, I deliberately publish addresses, emails, phone numbers and bank account numbers. By publishing these, this article can be traced by other people who may want to rent an apartment from the scammers.

   To be sure, I repeat: The real people listed below have nothing to do with the scams, their documents and identities have been misused.

   • Eduard Wiest (wiest.eduard1962@gmail.com)
   • Hertin Loer (hertinloer@gmail.com)
   • Sabrina Lauenstein (sabrina.lauenstein22@hotmail.com)

   September 2023: Possible identity theft of Daniel George Gamez

   In connection with fraudulent rentals in Germany, we have received information that fraudsters have obtained a copy of the passport of US citizen Daniel George Gamez.

   It is possible that in one of the next rounds of fraud they will steal his identity and send a copy of his passport to gain trust. We have a scan of the passport copy but will not publish it.

   The same scammers used a copy of German citizen Jorg Andreas Reinke‘s document to gain trust, and misused his identity.

   Both Daniel George Gomez and Jorg Andreas Reinke had nothing to do with the fraud and were merely victims of fraudsters.

   February 2022: Identity Barbara Christine Baehr + German passport

   Fraudsters are now exploiting the identity of Barbara Christine Baehr in connection with at least an apartment in Sternberg. To increase credibility, they send a photocopy of a passport in the name of Dr. Barbara Christine Baehr Hoffmann with the year of birth 1953.

   Interestingly, Barbara Baehr is a well-known German entomologist with a Wikipedia profile in several languages. The fraud scenario is identical to the previous cases. Communication is from the email address barbara.christinebaehr1953@gmail.com.

   I contacted the real Dr. Barbara Christine Baehr on February 20, 2022. She confirmed to me that her identity was stolen when she wanted to rent an apartment in Tübingen, Germany.

This article about Airbnb Scam was originally published in Czech by the same author. This post is a translation of it. The facts described in the article are based on the author’s experience with frauds in the Czech Republic. In other countries some details or procedures may differ.

Although the products’ ingredients may be harmless, the way they sell them is far beyond the bounds of decency and, in some cases, the law. With this article, I want to warn people who are considering buying a dangerous dietary supplement and looking for more information about it.

How to spot a seller of unsafe dietary supplements

In preparing this article, I analysed hundreds of websites in different languages that sold shoddy dietary supplements. They repeated unfair and immoral practices to persuade the visitor to buy the product. The more elements listed below the sales page, the more likely it is a scam.

“50% off today only”

Dietary supplements are often sold at a 50% discount to persuade users to buy. In addition, there is often a countdown for the duration of the promotion, with the time expiring at midnight.

In reality, the countdown resumes immediately after midnight – there is no discount promotion. This is a method to pressure the visitor to order the product now. Moreover, they never offer the product at the original price.

Unrealistic effects of the supplements sold

AlcoBarrier alcohol addiction tablets are supposed to restore damaged liver cells, ReCardio is supposed to lower blood pressure, and SugaNorm is supposed to eliminate the negative effects of diabetes.

These are dangerous claims with possible negative effects on the users health. I did not find either of the products listed below on the list of medicines approved by the Institute for Drug Control. Although the sellers talk about clinical testing and proven effects, there is no independent record anywhere.

Recommendations from doctors and experts

Doctors with many years of experience recommend dietary supplements. For example, the Nicozero smoking cessation drops, an expert in narcology with twenty-one years of experience recommends it. For the potency supplement, it is a urologist with thirteen years of experience.

I checked the names listed in the register of doctors; there is no one like that. Through a reverse search, I found that the portraits of the doctors came from a photo library or reputable doctors’ websites. In different countries, the same person in the photo has different names. For example, the mentioned expert in narcology appears as Miroslav on one site; on another, he is a urologist named Petr.

Product user experience and reviews

There is no shortage of highly complementary reviews on most sites from the products users who cannot praise their experience with it. They have a commonly used name and photo.

The user reviews are fictitious – as with the doctors’ recommendations. The names of the praising customers are always local, sounding Spanish in Spain, German in Germany, and Czech in the Czech Republic. It is obvious they downloaded portraits of the users from the internet.

Multiple stores offer the accessories, they are recommended on a number of sites

Products from this article are usually sold on multiple sites (domains) and in different languages. You can find favourable product reviews on many sites, often masquerading as independent news outlets.

In all likelihood, a single entity is behind both the sales pages and the “independent” review sites, as suggested by the domain registry entries, the site source code, and other evidence. Reviews on third-party websites persuade users to purchase by finding out more about the product. In essence, this is a form of marketing; creating another website or buying an advertorial is not difficult.

It is not obvious from the website who the seller is

None of the sites that offer the listed dietary supplements clearly state the operator. The name, address, identification, and other contact details are missing. In some countries, the website operator is thus in breach of applicable laws. You request a given product by filling in a name and telephone number.

If a contact is on the page, it is an online form. It is not obvious at a glance where the information is sent.

In the footer of some shops, it says ‘Global Partners LTD’ or ‘BERNADATTE LTD, Av Ricardo J. Alfaro, Panama International’. The latter company exists, but I could not establish a connection with the products mentioned.

Poor translation of the website

Websites selling dietary supplements are machine translated into other languages. Although the quality of such translations is gradually improving, the texts appear unnatural to native speakers. Nevertheless, product descriptions, customer quotes, and other content show they translated them.

Who is behind spam and dangerous dietary supplements

As seen above, the site’s operator does everything to remain secretive. This is no surprise, as his actions violate many laws in various countries.

An analysis of the website, domain name servers, links between sites, and other data suggests that the seller originates from Russia. The same entity also offers the EcoEnergy socket along with food supplements.

Warning: Keep your hands off these supplements and products

According to our indications, one entity sells the following products. The sales pages contain the same elements, have similar graphic designs, and all promote the products through spam, among other means. Therefore, I strongly recommend not buying them.

1. AlcoBarrier / Alco Barrier Against Alcoholism

   On the website, the seller promises that the AlcoBarrier product eliminates cravings for alcohol, restores damaged liver cells, or removes toxins from the body.

   The State Agriculture and Food Inspection or physician MUDr. Jiří Štefánek has warned against the AlcoBarrier product. Contact details, terms, and conditions were missing from the sales pages.

   The AlcoBarrier product is promoted by, among others, MedicalBlog.cz. The domain is in the name of Marian Wieczorek, ul. Pandzy Piotra 148, 45-552 Opole, Poland. However, we cannot verify the identity so it may be a fictitious name

2. ReCardio for High Blood Pressure

   The product’s ReCardio sales page states that it helps to lower blood pressure. In various languages, the ReCardio supplement is recommended by “Dr. Jan Drahokoupil, a ninety-eight -year-old cardiologist who looks no older than sixty”. According to the Czech Medical Chamber’s database of doctors, no such doctor exists. The photo of the alleged doctor was from a databank.

   The Czech Ministry of Health and physician Jiří Štefánek have also warned against ReCardio. The seller of ReCardio was also investigated by Hungarian police.

3. SugaNorm / Suga Norm for the Treatment of Diabetes

   The shoddy sales page promises that the SugaNorm product helps treat diabetes. It is supposed to “restore the balance of substances in the body and eliminate the negative effects of diabetes”. Again, we recommend avoiding SugaNorm tablets out of an arch. On various sites, they sell the tablets in packages with different graphics.

   SugaNorm is to be recommended by the doctor-endocrinologist Lukáš Beránek, candidate of medical sciences. Again, this is a fictitious name, no such doctor exists. For the photo of the same “doctor” on the Italian website, the name Rodolfo Lorenzi is listed, in the Russian version, Danilov Yuri Petrovich.

   This is a scam and a potentially dangerous product warned by, for example, Italian or Czech websites. The Czech Ministry of Health also issued a warning

4. Detonic/Detonic Powder for High Blood Pressure

   The website selling Detonic states that the product “normalizes blood pressure within the first six hours thanks to bioflavonoid” or that it “restores tone and elasticity to blood vessels”. Potentially dangerous is the claim that Detonic has no side effects.

   Sites promoting Detonic include ZajimaveUceni.cz. The domain holder is Marie Jarošová, Stožická 21, Dražice, Czech Republic. The administrative contact is Patryk Potapczuk, Terebelska 45/49, 21-500 Biała Podlaska, Poland. In both cases, they may not be real people.

   Detonic recommends “Doctor of Higher Degree and Candidate of Medical Sciences” on various sales websites. While the Czech version of the site lists the name Ondřej Pumpr, the German site lists the name Patrick Zwanzger.

   For example, the Czech State Agricultural and Food Inspection warns against Detonic.

5. HondroStrong / Hondro Strong for Joint Pain

   The sales page states that Hondrostrong cream helps fight joint pain, arthritis, and arthrosis. It is supposed to eliminate pain, reduce inflammatory conditions, remove swelling and bruising, or eliminate the feeling of stiffness.

   HondroStrong is not a medicinal product, so they have not tested its effectiveness and safety in clinical trials. The Vesmirna-Drubez.cz website promoting Hondro Strong lists Lucjan Skonieczka, Srebna 7/12, Warsaw, Poland, as the technical contact. As in other cases, it is likely that this is not a real person.

   The Ministry of Health and the State Institute for Drug Control have warned against Hondrostrong.

6. CardioActive / Cardio Active Heart Attack and Stroke Drops

   According to the website’s claims, CardioActive drops are supposed to normalise blood pressure and heart rhythm, clear cholesterol from blood vessels, and restore their tone.

   The sales pages state a therapist and cardiologist with 30 years of medical experience. However, while on the Czech site, it lists him as Karel Válek, the name Dr. Roberto Fernandes is listed next to the same photo on the Spanish site. Moreover, according to the Czech Medical Chamber, there is no doctor with the name “Karel Válek”.

7. Ophthalmaks to Improve Vision

   Some sales pages present OphthalMaks as a “vision-improving drug” that is supposed to improve and sharpen vision. However, OphthalMaks is not registered or approved as a medicinal product.

   Warnings have been issued by, for example, the Slovenian government and the Greek National Organisation for Medicinal Products.

8. Nicozero Smoking Cessation Spray

   Nicozero spray is supposed to reduce cigarette cravings and effectively cleanse the body of carcinogens that cause lung and larynx cancer. The sales website states that Nicozero is free of side effects and has been laboratory tested.

   However, Nicozero does not appear in the Register of Medicinal Products. These are strong and potentially dangerous claims; we strongly recommend not buying the product.

   There is also a doctor’s recommendation on the site, which is “narcology expert Dr. Pavel”. On the sales page of another shoddy Adamour product, the same person poses as “urologist specialist Dr. Petr”. The photo is from the website of the German Medical Congress, the real name of the person in question is Prof. Dr. Med. Ralf Lobmann.

9. Adamour Pills for Instant Erection

   Scammy sales sites declare that Adamour pills will help with improving erections and potency. In addition, Adamour is supposed to improve blood flow through erogenous zones, improve sensation during intercourse and increase sperm count. According to the sales website, Adamour does not cause clinically relevant side effects.

   Again, we could not find Adamour on the list of approved medicines. However, on the sales website, it is recommended by “urologist Petr with thirteen years of experience”, who poses as “narcology expert Dr. Paul” on the website of another shoddy product.

10. NanoVein for Varicose Veins

    Scammy sales pages present NanoVein as a gel for treating varicose veins. According to their claims, it is supposed to strengthen blood vessels, improve blood circulation and thus act as a treatment complex for varicose veins.

    As with other dietary supplements, the scammers pass off the face from the photo bank as a supposed doctor. The name is different in different languages on the web: in the Czech Republic, Vratislav Kolínský; in Spain, Jorge Villazgo; and in Portugal, André Elias de Oliveira.

    The NanoVein gel is offered by, among others, the Czech website Nanovein.cz, which has name servers set up in Russia. It is under the name Sergey Pogodaev with an address of Pokrovka 27, 105005 Moscow, Russia.

11. Idealica Drops for Fast Fat Burning

    Another domain registered by the same entity offers the Idealica product. It is supposed to suppress appetite, lower sugar levels, reduce weight and burn fat quickly.

    Some sites promoting Idealica drops state that the product “has no contraindications, which is due to the 100% harmlessness of the substances”. Although the website promotes Idealica drops as a “medicine”, we could not trace the product on the list of medicines approved by the European Union.

12. W-Loss for Removing Fat from the Abdomen and Hips

    Once again, the same person and another product we strongly warn against buying. The W-Loss website advertises it as a 100% natural way to remove fat from your belly and hips without surgery in twenty-one days. The drops are supposed to remove dangerous internal fat from the body, reduce the amount of subcutaneous fat and block the absorption of simple sugars.

    On one of the sales websites, there is a section labeled “clinical research results” where physician-dietitian Lukas Wohanka recommends the W-Loss product. This name is again fictitious; no such person exists in the Czech Republic. W-Loss is not even on the list of medicines approved by the European Union.

    There are many more illogical connections on the website. For example, while the product photo shows W-Loss with passion fruit, the ingredients description lists pineapple, kumquat, and papaya.

    The product seller’s connection to Russia is because they still need to translate the price section of the product page from Russian into English. On the same page, a non-existent company, ‘Global Partners LTD’, is in the footer.

13. HondroFrost for Joint Regeneration

    A new wave of fraudulent products has seen the emergence of HondroFrost, which the seller claims is the “only nanotechnology product that naturally regenerates joints”.

    HondroFrost gel is promoted, for instance, through the website Hand-Shakers.com, which misuses the symbol of the Czech Red Cross. The fictional Professor Liao Chan on the site promises that it “can cure osteochondrosis in just a few months”.

    The main sales page for the HondroFrost product is Hondrofrost.eu, which contains deceptive elements mentioned in the article. In the Czech version of the website, “rheumatologist Pavel Valenta” speaks about the high efficacy of the HondroFrost gel. According to the Czech Medical Chamber’s database, no such person exists.

    Scammers also use domains like MyNewsDesk.com, Hondrofrost.cz, CoronavirusEcuador.com, Poradimesi.cz, Krajeveu.cz, and Formulafina.com. The last-mentioned website pays for advertising on Google, which made it possible to uncover the identity of the operator. It’s a company called Masivo LLC registered in the USA under the name Saverio Juan Ivanovich.

14. Keramin Ointment for Psoriasis

    In the summer of 2023, the deceptive product Keramin ointment, which, according to the seller, is said to defeat psoriasis, was introduced.

    Fake reviews for Keramin appear on several sites that resemble, among other things, news portals or blogs. Keramin is sold, for example, on websites Nutra-Shop.com (operator Ecaterina Pascu, Romania) or HealthLabsPharm.com (operator Health Labs Express Limited from the UK). Reviews of the product can also be found on the websites KrajevEU.cz and CoronavirusEcuador.com, which clearly links Keramin with the HondroFrost product.

    The Czech State Institute for Drug Control has listed Keramin among illegal and unapproved products, whose sale is prohibited in the Czech Republic.

15. Oculear for vision restoration

    Oculear eye drops are used to prevent and restore vision, according to information on the Oculear.com sales site.

    The site uses the same shoddy elements as previous products, promising unsubstantiated benefits of a dietary supplement that is sold “at 50% off” and featuring fictitious user reviews.

    Oculear drops are recommended by “Dr Radek Pergl, an ophthalmologist with 13 years of experience”. According to the Czech Medical Chamber, no such doctor exists, the same photo is used for Insunol (Dr. Tomas, Endocrinologist), Gelarex (Dr. Martin, Proctologist) or Delislim (Dr. Josef, Nutritionist) supplements.

    Other websites, sometimes posing as independent reviews or news portals, are also used to promote the drug and gain trust. Content is published on the domains Hand-Shakers.com, CoronavirusEcuador.com, CovidIbd.org, ProgenStudy.org, HarmoniqHealth.com or ThisisMap.com, among others. Oculear is also offered on web-based marketplaces, with Unicorn Brigade listed as a vendor.

    Some sites offering Oculear use paid advertising on Google. These include HealthLabsPharm.com (advertiser Health Labs Express Limited), Health-Prod.pro (advertiser Piotr Feć FreshCore from Poland) or Best2019.eu (advertiser Code One Topolski Spółka Jawna from Poland).

16. NeoVeris gel for female varicose veins

    NeoVeris gel for varicose veins in women belongs to the same group of shoddy products. On the sales pages, among the promised effects of the gel is the promotion of the treatment of hemorrhages, the strengthening of blood vessel walls, the reduction of blood clots or the elimination of soft tissue swelling. These effects are not supported by anything, we strongly recommend to keep your hands off Neoveris gel.

    Sales sites Dogppatron.site, TopToEurope.com and others use aggressive and greedy methods to convince users to buy quickly. These include “50% off” the product, limited number of packs on sale, limited time offers or fake client reviews.

    As with previous scam products, some sellers pay for Neoveris gel by advertising in Google searches. These are the same sites Dogppatron.site (unverified identity Marija Klimenko from Ukraine), BuyNowMe.eu (Code One Topolski Spółka Jawna from Poland) or HealthLabsPharm.com (Health Labs Express Limited from the UK).

17. Depanten for joint mobility in 30 days

    Depanten gel promises mobile joints in 30 days, relieving pain and stimulating collagen synthesis. None of these effects have been independently confirmed, the seller of Depanten uses the same shoddy methods as with previous dietary supplements.

    A limited time discount is offered on the RealtyExperts.pro sales page, which is continually extended. The same is true for the “number of packages that remain on sale”. Customers are also persuaded to buy by a countdown timer, when Depanten gel can be bought with a 50% discount, and fake reviews. In violation of the current legislation, no information about the seller is given on the website, the goods are ordered by filling in the name and phone number.

    The composition of Depanten gel is supposed to contain Arnica Montana extract, menthol, eucalyptus essential oil and camphor oil.

    Fake reviews and websites whose graphics are supposed to resemble news portals are used to promote Depanten gel. They can be found, for example, on TopToEurope.com, Best2019.eu or Arthrolon1.com. We strongly recommend that you do not order anything from these websites and do not provide any personal data to them.

    The effects of the Depanten supplement are also supposed to be confirmed by “Dr. Karl Kirschmayer, head of the Berlin Tumorzentrum Eva Mayr-Stihl, a rheumatology centre. There is no such doctor. A photo of this doctor was first published on March 28, 2019 on a free photo blog with the caption “elderly posing businessman”.

18. Tonerin for normalised blood pressure and anti-hypertension

    Tonerin capsules, offered by the same scumbags as the previous products, can be described as very dangerous.

    The sales website TopToEurope.com states that Tonerin reduces the burden on the heart and circulatory system, normalises blood pressure and improves blood circulation in the brain. We strongly caution against Tonerin and its sales pages. The claims made on the site are not independently verified and, as in previous cases, unfair or immoral sales tactics are used.

    The Czech State Institute for Drug Control or Czech Radio have publicly warned against sellers of Tonerin. To promote Tonerin, the fraudsters used the name of a well-known surgeon Jan Pirk, who has nothing to do with the product.

19. Gluconol capsules for diabetes

    Gluconol capsules are claimed by the seller to stabilize sugar levels and stimulate insulin production. This is the same group of shoddy products that use fake reviews and unfair sales tactics that often violate the law.

    We recommend staying away from Gluconol capsules for diabetes.

    Among other things, the Gluconol-Capsules.com sales page gives the effect of a limited-time 50% discount with a limited number of packs on sale, which is nonsense. The discount is available all the time on an unlimited number of packs. The site features fictitious user reviews of the Gluconol product and endocrinologist recommendations from Dr. Jirka. No endocrinologist Jirka exists. For the Idealica product, the same person poses as a nutritionist, for the Titanium Gel he is a sex therapist, for the Wortex product he is a parasitologist Petr, and for the Neoveris gel, for example, a phlebologist Petr Pergl.

    To gain credibility, the seller of Gluconol capsules uses a network of websites with fake reviews, some of which look like blogs or news portals. Very often the same domains as for previous products are used: ThisIsMap.com, CoronaVirusEcuador.com, Dianka.cz, Formulafina.com or AcareHealth.com.

    For example, the website Foods on the pillory, run by the Czech State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority, warned against Gluconol and its seller.

20. Ottomax Plus for hearing conservation

    The dietary supplement Ottomax+ (sometimes referred to as Ottomax Plus) may improve hearing and eliminate tinnitus, promote normalization of the sleep-wake cycle, and help calm the nervous system, according to a promise on the TopToEurope.com sales page.

    None of these effects have been independently verified, we recommend staying away from Ottomax Plus. The sales page uses a variety of illegal and immoral methods to persuade the visitor to buy. TopToEurope.com gives the impression that the product is on sale. It also displays “the names of customers who have just ordered the goods”, which results in “a decrease in the number of packages on sale”. This puts time pressure on the user. None of this is true, when the page is refreshed the count of goods on sale is restored to the original value.

    On the sales page, the product is recommended by “Johan Klausen, head of the research centre in Western Europe”. There is no such person. The photo was first published in a photobank in 2018.

    Fake reviews and testimonials on Zpravy-24.com, Poradimesi.cz, ThisIsMap.com, CoronaVirusEcuador.com, Sedentexct.eu, Skaba.cz, VychovaKeZdravi.cz, Wellness4You.cz, RecenzeTop.cz, among others, are used to promote the product.

21. Revitaprost as a solution for prostatitis

    A group of scumbags are offering the dietary supplement Revitaprost on the RevitaPorstLB.com website. The product is presented as a reliable solution to a delicate problem. According to the promises on the sales site, it eliminates the inflammatory process, gets rid of pain, normalizes urination and improves sex life. None of these effects have not been laboratory-verified, so we recommend to keep your hands off revitaPROST tablets.

    The unfair methods on the sales website are virtually identical to those of previous products. The “expert opinion” is now presented by Ales Novotny, for whom no qualifications are given. According to a reverse search on Tineye.com, the photo first appeared online in 2013. It is very often published on Russian-language websites, where it presents the figure of a doctor.

    Websites used to promote Revitaprost include ThisIsMap.com, CoronavirusEcuador.com, ProgenStudy.org, HarmoniqHealth.com, Hand-Shakers.com, CovidBD.org, Acarehealth.cz, KrajevEU.cz, among others.

22. Feronex to restore free testosterone levels

    Feronex is another in a line of dietary supplements that you’re better off staying away from. The TopToEurope.com sales page presents the Feronex supplement as a chance to prolong youth. It states that Feronex helps restore testosterone levels, helps boost erections and helps stop the decline of strength.

    The effects of the Feronex product have not been independently proven, its purchase is recommended to be avoided.

    The same immoral methods are used on the sales website as for previous products. In addition, the logos of the American TV channels CNN and CNBC or Men’sHealth magazine are published. Visitors to the site are also supposed to be persuaded to buy by “Martin Venecek, men’s health expert”. No one like that exists, the photo is from a photo bank.

    The black box displays information about fake orders and the decreasing number of packages left in the sale. Both of these figures are obviously fictitious. Their purpose is merely to put time pressure on the visitor to send in an order.

    Feronex tablets are promoted through fake reviews and user experiences on Feronex.eu, SedentExct.eu, CoronavirusEcuador.com, Poradimesi.cz or ThisIsMap.com.

Have you ordered any of these products? I will be glad if you describe your experience in the comments or send it to me at novak@vpnwiki.com. I would especially appreciate photos of the products and packaging, information on where the shipment came from, and what other shoddy products you have encountered. That way, I can warn other readers; thank you.

The article about dangerous supplements was originally published in Czech by the same author. This post is a translation of it. Some details may vary in other countries.

Are you hesitant to buy the device? First, read Five Proofs of Why the EcoEnergy Electricity Saver Plug is a Scam.

1. 

   The operating principle of the EcoEnergy outlet is nonsense

   The principle described for achieving savings varies slightly from vendor to vendor. Most of the time, it is nonsense that the EcoEnergy Electricity Saver socket reduces the current of electrical devices. As a result, the electricity meter is supposed to turn more slowly, thus reducing the electricity bill.

   There are several similar explanations on EcoEnergy outlet sales websites, but they are always machine translations of the text:

   • “EcoEnergy, like incandescent light bulbs, saves the current energy received and transfers the active energy to an electrical appliance that is in the same circuit with the energy saver.”
   • “All of the electrical energy passing through the extension cord is converted to reactive energy, reducing the amount of active energy without sacrificing the power of the working electrical equipment.”
   • “Residents of apartments and private homes don’t pay for or use current electricity. EcoEnergy helps you make 100% use of the power grid, which reduces active energy consumption and therefore reduces electricity bills.”
   • “It reduces the current consumption of electrical equipment, which makes the meter spin less times and as a result reduces monthly electricity bills”

   From a physical point of view, this is nonsense that the seller is trying to convince consumers who do not understand the issue. The EcoEnergy socket resembles a junk product, Tesla Energy Saver, in the way they sell it, the features described, and the marketing. Inside the box for $51 were two LEDs; instead of saving electricity, the device consumed it.

2. Promised savings

   EcoEnergy promises to reduce monthly electricity payments by 30% to 50%. But, this would mean the product must reduce consumption significantly because some items on the electricity bill are paid per month and are not directly related to the amount consumed.

3. Doubtful websites

   They sell the EcoEnergy Electricity Saver socket on many websites. For the ones listed below, we intentionally do not provide a link so as not to improve the site’s search engine rankings:

   • eenergyv.com
   • e-energy-official.com
   • eu.litbeurope.com/olrS

   Product names may also vary across sites. We have encountered:

   • e-energy
   • Electrosurvey for DECEPTION
   • E-energy saving socket
   • EcoEnergy Electricity Saver

   On several points, all the websites we discovered selling the e-energy socket violate the legal requirements applicable to online shop operators. For example, nowhere on the site is the operator mentioned, there are no terms and conditions, no information on data protection, no return options, or complaints procedure. All this increases the risk of complications in case of a complaint or withdrawal from the contract and refund.

   Some elements on the page also be shoddy. In particular, there is a countdown period during which the “EcoEnergy innovative energy saver” is sold for $84 instead of $42. However, the deduction is always set until the end of the day and always resets at midnight. The site visitor may thus feel that it is the last day of the discount event.

4. Who is behind EcoEnergy Electricity Saver?

   At the bottom of one of the sales pages, the company’s name, “Global Partners LTD”, is mentioned without context. In all likelihood, this is a fictitious name; no such company is selling the equipment.

   The sites selling the EcoEnergy Electricity Saver have one interesting detail in common. They have an identical page regarding “user privacy”. Although the user will find only superficial information on the page regarding the protection of their personal data, the identical design of the page suggests that the same author is behind all the sites.

   This also applies to another sales page, where the footer reads ‘BERNADATTE LTD, Av Ricardo J. Alfaro, Panama International’. We have checked the company in the Panamanian commercial register. Bernadatte Ltd became registered on January 16, 2007, under registration number 551674 (S), and its registration became cancelled in November 2019. The company name on the website does not necessarily mean that this company is behind the shoddy products.

5. Who is Bernadatte Ltd?

   The EcoEnergy Electricity Saver socket is one of many products sold on sites mentioning Bernadatte Ltd. The company offers a range of dietary supplements that promise unrealistic results, make unrealistic claims, and rely on the recommendations of non-existent doctors. Government bodies in several countries have repeatedly warned against the company’s activities. We strongly recommend not buying these products. Their use may lead to the deterioration of your health condition.

Do you have experience with any of the products?

Have you purchased any of the products listed on this page? Please email me at novak@vpnwiki.com and describe your experience. This way I can complete or update the article and protect other readers from being scammed.

The article about EcoEnergy Electricity Saver was originally published in Czech by the same author. This post is a translation of it. Some details may vary in other countries.

As is often the case with news on the internet, the truth is different. The voucher is not free – you must pay an issuance fee of 15.67 €. Accommodation in hotels is also not free but is subject to a meal charge. The rate varies from accommodation to accommodation, most often in the range of $16.03380 Kč–$25600 Kč per person per day.

Spam promises free nights, and clients pay hundreds of euros for them

In the age of Google, it is no problem for a distrustful reader to check the offer. Search for the name of the company, voucher, or survey– for Eurorest and similar voucher sellers; this means extra work. They frequently change the wording of emails, the name of the event, and everything else that is easily searchable.

In practice, you will thus encounter different emails that always lead you to Eurorest vouchers::

• EUCS 2026: 4th European Travel Preference Survey
• Geoplus Tourism Preference Survey
• Last chance to get 3 overnight stays matched to your invitation

As a rule, from all websites, surveys, and emails, you can click through to the umbrella website Eurorest.net, where they distribute the voucher.

Travel market preference research serves as a cover

To receive the voucher, one has to fill in a curious questionnaire, which the author of the article doubts. Questions such as “Do you eat in the place you stay?” act as a backdrop to make the visitor take the survey seriously. A more experienced Internet user will recognise other elements on the page that are typical of sites that try to put pressure on the user:

1. A countdown of the amount of time the voucher is “reserved.”
2. Counter of people who have already received the voucher.
3. Extension of the “free” voucher from three to five nights.
4. Confirmation that “The voucher reservation is valid.”

I would bet my dinner that the intent of the questionnaire is different. It creates an excuse as to why a site visitor should get a voucher. Namely, after completing the questionnaire, a voucher is generated for the reader, for which they must pay $14.76350 Kč. Distributed Eurorest vouchers are in PDF format; a few years ago, they sent them by post.

“Accommodation is free; only overpriced food is charged”

A Eurorest voucher is used for accommodation for two people in participating hotels for three to fourteen nights. The accommodation is free, “The only binding cost is the all-day meal rate”. Two hot meals per day are $15.61370 Kč to $551300 Kč per person per day.

It is basically the same as getting a voucher for ten free coffees for paying the issue fee. The coffee itself would be free, but you must buy a cup with each one for four euros.

You can only use Eurorest at partner hotels, which sometimes limits the voucher to a few months of the year. The offer includes around 400 hotels from Spain, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Montenegro, and other European countries. This is indeed a small selection for the whole of Europe.

Is it worth booking accommodation through Eurorest?

We have enquired about accommodation for two people in several randomly selected accommodations from the Eurorest website. We then compared the prices offered with those on the Booking website. We always tried to compare the same dates, room, and meals. Although, the prices were approximately the same, it is impossible to write unequivocally that one way or the other would be better.

The problem is the accommodation offered by Eurorest. For the same cost, you can find better deals on Booking and other servers. However, there is a significant difference in the offer, for example, in the year-round popular Krkonoše Mountains:

Eurorest: The three-star hotel has a rating of 5.9/10 on Booking. The price of a 7-night stay in the cheaper Standard room is $50311935 Kč. This includes half board, city tax, and the cost of the Eurorest voucher.

Booking: We found about two dozen offers for the same dates at a similar or lower price. When they include breakfast and dinner, the rating is always higher.

Who is behind the Eurorest vouchers?

Eurorest’s site operators and client data managers change so frequently that it is difficult to keep things on top.

In November 2021, the data controller was the Polish company Universo Sp. z o.o., NIP: 8971749495, KRS: 0000326782 with registered office at ul. Św. Jerzego 1a, 50-518 Wrocław, Poland. According to the Polish Commercial Register, it is registered in the name of Tomasz Adam (born 1974). They list the same name as the administrator for the domain Eurorest.org.

In June 2022, the website lists Infinity Sp. z o.o., NIP: 8982242558, KRS: 0000726672, REGON: 369945246, as the information bureau. The registered office is at the same address: ul. Św. Jerzego 1a, 50-518 Wrocław, Poland. In the register, besides the same Tomasz Adam, the name Marta Krauza (born in 1976) also appears.

TLG Travel Group LLC, 108 West 13th Street, Wilmington 19801, DE, USA.

Note: This post about Eurorest vouchers was originally published on the Czech version of VPN wiki. This article is a translation of it, some aspects and procedures may differ for users from other countries.

The letter is not from any office, it is sent by evil people. Behind the apparently official correspondence is an advertising order worth thousands of euros.

I have been working on this article for over a year. What happens if you do not pay for the advertisement? What happened after the penalty fee increased and the debt was handed over to a debt collection agency? And who is the secret operator of the EU Business Register?

1. By submitting to the EU Business Register, you order advertising for €2,985

   Let’s go back to the beginning. The form invites the recipient to send the completed questionnaire to Eu Business Register, P.O.BOX 34, 3700 AA – Zeist, The Netherlands. This is not official writing, as it is in small print on the side of the form.

   Behind the form is an order for advertising on the meaningless EU Business Register website (www.EUBusinessRegister.eu). There is a fee for publishing a company’s profile, but subsequent updates are free, as the form mentions a little underhandedly. The subscription is for three years with an annual automatic renewal of one year, the cost of advertising is $1,061€995 per year.

   To terminate the subscription; the catalogue operator must receive at least two months’ notice. (The term “receive” is worth mentioning in itself, as it may happen that “the post office does not deliver the notice”.)

2. What to do if you receive a form from the EU Business Register

   Delete the email with the form or mark the message as spam. Then, you have nothing to worry about. However, in the worst case, you will receive the email again.

   If you have returned the completed EU Business Register form to P.O.BOX 34, 3700 AA – Zeist, The Netherlands and paid, you will never see your money back.

3. What to do if you have submitted a completed EU Business Register

   Input for lawyers: The information below is not a how-to guide, but the experience of the person who submitted the completed EU Business Register form. Always consult your legal department for further advice.

   The directory operator does not verify the form has been submitted by a person authorised to act on behalf of the company. In theory, this could lead to a situation where one company fills in the form for another company in the context of competition. The aggrieved company is then repeatedly asked to pay the fee.

   This may be the case for a reader for whom someone submitted a completed form in mid-August 2021. We obtained access to all communications. As we have verified, the information in the form does not belong to any business entity. Furthermore, the telephone number length does not correspond to the format used in the Czech Republic.

   

4. Letter 1: Invoice for services (September 2021)

   The first response from the EU Business Register catalogue operator was an email in mid-September 2021. “Ms. Andreea, Account Manager” from andreea@accountingebr.eu sent a document marked as an invoice.

   The same document arrived a few days later by conventional mail. Both the email and the letter arrived after the so-called invoice due date.

   The invoice states in small print that “Neither EU Business Services Limited nor EU Business Register are in any way associated with organisations or institutions of the European Union or the European Commission”.

   

   The catalogue operator does not verify who filled in the form and whether it was a person authorised to act on behalf of the company. All indications are that the persons behind the EU Business Register do not even verify that it is a real company.

   Our reader replied at this stage that he was unaware of any form or order. Either it was a person without authority to act on behalf of the company or the form was sent in error.

5. Letter 2: Reminder and late payment penalty (October 2021)

   Arguments about sending the form by a stranger did not work. The catalogue operator continues to communicate with andreea@accountingebr.eu under the name Andreea and requests payment of the invoice. Otherwise, it will “involve the legal department” to resolve the situation.

   The IP address of the sender of the email indeed corresponds to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

   A second letter will arrive in mid-October 2021. The reminder threatens a fine of $106€99 for late payment and an administration fee of $37€35 if you do not pay within twenty-eight days of the date stated in the letter.

   Arguments about sending the form by a stranger did not work.

   

   The payment is to be made to “SEO DIGITAL MARKETING BV / EU Business Register” from Nieuwegein in the Netherlands. Furthermore, they will discuss this later. The account NL04ABNA0101884826 is with the Dutch bank ABN AMRO Bank N.V. However, catalogue operators can use more than one bank account.

   The mailing address of the sender is P.O. Box 2021, GA Utrecht, The Netherlands.

6. Letter 3: Second reminder and fine (November 2021)

   The argument that the form was completed and sent by an unknown person does not work. Ms. Andreea ends the email communication, stating that she will involve the legal department in the case and asking for our reader’s attorney’s contact information.

   The mention of involving the legal department is apparently to pressure the business involved to pay the invoice. This is even if it is not known whether the order was sent by a person authorised to act on behalf of the company.

   The reader soon received a second written reminder. SEO Digital Marketing BV demands payment of a one-year subscription fee of $1,061€995, a late payment fee of $106€99 and an administration fee of $37€35. Total $1,204€1129 excluding VAT, which is passed on to the entrepreneur.

   

   Payment is to be made within five days of the date on the reminder. The letter appeared in the mailbox twenty-one days after the date on the reminder.

   Email communication in November brings nothing new; it is spinning like the wind in a box. From andreea@accountingebr.eu, Andreea informs of the alleged late payment, the alleged debt, and the penalty for non-payment.

   She still needs to prove that the EU Business Register form was completed and sent by a person authorised to act on behalf of the company. However, developments will soon gather pace. They will initiate legal proceedings, a new character, debt collectors, will enter the communication, and the letters sent will have a new colour. Read on!

7. Description 5: Last call for payment (February 2022)

   In February 2022, another letter from the operator of the EU Business Register appeared in my mailbox. The last call for a payment of $1,204€1129 arrived fifteen days after the due date for payment. After the deadline, they will transfer the debt to a debt management and recovery company.

   

   Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd., whose only contact is the email address info@whgcollections.com. Along with this, the letter mentions an additional court fee of $320€300, which will increase to $533€500 after four weeks.

   The content of the letter more or less replicates the email communication. Interestingly, the “legal notices” for payment are sent by Dana from the email address credit@accountingebr.eu. No Waldberg & Hirsch electronically responded.

   It strikes me that the opposing party has resigned to playing the dual identity game at this stage.

8. Description 5: Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd. (February 2022)

   Email communications with Ms. Andrea continue to spin in a vicious circle until February 2022:

   • Andreea: Including penalties, you owe so and so much.
   • Our reader: The alleged order must have been sent by a person who was not authorised to act on behalf of the company.
   • Andreea: Our legal department will take legal action against you; please provide us with your attorney’s contact information.
   • Our reader: The form was sent without the knowledge and against the wishes of the company’s directors.
   • Andreea: Happy New Year! The current amount owed is $1,204€1129. If you do not pay it by such and such date, we will start debt collection.

   And then it came. A yellow letter on hard paper from Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd.

   

   The text on the densely described A4 page tried to give the impression that a debt collection agency sent it. The letterhead mentions that Waldberg & Hirsch is involved in debt recovery, fraud investigation (a hidden joke?), credit report analysis, and risk management.

   The footer of the letter lists the countries around the world where Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd provides its services. Botswana, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Syria. It tries to give the impression that this is a respected and successful company with a global presence.

   However, the list of countries includes Yugoslavia, which broke up in 2003. Russia is again listed right after the Russian Federation. These pieces of the puzzle give a clue to what Waldberg & Hirsch is all about.

   As you will learn by the end of the article, there is no Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd. The people who send out the EU Business Register letters send the yellow paper notices; this is a psychological pressure method, where the fear of litigation and other charges makes the recipient pay.

9. Description 6: Collection of an unpaid bill (March 2022)

   Nothing substantial happens in the email communication other than assurances that “the order was for three years and they will collect the full subscription”. The odd thing is that this message came from an email address from which, until now, only messages mirrored letters from Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd.

   Again, it seems as if the opposing party has failed to play both roles and admit that the operator of the EU Business Register and Waldberg & Hirsch are the same person.

   

   There is one more interesting thing about the yellow letter. The header mentions EU Business Services Ltd., which is supposed to be the creditor.

   However, there has been no contract or order. The explanation is simple. Operators of similar catalogues change their names once people catch on. Therefore, if the catalogue listing were fully legitimate, it would have been placed with an entity other than the one for which Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd is recovering the debt.

   This letter was also the last one our reader received. The counterparty also ceased email correspondence in March 2022, stating that further communication was unnecessary until September 2022.

10. What is Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd?

    There is no such company as Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd. I have all kinds of evidence for that.

    Phone Number

    The phone number listed, 0031 20 890 8145, is untraceable. It would be traceable to a trusted, reputable company. According to one reference, it belongs to a company that sends out information about bogus debts. We called the Dutch number repeatedly, and the call always went to voicemail.

    Waldberg & Hirsch Ltd website

    The WHGCollections.com website (we are deliberately not providing a link) was last updated in 2013 and does not give the impression that it belongs to a functioning, respected company. For example, no registration details, contact details, any people, or other information to verify the company’s credibility.

    Waldberg & Hirsch Ltd. is not on the commercial register

    The Dutch commercial register does not recognise Waldberg & Hirsch. Nor can it be found in other company databases – except EU Business Register.

    The company is in an apartment in Amsterdam

    The company’s website lists Herengracht 518, Amsterdam, as the contact address. The “worldwide debt collection company” is thus based in an apartment building in the wider city centre.

    Both versions of the letters come from the same post office

    Both the white letters from the EU Business Register operator and the yellow letters from debt collectors Waldberg & Hirsch Ltd are from the same post office. Furthermore, both envelopes have stamps to be returned to the same logistics centre near Vilnius, Lithuania in case of non-delivery.

    

    Are the catalogue operators from Lithuania? I do not think so. All emails were sent from Amsterdam and without using a VPN. I suspect that the Lithuanian post office is used by the robbers simply because it offers better postage rates than the Dutch post office. With large volumes of mail, this can be an interesting saving.

    In addition, Lietuvos paštas provides printing of letters and their insertion in a branded envelope. This brings additional savings in the financial and time costs of sending letters. The sender only needs to upload the recipients’ addresses, choose a letter template, and pay the postage.

11. The operator of the EU Business Register is SEO Digital Marketing B.V.

    The company SEO Digital Marketing B.V. from Nieuwegein, the Netherlands, repeatedly appears as the payee in the calls from the catalogue operator and Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd.

    All indications are that this is the actual operator of the EU Business Register. However, although they list EU Business Services as the operator on the catalogue website, it cannot be found in the Dutch Business Register, even among dissolved companies.

    SEO Digital Marketing B.V. appears in the commercial register. The company was only founded on 15 April 2021 with a share capital of $64€60. It has the identification numbers KvK-number 82538115, RSIN 862510296, and VAT number NL862510296B01. The company is in the city of Nieuwegein in a building with shared offices.

    The company’s sole owner is one Cornelis Boot, born on 6 March 1952, according to the extract from the commercial register dated 28 September 2022. However, it is possible that this is a white horse and someone else is actually behind the EU Business Register catalogue.

    The background of the catalogue before the establishment of SEO Digital Marketing B.V. also remains unclear.

12. Scam, spam, and catalogues are a long-term business

    The EU Business Register was formerly operated by a pseudo-company, EU Business Services Ltd, with a mailing address of P.O. Box 2021, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Sometime after 2010, the name and address changed to Amsterdam, and the directory operator neglected to update the information in the letter. As a result, EU Business Services Ltd. is untraceable in the Dutch commercial register, even among the dissolved companies.

    However, the trail leads elsewhere: Malaga, Spain. The company EU Business Services Ltd., which registered the domain name of Waldberg & Hirsch, is at C/Capulino Jauregui Nº2. Cees Boot is the contact person.

    Also, in some of the older letters, the creditor is the Spanish-registered company SEO MARKETING SL. The sole managing director of the company is again Cornelis Boot. The catalogue then operated under the name European Company Network.

    Sometime around 2020, another variation of the catalogue name began to appear: the World-Business-List operated at the domain WorldBusinessList.net. The form should be sent to World-Business-List, Postbox 34, 3700 AA Zeist, The Netherlands. The scenario seems to be the same; only the name and design of the catalogue has changed. In September 2022, it had at least 7,035 registered companies.

13. Your experience and current developments

    The EU Business Register catalogue has an estimated sub-tens of thousands of companies from all over Europe. In addition, it displays businesses that still need to pay their invoices. What is your experience with the catalogue operator? Has a debt recovery for a listing in the EU Business Register gone to litigation?

    If you have experience with the EU Business Register, please comment below the article or by email to novak@vpnwiki.com. The more up-to-date information we have, the better we can describe the practices of the catalogue operator to the public.

This article on EU Business Register was originally published in Czech by the same author. This post is a translation of it. The facts described in the article are based on the author’s experience with scams in the Czech Republic. In other countries, details or procedures may differ.

Google says otherwise: “A scam, a big scam, a hoax.” We ordered the Tesla Energy Saver and took it apart down to the last screw. The review of the device had a surprising twist.

The “Electricity Saver” Saves Up to 75% on Your Bill

You can purchase the Tesla Energy Saver through various websites. We ordered it through the Czech site SpecialniCeny.com, whose banner ads also appeared in Google’s ad network.

Because the site is rife with asterisks and generic phrases, we turned to the advertised phone number, 533 334 554, for help. (If you Google it, you will discover other notable products sold by the same company.)

We had to put on an uncomprehending tone, and the Slovak-speaking operator was forthcoming, even though he had not yet met Tesla Energy Saver in his experience: “The device stabilizes the voltage that fluctuates in the network, and as a result, appliances draw more electricity than they should. The Tesla Energy Saver thus works similarly to a faucet aerator, but with the difference that it runs on electricity.”

The request for a discount went unheeded, but we had the option to return the product within 44 days if we did not achieve the desired savings.

Usually, a separate Tesla Energy Saver is said to be for each electrical circuit in the home; we are ordering one for $42999 Kč plus $6.29149 Kč postage as a trial.

How Much Savings Will the Tesla Energy Saver Actually Deliver?

A courier from the company DPD delivered the Tesla Energy Saver about the fourth day after ordering. The paper box contained Czech instructions and a device labeled “Electricity saving box”, which supposedly only needed to plug into the mains.

Inside the device, broken plastic locks rattled. Apparently, it was a piece returned by a previous owner. Two green LEDs on the box lit up when plugged into a socket. As it turned out, that is all the Tesla Energy Saver for $481148 Kč can do.
With a digital multimeter, we first measured the mains voltage at 233.1 V; after plugging the Tesla Energy Saver into the same socket, the voltage rose to 233.3 V. Such a change is not only negligible but given the normal fluctuations in mains voltage, it cannot be attributed to the energy saver.

We then set the voltage to 210 V and the load to 400 W via the autotransformer. After connecting the Tesla Energy Saver, the voltage was increased by 0.4 V to 210.4 V. The device thus changes the mains voltage to an insignificant extent, but we cannot talk about savings in electricity costs. And this does not include the purchase costs.

The Tesla Energy Saver will, therefore, not bring any savings.

What is Inside the Tesla Energy Saver?

We unbolted the Tesla Energy Saver. There were not many components inside the big box: only a simple electrical circuit with a pair of green LEDs and a 5 μF capacitor.

The box, priced at $481148 Kč, only lights up two LEDs, balances the voltage in the mains quite negligibly, and consumes electricity itself.

You can estimate the production cost of the Tesla Energy Saver at a few dollars.

We are Returning the Tesla Energy Saver for a Refund

We decided to try the promised 44-day money-back guarantee and called the phone number listed again. Unfortunately, the same operator we had spoken to when placing our order told us that it was purely a sales line and dictated an email address to send our refund request.

Sadly, the email returned with a note saying the address did not exist. Resigned to the loss, we tried to replace the .cz domain with an international .com in our browser.

Bingo! A page of the same company with a contact email address is loaded, to which we again sent a refund request. The next day, we got an automated email with a link to a refund request form and a Slovenian address to send the Tesla Energy Saver to.

On Friday, we filled in our order and bank account numbers and asked for a refund. We sent the package by Czech Post at our own expense on Tuesday of the following week.
Wednesday morning brought a big surprise.

The bank account received credit for $481148 Kč, the amount corresponding to the price of the Tesla Energy Saver and the postage paid. Given the speed of international payments, they must have sent the money before we shipped the package.

Thus, the seller is betting on the reluctance of the customers to send the goods back to Slovenia and accepting the loss.

“Alpha Male” Guide, Chin Remover, and Other Dubious Products

The Tesla Energy Saver was sold to us by DO in d.o.o., whose registered office, according to the Slovenian Commercial Register, is at Dimičeva ulica 16, 1000 Ljubljana. During the course of writing this article, SpecialniCeny.com has changed hands. The new one is also a Slovenian company, Tel Media d.o.o. with a registered office at Parmova ulica 53, 1000 Ljubljana.

The operator changes are repeated and may serve as a cover-up. For example, the refund for Tesla Energy Saver came to us from the account of TV Prodaja d.o.o., which we traced to the former operator of Rabaho.com. The current operator is DO in d. o. o

Not only through Rabaho.com, DO in d. o. o. sells other products with easily questionable effects – Snore Terminator to relieve snoring for $461099 Kč, Neck Slim to remove chin for $34799 Kč, Diabetes NoMore for “reversing the progression of diabetes” for $461080 Kč, or the Alpha Male Secrets guide for $461099 Kč.

DO in d.o.o. operates and sells Tesla Energy Saver in several European countries. In Slovakia, the website is Specialna-Cena.net, in Poland via PrzystepneCeny.com, in Hungary via ElfogadHatoarak.com, and randomly in Romania via Super-Preturi.net.

It is worth noting the same photos (but different names) of degreed engineers who cannot get enough of the Tesla Energy Saver.

Have you ordered Tesla Energy Saver, dietary supplements, or other products from DO in d.o.o.? You can post your experiences in the comments below the article

The article about Tesla Energy Saver Eco was originally published in Czech by the same author. This post is a translation of it. Some details may vary in other countries.

You won’t make any money this time. It’s a scam. It works on a similar principle to the Airbnb rental scam or the Booking.com scam. Again, the Facebook Marketplace platform is just being exploited by scammers.

1. How to spot a scammer on Facebook Marketplace

   Short and clear: At some stage, you’ll be asked to pay a fee for, say, package insurance. If your first language is not English but one of the lesser-used languages, the text in the email will be poorly translated at first glance.

   You can spot a fraudulent advert or a fraudulent bidder for your product on Facebook Market by the following markers. They don’t all have to match, but the more there are, the more likely you are to have come across a scammer.

   1⃣ Payment via an unknown service

   The most common scenario is that a scammer responds to an advertisement that has been placed. The first two or three messages are inquiries as to whether the offer is still valid. The perpetrator usually uses prepared messages that he just copies into the chat. He does not read your answers because he is a foreigner and would have to translate them into your language.

   Soon, he or she shows interest in the product offered, saying that payment will be made through a non-standard service that may not even operate in your country. For example, the British “Royal Mail Express” does not have a branch in the Czech Republic. Yet he wants to use it.

   If you agree, he will ask you for your postal and e-mail address so that he can send a courier to you to collect the parcel. He escalates the psychological pressure by promising to pay the money in cash by courier the very next day.

   Subsequently, a message arrives in your inbox pretending to be from the courier company. It is again planted by a fraudster who uses, for example, the e-mail address serviceroyalmailexpress1@gmail.com. The account is created on a commonly available service (Gmail, Yahoo, Live.com, etc.) but pretends to be official.

   The companies mentioned have nothing to do with the scam, they are also victims. The perpetrators abuse their name because they are well-known and often trusted companies.

   The goal of the scammers is to get your money – often in the form of prepaid vouchers that are hard to trace. The demand is disguised in the email as, for example, “mandatory payment of the parcel insurance fee”.

   Used services:

   • Aramex
   • Royal Mail Express

   2⃣ User has a newly created Facebook profile

   Facebook blocks fraudsters’ profiles to the extent possible (sometimes), so they have to create new ones all the time.

   View a user’s profile to see when their profile and timeline photo, wall posts and comments were added. Scammers use local-sounding names, but often already make their profile look untrustworthy by adding “comments from friends” in a foreign language.

   The profile has no history and if there are any posts, they are usually related to current sales.

   3⃣ The interested party does not speak the local language

   This point is characteristic for smaller countries that have their own language, such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary or Poland. As an example, let’s take the Czech Republic, where the author of this article comes from and where he gained the experience to write this article.

   The perpetrators of Facebook Marketplace scams are always foreigners, very often from African countries. They use Czech-sounding names when communicating, but their native language is English or French. So they use a translator or speak English directly.

   To a native Czech, the Czech in the messages (and emails) will immediately seem strange – nonsense phrases are used, words are capitalized in the wrong place, or part of the text is in a foreign language – it is almost certainly a hoax.

   Of course, a foreigner living in the Czech Republic might be interested in the product on offer, but he or she will not use a Czech name. And why would someone abroad order a relatively cheap item?

   4⃣ Graphic design of emails and newsletters

   As a rule, all the emails, confirmations or screenshots you receive in connection with a sale are of very poor graphic design. The email plays with all the colours, the text is badly indented, different fonts are often combined.

   Compare them to newsletters from well-known companies or confirmations of purchases from online stores. Can you see the difference?

2. 

   Variance: payment via Royal Mail Express

   The person interested in the item (the scammer) will usually start the conversation by asking if the offer is still available. It may have a Czech name, but the text is obviously translated from another language and the profile was created very recently.

   Once a sale is agreed, the scammer will ask for payment via Royal Mail EXPRESS delivery in an envelope. “Royal Mail will send a courier to your postal address to collect the package, hand over the money and then send the goods to my delivery address”.

   The fraudster then pretends to order a courier. He asks for your email and postal address and a time when you will be available. A message from the supposed courier company Royal Mail Express arrives at the email address provided. The name and email matches the one sent on Facebook – because the email was sent by the same scammer.

   Its aim is to extort money from the victim “for parcel insurance” to be paid via Dundle prepaid cards. While the email uses the logos of Paypal, Visa or Mastercard, none of these companies have anything to do with the transaction. The logos are meant to serve the purpose of gaining the trust of the defrauded.

3. What should I do if I’ve been duped?

   Get the fraudulent profile blocked

   Report the fraudster’s Facebook profile as fake. This is despite the fact that Facebook’s approach to blocking these people “has some potential for improvement” (in my experience, they don’t block the fraudulent account and just send me a message saying that no violation of the rules was found).

   You can also report a Gmail account as fraudulent. Copy the email from the “courier company” into the report.

   Even if both accounts are blocked by the fraudsters, they will promptly set up new ones. At the very least, you’ll make his life more difficult and deprive him of a few deals.

   File a criminal complaint

   If you’ve fallen for it and sent the scammers money, I’m afraid you’ll never see it again. Scammers often get paid with gift cards and vouchers because they are harder to trace. Once they receive payment, they often collect the money immediately.

   You can file a criminal complaint against an unknown offender for fraud at any police station. The police will take a report with you and use conversations as evidence, among other things.

   The offender is very unlikely to be prosecuted. They are almost always foreigners, often from countries where international police cooperation is more difficult. For example, the fraudster who served as the trigger for this article is from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.

   (I loved CSI: Las Vegas in my youth, so I also discovered that he uses an Apple iPhone X with carrier Orange and writes via the Facebook Messenger Lite app. He translates messages into English from his native French.)

   Did you send your credit card number to the scammers?

   Call your bank and have your card blocked immediately.

   In some fraud scenarios, the perpetrators will ask for your credit card number, including the expiration date and CVC2 (the code on the back), so they can “send money” to your account. This is nonsense, the only goal is to siphon money from the card.

   Have you sent your documents to the fraudsters?

   It’s not that common with Facebook scams, but still: If you’ve sent scammers a scan of your ID, driver’s license or passport, report the document to the police as stolen.

   There is a risk that fraudsters will misuse your identity in future adverts.

   Write to me if you have experienced fraud

   If you have new information about scams on Facebook Marketplace or have encountered a scenario other than the above, please email me at petr@vpnwiki.com. I will add to the article if necessary so that fewer people are scammed.

   You can also add your experience as a comment to this article.

4. A few tricks for life

   How to verify a photo isn’t stolen

   Some scammers use photos they steal from other users’ public profiles. Fortunately, it’s very easy to verify that a picture hasn’t been downloaded from another site, just upload it to Google, Tineye and Yandex.

   These search engines will compare the image against their database and if they find a match, they will show it to you. Each of these services has its own database, so it’s a good idea to use all three at the same time.

   If you can’t find the image on any of the sites, it still doesn’t mean that the photo actually belongs to the other party. The image could have been obtained from a private conversation in another scam or through a photo-generating service.

   Set up an email for public sharing

   Don’t use your personal email address in advertisements or when signing up for services you don’t plan to use regularly.

   Set up a new mailbox that you can list everywhere without getting annoying spam. You don’t have to invent anything complicated, just have john.doe2@example.com next to john.doe@example.com.

   Second phone number for classifieds

   If you’re buying or selling more than a set of old garden furniture, it’s worth getting a second phone number. This is what you’ll include in all adverts – it filters out all communication and means you won’t be traced back through the phone number in the future.

   In some countries, you can get a free prepaid SIM card from operators as an advertising offer. In addition, most phones now allow the use of two numbers.

   One-time virtual payment card

   Great protection against credit card theft is offered by Revolut and many other banks. The Virtual Disposable Card is a classic credit card, except that once you enter its number somewhere and a transaction takes place, it stops working. However, a new card number will be generated.

   With a disposable virtual payment card, you can be sure that no more than one transaction will take place with it.

   You can increase the level of security even further by setting a spending limit of, for example, $1 on your card. A simple trick can be used to verify the authenticity of the Internet payment gateway – if the transaction still goes through, it is fake and the card number has been copied.

This article about scams on Facebook Marketplace originally appeared in Czech, this is a translation. Some of the information mentioned in the article is based on the author’s experience with scams in the Czech Republic. They may differ in your country.