There has been a rash of Internet frauds perpetrated by offshore Porno websites in Great Britain. Marks are selected from ‘casual encounter’ ads appearing on Craig’s List and a few other sites. This fraud is presented here in detail.

Here’s How These Scammers work:

The fraud begins with a response to an ad on Craig’s List and, at least initially, appears to be a legitimate response from an interested party. The first response looks like this:

** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY — AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY

** Avoid:  wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home

** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping

** More Info:  http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

Hey!  Just checking if the ad is real. I was very interested. Please get back to me as soon as possible.

——————————————————————

This message was re-mailed to you via: pers-5gywq-1438659929@craigslist.org

——————————————————————

If you respond to this ad (NOT RECOMMENDED) Here’s what comes next:

Hi  (your name), glad to hear you’re real! I’m interested in hearing more about you and possibly us, hehe. How does that sound? (your name), it’s Tuesday and I need to find someone quick. I hope you are the one.  I have one concern though. Before we go any further I’d like to make sure you’re at least eighteen. I am a little uneasy about

meeting up  with  someone who I haven’t check’d out. My friends use a

service that verifies that men are ok to meet and are of age.

So (your name), I’m at the site now and they generated a link for me to send to you:

http://www.vernow.com/?=1068

You will be able to see my pic on there too. I have more pics for

you, but only after  you verify your age. Btw, older guys is a

turn-on. As soon as you  do  it,  will  e-mail  u  my  phone  number and we’ll make plans. I

promise… thky  for  understanding.  I hope to be talking on the phone with you soon! Later.  (Some grammar corrected for easier readability).

Now, if you click on the blue link she supplies, you will be taken to a website called:

Vernow.com

Someone you met online has sent you here to verify your age. Vernow.com is a service that helps you verify the age of anyone you come in contact with online, FOR FREE.

Step One – Please Verify Your Information

Please wait while we verify your information.

Click the Submit Button below when you are finished!

Your friend, Jennifer Bensen is online and waiting to receive the confirmation email that we will send once you finish this last step!

Sender’s Details

Note from Sender: Hey, thank you for verifying your age for me. My friend uses this site all the time and says it helps her feel safer. I’ll feel more comfortable talking dirty and sending you my *other* pics once I receive confirmation that you are at least 18. You never know who you’re chatting with online! I’m glad you understand my prediciment and I hope to talk to you soon. I’ll email you once this site sends me the confirmation email that you’ve verified. xoxoxo – Jennifer

Name: Jennifer Bensen Gender: Female Age: 20 – 30 City: N/A State: N/A Zip: N/A Area Code: 562 Request Sent: Wed, Oct 28, 2009

Testimonials (show)

“Vernow.com was so easy to use and kept me safe when chatting with men online. I am confident that I am speaking with an adult every time I use Vernow.com”

Mary G. Saratoga Springs, NY

“These days you can never be too safe. Vernow.com is extremely easy to use. All I have to do is send a link to a guy I’ve met online and Vernow.com takes care of the rest. After he verifies his age, Vernow.com alerts me via email. My potential date and I can be adults and not worry about what we talk about. Thank you Vernow.com!”

Jessica F. Boise, ID

“When I posted a personals ad to Craigslist for the first time I was bombarded with responses. Even guys who sent pictures and claimed to be 18+ didn’t convince me. I use Vernow.com every time!”

Jim M. Cincinnati, OH

“You never know who you’re chatting with online. Age is a huge concern for me that’s why I use Vernow.com.”

George L. Fresco, CA

“The internet is filled minors. You would be stupid not to protect yourself with Vernow.com. It only takes a few minutes of your time and might even save your ass one day!”

Kelly J. Tallahassee, FL

© Vernow.com 2009 | All Rights Reserved

Filling in this simple form and pressing NEXT brings you to a page that

Asks you again to submit your credit/debit card info for age verification purposes only. (DON’T EVEN CONSIDER IT UNLESS YOU WANT TO THROW AWAY SOME HARD EARNED MONEY!!)

Once you do submit that info, you will receive a confirmation telling you that your info has been accepted. It looks like this:

(YourName),

Member ID:      34134089

Cost:           $0.00 (NOTE THIS)

Your membership has been activated.

Site name:      Amateur Site HD

Members URL:    http://www.maingateway.com/lockdown/159/

Username:       gg9pbke7u

Password:       hx3mneg3q

Any charges appearing on your credit card statement will be discretely billed as: WEB-FEECHECK.COM

—————————————————

Have questions? Need help? We are here to help 24/7.

Web Site: http://www.web-feecheck.com

E-mail: help@web-feecheck.com

Toll Free: 888-811-2544

Should you click on the www.maingateway.com link above, you will immediately be taken to a porno website that you probably didn’t expect on their sign-in page. The pictures of videos offered are NOT reproduced here. However, at the very bottom of that page, there is the name and address of the owner in the U.K.:

Perkindale LTD
15 RoseberryTerrace
DH85RT Consett
United Kingdom

By now, the realization that you’ve been had hasn’t settled in quite yet. You may even write to Jennifer again and ask, “what’s up with the porno stuff?” Don’t be shocked. You’ll never hear from her again!! In about an hour, you will discover that your bank account or PayPal account has been charged for $37 +. This lovely-looking lady that was falling all over her e-mail to get with you is nothing but bait—a “shill” for the U.K. folks in Consett. Your only hope now is if you saved copies of all this documentation and file a fraud claim with PayPal. But it will take time.

The moral here is: If something seems too good to be true on the Internet, it undoubtedly is. Your money is now in their pockets and you can’t do anything much about it!

NOTE: These scams abound on the web. They will play on your lust, naivety or anything else they can think of to get you to fill-in that form. DON’T!!

AGE VERIFICATION THAT REQUIRES YOUR FINANCIAL INFO IS ALMOST ALWAYS AN OUT-AND-OUT SCAM!