Neverpayitback.com: test your scambusting skills!

[latenight]

Hello there people who enjoy researching scams,

I'm fairly new to this forum but I think I've come across an up-and-coming scam that people should be warned about and also a challenge for those of you who like to spend your time researching these things.
Word is that neverpayitback.com has been buying advertising spots on radio in the Portland, Ore., area and possibly in some other cities.
The basic pitch of neverpayitback.com appears to be a fairly old one: "FREE money available to you" out the "MILLION of dollars" that the federal government and private foundations are giving away in grants...
The main page of neverpayitback.com includes no price disclosure (only the mention of FREE money) and a short form to fill in a first name and email address.
So I filled out the form and hit the submit button and found myself dropped onto a new page, this time with warnings of the limited time available to apply for a free trial. And a new form asking for my household income, employment status and a few other pieces of person information. So I filled it out (without my real info of course), and clicked on the button. And was dropped on a new page with a new form...
Ultimately, following the path on neverpayitback.com to its end, I went through four different forms. Had I filled them out honestly, neverpayitback.com would have had my name, household income and employment status, my home address and in the end my credit card number.
The page with the credit card number stated in large type that that cc number was needed for a $2.29 shipping and handling charge for a "free" CD with information about grant programs.
But in smaller type, under the credit card form, neverpayitback.com discloses monthly fees totaling $57.85 if you fail to cancel their service after a seven-day free trial.

This probably isn't new to those of you who are regulars on this forum, but I should say for the benefit of anyone who finds their way here trying to research neverpayitback.com: You should never pay for information about government grant programs.
The Federal Trade Commission put out a statement three years ago that essentially called such offers scams. Information about all of the government grant programs is available for free at grants.gov, is what the FTC said.
Now to be fair, neverpayitback.com also claimed to have information about private foundation grants. I suppose it's possible there's some value there. But I don't care to pay them $60 a month to find out.
Grants don't appear to be much of a source for quick money anyway. The ones on the government's site seem mainly to be for students, researchers, and non-profits to fund government programs. And they all involve a competitive application process.

So.... for the scam hobbyists all of this probably seems pretty old. But there's one detail about neverpayitback.com that I hope you'll find intriguing.
The main page of neverpayitback.com features a picture of a smiling, middle-aged man in a business suit. Under the picture, is the cursive signature of "Alan Freidman" and the title "Co-Chairman." Apparently the guy in charge of neverpayitback.com.
Out of curiosity, I googled Alan Freidman (with the unusual "e" before "i" spelling, even).
The first result? A page of the U.S. Justice Department's web site!

United States v. Alan Freidman

On July 9, 2007, Alan Freidman was charged by federal criminal information with 1 count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The charges alleged that Alan Freidman participated in business opportunity fraud through telemarketing. The charges were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and involved Alan Freidman's conduct at a fraudulent business opportunity firm called Tel-2-Net Corp.

On July 30, 2007, Alan Freidman pled guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. In doing so, Alan Freidman admitted he had engaged in business opportunity fraud through telemarketing.

On January 3, 2008, Alan Freidman was sentenced to 2 months' probation and 600 hours of community service. During his term of probation, Alan Freidman is not permitted to sell business opportunities or engage in telemarketing without approval of the probation office and the Court.

Now, it's of course possible that Neverpayitback.com'a Alan Freidman and the Tel-2-Net scam Alan Freidman are two different people: After all, IT WOULD TAKE BALLS for a convicted criminal to put his name and face on the main page of the web site of his next business venture.... especially for a venture as sketchy as neverpayitback.com
So earlier this week, I dropped Neverpayitback.com an email. The exchange went like this:

Me:

Hello,

My name is XXXXXXXXX and I write a blog called XXXXXXXXX I was
wondering if Alan Freidman, the man you identify on your web site as your
co-chairman, is the same Alan Freidman who was convicted of mail fraud
two years ago in situation involving a company called Tel-2-Net.

If not, can you please provide me with some information to help verify
this? His age, the city he lived in in 2007 and some of his employment
history in the years before 2007 would do.

Thank you,

--
XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXX.com

And Neverpayitback responded:

Hi XXXX,

Thank you for your email.

Our Alan Freidman is not the same Alan as you are referring to.

But did Google and see what you mention... have no idea who Tel2Net is.

Am not able to give out personal information on individuals at NPB but
will pass this on to upper management so they can learn more about your Alan.

Thank you again for you inquiry.

Cheryl
NPB Support Manager

So.... Neverpayitback.com says that their Alan Freidman IS NOT the Tel-2-Net criminal Alan Freidman.
But they provide us with no information to confirm this on our own.
So at this point I'm stuck. Is there some way of determining whether the two Freidmans are the same or different? And is neverpayitback's Freidman even real? He might be just a generic name and picture of a business man to give a web site credibility.
I know that some of the regulars on this forum like looking into situations like this. How to investigate this...

[nomaxim]

Welcome to Scam.com.

Originally Posted by latenight

So.... Neverpayitback.com says that their Alan Freidman IS NOT the Tel-2-Net criminal Alan Freidman.
But they provide us with no information to confirm this on our own.
So at this point I'm stuck. Is there some way of determining whether the two Freidmans are the same or different? And is neverpayitback's Freidman even real? He might be just a generic name and picture of a business man to give a web site credibility.
I know that some of the regulars on this forum like looking into situations like this. How to investigate this...

For starters more information would help. For example, just a quick search of public records using intelius.com for the name 'Alan Freidman' in all States gives 35 hits. Some of those may be double hits but it appears that there are at least 35 individuals, from Fresno, CA to Boston, MA. ages 37-93, with that name. There could also be others with that name in Canada or other countries.

Your going to need much more information to search for a individual. Middle name, age, DOB would be best. Even then there are errors in the some of the available records. For example zabasearch.com has the middle names, ages, and some previous cities of residence for me and my father all mixed up.

Look forward to a lot of searching and cross-referencing of data bases. Some of the searches like intelius above have paid services. Some are of more help then others. Some will provide nothing but outdated info.

[latenight]

Thanks Nomaxim,

Well, for what it's worth, Tel2Net was based in Miami and its Alan Freidman was prosecuted there.
If anybody coming across this has had more direct dealings with Tel2Net or neverpayitback.com and can add insight, perhaps they'll post it here...

[hunteroscams]

I reached this page while researching that site. A journalist alerted me about it. I run a blog and the never pay it back site is a plain and simple e-mail harvesting + negative option grant scam affiliate site.

The front page where you enter your email is the harvesting part. You'll notice how the process simply runs through an aweber.com link - so now they have harvested your email address.

Next, it forwards to a known Grant Scam site run by JRS Media Solutions in the Philippines.

Oh, and my guess is the name is just random. Or maybe not so random, maybe the guy who set up the site likes to identify himself with a convicted criminal because it makes him feel thuggish. Loser.

In any case, the pic is a stock image. Here is the original (linked from iStockPhoto):



... and here is the one from the front page of never pay it back:



To see full details on the original image, go here:

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-pho...an-smiling.php

As you may know the FTC is cracking down and announced 'Operation ShortChange' on July first, and the operation includes actions against two Grant Scampanies.

[freddyrated]

It is definitely a scam. I entered the first name "Chuck", and the email address..... charlesmanson@folsomprison.gov (Not where he's really located, but what the heck.....) and guess what???? I QUALIFIED!!!! I did read the terms and conditions, and not only is there the talk of the recurring fee, but check this out......

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Philippines , without regard to its conflict of laws rules. Any legal action arising out of this Agreement shall be litigated and enforced under the laws of the Philippines.

In addition, you agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of the Philippines, and that any legal action pursued by you shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Philippines in Pasig City, Philippines.


The terms constituting this offering are set forth in writing on this Web site. You hereby agree to submit to the jurisdiction located in Pasig City, Philippines to resolve any disputes or litigation hereunder. Whether or not you choose to print this offering, containing the terms and conditions as described herein, you agree that this contract constitutes a writing.


Boy, my "smell o'meter" is going off the chart!!!!!

[latenight]

It appears that the same people have the domain nevergiveitback.com.
And along with the radio ads, it appears that neverpayitback/nevergiveitback has been telemarketing. I found this on another forum:

[Scam] Federal Funds Administration

Received a call a few minutes ago from 202-280-2428. I didn't recognise the number and it isn't our area code but I figured maybe it was important. The caller ID information said "out of area".

It was a recorded message saying that a local federal government office had received stimulus funds and basically anyone could go down there and claim $2,500 for free. They mentioned that these funds were provided by the "Federal Funds Administration" and we could get further information from www.nevergiveitback.com (because government sites use .com addresses, right?)

I'm not sure what the scam is but I'm not going to call and find out. The "Federal Funds Administration" doesn't seem to exist either.
--
My PC Gaming Blog
»thegaffadin.blogspot.com

And on another forum, there's discussion of a similar robocall, where the recorded caller identifies himself as "Alan Freidman."
In that one, he apparently identified himself with a website called mygrantfunds.com. That domain now appears to be unregistered.

[KatNBob]

I hate to admit it, but I'm one of the idiots that fell for that scam. I heard an ad on the radio about how to get free gov't grant money, (couldn't figure how I was eligible for grant money, but $'s tight and I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.) I went on line and started to fill out the request, but when they asked for CC info, I exited the program without submitting. I rec'd a call a couple days later. They told me that they could send me info for $1.98 S&H and would give me a free trial for their web site that would cost almost $70/month after the trial period. I told them I was not interested in the web site, but was willing to pay for the info packet, which turned out to be a CD. When I hadn't rec'd anything in 4 days, I called and, using their reference #, cancelled everything and asked them to remove me from any further dealings. When I checked my next bank statement, I found a charge (<$4) from debttowealth.com in addition to the $1.98 I had agreed to pay. Called the bank and found it was from the same company. Called the # on my bank statement and was told it was for an e-book on real estate trading that I had ordered when I first contacted them on line. (Remember, I never submitted the form and did NOT order anything, much less a book on real estate flipping!) Initially, the foreign sounding person told me that this was a nonrefundable charge, but when I got angry and asked to talk to a supervisor, they agreed to refund the $ to my bank acc't. (They did.) Today, (Sunday), I looked at my statement and found another $30 charge from debttowealth.com. Couldn't get them on the phone, ("regular business hours" don't include Sunday), and the web site is "disabled". I have already submitted a complaint to the FTC and Florida Attorney General's office. Tomorrow I need to contact the bank and see if there is any way to block any further charges from this company. I may have to change my acc't, but a small price to pay. I'm usually not one to even pay a bill over the phone, so I'm really disgusted at myself for fallling for this. I also read on some other sites that this company has been advertising on radio stations from Portland, OR to Florida, (where I am).

[mumbles]

thanx for your report. perhaps now more people wil realize that
nobody is selling anything for $1.98.

it is always a trick to get your credit card number and put lots more charges on it.

[justtoomuchtime]

The BBB posted about NeverPayItPack in their weekly tips recently:

"BEST “CAN’T FOOL ME” CALL SCENARIO
from Federal Funds Administration aka NeverGiveItBack.com
Received a call from the # 202-280-2428. Caller ID reflected "out of area". This group stated that there is free money available to me. It quickly stated that money is being distributed to your area and anyone is entitled to receive $2,500 but it is on a first-come, first-served basis.
When BBB attempted to contact this number, it is a recorded message stating that this account is not accessible, and if you have an account, login to get further info. It does not state who you are calling, and ends the message by disconnecting.
BBB ADVICE ON “Free Cash” Pitches
You've probably seen the ads: "Free Money! Never Repay Cash Grants for Personal Needs, Medical Bills, Education, Business, Debt Consolidation..."
Ads like this claim that "foundations can be a better source for finance than banks" and "anyone can get an interest free cash grant." They encourage consumers to send a fee, with the promise that their financial needs and requirements will be matched with the most suitable private foundations. Or, they may promise to provide a list of available grants.

Obtaining a grant is a complicated process, requiring documentation and research. Although there may exist private foundations whose requirements are based on an individual's personal preference, the vast majority of grant-making foundations require that applicants for funds meet very specific guidelines that the foundation has established, and that the funds be used for specific projects that the foundation wishes to support.

The Better Business Bureau offers the following advice:

• Watch out for phrases like "free grant money." Grants do not have to be repaid; thus there is no need to use the word "free."
• Organizations do not usually give out grants for personal debt consolidation, or to pay for other personal needs. Grants are usually given only to serve a social good, such as bringing jobs to an area, training under-employed youth, preserving a bit of history, etc.
• Always remember to check out any company you plan to do business with by contacting the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Also check with a regional or state economic development office to see if they know of grant programs for which you might qualify.
• Visit your public library. Ask a librarian to help you find reference books describing foundations and the criteria they use in awarding grants.
• Be wary if you are asked to provide money up-front to an unknown company before the company will provide the services promised.
• If you are having financial problems, there are local non-profit credit counseling services who may be able to assist you with your problem at no charge. "

[legitebiz]

The $2 or so charge for shipping and handling of a "Free" CD has become a standard way of ripping more money off your credit card.

People order their CD without reading the terms and conditions, and then they find themselves with several unexpected charges in their credit card statements.

Any business that engages in such practice is a scam, as they are knowingly using the "Free"CD as bait to later kill you with unwanted credit card charges.

I think no further research is needed to reach this conclusion. They are a scam.