> Here is additional information from Dick Eastman's Online Newsletter. Yopu > are free to forward these articles on non-commercial lists, but please > include the following disclaimer: > The following article is from Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter and is > copyright 2003 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the > permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at > http://www.eogn.com. > > I highly recommend subscribing to this newsletter. > > -Isaiah > Isaiah Harrison > National Coordinator > The USGenWeb Project > An Unincorporated Non-Profit Association > > > - Genealogy Scam Operator Arrested! > Life just got more interesting for genealogy scam operator Elias Abodeely. > Four weeks ago I wrote a lengthy article about the scam best known as > GenSeekers.com and identified the owner as Elias Abodeely of Cedar Rapids, > Iowa. You can read that article at > http://www.eogn.com/archives/news0327.htm. This week the Cedar Rapids > police department arrested Abodeely and charged him with a variety of > crimes, including three felonies. If convicted, Elias Abodeely could serve > up to 47 years in prison for bilking genealogists. > Using the name GenSeekers.com as well as number of other Web site names, > Abodeely would send out thousands of "spam mail" messages claiming to have > access to millions of genealogy records. The hapless victim would pay about > $60 for this "service" and then be given access to a password-protected Web > site that simply listed links pointing to free genealogy Web sites. > GenSeekers.com and its other Web sites had no records of their own. Even > more upsetting, subscribers who tried to cancel and receive a refund found > that their e-mails bounced back as undeliverable. > According to police reports, Elias Abodeely II, age 22, of 340 Owen St. NW, > Cedar Rapids, was arrested on August 1 on suspicion of identity theft and > three felonies: first-degree theft, money laundering, and ongoing criminal > conduct. Police investigators claim Abodeely masterminded a 3-year > genealogy scam that netted at least $14,000 and between 220 and 260 victims > -- a handful of them from overseas. The total could be higher, but > investigators haven't added up everything yet, according to Cedar Rapids > Police Investigator Greg Koenighain. Abodeely was booked and released from > the Linn County Jail. > Abodeely's operation originally collected money via a PayPal account, but > PayPal soon shut him out after they received complaints. Abodeely then used > a variety of other methods of collecting payments by credit cards. When the > credit card companies shut him down, Abodeely switched to payment by > electronic checks. That worked well for the young swindler, as checks do > not enjoy the same protection as credit cards. Victims who paid by credit > card could obtain refunds from the credit card companies, if they asked. > However, those who paid by check had no recourse. > Abodeely and associates then reportedly conducted other crimes. The same > electronic checks were cashed time and again, with each new occurrence > using a new check number. The identity theft charge stems from an > accusation that Abodeely stole four women's Social Security numbers and > then used the numbers to establish new merchant accounts to process credit > card payments. > Elias Abodeely has been involved in other online scams, not involving > genealogy. He has promoted "get rich quick" business opportunities > promoting porno sites. Click here to see examples. > At least one of Abodeely's Web sites -- Genseekers.com -- is still > operating as these words are written, but officials expect to shut it down > soon. > In addition, the investigation is not yet complete. This week's arrest and > arraignment was by the local police department. The federal government also > has an interest in this case for possible income tax evasion, violation of > interstate commerce laws and more. Mr. Abodeely's legal problems are only > beginning. In addition, two of his accomplices are also facing possible > arrest, according to Investigator Koenighain. > You can read a bit more about this story at KWWL Television's news site at > http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?S=1386145 as well as at the Des Moines > Register's news site at: > http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4788998/21905604.html. The Cedar > Rapids Gazette has a longer story written by Public Safety Reporter > Christoph Trappe. However, you have to purchase a subscription before you > can read that article at: http://www.gazetteonline.com > What Do You Think? Comments and discussion are available on this > newsletter's Discussion Boards. > > - Comment about Genealogy Scams > For reasons that are not clear to me, genealogy seems to attract more than > its fair share of fast buck artists. The article about GenSeekers is > probably the most flagrant example I have heard of, complete with identity > theft and money laundering. However, we all have seen plenty of other > charlatans who peddle goods and services of questionable value. The late > and unlamented Halberts of Bath, Ohio, quickly pops to mind. They folded up > a few years ago, hounded by court actions and competition from the > Internet. However, Halberts' imitators are still in business in Colorado, > Ontario, and elsewhere. In many shopping malls you can also find pushcart > "businesses" claiming to sell "authentic" family coats of arms and other > such schlock on paper, t-shirts, coffee cups and key chains. Most of their > materials are bogus, not worth the paper (or key chain) that they are > printed on. > Then there is the Internet. Did you ever stop to think that there are > similarities between the World Wide Web and the Wild, Wild West? Not only > do the two phrases sound a lot alike, but they both are also full of fake > medicine men, snake oil salesmen, and other fast-buck characters of > disrepute. Simply look at the spam mail that you receive, claiming to sell > "medical cures and solutions" to make various parts of your body bigger or > smaller or to make you wealthy by using your computer to make money while > you sleep. Their ads seem to have been written by ex-carnival barkers. I > have a mental image of these people selling their products from the back > end of a horse-drawn wagon. > How do you protect yourself from these scam artists? The best advice hasn't > changed in centuries: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Be > suspicious. > Luckily, today's World Wide Web gives you more power than you ever had > before. If a company's claims are questionable, do a search on the Web to > see what the company's customers have said about it. If it is a > genealogy-related product or service, go to this newsletter's Web site at > http://www.eogn.com and search past newsletters. You can quickly find any > articles I have ever written about the company. Next, post a message on the > newsletter's Discussion Board at the same Web site and ask about the > company there. Chances are that someone knows about the company and will > respond to your query. > Finally, pay only by credit card. Never purchase by check, money order, or > cash. Credit cards are fully insured against fraud by the credit card > companies themselves. If you are scammed, the credit card companies will > issue a refund to you; then they will pursue the offending company for > reimbursement. Sadly, payments by check, money order, or cash have no > guarantees at all, as those who paid money to GenSeekers.com found out. > Last year at this time, I wrote similar words about a genealogy conference > in Dearborn, Michigan, that folded and disappeared just a few weeks before > the scheduled start of the conference. The organizers simply took the money > and closed their offices. Here again, those who had used credit cards to > pre-register quickly received 100% refunds from VISA, MasterCard, and > American Express. Those who paid by check, money order, or cash still have > not received a dime. > In short, verify the company's products or services before you spend money. > When you do decide to purchase, make sure that you use a payment method > that has fraud guarantees: use a credit card – not a check, money order, or > cash. This is a rule of thumb to follow in genealogy and everywhere else > that I can think of. > What Do You Think? Comments and discussion are available on this > newsletter's Discussion Boards. > > >