----- Original Message ----- From: "Cheryl Rothwell" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 4:45 PM Subject: [IL-CENTRAL] Genealogy Scam > 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.RootsForum.com. > > - Were You Victimized by This Genealogy Scam Artist? > > I have written a number of times about GenSeekers. This site is owned and > operated by Mr. Elias Abodeely of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mr. Abodeely is a > 21-year-old who has operated a number of Web sites, using various business > names, including genealogydevelopments.com, familydiscovery.com, > genealogyfinders.net, genlocator.com, genseeker.com, genseekers.com, > genealogy-express.com, and probably many others. Most of these are Web sites > that remain online for a few weeks while the owner collects money from > would-be customers. The sites then get shut down as the complaints mount, > but new ones appear with similar wording. > > Elias Abodeely has advertised his Web sites with thousands of spam e-mails. > These messages claim to offer access to millions of online genealogy records > for about $60.00 a year. (The price varies a bit from one ad to another.) > Once signed up for this "service," the hapless victim is given access to a > few pages of menus that point to other Web sites, all of which are free of > charge for everyone. The links on Abodeely's sites point to > FamilySearch.org, RootsWeb, and lots of other sites that you can access > right now at no charge. > > Your sixty dollars buys access to a list of links, nothing else. And those > links are not nearly as complete as those on Cyndi's List, a free site. > > Elias Abodeely has accepted credit cards and checks by various means. For a > while, he used a PayPal account. However, clicking on the link in an old > spam mail from GenSeekers now displays a PayPal page that says, "This > recipient is currently unable to receive money." PayPal apparently shut down > that account. > > In the spam mail ads, GenSeekers and the other names being used all offer a > five-day, money-back guarantee. GenSeekers' online check acceptance form at > https://fs6.formsite.com/genseekers/form093061282/secure_index.html says, > "The 5 Day Trial is 100 % Free for the First 5 Days Cancel Before End of > Trial and Nothing will ever be billed." (That is an exact quote with the > original grammar errors left intact.) A customer service e-mail address to > be used for cancellations is supplied when you subscribe. However, e-mails > sent to that address bounce back as "addressee unknown" Or "mailbox full." > Once charged, there is no method for the victim to cancel or obtain a > refund. > > To read my past articles about this scam, look at: > http://www.rootsforum.com/archives/news0310.htm, > http://www.rootsforum.com/archives/news0320.htm, > http://www.rootsforum.com/archives/news0237.htm and at > http://www.rootsforum.com/archives/news0129.htm. > > The Better Business Bureau's report is particularly strong. The BBB is > usually rather conservative in its reports, but this time says, "It has come > to the bureau's attention that consumers are unable to unsubscribe through > web site and email correspondences are not returned by company. Credit card > users who have been unable to obtain a refund from the company may wish to > contact their credit card company." > > You can find many more references on Google. You can also find quite a few > messages about this on the Discussion Board for this newsletter. > > When I started writing this article, the Web page at > http://www.GenSeekers.com was in operation. However, before I finished the > article a few days later, that Web page seemed to have disappeared. An > attempt to go to that page now generates the common error message, "The page > you are looking for is currently unavailable." In the meantime, you can see > Google's cached copy. Copies of other now-defunct Web sites operated by > Elias Abodeely are also available at: http://www.archive.org. > > Some months ago, the spam mail messages listed a telephone number, but later > e-mail ads do not. That number was disconnected and later re-assigned to > someone else (who reportedly is really angry at all the phone calls they > have received from unhappy people looking for GenSeekers.com!). > > When looking at the domain registrations for Abodeely's Web sites, I found > several addresses and telephone numbers used. The registration for > FamilyDiscovery.com lists a Technical Contact of Elias Abodeely at 9843 > Cambridge Drive, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404 and a different telephone number. I > called the number but was connected to an answering machine that gave no > clue as to the current owner's name. > > I searched several online telephone directories for a current address and > telephone number. Most of the searches came up empty, except for AnyWho at > http://www.anywho.com. That online service does show a listing for a Mr. > Elias A Abodeely at still a different address in Cedar Rapids and with a > different phone number. There is no way to tell if this is the same person > or not. A search on USSearch.com turned up references to two men of the same > name in Cedar Rapids. One is listed as being 92 years old, obviously not the > same person. > > By the way, you can see a five-year-old partially obscured picture of then > 16-year-old Elias Abodeely. Look at the Cedar Rapids GazetteOnline at: > http://www.gazetteonline.com/special/neighbor/mmhp/mmhpp003.htm. > > Have you been a victim of one of these scams? You may be able to get your > money back. Even better, you may be able to help stop this operation now > before others become victims. > > If you have been victimized by GenSeekers or any of the other names being > used in this operation, please do several things: > > If you paid by credit card, contact your credit card company now! Your > credit card is insured against online fraud. The phone number to call > probably is on the back of the credit card. Ask for a refund. Credit card > companies are very experienced at these scams and are quick to refund a > victim's money if they receive such a request promptly. The credit card > companies then go after the business owners for reimbursement. (Sadly, many > people paid by checks, at the suggestion of Mr. Abodeely's various spam > mails. Personal checks should never be used for online purchases as they do > not have fraud protection. Credit cards are fully insured against online > fraud, but personal checks carry no protection at all. If you paid by credit > card, you can get your money back! If you paid by check or money order, you > probably are out of luck.) > > File a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the > National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). You can easily do this at > http://www1.ifccfbi.gov. > > File a consumer complaint form with the Federal Trade Commission. Selling on > the Internet constitutes interstate commerce, so the FTC has jurisdiction. > You can do this easily at > https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_SUBMIT_FLAG=Y. > > Download and fill out an Iowa Attorney General Consumer Complaint Form. You > can obtain this form at http://www.state.ia.us/government/ag/forminfo.htm. > You can also send e-mail complaints to [email protected] However, I > suspect that a written complaint form sent via regular mail will be more > effective. > > Contact the Cedar Rapids Police Department. The department's Web page at > http://www.cedar-rapids.org/police/ and the department's Financial Crimes > division page at http://www.cedar-rapids.org/police/financial_crimes.asp > lists Lieutenant Ken Washburn as the contact person for any financial > crimes. You can reach him at (319) 286-5413 or at > [email protected] > > The time to act is now. If victims do not take speedy action to shut down > this operation, how many more people will be victimized? >