I bit on this offer, and after logging on to the website, I found there was nothing of any benefit to me in my research. I notified my ISP, asking if they had any reports on this site. He chased down the name, address, and phone numbers, including his ISP. I sent him an e-mail to his regular e-mail AD, requesting my refund "not later than 3 days from today", otherwise I was going to the FTC, the FBI, and the Iowa State Attorney General. My refund was entered on my credit card on the 3rd day. I felt very fortunate to come out with my hide intact. He should have learned a lesson....I wonder if he did. Bob in NM At 05:45 PM 7/8/2003 -0400, you wrote: >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 consumer@ag.state.ia.us. 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 >k.washburn@cedar-rapids.org. > >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? > > > > >==== ILMARION Mailing List ==== >To unsubscribe from the ILMARION List if you are in mail mode, send to >ILMARION-L-request@Rootsweb.com. If you are receiving messages in the >digest mode, send to ILMARION-D-request@Rootsweb.com