Predators Watch Scam: Be Informed

So after some research I have come to a few conclusions about the PredatorsWatch.com scam that I found out about recently. First off, never believe what you hear on the internet; secondly, know the laws or do some research on them; thirdly, don’t fucking panic.

PredatorsWatch.com is a website that allows people to post information about potential sexual predators for absolutely no charge. The only way to get information off the site is to pay them $99.95, regardless of whether or not the accusations made against you on the site are false or not.

I was trying to figure out ways to get this site off the net and see if we could put an end to this little organization once and for all. The thing that really upset me about it is the fact that they use a name like Predators Watch, which implies that they are some type of advocacy group that legitimately wants to make the community a safer place. When in realty they’re just out to get money from you and mine your data.

I looked through some websites about the scam and I found some people that actually paid the $99.95 to have their name removed.

I also found a lot of irate people like myself who wanted the site to be taken down, and even tried to supply names of the owners of the websites.

But upon closer examination I’ve found that the names they give can in no way really be connected with the website.

Which brings me to number 1: Never believe what you see on the internet.

When doing a WHOIS lookup on PredatorsWatch.com I found that the site is hosted by eNom LLC, a domain name service provider. When looking up contact info for the owner on the WHOIS search I found the following:

Registrant Contact:

   PRQ Inet KB

   Gottfrid Swartholm ()

   Fax: 

   Box 1206

   Stockholm,  114 79

   SE

Administrative Contact:

   PRQ Inet KB

   Gottfrid Swartholm (registry@prq.se)

   +46.737721056

   Fax: 

   Box 1206

   Stockholm,  114 79

   SE

Technical Contact:

   PRQ Inet KB

   Gottfrid Swartholm (registry@prq.se)

   +46.737721056

   Fax: 

   Box 1206

   Stockholm,  114 79

   SE

PRQ is an internet service provider that is co-owned by Per Gottfrid Svartholm Warg (Gottfrid Swartholm). He is also the co-owner of such BitTorrent projects like ThePirateBay.org.

Now what’s interesting is that some people on anti-scam sites are claiming that this is the man you need to speak to about the website in question, but that isn’t exactly correct. PRQ doesn’t just provide internet service or website hosting service. They also provide what is called ‘domain privacy’.

‘Domain privacy’ is a service that anyone can pay for. Essentially what you do is pay somebody else to acquire your domain name under their name, keeping you out of the picture entirely. You still operate the website and have administration powers, but as far as anyone knows you’re not the actual owner.

Now, the only reason we know that the people who run PredatorsWatch.com are from America is because for one, the actual service provider is eNom LLC, which is based in Washington State. For two, they are citing a US Federal Law, the Communications Decency Act, and using it their advantage. But what we don’t know is who they really are.

Some internet users and victims of the scam have implicated a man in Florida named Michael King, who operates a website called WikiWarnings.com. It’s the same type of premise, except is doesn’t deal with sexual predators. It is a site where you can accuse someone of being a fraud (usually a business owner of some kind) by posting a profile about them for free. Michael King’s site is kind enough to make sure that your name pops up on major search engines for everyone to find.

In order to have your name taken off this man’s website you have to show him proof that the claims are false, and he will only accept court or police documentation. Once he receives it he apparently examines it and then lets you know whether or not your information can be taken off of his website. If he approves, you must pay a fee of $599.99, which according to his website “…is to pay our developers to remove the listing report from social networks and search engines such as Bing.com, Google.com, etc…”

I did another WHOIS search on WikiWarnings.com and found that the domain was registered at GoDaddy.com and that the contact information is that of a company called “Domains by Proxy”, which is company that provides domain privacy and is owned by GoDaddy.com founder, Bob Parsons.

I found even more people on these anti-scam sites which claimed that Michael King owned other sites like Warning-Notice.com. A WHOIS search of that site also brought up GoDaddy.com as the domain provider and Domains by Proxy as the contact information.

But other than this there is no proof that Michael King is the owner of PredatorsWatch.com. There isn’t even proof that he is the owner of Warning-Notice.

There are certain privacy issues here which people can use to their advantage and it’s perfectly legal. There are free speech issues at hand here as well which we must recognize.

Which brings me to number 2: Know the laws, or do some research on them.

I learned a lot today about internet privacy laws and domain name providers. I learned that I can look up a web page and get some clues as to who they might be. I read TOS agreements from other web based service providers, looked up the laws that they were citing and came to my own conclusions.  

I took a dive head first into the world of internet scams and I saw how easy it really is and how much money there is to make for people who do this. They’re devious mother fuckers who don’t give a damn about your reputation, but they don’t have the balls to let anyone know who they really are. Totally illegitimate!

But even though we know it’s a scam now, even though we are smart enough to look into things and figure out what’s really going on, there are some people who are willing to pay the money to have their name taken off the sites. Some out of fear, others out of pure determination to keep their reputations intact, and with good cause too!

Which brings me to number 3: Don’t fucking panic.

These assholes have been at it for a really long time, and nothing is going to stop them. The only thing that can happen in the case of PredatorsWatch.com specifically is that enough pressure will come down upon eNom LLC and they will close the site down. But before that happens, you’ll just have to live with the fact that some shady data miners got a hold of your name and picture and labeled you a predator.

I think the best thing we can do right now to bring this one site down is to complain to eNom LLC, your attorney general, and consumer based advocacy groups to shut the site down. But just remember that within a few days there will be another site just like it, using the same tactics as before.

People, you need to stay informed about this stuff and be extra careful. Spread the word about scams like this and be active about it. And remember, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Use Craig’s List!”

If you have been taken advantage by a scam like this then here are some people that you can contact:

US Government Internet Fraud

FBI Internet Crime IC3 Report

Consumer Fraud Reporting

SOURCES:

SCAM FRAUD ALERT: MICHAEL KING

WARNING-NOTICE

 WIKIPEDIA: ENOM LLC

 WIKIPEDIA: GOTTFRID SVARTHOLM

 WIKIPEDIA: PRQ

 WIKIPEDIA: DOMAINS BY PROXY

 WIKIPEDIA: DOMAIN PRIVACY

 PRQ WEBISTE

 WIKIWARNINGS

 ENOM WEBSITE

 TRACE ROUTE: Predators Watch

 TRACE ROUTE: Wiki Warnings

 TRACE ROUTE: Warning-Notice

WATCH OUT: Predatorswatch.com

I really hate assholes. And when I heard about this it really pissed me off. It was brought to my attention recently through a clip of the David Pakman show on Youtube.com, that there exists a website called Predatorswatch.com. Pretty interesting name, but don’t let it fool you folks. At first glimpse you would think this is some type of organization that protects children from real predators like Preverted-Justice.com. But it’s something completely different and completely unethical.

David Pakman brought it up on his show when a viewer sent him an email stating that he was a victim of a Craigslist.com personals ad scam, which involved Predatorswatch.com. The viewer said he decided to respond to some personal ads on Craigslist.com to try to score a date (or a lay, who cares) and that after responding to them he received an email stating that he had been placed on the Predatorswatch.com list of known sexual predators. He was given the URL to where he can find his newly created profile, so he followed it and found his name, phone number, email address, and the picture that he sent to the personal ads of himself on the website. 

A Profile on PredatorsWatch.com

Now here the real kicker which pissed me off, he noticed at the bottom of his profile there is a large red button which says “Delete This Profile Now”. He clicked it and it lead him to a page where he could submit his credit card information to have the profile removed.

I checked out the website myself and clicked on the button and it redirected me to a page which does in fact ask for credit card information. The price to have a profile deleted is $99.95, and they accept all major credit cards. The funny thing is that you don’t even have to be the person who listed on the god damned website to have it removed; anyone can remove a profile of anyone if they can pay the price. Of course making the profile is completely free and anonymous, but removal is what will cost you.

Payment info screen to remove profile

I did in fact try to create a profile of myself on the website for fun, see if you can find me by looking up my email address turkreno44@gmail.com. I’m not sure if I was able to get away with it though, because I’m not sure if these posts are reviewed by anyone before they get added to the website and I added a picture of Reno from Final Fantasy VII and their TOS page states that they will not allow anyone to post copyrighted material, so that may have set me back.

With a name like Predators Watch you would think the website would be a legitimate organization that catches sexual predators. But what type of legitimate organization would troll online personals ads by posting personals themselves and then posting those who respond to them on a website which labels those people as potential sexual predators? It doesn’t make any sense to call yourself a legitimate organization when your website allows ANYONE to post information about other people indiscriminately and without any proof what-so-ever and then charge them a fee to have it removed

Me adding myself on PredatorsWatch.com

I did read their TOS and their FAQ and I found out that these assholes really did a good job of covering their scumbag asses. They know about and are using to their advantage a federal law called the Communications Decency Act or "CDA" (47 U.S.C. § 230). This law basically states that someone can post something on a website like Predatorswatch.com which is defamatory and false and that the website itself cannot be held responsible for the posted material.

FROM THE FAQ:

Specifically, 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1) states, "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Because the submitted profiles on PredatorsWatch.com are authored by users of the site, we cannot be legally regarded as the "publisher or speaker" of the reports contained here, and hence we are not liable for reports even if they contain false or inaccurate information (NOTE: we occasionally create editorial comments and other material, but when we do, this is clearly marked as such).

I understand this law as this law actually protects assholes like me who have blogs and the people who provide the blogging service to me. This way all the crazy shit that I write up on this blog doesn’t affect Blogger.com. They are not held responsible for the things I say just in the same way I’m not held responsible for the things other people comment about on my blog.

Here’s the big difference though! Blogger.com is a legitimate website which provides a free service allowing users to post their thoughts. They do not take any liability for how you use their services, but they also do not charge you a fee to have your content removed. Predatorswatch.com will allow people to post information on their website anonymously about anyone and they are not held liable for it, yet they will charge you a fee of $99.95 to have it removed. And why the fee, you ask?

FROM THE FAQ:

Removal is a paid service due to the costs associated with altering the content of the site on an individual basis.  

You know, Preverted-Justice.com is a real organization that actually helps to protect children from real sexual predators on the internet by helping to catch them and get them registered as sex offenders. They post information about the people that they know to be sexual predators because they provide proof and they actually get them caught by authorities. If for any reason though they just happened to implicate or somehow otherwise falsely accuse an innocent individual of being a sexual predator I’m pretty sure they would remove that information and begin writing retractions and apologies. For free, too!

Now here’s the crazy thing. So you’ve been added to Predatorswatch.com because someone on the internet made a false claim about you. Even if you can proof that this is a false claim ( I.E. police statements, court papers, etc) they will not remove the information about you. You will still have to pay a fee to have your information removed. Once again they are using the Communications Decency Act to get around that one.

Granted, many people who have fallen victim to this scam did their research and found out that this website is bogus, as I found on certain websites like Ripoffreport.com, TheDatingJudge.com, and even Wikipedia has an article on these dipshits.

But the idea that these fuckers are posing as an organization that exists to help the community (the word ‘community’ is used a lot on their website) when all they’re really out for is to help the community lighten their wallets.

Here’s Predatorswatch.com’s ‘mission’:

We've been saying it for a long time and proving it even longer, our operations are professional, effective and one of a kind. Thanks to our brave visitors for stepping forward to tell the world what it should already know, that exposing online sex predators discourages other potential offenders from doing the very same thing.

Thankfully, these fuckers have actually been caught doing this before under different names such as PotentialPredators.com, which were shut down. Predatorswatch.com is their new effort at blackmailing and extorting innocent people.

And now with this proof from a David Pakman viewer, who responded to a Craigslist.com personals ad and was placed on the website, we know these assholes are not just data miners but predators themselves. They are people who post false personal ads on free websites and wait for some poor lonely guy who’s looking for a date or a lay to respond to them with some pictures and an email address, then post it all on a website that accuses him of being a ‘potential predator’. Thinking that the next response he gets will be from someone looking for a date he gets a friendly email letting him know that he is currently being blackmailed by some pissant group of punks on the internet looking to make a quick buck. (PS. I know the stupidity of looking for a date on Craigslist.com, like…I mean, why would you go there for a date or sex? But still, people do it and I don’t think they should be blackmailed for it.)

Of course, being the smart ass that I am, I sent an email to them asking them if they had any comment on those who claim their website is fraudulent. I’m still waiting for a reply.

This type of shit really pisses me off, and I won’t stop hounding these assholes until their website is taken off the internet and their little organization is dissolved. 

SOURCES:

The Rip Off Report

Wikipedia

The Online Watch

David Pakman Video