Beware Camera shopping in NYC & online fraud

[Kurt]

or online.

This story in this tech blog got me doing some research.

http://thomashawk.com/2005/12/abusive-n ... l#comments

I guess the deal is that you order a camera, they call back to confirm your order and pressure you to buy accessories with your camera. When you refuse they often cancel the order and try to charge you a "restocking fee" or charge you $100 if you leave negative feedback.

Some cases they call you and threaten you. (like the above).

This is an old NYC scam that used to inviolve bargain shoppers getting taken by a variation of the bait and switch. Of course now they tried to do it online and I imagine they are being somewhat overwhelmed with complaints.

As a public service and as part of my curiosity I decided to reseach some of these stores that are dwelling on the Amex Computers IP block. Their existence so close together is immediatly suspicious but doesn't nessesarily prove anything so if anyone...especially you Euros is going camera shopping before your big trip be sure to check out the online rateings.

http://www.leobarnet.com

Whois =

Stop 4 Camera
Admoun K
1809 Coney island ave
Brooklyn, NY 11230
US
Phone: 866-341-5900

http://www.bigeasydigital.com

whois =

533 decatur
n.o., LA 70130
US
5045813330

http://www.bestdigitalonline.com

whois =

best digital online
1673 e16th st
brooklyn, NY 11229
US

http://www.bestsaleprices.com

Landmark Distributors inc.
Landmark Distributors inc. Landmark Distributors inc.
3402 BEDFORD AV.
Brooklyn, NY 11210
US
Phone: 718-377-6689
(718) 258-5225 fax: (718) 258-5225

http://www.certifieddigital.com

Registrant:
Certified Digital
Moshe Adinyayev
1414 AVE P Suite 300
BROOKLYN, NY 11229
US
718-872-8724

http://www.ubdigital.com

UB Digital
1006 ave p
brooklyn, NY 11223
US
7186862206

http://www.stargatephoto.com

Registrant Contact:

eric anderson
+1.7186277111
Fax:
295 ave o
brooklyn, ny 11230
US

http://www.wawadigital.com

eric anderson
295 ave
BROOKLYN, NY 11230
US
718-627-7111

It appears to be something of a "ring" operating here.

[Outkast]

I heard about this crap. Somebody even did a follow-up call threatening to break the customer's legs...


Good looking out.

[Kurt]

Yep, and other people made a mix tape of it. One person even phoned customer support with random samplings of Arnol Schwartzenegger.

It appears that the "Brooklyn Based" camera store is looking like a bad thing online , so I expect them to be "moving" to other cities soon.

One has a "legal department" fax in "Idaho" ..which is most likely a voIP line purchased with an Idaho area code. This might also mean that they file in small claims court in Boise to get charges when a customer disputes a bill or cancels a credit card.

[Outkast]

I hate buying stuff I can't look at, touch, and bang on the counter anyway...

[ssmark2k]

I ordered from UB digital, against my suppositions. I got the please call back email and when I called I didn't buy into the upsell. I got an email back shortly after sying they were out of stock. Of course they were still selling the next few days the same item. On to my subject line -

Today I called my ccard company because my ccard was being rejected online. They said I had 40 transaction this morning alone. I reviewed them and outside of my one transaction all were fraudulent. There are alot of other ways to get my info, but Im putting two and two together here. Couple of questions - Could the ecommerce software be junk and it's getting hacked. Or are these guys blatently taking the ccard info and selling it? Either way I am very suspicious and will continue my investigation.

[Kurt]

The sites I posted all coincidentally use the same e-commerce software. You can see it in the meta data of the sites when you look at the "Show Source" in your browser. Getting hacked is always a possibility but still the most common form of credit card fraud is someone takeing your credit card and using it for unauthorised purchases.

So I would guess that with the reputation of the sellers that they just took your card and started charging it.

I actually had Chase Credit cards do this to me with one of their telemarketers asking me to stay on the line and confirm everything. So I did thogh I didn't buy the service they offered and I got charged. Turned out the folks they farm out the sales to in India just claim they made a sale when they have you on the line for x number of minutes.

Dispute the charges and then call the cops or something.

I sense though that some of these guys might have political connections that makes prosecution hard.

[arclight943]

Thnx - good info. Add Royal Camera and CCI to that list - if not already on there. Ran across this post randomly after one of my co-workers asked if these two online companies were legit. Get more info by searching within:

www.resellerratings.com

[Venturi]

This happened to me last year. It was from one of those sites with the cheapest prices in NYC etc etc

The restocking fee was $150 or something. Guy was chainsmokin on the phone and total Brooklyn gumba BS. The funny thing, he has a string of websites up that ALWAYS offer the cheapest stuff.

Anyhow my way out of it was to drop the issue with him, call the next day at 10am when it was pretty busy. I got put on hold for a while and then the operator asked what I wanted and I told her I was in the middle of having my order cancelled when the other operator got disconnected. Problem solved.

[Vincent]

Best place in NYC, and in my opinion, the world to buy cameras is B&H. Never a problem and the prices are always competitive.

[lightstalker]

Best place in NYC, and in my opinion, the world to buy cameras is B&H. Never a problem and the prices are always competitive.

jewish umpa lumpers.

[Chimborazo]

Best place in NYC, and in my opinion, the world to buy cameras is B&H. Never a problem and the prices are always competitive.

Absolutely. There is no reason to go anywhere else. Plus, it's quite a spectacle if you've never been!