Beware of Message Board Scam Artists
When You Are Scammed by a Message Board Friend
We have all, at one point or another, posted or read information on a message board and Im sure a few of us have developed friendships on these same boards. Now granted, this does not happen all the time, but I would like to share a few experiences that have happened to raise awareness on the newest type of scam artist out there.
A young lady had been posting on a parenting board I was a member of and she was a nice, funny, and lively young lady. I felt like we all had gotten to know her the 9 months she had been a member. She had a rough home life, 2 kids, and an abusive boyfriend. She did not have the money to leave her situation, but even with the drama in her life, she always tried to be cheerful and give warm advice to those in need. Well right before Christmas she posted a long saga that was happening in her life, ending with her kids would not have gifts for Christmas.
Everyone felt their heart go out to this girl and her children and a few members set up a fund to donate to this girl, so that her kids might have a Christmas after all. It all sounded sweet and innocent and I think all together 550 dollars was raised for this girl. Of course, she was grateful and appreciative. I did not donate to the fund myself because I don't believe in giving the gift of money to someone I have yet to meet, but the day after she received her money she disappeared in to the unknown, never to be heard from again. A lot of members said, 'I'll bet she left that boyfriend of hers' and it was never really talked about again.
Well a couple of months later I was on another message board, reading through archived posts and what do you know? Around Christmas, the same girl gave a different story and got about 300 dollars from this message board too. Well, by then my mind was working overdrive and I knew what had happened. So, the people thinking they were doing a kind act, helping their 'Friend', actually got scammed.
This happens all the time and its actually easier to scam money from a message board than anything else. My theory is this, make friends and enjoy your message boards because I really love reading on mine, but be very wary in donating to a persons cause. Think of it this way. You don't personally know this person and how do you really know what they are typing is true?
Another common message board fraud is when the administrators rally for money and hold a position of trust in the online community, so even the most skeptical person feels a soft place in their heart for the trusted board Admin. Here is the thing, this person could have 20 message boards out there asking for the same thing or they could get the money, shut the board down, and then open another a month down the line. This is a common happening in our world of virtual technology that a lot of people are not aware of.
Another fraud that I have ran into is asking for credit card info in order to join a message board. The disclaimer stated that they don't charge your card, its for verification procedure only, to protect against fraudulent action on the message boards. Please, steer clear of these types of boards. It is a total scam in its self because if you scroll down and read the fine print, you are usually charged 1-5 dollars a month for 2 years, even if you decide not to participate in the board anymore. By simply entering your credit card info, you have entered into an agreement to donate to this board. Usually, the amounts are so small, it takes a busy person a while to notice any things going on and because the charges don't start for 90 days. Usually, the person had forgotten about giving out the info. If you do want to participate in this type of message board, keep a record of all the companies and message boards that you have given your credit card information to, that way if something does happen you have a record of it.
This was not written to discourage the use of message boards. It was written to bring about an awareness of the fraudulent acts that affect a lot of people on a daily basis.
Published by Amy Witthohn
I live life to the fullest extent that I can, I have 2 daughters 11 months apart and the antics that they do on a daily basis will keep me on my toes for a long time. View profile
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19 Comments
Post a CommentI wish i had read this before i invested over $4000.00 with this con man named Gary Kuhl. And yes you are all exactly correct in the way he operates an dissapears. And yes he still resides in ballina an i do have contact details and location. Any info i can assist you with in building a case i am happy to assist. He has my credit card details an adwords account details. very expensive learning curve!!!!
I have a meeting lined up with Mr Google... Gary Kuhl tomorrow morning Wednesday April 13 2011.
Thought id do a little research on our friend and look what I found. Thank you all for your posts. I will not be doin business with this guy, but i will meet with him to watch him spin his s#@&.
too much justice involved) is very slow. I have been told that GK has property in Ballina, NSW and was operating from there, but more recent information says he has separated from his wife in Ballina and moved his operation to Sydney – so look out Sydney business owners. Iclix is a web based business with no physical address. Their original paperwork showed one address on the Gold Coast but it turned out that GK just had “an arrangement†to use the address, but that was terminated and the addressee told me he had to have debt collectors chase GK for money owed. The registered office of Iclix Pty Ltd is another Gold Coast address but the occupant of the business there says he had a contra deal with GK but that has gone sour and all he knows is that GK is now in Sydney somewhere. Any one interested in setting up a Gary Kuhl Victim’s Group could contact me at hstays@gmail.com if they have information to share.
credit card without my knowledge or consent. They offered $4 per click which cost me over $100 to get less than $20 return. As soon as I found out what they had done, I asked them to suspend the Adwords campaign until the Landing Page was approved. They corrected the phone number but didn’t do any more work on the page. I continued to be charged by Google until I lodged a “Disputed Transaction†form with my credit card provider. They had to cancel my card and issue a new one to stop further charges. Apart from a couple of “just touching base†phone calls in the first week, GK has had nothing more to do with me and would not return phone calls or respond to emails himself. His manager made an appointments that he did not keep and hasn’t been in touch since. I have commenced legal action but the registered address for the company at the Gold Coast is as misleading as the rest of GK’s presentation and the justice process (sorry, legal process, there seldom seems to be too m
I got conned by Gary Kuhl last year – an excellent sales presentation after I fell for the Iclix Pty Ltd telemarketing call long before the current deluge started. It all sounded so genuine and he said he was only just launching his new internet marketing product – he said I was one of the first he called on and he would be taking a maximum of two clients in any one industry in any one region. He told me about his marvellous program (costing $3,300) and how he would work with me personally to make sure I could manage it myself once he set it up so there would be no on going costs to me. The moment he had my signature and credit card details, he was on the phone to his “staff†who quickly presented me with a blatant rip-off of someone else’s Landing Page which had minimal resemblance to the services I had to offer. I rejected the page (which didn’t even have my correct phone number) yet they immediately put it online and set up a Google Adwords account using my credit card w
BEWAREofGaryKuhlwhoisfromBallinaNSW....iclixandhisgoogleadvertisingbusiness.Heisnotamanofhisword,butonlytohappytotakeyourmoney.HehasdonethewrongthingbypeoplewhohaveinvestedmoneywithhimandIhavelostaconsiderableamountofmoneyaswell.Doyourselfabigfavourandsteerclear!!!
Australia's best google scammer he got us to.
Oh my god the dreadful man that calls himself Mr Google and owns Smart Clix.
Yes they started my pet website for us, after paying a substantial deposit ($4ooo+)they decided to cease work without my knowledge.
After much awaited time and thretening legal action they finally refunded our money. Was not a pleasant experience!
Cindy
you think thats bad this Gary Kuhl robbed our business of $3300 from Google he is from www.iclix.com.au has any one ever com asross this chap his name is Garry Kuhl and tells every one he owned a company called searchsmart.com.au for creditation. He use to work for Google and tells every one he is the Google Man. Well if you ever deal with him in business stay clear from him hes the biggest scammer we have home come across here. He has robbed me of $3300 and promised this google marketing but did not deliver so buyer beware of him. Google keeps billing us and he keeps taking the money.
Michael
Alliance Financial Serv. can anybody relate to this company I was scam and every time I call the toll free number no answer and u be on hold forever then phone hangs up please post this on board Thanks ellis