Anyone know how to track IP addresses?

[Almaa]

no

it's possible because paypal is a conduit for fraud

http://www.paypalsucks.com

no one listens to me

[bait]

i listen! :wink:

[Toadicus]

I hope the asshat dies a short and painful death. Thieves, outside of ffxi, are the scum of the earth. The only penalty should be a bullet to the head. Good luck in your ventures of getting your time(money) back.

[Skineater]

Yo get a name or PH# and go to this addy.

http://www.switchboard.com/

jus select the tap you need and do your search. its the only one i could find on short notice, i got one better at work. hehe

[Callidus]

I'll take it upon myself to post here, since this is pertinent information to you all, as well; whatever I get, almaa can possibly get.

GMs, obviously, are of almost no help. Don't ask me why. Protocols suck.

However, after countless emails to the bafoon [ James Self ] at mailto:[email protected], I finally got ahold of some people who actually spell correctly. These people, mailto:[email protected], are trying to help me, as illustrated here:

My original email:

IGE recently purchased a stolen account and stolen gil. The account, Callidus ( Alexander - FFXI ) was recovered via negotiations with Square Enix. However, the gil still remains in IGE's possession. This, as you can imagine, is a problem. Because of the nature of Square Enix's policies and password-supply to original account holders, I imagine that IGE has the capability to reverse payment from purchased accounts when or if the scenario arises wherein control is taken back through Square Enix. This being said, since my account was stolen and you have paid the fraudeur/thief for my some 6.37million gil, I require reimbursement of the gil in exchange for the reversal of your payment transaction. I imagine this is possible. If this is not possible, however, I still ask for my property (my gil) and suggest that IGE take legal action against the fraudeur, whose billing information you have from the transactions. The case will be reported to the FDIC and FTC, as well as Square Enix; Square Enix has a plethora of problems regarding gil-sellers and account sellers, and I'm sure they'd like to be made perfectly aware of the fraudulent and possibly coercive actions of IGE, "the largest seller of in game currency for massively multiply online games, such as EverQuest, Final Fantasy and Lineage 2." (http://ige.com/FrequentyAskedQuestions.aspx)

"With respect to game titles operated by the PlayOnline service,
including FINAL FANTASY XI, it is specifically prohibited to
sell game currency, characters, or any other in-game items for
real money or any other consideration for value (known as Real
Money Trade "RMT"). This prohibition is expressly referred to
in the following two clauses, which are part of the respective
agreements which all registered users of the FINAL FANTASY XI
and/or PlayOnline services have agreed to abide by:

*PlayOnline Member Agreement: Article 4.4
*FINAL FANTASY XI User Agreement: Article 3.1"
(http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/polnews/news3374.shtml)

Further, I can provide documentation supporting my claim of theft and fraud, including paypal transaction and reversals as well as email correspondence, ip addresses and billing information of the fraudulent buyer (through playerauctions.com).

This being said, I ask that you return the 6,370,000 gil to my Final Fantasy XI account, reverse your payment to the fraudeur and cooperate with any pending investigation.


Thank you,

Ryan Sherman

Reply1:

Dear Customer,

We sincerely apologize for the fraudulent actions you have
experienced regarding your game account. We will forward this case to our
accounts team and they will determine the proper actions needed to resolve
this issue. If you would provide us more information about your account
information such as which server it is on and a brief description of the
character/characters included in your account. We will look into this matter
seriously and find the best ways to sort this out.

Best regards,
Michael Angeles
mailto:[email protected]
IGE customer support

My reply1:

I do not see the point in forwarding this issue to your accounts department, seeing as though the gil and account were separately sold to IGE.com. I knew this, and the reply by mailto:[email protected] was of no help:

"sorry we did not receive gil with the account..." /
"...and as i only deal in accounts not currency, generally accounts come in with the gil already being sold, "

This being said, I would like to know who to contact about the reversal of the sale of my gil in wholesale to IGE.com's "Sell us your virtual currency!" page. The gil totals just over 6,370,000, and I am sure you have this in your records.

Game: FFXI. Server: Alexander (Character: Callidus)
Amount: 6,370,000
Quote: "We will pay you: $197.47 USD."

This is the transaction I want reversed. Since the fraudeur is the one you paid, he will be the one that loses money - not IGE, and not I. In addition, even if the payment cannot be reversed (I do not see the reason why it cannot be), IGE is still obliged to return my gil to me. If not, at least provide me with an opprotunity to buy the gil at wholesale or less-than wholesale price; The latter two options being last resorts on my half to cut my losses.

In conclusion, please don't forward this to the accounts department; they won't be able to help me, and they are reluctant to even try: they have yet to respond to another person's emails regarding their actual SALE of his stolen account.

Thank you,
Ryan Sherman

Their Reply 2:

Dear Ryan,



We would like to know more about this case. Please provide the Date you sold us your Gil and would you please give me the Paypal email address for the fraud person?

We will follow up the case for you.

Thanks



Best regards,

Becks

Customer Support

And, finally, what I just wrote tonight:

I will have to contact Square Enix in regards to the actual date the gil was sold, because, as i've said, I didn't sell it; the fraudeur sold it. However... if you will follow my train of thought with me:

The password was changed on the 29th of November. [ By the Fraudeur/Thief ]. The content ID was cancelled on the same day, and "[could] be used until NOv. 30, 2004". This information is gathered from an email received from Square Enix on the 29th of November, confirming the cancellation of the Content ID. This means that the gil was sold or transfered [Sold, in this case, most assuredly; he frauded other people on different servers and it'd be uneconomical to have accounts on every server.] on that day, or the following day.

The email address he used to scam me was mailto:[email protected], while the email address he used to scam another was mailto:[email protected] (this being his registered email with playerauctions.com). His IP addresses, again obtained through playerauctions.com by reporting the fraud, are as follows: 152.163.100.133 / 152.163.100.137 / 205.188.116.133 / 64.12.116.133.

In addition, his listed playerauctions information was:

Anthony Hatcher
3521 Rosa Parks Blvd. #204
Detroit, MI 48208
(313) 832-2290

However, it is entirely possible that this is not his actual identity. I suggest tracking purchases of any gil sums of 6.37million gil or higher on that date, or around that date, and cross-reference them with the purchasing of any gil sums of 9million(maximum) + 3million from the same person some days earlier. The exact date of the 12million gil summation I can provide upon request.

Thank You,
Ryan Sherman

That's where it stands as of... now-ish.



Edit: I'm the other dude that got scammed. Mmhmm.

[Zigma]

At least IGE's customer support is better then most of the "professional" companies out there (as far as computer hardware and stuff)


http://www.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/me ... 32627.html


lol

[Almaa]

lol, real professional to tell people "ROFLMAO" when you discuss pressing charges

mailto:[email protected] is the semi-professional department - mod = manager.


James self, however, is a complete fucktard.

for example:

Hello There,



sorry if i was not more clear, it was you who took it from us, after it was paid for, maybe it was not you who sold it to us. best of luck with the cs staff, they keep forwarding your emails to me. and as far as all that court order crap ROFLMAO Thank You

Best Regards,



James Self

mm. A+.

[bercus]

Iam sorry to hear that Almaa, i just finished read all topic since i wasnt online for 3 weeks.
If this would have happened in my country, the laws are, that you need to prove to a lawyer or police or s.e., that they bought and sold stolen property. It should be easy for you to prove that. And i guess its better not to concentrate in getting that anthony bastard. With the laws in germany, it will be your "right" (dont know word in english) that you get the money your account buyer gave to IGN to you, for example he bought it for 1000$ from IGN, then they have to pay you the 1000$ and then its IGN´s job to get the 1000 from the thief anthony. It was your ownage again at the time he reversed the payment, so how about move to germany? nah jk, laws should be same in america, aren´t they? I would hv done same, hope you get anything back, account, money ect, see you again

Berc

[layoneil]

IGE isn't in America though. neither American nor German law apply in Hong Kong, that's why the Internet can be so f'ed up.

IGE has offices and New York and Florida.

And... what's with IGE's privacy policy if they're based in Hong Kong?

HIPPA doesn't friggin' apply over there, why won't they tell me shit?

[Sadler]

Concealed Gun law > New York and Florida IGE offices > Revenge.


Sounds like another master plan.

Lujan

[Almaa]

lol yeah, IGE's main headquarters is in New York, which has the most ruthless DA ever, which will be receiving a call.

[Zigma]

mailto:[email protected] is the semi-professional department - mod = manager.


and as far as all that court order crap ROFLMAO Thank You

Best Regards,



James Self

mm. A+.[/quote]




LOL oh that's good.

[Callidus]

Fyi, I've been the guest that's been posting here.

Almaa, keep me posted on the progress with the DA (either through email or on BBS).

And... have you filed your FTC and IFCC(is this the right acronym? >>) fraud complaints yet?

[Amarok]

mailto:[email protected] is the semi-professional department - mod = manager.


James self, however, is a complete fucktard.

for example:

Hello There,



sorry if i was not more clear, it was you who took it from us, after it was paid for, maybe it was not you who sold it to us. best of luck with the cs staff, they keep forwarding your emails to me. and as far as all that court order crap ROFLMAO Thank You

Best Regards,



James Self

mm. A+.

Was this in regards to trying to get your gil back?

[Callidus]

Yes, it was.

[Callidus]

December 15, 2004

Ryan Sherman
303 N. Oak Ave
Wood DAle, IL 60191
Re: FTC Ref. No. 5368766


Dear Ryan Sherman:

Thank you for your correspondence your experience with fraud artists using Internet auction web sites.

As you may know, over the last few years Internet auction web sites have experienced phenomenal growth. Internet auction web sites facilitate communications between would-be buyers and sellers of goods and services. Sellers use auction web sites to offer goods and services for sale using an auction format. Auctions are conducted on the web sites with would-be-buyers bidding by sending electronic mail to the web sites. At the conclusion of the auction, buyers and sellers typically communicate by electronic mail about the terms of payment and the delivery and then complete their transaction through the U.S. mail. Thus, auction web sites provide consumers all over the country, and indeed all over the world, with the ability to buy and sell goods in the auction format.

Unfortunately, in cyberspace it is difficult for consumers to distinguish a legitimate seller from a fraud artist. Typically, buyers using Internet auctions never meet the sellers offering the goods and have no means of verifying the existence or quality of the goods being offered for sale. As a result, as the use of Internet auctions has grown, reports of Internet auction fraud have also grown.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is working with other law enforcement authorities and with various Internet auction web site operators to combat Internet auction fraud. A number of the larger sites auction web sites have begun to adopt consumer protection measures. Additionally, civil and criminal law enforcement authorities in the United States and Canada have committed to investigating and bringing cases against fraudulent sellers using Internet auction web sites. The FTC is assisting other law enforcement authorities by providing them with complaints from our Consumer Sentinel database and with training and other technical support. We strongly suggest that consumers who have experienced Internet auction fraud file complaints with (1) the FTC -- using our web page complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov; (2) local law enforcement in the area where the seller in question lives or accepted payment; and (3) with the auction web site that facilitated the transaction. Consumer complaints are crucial to putting a stop to ongoing fraud.

Enclosed is the FTC has also published a tip sheet for consumers detailing the risks of using Internet auction web sites to purchase goods. The FTC strongly recommends that consumers use credit cards to pay for goods purchased through Internet auction web sites. When dealing with sellers who do not accept credit card payments, we urge consumers to consider using an escrow service or paying cash on delivery COD.

We appreciate you bringing your concern to our attention. Letters from
consumers such as you provide valuable information that is frequently used to develop or support Commission enforcement initiatives. I should also note that more than 150 consumer and business education brochures and other materials are available online in the FTC Consumer Line and FTC Business Line sections of our Home Page, located at HTTP://WWW.FTC.GOV.

We hope that you will find the above information helpful in addressing your problem. We appreciate your interest in this matter. Please let us know whenever we can be of service.



Sincerely yours,


Consumer Response Center

The FTC's attached response to my report (about IGE)
Not sure if they read my report, or not

[Avvesione]

That's a long letter. Hope they read your report tho. =x