27 Aug 08 United States Secret Service FAQ: Credit Card Fraud

Even though the following reads for a “non-criminal” complaint and your dispute with Gisol will be criminal, the points below do apply. Taken from the United States Secret Service website FAQ:

What should I do if I think I have been victimized by credit card fraud or identity theft?

If you have been the victim of credit card fraud or identity theft, the following tips will assist you:

If your complaint is essentially a non-criminal dispute with a retailer or other business, you must immediately dispute the charge(s) in writing with the customer relations office of your credit card company.

• Report the crime to the police immediately. Get a copy of your police report or case number. Credit card companies, your bank, and the insurance company may ask you to reference the report to verify the crime.
• Immediately contact your credit card issuers. Get replacement cards with new account numbers and ask that the old account be processed as “account closed at consumer’s request” for credit record purposes. You should also follow up this telephone conversation with a letter to the credit card company that summarizes your requests in writing.
• Call the fraud units of the three credit reporting bureaus. Report the theft of your credit cards and/or numbers. Ask that your accounts be flagged. Also, add a victim’s statement to your report requesting they contact you to verify future credit applications. The following is a list of addresses and numbers to the three credit bureaus:Equifax Credit Information Services – Consumer Fraud Division
  P.O. Box 105496
  Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5496
  Tel: (800) 997-2493
  www.equifax.com

  Experian
  P.O. Box 2104
  Allen, Texas 75013-2104
  Tel: (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742)
  www.experian.com

  Trans Union Fraud Victim Assistance Dept.
  P.O. Box 390
  Springfield, PA 19064-0390
  Tel: (800) 680-7289
  www.transunion.com

• Keep a log of all conversations with authorities and financial entities.
• As with any personal information, only provide your credit card number to merchants you know. Also, remember to protect your social security number. You have to give your social security number for employment and tax purposes, but it is not necessary for many businesses. Notify the Social Security Administration if you suspect your Social Security number has been used fraudulently.
• # The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the federal clearinghouse for complaints by victims of identity theft. Although the FTC does not have the authority to bring criminal cases, the Commission assists victims of identity theft by providing them with information to help them resolve the financial and other problems that can result from identity theft. The FTC also may refer victim complaints to other appropriate government agencies and private organizations for further action. If you have been a victim of ID theft, you can file a complaint with the FTC by contacting the FTC’s Consumer Response Center.By phone:
  Toll Free 877-FTC-HELP (382-4357)
  TDD: 202-326-2502

  By mail:
  Consumer Response Center
  Federal Trade Commission
  600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
  Washington, DC 20580

  On the Internet:
  www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm

  For consumer information:
  www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm

19 Aug 08 Problems with Gisol – Self Help.

I thought we could start a self help chapter of arguments for the credit card companies.

This would be my first, but others can add their thoughts as well:

Understand that I am not an attorney and only offer suggestions to help clarify your position with the courts and the credit card companies. Your cases are all different and you must decide if this information works in your case.

1.One of the biggest problems that has come up is that signatures are being either forged or copied to multiple documents as if you did it.
2.These copies are identical, after all they are copies.
3.There is only one signature and that signature can only be originated or tied to one document.
4.Instead of arguing the forgery, argue its value.
5.In other words even if the signature is valid it can only be valid in one place.
6.Gisol either has a agreement that was signed and the bill violates the statue of frauds because it is over $500.00 without a valid signature. Or the order is valid and the agreement isn’t, and if that is the case, there is nothing holding you to the order.
7.Only one of these cases can be true. There is only one signature. And in either case your charge back should be honored.

Another issue that has come up frequently is that of ownership of the domain name. This issue takes on two valid arguments from your side.

1.Because the domain name is the first entry you make and prior to the signing of an agreement.
Gisol took possession of your intellectual property prior to any agreement.
2.The second issue arises from the agreement stating that he owns your intellectual property.
First of all it is highly questionable that that is legal or enforceable. Not even non disclosure agreements designed to protect intellectual property can take ownership of prior knowledge of intellectual property, and it clearly has to say so or the agreement is invalid. But even if it were. You did not bring your domain name into the site. Gisol did, and gisol did it prior to any agreement or purchase. So, even if gisol could argue that he owns your website that you brought into his hosting site. You did not bring the domain name in. Gisol did.

Another issue that comes up all the time that no one is bothering to tackle. The second paragraph of the agreement clearly states that “use“ of services is acceptance of the agreement. This is a critical statement, largely because it is not necessary for a agreement to be valid. It doesn’t say signing the agreement is acceptance, or having used the services is acceptance. It is very specific. Gisol uses the term “use”.

Because of the unnecessary nature of this statement and that it is so specific, it requires you to actually be using the services in order for the contract to be in force. If you stop using it for any reason the contract or agreement is no longer in force. Or is it binding.

Thats a literal interpretation of the contract and you should check that with a good, and I did say GOOD attorney. Or better yet a law school.

15 Aug 08 Please contact LA County District Attorney

The following has been posted on Raoul’s site:

Jim says:

If you have been scammed by GISOL please call the CA district attorney Robert Jackson at 213-580-3324. Robert told me that because GISOL has been using several addresses that they were having trouble finding jurisdiction on the matter. One DA needs as many complaints as we can get him. Please call and tell him your information.

Thanks

Comment — August 14, 2008 @ 10:42 am

Robert Jackson is part of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Consumer Protection Division.

Consumer Protection Division
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
201 North Figueroa St., Suite 1600
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 580-3273

UPDATE Oct 1st, 2008:
Dianne Suzuki of the same office has now taken over the Gisol investigation, and is THE person to contact. Her phone number is 213 580 6793. I have her email address also if you want to contact her in that way. Please send me a request on report[dot]gisol[at]gmail[dot]com and I will forward her address to you.

Quote from their website that certainly applies to Gisol:

The District Attorney’s Consumer Protection Division (CPD) investigates and prosecutes unfair or dishonest business practices so that Los Angeles consumers get a dollar’s value for their dollar spent. The division’s work also protects honest business people from dishonest competitors.

Through lawsuits which levy heavy monetary penalties for fraudulent practices and through jail sentences, CPD strives to uphold the California laws which protect the consumer. Examples of fraudulent business practices include:

False Advertising: It is illegal to sell goods or services through the use of untrue or misleading statements. False ads might misrepresent “sale” or “special” prices, or the features of a product, or the availability of sales goods. Read ads carefully, and watch out for fine print at the bottom. The advertiser is at fault if the ad has the tendency to mislead, even if there is no intent to defraud.

Deceptive Sales Practices: Examples of these include the “hard sell,” where high pressure tactics and half-truths are used to force a hasty purchase, and “bait-and-switch,” where consumers are lured into a store with an appealing ad and then switched to a more expensive item.

12 Aug 08 Ripped off for $1798 from GISOL and HSBC wont help

Has anyone had any luck with dealing with their credit card companies on this? Everyone I spoke to at HSBC agreed with me that they believe I was scammed by GISOL but they are telling me there is nothing they can do about it. I sent them every bit of information including the police reports I filed, copies of an original order from GISOL for one years of service. I pointed them to Robert Jackson a Californian District Attorney who is currently investigating them. (If you haven’t called him yourself, please do 213-580-3324).

HSBC sent me a letter today saying that there was nothing else they could do for me as I had disputed the charge as an “unauthorized charge not a mischaracterized charge”. Their words, I shit you not! How can HSBC say they made a good faith attempt at recovering these funds? Its obvious fraud.

Any suggestions on how to deal with the credit card company?