Tag Archives: Scam

Consumer reports, Free Article, Media, Opinions, predatory, scam

A predatorial rental company?

Almost everywhere you go, there is a rental company just waiting to give you some product at an “affordable” price. But are these prices actually affordable or are these companies preying off of their customers? While in most instances, we expect there to be a specific percentage of interest, it seems that Aaron’s has taken this to an extreme. Thanks to a current customer of “Aaron’s,” we will get to see just how extreme they are.

According to the individual, who we will identify as J., he was in the process of buying two items: a computer and an Xbox one. According to this individual, they had already placed over $700 into the Xbox alone, that got the expected reaction from us: This person was trying to get some clout, or were they? We decided to humor this and we looked for ourselves, this is what we found from Aaron’s own website:

The first payment for all of their Xboxes are $25.00, okay, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, that’s pretty low. But that’s not where they nail you. The trick comes in the other payments. Let’s break it down by Xbox type as they have various versions.

XBox One X:

12 monthly payments of $129.99

At the end of the payment period, you would had spent a total of $1,559.88 for an Xbox.

The lowest payment available is for the XBox One S

12 monthly payments of 79.99 Sounds affordable?

The grand total for this console is: $959.88

The question at hand is can they legally charge these outlandish prices? Well, the simple answer that we have found in our research is: Yes. They can. I know, some of you guys are calling it price gouging, believe me, our own team went that direction. The problem is in the definition of price gouging. It reads:

Price gouging refers to when retailers and others take advantage of spikes in demand by charging exorbitant prices for necessities, often after a natural disaster or other state of emergency. In most states, price gouging is set as a violation of unfair or deceptive trade practices law.

The keywords in this are “often after a natural disaster.” and “necessities.” Which would bring the question down to this: Is an Xbox One a necessity or a luxury? This is a very important concept to have in mind when determining rather or not the company is price gouging. However, there is a second definition for the term. This to must be mentioned. The other definition reads as follows:

Price gouging occurs when a seller increases the prices of goods, services or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or supply shock. Common examples include price increases of basic necessities after natural disaster

If this definition were to be used, than we can establish that Aaron’s is price gouging its own customers. But this shouldn’t be to shocking. Holding a consumer rating of 1.27 and ranking at 147 among home appliance stores, it’s safe to presume that most of their customers are anything but satisfied with their service. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB,) Aaron’s, as of the time of this article, has 1,107 complaints against it, and that’s just for one store. Though it states “usually after a natural disaster,” the phrasing implies that this isn’t always the case.

To find out the estimated rating for the company itself, we had to only look at their Facebook page. Holding at a 2.2/5 stars, it appears that their low scoring trend continued. So, we began looking at the reviews to find out why. One complaint stood out specifically to us. Though the complaint is alleging some very questionable things, it’s the fact that the rental store ignored this complaint, while responding to a reply of the review.

In another review, an Aaron’s employee is accused of being belligerent toward a customer. Something this extreme would normally have me raising an eyebrow, except for one thing: this all happened on video, which we are linking here. It’s not surprising that the company had no response to this video.

The bottom line is this: There are many options for renting an item to own. However, you have to do your research. Getting yourself into a trap, or predatorial contract, because you failed to conduct research isn’t the company’s fault. When looking into a company, you want to look at specific things: reviews, ratings, complaints, and if possible, check the BBB site; find out how many problems they’ve had in a short time. Every major company will have something negative, but when it’s a constant theme, it’s no longer a situation of a few unhappy customers. It’s a habitual environment within the company itself.

 

Basic Level, Business relations, Consumer Reports, Consumer reports, Gold Membership, Law Enforcement, Media, Opinions, predatory

Hertz car rental: accused of filing false charges

Every year, millions of people rent vehicles. Rather it be for a simple trip, business, or a vacation, renting a car is generally a hassle-free method of transportation. However, one car rental company has a serious system problem, one that is costing people more than money.

Hertz car rentals is a national car rental service. While there are generally no problems, for a select group of unlucky individuals, the problems in committing no crime, renting a car, and driving it may be just enough to land them in prison. For years Hertz has had what appears to be a glitch within their system. This issue seems to be triggered when customers attempt to extend their rental time. While this doesn’t always occur, more than a dozen people have recently filed a class action lawsuit against the corporation.

The lawsuit makes the claim that Hertz has knowingly filed false police reports against their own customers. The reports filed by the massive corporation falsely accused multiple customers of car theft. In one such instance, a Michigan man found himself in prison for five years. Meanwhile, Hertz has taken absolutely no responsibility for the damages they have committed against these innocent people. In fact, it appears as if they have continued to utilize the police for this deceptive practice.

The undeniable damages caused by this company should be met with some form of justice. Though the company could start by simply admitting that a series of horrible mistakes were made, it is unlikely that such a confession will occur. The people who have been effected by the false arrests, charges, and so fourth, will forever have to live with the knowledge that, what should had been a trusted company, is more than happy to throw its own customers under the bus for a quick buck. Worst of all, there doesn’t really appear to be any accountability toward the company for these horrific events.

 

Business relations, Consumer Reports, Consumer reports, Free Article, internet safety, Media, Opinions, predatory, scam

ISP, ViaSat, accused of shady business practices (PT:1)

Editorial Note: This article is not intended to act as legal advice. It is purely based on the research of “War on Corruption, LLC,” to bring awareness to a situation that seems to be rampant within the ViaSat corporation.

The internet age has allowed us to communicate on a global scale. Through the internet, we are able to call, video chat, and even conduct business that would otherwise be impossible. But, as with all things, it has a dark side to it. Just as honest people have found an avenue for discussion, socializing, and so fourth, this remains true for those who are not so honest. But what happens when the dishonesty comes from the very company who has provided you this global access? That’s the question that has lead to this article.

Viasat is a global internet company. Through the use of satellite technology, they provide the same service as any other ISP. However, unlike what you find with most ISP’s, the amount of complaints against this one is alarming. From misrepresentation, shady business tactics, and a lot of the in-between,  Worst yet, every business review site, including the BBB, reflect this.

Though its rating varies from site to site, we’re going to look at the BBB. According to the site, Viasat has a rating 1.04 out of 5. For a company that prides itself on providing internet service, this score is extremely low. Upon looking into the reviews, however, it quickly become apparent as to why.

The main nature of my complaint is the willful misrepresentation on the part of their sales personnel at the time we were investigating switching to a satellite provider. As with so many, we live in a rural area and had endured unusable DSL for years from ******** **************. We needed something better. We knew that ViaSat was not going to be perfect, but we were discussing going from a monthly fee of $78/mo for intensely unreliable service to $179/mo for service described as ‘variable once our data cap had been reached’. We GRILLED the salesperson as to what that meant, because what we had been enduring were speeds between 0.1 and 1.0 mbps. Anything under 0.8 and our internet becomes unusable and believe me I have learned a lot of tricks; everything from extensions that play videos only once they are fully buffered to tab suspenders to features on my gaming computer that allow the entire resources of my computer to be used only for one browser tab. We were ASSURED up, down and sideways that it would never, ever be worse than 5mbps at the very, very worst. With this fear assuaged, we signed up. So once again last night our data cap ran out (we pay for the highest tier; we cannot purchase more data and we have tried) and at 7pm I was confronted with a Zoom meeting and a 0.2 mbps connection. When I contacted customer service the next day to tell them that this was unacceptable and that they needed to do something, she figuratively threw up her hands and could only say ‘this is how ViaSat works.’ I told her that this apparently translated to their sales personnel lying as much as necessary to sign people up and then abdicating all responsibility once their customers were stuck in contracts. I gained the sense this was hardly the first time she had heard this. I would not mind being slowed down. I mind having totally unusable Internet as I am sure almost everyone here does. I mind even more that I was bait and switched; I don’t like liars. What this company does would be illegal in Washington state. I wish I lived there and I hope the day comes when their ‘business plan’ dries up because **** **** and ******** put them out of business. When that service comes online, I will be out the door faster than you can say ‘speed test.’

The above comment is one of the most common ones that we’ve found, in regards to the shady business tactics. The fact that their sales representatives knowingly and willfully provide false information to potential customers, falls into the category of “misrepresentation.” Misrepresentation, in the legal sense,  is defined as: Getting into a contract with a person or a company on false grounds by making statements that are not in accordance with the facts.

What this means is that if the company misrepresents itself, its provided services, or information pertaining to the contract, that contract can be classified as void. All the consumer would have to do is prove it. Sadly for Viasat, there are hundreds of reviews that establish the claim of deceit against potential customers. But Viasat is accused of doing more than misrepresenting their service and plans. In at least one instance, they tricked a potential customer into signing a contract. A contract that they were completely unaware of until they attempted to cancel the service.

In response to a callout that we did, via Twitter and Facebook, one of their current customers sent us the following statement:

I have been with Viasat for a little over a year. During this time, I have never once gotten decent service. In fact, even when my service renewed, it still registered that I had used more data than what I was allotted. After months of dealing with this, I decided today was enough; I attempted to terminate my service. Now, before I continue, I need to backtrack. When I first signed up, I paid, as shown in the image provided, the entire equipment lease charge. I did this under the impression that by doing so, I would not be under a contract and that I would own the equipment. So, back to my termination attempt.

They tell me that I am under contract and that I do not own the equipment. I explain what I was told on the phone, only to get into an escalated conversation with the representative. I end up putting my service on a hibernation, which means they’re still going to take money out of my account. The company lied to me about being in a contract, they lied to me about the service quality, and now they’re trying to dupe me out of more money. This can’t be legal, is it?

Well, let’s go ahead and answer this one. No, it is not legal. In fact, with a good attorney, you might be able to make a fraud claim. Fraud is defined as: wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. Clearly, by informing you that you were not in a contract, when you were, they defrauded you. They defrauded you because they knew that if you attempted to cancel the service, you would be liable to pay an ETF for the remaining contractual months; this is where the personal gain comes in.

We’re still deep diving into this company. Because of the large number of complaints, we simply cannot cover it all in one article, there will be a PT: 2 in the near future. This company demonstrates the “why” people need to conduct a through investigation into any company to which they intend to conduct business. It’s unfortunate that so many people have learned this, after the fact. However, we’re going to do our part in preventing this from happening to other consumers.

Business relations, Cyber, internet safety, Law Enforcement, Media, Police, predatory, scam, terrorism, Uncategorized

Oklahoma mechanic threatens former customer

When you hire somebody to do a job, it goes to say that you hold the expectation that it will be done correctly. But, when that job ends up being a complete flop, they should expect a bad review online. For mechanic, Jonathan Barden, of “JR automotive,” that was exactly what happened.

The post that initiated the threat reads as follows:

Warning!! DO NOT use this mechanic if you want to keep your car running!! Jonathan Barden.
Apologize it’s so long.
This was his 2nd job hired to do for me, and only hired a 2nd time because it should of been an easy fix, all I needed was a Cam Shaft Sensor, he was hired Monday, pulled 2 codes for a cam shaft sensor and that was my only issue, my car was turning over but not starting and had absolutely no leaks. He gets the sensor new from AutoZone that night, he yanks my old sensor out so hard the small silver cap on the end stayed inside, he took my passenger side engine apart to get to it, including my timing chain cover, he then dropped the cap in my oil pan, dropped my oil pan to get the cap and drained my oil. Had me buy 6 qts of oil, even though the cap would of never been stuck if he had removed the correct parts to have enough room instead of removing my timing chain cover to expose my oil pan in the 1st place. Took my engine apart until 3:30 in the morning, left everything torn apart and trashed and didn’t show back up until Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.. There were bolts in every single wrong spot and some not even put in. He got frustrated after not being able to put the serpentine belt back on Wednesday night and quit. He claims he pointed out to my husband that the timing cover had a “hole” when he took it apart, no he didn’t. And its not a hole its a huge crack and if the crack was present prior to his work then oil leak would have been my problem, my oil and engine were great I only needed a dang cam shaft sensor and now my car isn’t drivable until I get a new timing cover because I can’t hold oil. He put the 5 qts in and left 1 sitting outside and never told me the 5 qts leaked out, the oil spills out immediately when you pour it in, he finished putting the 5 qts in around 9 but was here until 2 a.m. on Wednesday! He spent 5 hours trying to hide the crack and seal it. He was very hostile and irate, he screamed and cussed for hours, “fk this job, I’m about to walk off this fking job, Don’t ever fking call me again, and much more. These are words for words. At this point we just wanted him and his wife to leave and not touch our car anymore. It didn’t help that he would talk to his wife the same way when he couldn’t get something to fit or he dropped a wrench he’d scream and cuss at her also. We paid $45 for the diagnostic, $111 for our part new from AutoZone (never given a receipt.), $5 gas to get the part, $41 for oil and $5 gas to get the oil, and $200 for the work. He quoted $250 but since he refused to finish the belt and mounts that night and we didn’t want them back at our home we paid $200 minus the unfinished work, if we known the damage caused and oil wasted we wouldn’t of paid a dime! Next morning me and my husband get the belt on and get less than half a mile down the road to discover we have not a drop of oil and when we put 1 qt in it immediately flowed out, hired next mechanic and he immediately found the crack in the timing cover. Never had a oil leak before now, I just want some ownership of responsibility and atleast partial refund. He supposedly warranties his work with new parts but didn’t even want to finish the job. I’m out $286 to have my car worse than it was to start. Down to using his customers phone to call his wife about taking to long at McDonalds and calling her a “dumb fking whe fk you” and a few more things of that nature. He’ll destroy your car and trash your property (I had to clean up after him and his wife way more than tolerable.) In the text he only keeps saying “I told you it had a hole”, “I pointed this out” . No he didn’t, not once, but the fact remains if the crack existed prior to him we would have already had a oil leak, but now there’s a crack large enough to hold no oil and somehow that was suppose to already be there? Just accept facts and own up to your work and make this right!!! (Last screenshots, apparently its not his 1st time to leave a car torn apart and doesn’t finish.)

While most businesses, or self employed individuals, take it with grace, Jonathan decided to go a different route with it. Threatening the reviewer, he demands the Facebook post to be taken down, while threatening to have somebody show up at the poster’s home. While the business owner doesn’t specify bodily harm, given the nature of the overall message, it is strongly implied.

Upon sharing the threat, many people commented, encouraging the poster to take it to the police; it is unknown if this has happened. However, the poster had made it clear, in a response to the threat, that she intended to seek litigations against the man.

The threat sent to a former customer regarding a Facebook post.
children, Law Enforcement, Media, Police, police relations, predatory, scam, terrorism, Uncategorized

COVID-19: Reality Check

For months now, we have seen abuse from the government unlike anything before. While most Americans are perfectly fine with the loss of their first, fourth, and even sixth amendment rights, some are beginning to wake up. As a result of this, social disobedience is quickly becoming a common trend. With so much confusion, who is in the right?

The introduction of COVID-19 introduced more than a new potential threat, it brought out mass fear and even hysteria. As the government began learning about the virus, they implimented some rather debatable “safety procedures.” Social distancing, masks, that sort of thing has now become common practice. However, many debate as to rather or not they went to far.

First amendment

Under the first amendment, all Americans are granted the freedom to practice their religions. What this means is the government has no legal grounds to interfere with this, or other, rights. However, since the COVID-19 situation began, we have seen that very ordeal unfold. In several cases, those who have dared to break the “law” of not going to church, were met with arrest. How is this possible? A simple loophole is all it takes, more on that later.

On social medias, such as Facebook and Youtube, those who are speaking out against the governments’ actions, are finding themselves censored, ability to post/comment blocked, or outright banned. In a controversial move, Facebook has gone as far as to form its own “Supreme court.” The intent of this is to determine what is, or is not, allowed on their site. However, this has lead to many conspiracy theories.

Fourth Amendment

Under the fourth amendment, all citizens have the right to be secure in their persons, homes, and property. At this point, we may as well just rule this one a dead right. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen what happens to those who dare to defy their government overlords. While initially, the “safety protocols” were mere suggestions, people have been brutally beaten and arrested by police. Their crime? Daring to run their businesses.

There are many articles discussing how the police have arrested business owners for literally committing no crime. By violating the “recomendations,” and being arrested for it, proves that these are not just suggestions. Furthermore, they demonstrate the more disturbing image at hand. It was Adolf Hitler who once said:

“The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed.” For many, this is what’s happening. Of course, when it’s a $1000+ fine for not wearing a suggestion on your face, it does seem plausible.

Sixth Amendment

The right to a speedy trial. Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you already know that this has been absent. Upon getting arrested, one could expect to sit in jail for an undetermined amount of time, with no courtdate. Why? Because the courts shutdown. While this is starting to change, it doesn’t change the fact that this right may had potentially been violated. Of course, this is just another cog in the political wheel.

What we have seen is nothing less than government operated terrorism on its people. Criminals are being released from jails/prisons over alleged COVID fears. However, people are being sent to jail simply for operating their own businesses. Places where facemasks are “mandatory,” don’t even care what you wear on your face. A person can walk aroumd with tissue paper on their face and have no problem.

From what I have seen, this os a game to strip citizens, using fear and false numbers, of their constitutional rights. The worst part of this, we are allowing it. When you really begin to dig into this, the contradictions become very apparant. This situation is no longer about protecting the people or preventing the spread of a virus, which has an approx 3% fatality rate globally. This is a war in which it is the government vs. the people.

children, Cyber, internet safety, Law Enforcement, Media, Police, predatory, scam, terrorism, Uncategorized

The James Saroka case

My years of journalism has brought me across many vile people. With these people, I believed that I had seen the worst of society, as I have learned, I would be proven wrong. Our team stumbled upon James (Jim) Saroka by mere circumstance. While many have already begun investigating into this man, we conducted our own investigation. The results, thus far, are condensed within this article. I have also began collecting evidence in hopes of criminal charges being filed on Saroka.

Operating scams, lewd acts with minors, physical and emotional abuse are just a few of the accusations Saroka has against him. As with anybody accused of such things, we began the process of compiling information. We first researched his organization, “Feetpeace,” his Youtube estimated income, and evidence to support the lewd accusations. The internet has not failed to provide.

Abuse accusations

Several Youtubers have covered this, and other subjects already. The videos that captured my attention, were made by two individuals known as “Digital Goon” and “Repzion.” The videos show various uploads from Saroka which outline the abuse. They can be found here and here. The videos outline, in depth, the abusive nature of Saroka.

Within his many uploads, Saroka admits to physically abusing his girlfriend, Kaitlyn. While this is an arrestable offense, the abuse doesn’t end there. In multiple videos, he berates, degrades, emotionally abuses, and uses many other forms of manipulation tactics on her. While discussing these things in his various videos, not only is he proud of his actions, he appears to be proud of the attention he gets from it. Below, we have included financial stats from his Youtube channel.

The abuse isn’t just toward his girlfriend, however. There have been reports of Saroka sending lewd videos to children. In one video, allegedly sent to a girl around the age of 12-14, he is accused to have been masturbating. While this video has not been found, or confirmed, edited photos have begun to circulate the Twitter feed. One such image is below.

Provided to us by an anonymous source, this is allegedly what was sent to a child.

With the image above, a source sent us an offical statement. That statement reads as follows:

“He was a part of our youth group (bc he used to believe in God but now I’m pretty sure he believes he is God?) (ALSO I knew him bc he was one of my friends cousins) but anyway, we tried to include him in our group and such, he was a little off but never as crazy as he is now. I studied psychology in college and my theory is that he always had some type of underlying bipolar disorder, but that typically doesn’t come out until your late teens early 20’s BESIDES THE POINT. BUT he took a liking to my best friend and we were all just trying to be friends with him. I don’t remember how it got to this point but he ended up sending her a voicemail poem but it was very creepy, and it ended with us waking up dead. He said he was going to kill us all. Obviously as young teenage girls, we were freaked out so since it wasn’t something that we could go to the cops with (so we thought) bc it wasn’t actual assault, we called our pastor since this POS was acting like the actual devil. The pastor contacts him and invited him to meet up just to talk to him (since he also has a background in Psych) and just to see where his head is at and if any other actions needed to be taken. When they met up, they were talking and everything was fine and James just freaked out and attacked him. Started choking him and stuff. So of course he called the police and filed a restraining order.”

Feetpeace and scams

As if abusing his girlfriend wasn’t bad enough, the criminal activity doesn’t end there. Over the years, Saroka has made a profitable career of operating scams. The scams, which often are operated by his organization, “feetpeace international,” are directed toward helping other people. What we have learned is, at no point, has the people ever recieved any money from him. So where the money go?

Saroka often creates “donation campaigns.” Through sites, such as GoFundMe, he raises money for people in need. However, the money is actually going to James Saroka, not the targeted individual. Because his campaigns are so questionable, we began looking into the organization itself.

Using several governments sites, we ran a nationwide search for “feetpeace” and “feetpeace international.” The results came back with a message stating that no such organization could be found. This means that his organization does not exist legally. With this information, we as a platform, recognize his organization as another one of his scams.

The search results from the IRS.gov site.

For many, these scams have not gone unnoticed. We found reports, on a variety of sites, that discuss Saroka, his organization, and his scams. One site, picutred below, had reports going back to 2017. This only furthered our questions as to why he has yet to be criminally charged. While assaulting his girlfriend would most likely not be a felony, these scams would be.

One of his victims, Josh (42,) was scammed out of $60+ thousand. As he paid off Saroka’s debt, while raising his own, it was clear that this vulnerable man was paying with his health. When comparing two photos of Josh, it is apparant that after meeting Saroka, he had sacrificed food for himself.

Currently, we have reached out to Sugarloaf police department for comment. Though to date, we have not recieved a statement, we remain hopeful of obtaining one. In our inquery, we asked them about the fact no charges have ever been filed against Saroka. Should we get a response, this paragraph will be edited to reflect that.

In my years of journalism, I have come across a variety of predators and abusers. While all of them are vile, none compare to the level in which James Saroka has obtained. This man exceeds anything I have ever seen from any predator before, preying on people in multiple ways. Worst yet, this article only covered a fraction of what this pitiful excuse for a man has done. We plan to stay on this, working to get legal action taken against Saroka. Until that time, this article is the best we can do.

Links

Report scams

Ripoffreport

Reddit

Dirty scams

Business relations, Law Enforcement, Media, Police, police relations, predatory, Uncategorized

Local shop accused of predatory practices

UPDATE: The store in question has released a statement. We are including it here.

We understand everyone’s concern, we Will match or beat any advertisers price on any product that we carry. Business needs to carry on, We sell protective gear along with many other businesses. If we ever have a price that you think is too high we will do our best to beat or match competitors price. We sell essential ite.ms, and these products are needed by people locally because all of the supplies are going to hospitals. These products need to be available for the public and we are doing our best to bring these products to you for the best prices possible. I understand that we are under attack, but we are here to talk, and I know that if you find a better price let me know. We get these gloves from our supplier, and I think that people should understand that these products are necessary for the regular people too. We will be glad to talk to anyone about any concerns that you know. anyone commenting are doing this based on hype and not because you have been charged too much because we bring low prices. There has been a brigade against me, but I have called the Board of Health who gave me the guidelines for me to sell these essential products. We are doing a service and I hope anyone mad can give me a call or stop in for the best possible price. NOBODY that ACTUALLY knows me or visits my store will see that we will do everything possible to bring you the products that you want for the besyt possibe price.

Additional information
We recieved photographs containing the prices of items that no longer appear on the site. We are posting them here.

_________________________________________


Recently, the ‘Director of sales and Marketing,’ Lindsay Catherine Lorence, recieved backlash after posting, “We’ve got all the essentials! Stop by Treasure Point or hit me up! 206 Marine Drive, Anderson. 765.643.5822.” The backlash stems after it was discovered that she, acting on behalf of her business, ‘Treasure Point,’ had apparantly bought out available supplies at other local retailers before allegedly price gouging the items for resell.

The post, which amounted to a lot of controversy, shows that the small business may have been hoarding the items.

The above shown items bring even more question due to the fact the store is listed as being a ‘car stereo’ and ‘motorsports’ retailer. However, predatorial business practices, post the SARS-CoVID-2, outbreak, aren’t unheard of.

Recently, there was public outcry when a Tennesse resident began stockpiling supplies for resell on Amazon. In the end, he was forced to donate the items, currently faces charges for price gouging, and had his items removed from the site.

When looking at ‘Treasure Point’s’ previous images, we found no indication that the store, prior to the outbreak, ever carried the items they are now accused of gouging. For this reason, and due to the outcry, we reached out to the store for comment. Currently, we have gotten no response.

Sadly, unethical practices such as this are becoming all to common. For Indiana residents, the state to which this store is located, a consumer complaint can be filed with the following telephone numbers: 1.800.382.5516 or 317.232.6330. Alternatively, an online complaint can be made here.

Business relations, Cyber, internet safety, Law Enforcement, Media, Police, predatory, terrorism, Uncategorized

Vincent Nicotra: Doxxing

Earlier this year, people witnessed the moment journalist, Chris Hansen, terminated his web designer, Vincent Nicotra. The termination was a result of countless unethical behaviors that ranged from false DMCA claims to doxxing. While you would think the lesson would had been clear, it appears that Nicotra is back to doxxing.

Nicotra implying that she was doxxed. Being that he posted this, implies he had it done, or did it himself.

Doxxing

Doxxing is a common method for obtaining personal information about a targeted individual. If used to harass the target, doxxing can be classified as a form of stalking, one of many reasons it is illegal. Illegal doxxing is the method of obtaining personal information and posting it online with malicious intent, exactly what Vincent has a history of doing.

Due to the nature and legalities of doxxing, social media sites have options for reporting this behavior. Twitters’, for instance, can be found here. Beyond going to social media, a victim can report these crimes to agencies such as the FBI. Information on this can be found here.

With each dox Vincent continues on innocent people, it is obvious that he either doesn’t care about the legal effects or is completely oblivious to them. The facts are simple, in a case such as this:

  • What Vincent is doing is illegal.
  • His doxxing can be classified as stalking, especially since he has doxxed some people several times.
  • Vincent can go to prison for these crimes.
  • Being that most of his victims are spread throughout several states, he could face felony charges.

While it is unlikely that Vincent will ever stop without legal involvement, we still issue this article as a warning to him. Furthermore, we present this article with the hopes that his victims are able to get the justice they deserve.

Business relations, Cyber, internet safety, Law Enforcement, Media, Police, scam

Vincent Nicotra: gallery

It is, without say, that articles go along way. However, evidence goes even further. We have decided to make another gallery, documenting Nicotra’s unethical, and potentially illegal, behaviors. This, like the Onision gallery, will be updated as needed.

UPDATE: We would like to thank everybody who has posted images. It is through this, we were/are able to collect evidence in the hopes it will finally bring justice to those targeted by Vincent Nicotra.

The “Hansen vs. Predators” site before and after pics. The photo of the post is in regards to an “auction” Vincent held for the site. However, we now believe that to be a false claim. It appears, that upon hikacking the website, Nicotra rerouted it to the lawfirm, owned by his sister.
Upon being banned from one page, our journalist took it upon himself to leave a review; Nicotra wasted no time in replying and banning our journalist, yet again. We are, however, going to prove that the statements mentioned are not false.The other images show false DMCA claims filed by Nicotra, as well as videos discussing them.
Keeping with his trend, Vincent has continued to smear the public image of his former employer, Chris Hansen. However, this time, he (un)skillfully attacked the Onision victims. You can also see the exchange between the journalist and Nicotra. Nicotra made a few insults against him prior to blocking.
Photos of an alleged soc account operated by Nicotra. This has yet to be confirmed by us as of this time. The other photo is of Sarah, discussing how Vincent lied to her in regards to a laptop that contsined evidence against Onision.
A text exchange between Nicotra and Sarah regarsing the computer. Another post made by the alleged soc account of Nicotra, sharing what many would consider to be a sexist meme. We have also included an exhange to which the soc account gives credit to Nicotra while slamming Hansen. This does support the possibility that Nicotra is operating this soc account.

Updates

Yeah, we know…this didn’t take long. However, when running around in the cyber world, we found this little gem.
An apology given by Nicotra, at some point. This, as to date, is the only time he has taken accountability.
March 10, 2020: Vincent Nicotra, using the hijacked Facebook pages, sexually harasses 18yo ‘Pandora Fox.’
Vincent Nicotra, via Twitter, makes new threats of doxxing while claiming he has “done nothing wrong.”
Via Twitter, Nicotra makes a threat of releasing, potentially already doxxed information. He further harasses the target with a sexual comment regarding journalist, Chris Hansen.
After the previous image, Nicotra again makes a dox threat. This time, claiming he has tracked their information and intends to post it publically online.
Nicotra, who had doxxed youtuber, ‘Repzion’ asking about his family. Names omitted.

Using his soc account, Nicotra makes threats to doxxing our platform. As of this time, police reports are being filed.
Alegedly, this is a SOC account used by Nicotra. Face blurred since the image is not of him.
Nicotra “accidently” admits to possessing child pornography.
Close-up image of the now deleted comment.
While Vincent denies operating this page, Facebook says otherwise.
Business relations, Cyber, internet safety, Law Enforcement, Media, Police, scam, terrorism, Uncategorized

The Nicotra scheme

Introduction

Former “web designer,” Vincent Nicotra, has been the target of various unethical and even illegal activities. While we had been following this, mildly, that has since changed. If you haven’t been following the Nicotra situation, let’s get you caught up.

Vincent, of “Ven interactive Media“, was originally in charge of websites for journalist, Chris Hansen. Nicotra recently was given the public spotlight when he filed multiple false DMCA claims against various Youtubers. However, his criminal, and unethical, activities didn’t stop there.

Doxxing Claims

Even prior to Nicotra’s termination from Hansen, there have been accusations in regards to doxxing. While we normally don’t discuss hearsay, there are multiple individuals making this claim. Oxford defines doxxing as, the “search for and publishment of private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the Internet, typically with malicious intent.”

While doxxing is illegal, it is often hard to get an actual conviction. In many cases, it’s simply to difficult to establish who the doxxer actually is. However, that’s if the doxxer plays it smart, something Vincent has clearly failed to do. While he has been exposed by his victims, and countless others, it appears to have no effect on Vincent’s behavior.

DMCA claims

Alongside the doxxing accusations, Nicotra is also accused of filing false DMCA claims. Baked Salmon and Wes Moast, being a constant target of such claims. Recently Baked Salmon even had his channel shutdown as a result of Vincent’s false DMCA reports. While the channel has since been restored, this doesn’t change the malicious intent behind Vincent’s actions.

Baked Salmon is an individual who has a history of being critical of Hansen and Nicotra. It is possible that the subjects within the video is what lead Nicotra’s actions. Even if this were to be true, it doean’t make the action any less illegal. While Hansen has, in recent times, apologized for the false DMCA claims, Nicotra has only continued to make the false reports. So what exactly is DMCA?

A DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) claim is intended to prevent copyright infringement. However, Vincent has apparantly forgotten that. In filing a DMCA claim, Vincent is claiming property ownership of the videos posted. The problem, however, is upon watching the videos targeted, it’s obvious that the claim is false. What Nicotra may not be aware of is section 512(f) of the DMCA. Section 512(f) of the DMCA act places legal liability on any person who willfully, and knowingly, files a false claim; remember, a DMCA claim is a legally binding document and can be used in court.

The computer and the FBI

One tidbit that has been circulating Twitter, in regards of Nicotra, is the infamous computer. A victim of Onision had apparantly sent a computer, containing evidence against Onision, to Vincent. Upon recieving the computer, it was supposed to be forwarded to the FBI. Sounds like a great plan, right? The problem is, and recently confirmed by Chris Hansen himself, is Vincent never actually sent it. Instead, after months of holding it, he sent it back to the victim. By doing this, it raises questions as to rather or not Nicotra was purposefully trying to derail the Onision investigation. In the end, we may never know the real reason as to why he did this.

Conclusion

Regardless of how you speak out, if it’s against Nicotra, you can ensure that problems will occur. Upon being terminated, the website, “Hansen vs. Predators,” was essentially taken hostage by Nicotra. Since the time of this event, the website has been put up for auction. Various other individuals, who have spoken against Nicotra, were met with insults, DMCA claims, and even the loss of their channels.

Nicotra, appears to be trying to salvage his reputation while destroying it. Filled with many allegations, some being sexual harassment, to which we haven’t even begun to cover, it leads us to ask, “why doesn’t he simply stop?” As with most things, this is a question to which we may never get an answer. In the meantime, the people he has targeted have waged an all-out virtual war against this apparent abuser.