Ronin
RoninSafe Local Friend Dating – Craigdating Network The Scam
A frequent scammer tactic is to include an encoded email in their post. This so you can contact them directly and avoid the Craigslist email relay. This enables a low labor effort to get you in to the scam robot cycle. When you send an email, an entirely robotic script kicks in.
In this case my “date” directed me to vspf.pw – Safe Local Friend Dating Network, or CraigDating Network. (Different pages in the same site.) It is the unfortunately all too typical date verification scam. The process of sign-up asks for a user name and an email, then on the next page you are to enter your credit card. Like all the other date verification scams, there is a charge that is deliberately hidden. This site has two modes, what I call Dating Mode, and Porn Mode. Which mode you get will depend upon which page in the website you were sent to.
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In Dating Mode…
There is a paragraph of fine print. (my emphais).
By pressing 'Click Here For Access', I certify that I have read and agree
to the complete terms of membership and billing and that the card
entered above is my credit card. Your access to Local Dates Here includes
a 2 day free trial promo to Swim Daters Meet Up. If you choose to remain
a member of Swim Daters Meet Up beyond the trial period,
your membership will renew at thirty nine dollars and ninety nine cents.
Your membership to Local Dates Here will be Free for Lifetime.
You will also receive a free membership to InboxPartners.
Charges made to your credit card will appear under
"swdasp.com (866)994-3487", operated by Chanabellas Limited,
an eCommerce Merchant located in the United Kingdom.
It doesn’t say it, but that $39.99 is a per month charge.
Porn Mode
This is where it gets really nasty.
Here is what you see when you enter your credit card
Here is the real page where you are entering your information:
Here is what has happened….
Thru use of a programming command called iframe, you have been redirected without your knowledge. You are signing up for pornography service – The website is hardcoreallaccesspornstars (the red box above). The iframe command also blocks you from seeing the part on the right, which is almost $130 per month to access additional porngraphy sites. A charge will appear on your credit card REPASSISTLIVE. com.
But wait there’s more!
See the “terms” under the little red arrow above? That is actually a hyperlink to a terms and conditions document. Those familiar with the web programming will know that they had to take overt steps to make it not look like a hyperlink. Here is a snip from the T&C document:
There is even more fun!
The site that is hidden underneath rotates. With each click that site will change to a different pornography site, and a different billing name. I have found more than 900 of these sites. In dating mode, there is a mere 540.
Can you cancel?
Each of the above charges comes with the notation that you are on a trial period and can cancel. There are a few issues:
- You cannot see the charges on the right they are deliberately hidden.
- You wouldn’t know to click on the “terms” hyperlink because it has been deliberately modified to make it look like plain text – not a hyperlink.
- You might or might not get an email that advises you of the trial period and charges. Many readers have said they never received an email. If it is sent, it could very well go right to the spam folder.
So if you knew about it you might be able to cancel. The operators of the sites are not known for their superior customer service.
Safe Local Friend Dating and Craigdating network Owners
The Safe Local Friend Dating Network site – VSPF.PW, is registered privately, in Panama. The .pw (high level domain) is intended for use by business entities in Palau.
There are usually multiple sites, with the same design and branding that use different URL’s. Here is one such site:
safelocalfrienddating.com – Safe Dating Network or Verified Dating Network
Why is this? It appears that the scammers copy the code from one site to another. Typos and all.
You are really in Cyprus, or Spain, or England
No you didn’t make a wrong turn in Des Moines Iowa. The iframe programming command redirected you to the hidden website. Those websites are owned by small companies in the UK, Cypres, Spain and the Netherlands.
- swdasp*com Swim Daters Meet Up; owned by Chanabellas Limited, Watford England
- cnvst*com – conversationalists date; owned by Kasho holdings, Nicosia, Cyprus
- byskgm*com – Boldly Seeking Marriage; owned by Kings Media SL, Baleares Spain
- dcvrdrnlv*com – Discover Adoring Love; owned by The Leads Factory International B.V, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Lets look deeper in to one of the sites cnvst.com. This site is registered to Vlad Bugariu in Cyprus.
cnvst.com Registry
Registrant Name: Vlad Bulgariu Registrant Organization: Kasho Holding Limited Registrant Street: ELEFTHEROUPOLEOS STREET 12 Registrant City: Nicosia Registrant State/Province: Keryneia Registrant Postal Code: P.C. 2001 Registrant Country: CY Registrant Phone: +01.8663501106
Now I am sure Vlad Bulgariu (a Romanian sur name) is a fine upstanding Cypriot, but I don’t think I am going to be giving him a credit card number anytime soon.
Vlad Bulgariu seems to be quite the entrepreneur. He has 33 websites registered with his name on it. The company Kasho Holding Limited, also has a Boca Raton Florida address. The address in Cyprus seems to be a shell, with multiple business reporting from the building there.
Of course we don’t know if Vlad is a real name or not, there doesn’t seem to be much else to find on him.
One of the tricks the company does, is to ask for additional information when canceling a subscription. They ask for the first 6, and last 4 of your credit card number, and/or a full checking account number. You can read The complaint filed at the Better Business Bureau for Kasho Holding Limited. – an unresolved credit card dispute. An unresolved, credit card dispute. I’m shocked (he said with a nod to Claude Rains).
Faking the Location of your “Date”
Craigsdating Network and Safe site fakes the location of your ‘date’. It is easy to detect, I can go to the same page from my land-line connected internet, and from my cell phone at the same time and get two different locations. The do this with a geolocation service. that looks at your internet address (IP) address and can determine the general location – close enough to make this person appear wherever you happen to be,
Faking how long they have been in business
The Safe Local Friend Dating Network (VSPF.PW) claims to have been in business since 2010. The site was initially registered in March, 2015. Vlad’s sites, have been around since 2015.
No Happy Ending here
This is not the start of a beautiful friendship. Casablanca and Cyprus are a long way off. You are not going to meet anyone on Safe Local Friend Dating Network (vspf.pw). It is not safe. It is a scam.
If this seems like a complicated set up, you got that right. The rabbit hole goes even deeper, because the dating site where you typed your information, is really a front end for a White Label Dating Services site. You don’t really know who has your credit card. You can read more about the details of this whole thing is put together in my post Get Verified: Tinder, Badoo, and Craigslist – Matrix of a Scam.
Of course as soon as you see someone posting their email, phone number, or kik ID in a Craigslist post, you should just flag it and hit the next button. I just spend the time here to expose and explain, so readers will know what they are dealing with, and be able to apply that information as the travel the roads of the Internet.
I would love to hear from anybody to see what their experiences are with any of the sites, or Kasho Holdings. You can comment below, or send me a private message in the strictest of confidence.
safelocalfrienddating.com
Safelocalfrienddating.com is another version of this scam page. Amy Kristen sends an email for you to get verified. The domain name was registered anonymously in October 2016. Amy Kristen is a name I have seen in a lot of these emails.
Post Script
Recognizing an Online Dating Scammer
Here are some of the quick things to watch for on Craigslist, or any internet forum for that matter.
- Poor use of the English language (or what ever language is native to your location)
- The poster places quick contact information in the ad, such as phone number, email address, Kik ID, etc.
- Fake pictures – see my page on Tineye Search
- Lots of blank spaces between the end of the text and the bottom of the post (the bot has a bug that they don’t seem to care about)
- 2 pictures that are the same
- Cell phone numbers that are not from Retail Providers – See my Cell Phone Farmer post.
- Patterns – really, they use the same text over and over again.
- Over the top language – There are some real women on sites, the approach that a woman uses (even in casual hookups) is not likely to be like something from a porno flick.
For additional information, you can visit the FBI, which has additional behaviors of the typical scammer.
Vlad Bulgariu / Kasho Holding Limited websites.
| bstfrdt.com | conversationistsdate.com |
| frstchc.com | chitchatanddate.com |
| kashoholdinglimited.com | cchtd.com |
| hkpdtgsrvc.com | sgprdt.com |
| cnvst.com | lvbgdt.com |
| btfdt.com | frmrsmt.com |
| dtntdt.com | farmersmeetanddate.com |
| enjoylifeanddate.com | datenightdating.com |
| jylfdt.com | beautifuldaters.com |
| lovebugsdating.com | atlastlovers.com |
| lstlvrs.com | readytobewooed.com |
| singleprofessionalsdate.com | rdytbwd.com |
| neighborhoodsinglesdate.com | ltlvbgn.com |
| adulthookupdating.com | letlovebeginhere.com |
| nbhdsg.com | rlmenyou.com |
| movieloverschatanddate.com | lvofdte.com |
| mlvcht.com |
safelocalfrienddating.com
Safe Dating Network was registered anonymously in the Bahamas on October 21, 2016. Their website claims to have been in business since 2010.
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23 Comments
Sam
August 16, 2019 - 10:55 pmI got an MMS, when I responded, the bot claimed it was a wrong number, but claimed to be drunk and continued to be flirtatious. Then I was offered a link at http://www.localsafethong.pro. I did a whois on the domain and discovered that it had been registered a day ago. I asked how “she” had found that site, and how long “she” had been a member. I got no response and it stopped there. A quick investigation of the site (with JavaScript disabled) claimed that the base site was a url shortener, including part of the path produced a 403, and the full path produced a page talking about my invite, but still mentioning “Safe local friend”, which is how I found this page
ChipG
August 8, 2017 - 11:01 amThanks. Another variation: safedatingservices.com
Same thing.
I suggested to “her” that while I respected “her” need for safety, that I was concerned about my digital safety and asked to meet for a drink in a public place. Rejected.
“She” in this case posted an adv on a dating site (Cougar Life) and included “her” email address in “her” profile. Probably because the site admins sniffed out the scam and shut “her” down too quickly for a lot of PM’s back and forth.
John Myers
April 30, 2017 - 3:37 pmWhich one? God! They are all scammers!
On Tue, Apr 18, 2017 at 5:29 PM, Ronin Eternales wrote:
> Mike commented: “Is http://www.idateasia similar to safe date local friends?” >
Ronin Eternales
April 18, 2017 - 6:32 pmI date asia seems to be a white label dating site, so I would not classify the same as the shell sites that sign you up for white label and porn sites. That said, I would not bother with the site. The owner has chosen to stay anonymous, and these sites have very little to offer that is unique.
John Myers
April 8, 2017 - 1:37 amRonin I feel affirmed having visited this site. I have recognized all the earmarks of the scammers and avoided them. Whew! I guess my questions are; Are there real people on Cl?; and if so; How do you meet them?
Ronin Eternales
April 8, 2017 - 7:35 amIn WFM, The only real persons I have seen were really escorts.
John Myers
April 8, 2017 - 8:02 amHa! Okay. So how did you discover that they were escorts and not fake robotic scammers? I have only encountered the latter.
Ronin Eternales
April 9, 2017 - 6:05 pmThey asked for money after I contacted them.
David
March 27, 2017 - 1:43 pmI wish I had done my homework. I actually called to cancel my subscription with one of these fake sites. It seems to have gone through, and I did get a confirmation number. But to be safe, I am canceling my credit card.
Ronin Eternales
April 3, 2017 - 5:30 pmWise move, I am finding more and more, that the companies are shells, and when you can find who they are, it isn’t good.
JIM
March 8, 2017 - 11:37 amTwice now I have tried to post a warning message on Craig List. Under the subject Personals/casual encounters/W4M about this scam/fraud that’s going on, warning to other guys not to go there.
First of all I can’t find it once it says it’s published. So I don’t know where CL is putting it or hiding it.
Then next day I look at my account under my postings. An it says it’s been flagged for removal.
Who’s doing this?? Is this CL operators that’s removing it?? Why would they do that??
Have you ever tried posting some kind of warning message to other guys about the scam scheme going on??
Ronin Eternales
March 8, 2017 - 5:57 pmI can only answer with partial certainty, but I can get you close.
I KNOW that It is not CL operations. They are quite negligent – because there are things they could do to screen out a large majority of scams – they just choose not to. e.g. a poster from California isn’t likely looking for a date in Iowa. 😉 Then you have a combination of the vigilantes and scammers themselves. CL Vigilantes will flag anything not a W4M post. In some cases, they actually have networks and chat rooms where they gang up to to go flag something. In their view, you posting a warning doesn’t add value – kinda of a “no schidt Sherlock” moment to them. I don’t agree with it, because new people go there all the time, as evidenced by the large number of visitors to my site. There are also some scammers who might flag it as well, but I think they are the minority.
I have posted a warning in W4M and kept it up for a day or so, but it eventually gets flagged, and I posted again, based on the number of positive comments I received. I think because it was a high quality post, it lasted a little longer. I also posted it in rants and raves. That post is essentially the same content as my craigslist post here – https://ronineternales.wordpress.com/2015/12/11/online-dating-scams-craigslist/
JIM
March 8, 2017 - 8:15 pmThanks for Your Come back…..interesting..
JIM
March 7, 2017 - 12:12 pmI don’t think you are actually talking to a real person. I think it’s a computer spitting out canned messages.
Because I have asked specific questions and never get an answer back.
Also when you do go this site to register. You see the person you supposedly talking to, pictures and all,
Their profile. In my case this women lived in same town as I did. Do they have some way of detecting your exact location? and put this in the profile to make it more interesting? Again I asked for her to name something in our town that anyone who lives here should know. But never got an answer back.
That’s why I think it’s not a real person you are talking to.
Ronin Eternales
March 7, 2017 - 12:31 pmThe websites can detect your general location. This is discussed in a few of the earlier blog entries. You can also see how they do it on my video. https://youtu.be/F97BO0J0nDs
It is in the third site I examine.
-kn
March 7, 2017 - 11:45 amI used a virtual credit card # (with ShopSafe, through Bank Americard), funded with only $5.00. It was declined, as I expected it to be. They had tried to charge more than $5. Then I Googled the safelocalfreinddatingnetwork (note: friend is spelled wrong) and found your scam page. Thanks, -kn
JIM
March 7, 2017 - 11:42 amUnder their Terms and Conditions, You will not find a number to call to cancel their so called 7 day free trial.
If you don’t cancel before the 7th day, you will be billed $39.95 per month.
Also the “Any charges made to your credit card will appear under ‘SERVSCASH.COM ”
SERVSCASH.COM IS not a valid website address. Like he says “You don’t really know who has your credit card” So how do you cancel the service? Cancel the credit card or get bank to refuse charges.
But then they will just change their name and continue to charge away.
So much for our free enterprise in this country.
Ronin Eternales
March 7, 2017 - 12:25 pmWhen you cancel your credit card it will stop ALL charges. Any future charges will be declined. When you cancel your card you will get a new number which the scam website will NOT have.
Ronin Eternales
March 7, 2017 - 6:30 pmAlso the website mentioned, is a boilerplate site used for these sort of scam websites. It is a valid web address, but I wouldn’t bother contacting them, because you do not know who is behind that web site.
Scott woodeson
October 1, 2017 - 11:54 amI just got scammed with a site, will they keep taking money from my credit card or is it a once off
Ronin Eternales
October 3, 2017 - 9:12 amYou need to cancel your credit card.
James
March 3, 2017 - 11:19 pmThanks, was just about to send c/c info because the pictures were showing up with less garments on. Then I googled and found your post. You saved me the headache and gave me good solid info !
James
December 28, 2016 - 12:24 pmThanks for the heads up. I came across this scam on Craig’s list . it was exactly as you’ve explained. but I’m not giving credit card info to be verified. Then an hour later I get a second introdutory email as if their computer didn’t take into account our previous conversation. That’s when I googled safelocal friend scam and found your article. Thanks again.