Scam invoice received from softwaresammler.de

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

Then they have to find out your real name and address. Seriously, they have to sue the correct person. If I have a claim against Jane Doe, Odeonsplatz, Munich and she signed up as Angela Merkel, Bundestag, Berlin I can't go for Merkel, can I? I mean, I can but the case will be thrown out of court.

 

By the time they realize their mistake you are long gone. Do you think that a scammer is going to follow you around the globe?

And if they aren't a scammer?

[Krieg 15,104]

 

What counts as misleading? If you check the link I posted, I would not have said that was in any way misleading.

It is "misleading" when you do not speak German :ph34r:

[bal00 1,917]

 

Looking at the page again, I would say slim.

 

Next to the registration field, there is pricing information. It looks pretty clear to me. I don't know if, after the fact, you can get out of it.

That's just one version of the website. These scammers use different versions for different occasions. Some simply change the site after sending out invoices, others use cookies and referrer checks. If you arrive via Google after searching for a certain piece of software, the pricing information is hidden in the fine print or not visible at all. If you enter the URL directly or visit the website a second time, the price is displayed as it should be. I'd bet that this is not the website the OP saw when he signed up.

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

It is "misleading" when you do not speak German

I could get away with using "language barrier" as an excuse :huh:

[angelbeast 748]

What if the website was changed in between. I mean, let users login without price information, and when you see that you have enough victims, change the website to reflect the price?

 

EDIT: bal00 beat me to it.

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

Looking at the page again, I would say slim.

 

Next to the registration field, there is pricing information. It looks pretty clear to me. I don't know if, after the fact, you can get out of it.

 

Registration page

 

EDIT: OK, go with sarabyrd's info, because of the incorrect address.

 

Did you actually go ahead and use the service, i.e. download stuff?

That wasn't the page I was directed to...in fact is was completely different, there was not so many fields to fill in!

 

Yes, I did use the service, but only because it said "freeware". Gah! I do realise I was being naive there in thinking that it would be free after I had googled a programme my computer said it needed and put "free" and free came up.

[Krieg 15,104]

 

I could get away with using "language barrier" as an excuse

Not really.

 

 

What if the website was changed in between. I mean, let users login without price information, and when you see that you have enough victims, change the website to reflect the price?

That's what bal00 explained. The "Landing Pages" (the ones you find in search engines) being different from the main website.

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

Not really.

That's what I thought.

[sarabyrd 18,767]

 

And if they aren't a scammer?

They still have to have a valid address to deliver a court order to. If you move away they cannot deliver and cannot obtain a title against you, even if they do find out your real identity.

[ruapehu 3,756]

 

These scammers use different versions for different occasions. Some simply change the site after sending out invoices...

Interesting to know! So we should always take a screenshot of whatever we sign for if it seems to be free?

 

(but if it's not a scam, I don't think you can use the language barrier as an excuse...I would never in my life register for a site in a language I didn't understand! But I think SpiritedAway just meant that as a joke anyway...?)

 

Sarabyrd: I don't understand the business about the incorrect address though. If I register for something (assuming it isn't a scam and they clearly state a fee, and the info is then recevied via internet/email), and I enter a load of bogus details - fake address, fake bank account etc, surely the company would have some means to get me..? Otherwisde they are totally unprotected. (I'm not suggesting this is the case for the OP; I'm just interested in knowing how it would work for genuine providers of a service over the web)

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

They still have to have a valid address to deliver a court order to. If you move away they cannot deliver and cannot obtain a title against you, even if they do find out your real identity.

At the moment I am living at home with my parents, so all the internet details will be under my parents name anyway, so it would be difficult to find my name. And when I move abroad, I will be living with my employer anyway.

[bal00 1,917]

 

Interesting to know! So we should always take a screenshot of whatever we sign for if it seems to be free?

No need really. The only companies that work like this are scammers, and you don't need evidence because these things never go to court.

[El Jeffo 42,135]

Nothing like sleeping your way to the top!

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

Interesting to know! So we should always take a screenshot of whatever we sign for if it seems to be free?

 

(but if it's not a scam, I don't think you can use the language barrier as an excuse...I would never in my life register for a site in a language I didn't understand! But I think SpiritedAway just meant that as a joke anyway...?)

 

Sarabyrd: I don't understand the business about the incorrect address though. If I register for something (assuming it isn't a scam and they clearly state a fee, and the info is then recevied via internet/email), and I enter a load of bogus details - fake address, fake bank account etc, surely the company would have some means to get me..? Otherwisde they are totally unprotected. (I'm not suggesting this is the case for the OP; I'm just interested in knowing how it would work for genuine providers of a service over the web)

But then I would have thought they would have asked for bank or credit details upfront :S

 

And yes, the language barrier thing was meant as a joke, as if I filled in the fields, it would be hard to say that I didn't understand the language ^_^

[SpiritedAway 3]

OK, so I will add the "invoice" and you guys can tell me what you think, I mean there is a lot on there that I don't understand, but I get the gist. Then you can tell me if you think. I spoke to my mum who tells me not to ignore it, so I am thinking that maybe it is not a scam and it is just my stupidity and so I will pay them. The last thing I want is to go to court :|

 

 

Content Services Ltd.

Mundenheimer Straße 70

68219 Mannheim

 

Kontakt:

http://www.support-online-center.com/

 

Telefon : +49-1805-88204486 (0,14 EUR/min)*

Telefax : +49-1805-88204487 (0,14 EUR/min)*

(Montag bis Freitag / 09.00 - 18.00 Uhr)

 

*aus dem deutschen Festnetz, gegebenenfalls abweichende Preise aus dem Mobilfunknetz

 

Umsatzsteuerid: DE258263766

Handelsregister: HRB 703297, Amtsgericht Mannheim

 

[fake name and address]

 

Ihre Kundennummer:

[the number]

 

Ihre Rechnungsnummer:

[number]

 

Datum: 06.08.2009

 

Anmeldung auf www.softwaresammler.de

 

Sehr geehrte Frau [name],

 

wir freuen uns, dass Sie unseren Dienst auf www.softwaresammler.de nutzen und

bitten Sie daher folgenden Betrag an uns zu überweisen:

 

Beschreibung:

 

12-Monatszugang für www.softwaresammler.de

Anmeldung vom 05.08.2009

8,00 EUR / Monat, Zahlung laut AGB ein Jahr im Voraus

 

Preis:

 

96,00 EUR

 

Im Bruttobetrag ist die gesetzliche Umsatzsteuer enthalten.

 

Bitte begleichen Sie den Gesamtbetrag von 96,00 EUR bis zum

13.08.2009 auf das nachfolgende Konto:

 

Für Kunden aus Deutschland:

 

Kontoinhaber: Content Services Ltd.

Kontonummer: 4276005

Bankleitzahl: 60050101

Bank: Baden-Württembergische Bank

 

Für Kunden aus dem Ausland:

 

Kontoinhaber: Content Services Ltd.

IBAN: DE38600501010004276005

SWIFT-BIC: SOLADEST

Bank: Baden-Württembergische Bank

 

Wichtig: Bitte geben Sie im Verwendungszweck Ihre Kunden- und Rechnungsnummer an

und als Kontoinhaber die Content Services Ltd., ansonsten kann Ihre Zahlung

bei uns nicht zugeordnet werden.

 

Ihre Kundennummer: SO9103453, Ihre Rechnungsnummer: RE0809129670

 

Sollten Sie den oben genannten Betrag nicht innerhalb der Frist überweisen,

entstehen Ihnen zusätzliche Mahnkosten.

 

Weitere Informationen zur Rechnung:

 

Sie haben sich auf der Seite www.softwaresammler.de angemeldet und erhalten dafür ein Jahr

Zugang zu den Inhalten. Bei Ihrer Anmeldung haben Sie das komplette Anmeldeformular

mit Ihrem Namen, Anschrift, Geburtsdatum und E-Mailadresse ausgefüllt.

Des Weiteren haben Sie die AGB, Datenschutzerklärung und den Verzicht auf das

Widerrufsrecht akzeptiert.

 

Durch den Verzicht auf das Widerrufsrecht haben Sie nicht mehr die Möglichkeit Ihren

Vertrag zu widerrufen, Rechtsgrundlage hierfür ist § 312d Abs.3 Nr.2 BGB. Auf unserer

Seite www.softwaresammler.de beginnt die Dienstleistung sofort nach Anmeldung.

 

Wir haben den Aktivierungslink und die Zugangsdaten an Ihre E-Mailadresse

[e-mail] geschickt. Diesen Aktivierungslink haben Sie bestätigt.

Sie haben daher nachweislich den Zugang genutzt. Hier noch einmal Ihre Zugangsdaten:

Username: [e-mail], Passwort: [password they sent] . Auf der Seite www.softwaresammler.de

können Sie sich mit den Zugangsdaten einloggen und die Inhalte nutzen.

 

Sollten Sie bei der Angabe Ihres Geburtsdatums 08.01.1990 falsche Angaben gemacht haben,

liegt ein Betrugsdelikt vor. Eine Strafanzeige behalten wir uns diesbezüglich vor.

 

Ihre IP-Adresse [My IP address] haben wir bei der Anmeldung

(genauer Zeitpunkt: 05.08.2009, 12:27:27 Uhr) gespeichert. Es ist dadurch möglich über

den verwendeten Provider [provider info] den Verursacher der Anmeldung zu ermitteln.

 

Unsere AGB können Sie auf der Seite www.softwaresammler.de noch einmal nach lesen.

 

Für eventuelle Rückfragen stehen wir Ihnen gerne telefonisch oder über unser

Kontaktformular auf der Seite www.support-online-center.com zur Verfügung.

 

Über das Kontaktformular können wir Ihre Anfragen schnellstmöglich bearbeiten. Bitte haben Sie dafür

Verständnis, dass Anfragen direkt an die Mailadresse nicht zugestellt werden können.

 

Im Anhang ist ihre Rechnung als PDF-Datei. Sie benötigen dafür den Acrobat Reader.

 

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

 

Content Services Ltd.

 

Name & Registered Office:

 

Content Services Ltd. - 5 Jupiter House,

Calleva Park - Aldermaston - Reading Berkshire RG7 8NN

 

Company No. 06326552 (Cardiff) - Director: Alexander Varin

I mean it seems pretty legal :/

[Jimbo 1,269]

Right - let's be clear.

 

Man the fuck up and ignore it. What's the worst that could happen? They threaten some more and you eventually pay. But how exactly are they going to find you? Pay for a court order to obtain a release of info from your IP, and then chase you some more through a lawyer? For 96 yoyos???

 

Ignore it.

[angelbeast 748]

It does not seem to be legal. If it was legal, they would not have gone to lengths about how they can catch you. If it was legal, they would have just sent the bill and expected you to pay it.

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

Right - let's be clear.

 

Man the fuck up and ignore it. What's the worst that could happen? They threaten some more and you eventually pay. But how exactly are they going to find you? Pay for a court order to obtain a release of info from your IP, and then chase you some more through a lawyer? For 96 yoyos???

 

Ignore it.

Because I fear that I will get a black mark next to my name, especially where finances are concerned since I am going to be a first time home buyer.

There could also be the case in that they want to make an example :/

[SpiritedAway 3]

I am slightly confused on the "Es ist dadurch möglich über

den verwendeten Provider [provider info] den Verursacher der Anmeldung zu ermitteln.". Does this mean that they can gain access to my info via my service provider easily?

[angelbeast 748]

it is people like you that they target ;)