Is www.rom-express.ro a fraud site?

[spilo]

as above. I recently decided to buy a laptop from this guy, and he asked me to use that site as an escrow service. Is http://www.rom-express.ro legitimate? Please help!

[eviltwinusa]

1. Are they an Ebay approved escrow company?
2. Did they contact you to buy the item outside of ebay?
3. Do an Ebay user ID search to find out where the person is located.
Post any and all information you have on this person on this site. Do not do anything and check this board reguarly for up dates.

[peg]

Well, I would have to say it's a fraud.

First of all, there are far too many scams coming out of Romania (It's the next Nigeria as far as scams go). So that alone would turn me away.

Next, I checked the WHOIS info

Server Used: [ whois.rotld.ro ]

rom-express.ro = [ 217.10.193.171 ]

domain-name: rom-express.ro
description: MobiFon S.A.
description: Piata Charles de Gaulle nr.15
description: Sector 1
description: Bucharest Romania
description: Phone: 40-21-302 4156
description: Fax: 40-21-302 1475
admin-contact: IOS1-ROTLD
technical-contact: IOS1-ROTLD
zone-contact: IOS1-ROTLD
nameserver: ns10.dr.myx.net
nameserver: dnsbck.dr.myx.net
info: ion fanescu
info: calea dorobantilor bucuresti
info:
info: cod fiscal / cod numeric personal:
info: Registered via xnet
info: The NIC for Romania is http://www.rotld.ro/
notify: domain-admin@listserv.rnc.ro

object-maintained-by: ROTLD-MNT
updated: domain-admin@listserv.rnc.ro
20051215
source: ROTLD
application-date: 20051215 <---- December 15, 2005?? Yesterday!!
domain-status: active
registration-date: 20051215
expire-date: 20061215
role: ISP Support
address: MobiFon S.A.
address: Avrig Business Center
address: 3-5 Avrig Street Sector 2
address: Bucharest Romania
phone: 40-21-302 2333
fax-no: 40-21-302 2580
e-mail: isp.support@connex.ro

admin-contact: IOS2-ROTLD
technical-contact: MG5-ROTLD
technical-contact: SB42-ROTLD
technical-contact: IR13-ROTLD
technical-contact: LI23-ROTLD
nic-hdl: IOS1-ROTLD
info: " For billing issue please contact LI23-ROTLD "
info: object maintained by ro.rnc local registry
notify: domain-admin@listserv.rnc.ro

object-maintained-by: ROTLD-MNT
updated: cmircea@rnc.ro
20010802
updated: cmircea@rnc.ro
20011031
updated: cmircea@rnc.ro
20011106
source: ROTLD

As I looked at the WHOIS I found that this site has a creation date of December 15, 2005. Since I am posting this on December 16, 2005, I would say that this site is EXTREMELY New!!!

Then I checked to see if the site is SSL Enabled... (For your security), and there is NO SSL Enabled (Check yourself... change the http portion of the address to https).

At the time I was checking... There was NO way to login in. Granted the site stated "We are curently changing server location .Registering is not available ." however... I find that to be a crock of ... Well you know what!

Then I poked around a bit more of the site. This company, whos apparent main job is shipping, uses flat HTML pages to show the TRACKING? That tells me that the developer must create the pages for EACH individual transaction as opposed to dynamically. This explains the reason for the statement on the tracking page that states "Tracking number letters must be entered with CAPS ON !" because web addresses are case sensitive, and if you entered a lower case letter when they created an upper case letter as the page name... it won't work. A truly professional page would be able to handle UPPER or lower or even MiXeD case as a database query (Next time you track on UPS try it and see).

Finally, for a company that does WORLDWIDE shipping... You think you could find them in google? Try and see. I get a lot about CD ROM burning (nero express, etc..) but not much on http://www.rom-express.ro

So I would avoid them like the plague.

[spilo]

thank you for your advice guys.

What's worse, he asked me to use western union to pay his agent in ROMANIA, not in my country singapore.

after questioning him abit more, he has seemed to ignore my emails. I guess he has realized i know he is a fraud.

thanks again guys. !

[JaxHot]

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