Recover Lost Money

[moe__83]

I was recently frauded by the same site that frauded many other people. Meaning it had the same format: http://www.secure-trade-comp.com I lost 790 dollars Cdn. I want to know what I can do to get my money back. Does anyone know any way to do this? Or any way that I can find these people, or how to hack in to their site, anything!!! Any suggestions are welcome. I really need this money back- I'm a broke student and need this money. Here is my story if this helps:

1.)12/05/2005
-I went on Ebay and when I found a laptop I wanted, the item page said that I was to contact the seller at elisabeth_etta@yahoo.com in order to be approved to bid. I did so, and asked to be on her approved bidders list.
-I was emailed later by the seller who wanted to know if I had an offer. I emailed her back and offered her $750 Canadian or $650 USD. I thought this was still through Ebay.
2.)12/06/2005
-She emailed me back, accepted my offer and asked for my home address, which I emailed to her.
-She then emailed me back later saying she sent the laptop to a shipping company, Secure Trade Comp, and wanted to know when they contacted me. She also said she paid the shipping/handling fees.
- Secure Trade Comp emailed me, and let me know they had the laptop in their custody. They gave me a customer id, and tracking number, as well as a link to their webpage which connected me right to my tracking info on the site. They gave me the sellers home address, and the address to wire the money to. They also gave me the sellers address: Name: Elisabeth Etta, Address: 88, Dongola Rd, City: London, Country: United Kingdom, Zip: E15 1AY.
-I emailed the company and asked several questions, including where I pick the item up, and is this service safe. They emailed me back and said it was 100% safe, that I would get my laptop on Dec. 10, 2005, and answered all my other questions immediately.
3.)12/07/2005
-I emailed Secure Trade Comp and said that I couldn't go through Western Union. The emailed me back and said I had to, that's the only way they can do it. They also said do not wire the money to the seller, as we cannot protect your money. So I went to a local Western Union and wired the money to the address they said to: First Name: Hanry,Last Name: Richard, Address: 51 Carter Lane, City: London, Country: United Kingdom, Zip: SW1 8BN, who they claimed was an agent of the company.
-I then emailed the company the western union mtcn number and my address, in a fill-outform on their webpage.
-Throughout this whole process I was keeping in touch with the seller, and she was answering various questions within a day of my asking them.
4.) 12/08/2005
-I went to western unions website and checked the money order status. It said it was picked up. So I emailed the company and asked about the status.
-I continually emailed both the seller and the company and still have never recieved an email from either since before I paid the money.
-I did alot of research on the website of the business and it says over and over that the seller is protected, and it even has addresses, and phone numbers and emails, all of which never respond to my questions and concerns.

Any help would be very much appreciated,
Thanks, Margaret Owens

[JaxHot]

Did they warn you that their service was known to be used to rip people off on the internet?
Probably not.
Western Union has a due diligence to notify its customers that they could be losing money on the internet when paying for items.
When you see a Western Union commercial on tv remember that you paid for it.

[moe__83]

No western union did not give me a warning. I am doing everything I possibliy can to get my money back. I mean Everything!!!

Margaret