There is a report on social media this morning of a bogus TelexFree site that mirrors an old TelexFree site that existed when the company was actively soliciting business. The site creates the impression TelexFree has reopened.
TelexFree has not reopened.
It is Sunday. Federal prosecutors handing the TelexFree criminal case involving alleged fraudsters James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The actual TelexFree site says the firm has suspended all business activity. The trustee in the TelexFree bankruptcy case has begun his investigation and announced in court filings that he is seeking court authority to issue subpoenas. (See documents 261-265 here. Link current as of today’s date.)
Because the report about the bogus site was made on social media and the intent of the poster is not known, extreme caution is warranted. Clicking on the link to the asserted hacking site through the social-media site potentially could have bad consequences. So could entering any information on forms at the site.
The social-media poster positioned the report as a warning hackers seeking to profit from the troubles at TelexFree could be at work. The site used the word “telexfree” as part of its URL.
Even if the social-media poster was being sincere in his warning and it proves true the site is bogus and designed for hacking, clicking on the link potentially could expose you to harm.
And if the site is not a hacking or phishing site, it leads to questions about why such a site that mirrors TelexFree’s “old” site exists to begin with. Could it be an old TelexFree affiliate’s site created with swiped code and designed to dupe prospects into believing they were dealing directly with the TelexFree corporate entity? Could it be an orphaned site of TelexFree itself?
The asserted hacking site uses the name of a male individual with an address in Chicago, according to a database search. The Registant Organization is listed as “telexfree.”
Some TelexFree affiliates are alleged to have accepted TelexFree payments directly, a circumstance the Massachusetts Securities Division said in April resulted in a condition in which “participants received uncontrolled cash deposits outside of the TelexFree system.”
The social-media poster who issued the warning appears to be pushing a “program” known as ViziNova that may be linked to the alleged $80 million WCM777 scam allegedly operated by Phil Ming Xu.
It is common for HYIP hucksters to be in multiple “programs” simultaneously. After “working” a “program” for months and cleaning up with it, the most disingenuous promoters then may turn on the “opportunity,” perhaps particularly if a regulatory action occurs or there is a sense one is imminent.
Such promoters then may try to port entire “teams” to a new scam.