CAUTION FLAG: Murky Website With .Org URL Pops Up Online; OnlineInvestmentBank.org Registration Data Hidden Behind Proxy; Claims Huge Commission And Interest Payments — And Exemptions From U.S. Law
An apparent investment and banking website whose domain registration is hidden behind a proxy appears to be preparing to accept money from investors worldwide by planting the seed it is a charitable enterprise.
The website of OnlineInvestmentBank.org appears to have been registered just days ago — on Jan. 21. The site suggests it is both “private” and eager to do business with Americans and others worldwide. Meanwhile, the site suggests it does not have to comply with U.S. law when soliciting U.S. residents.
Examples of fractured English syntax appear across the site.
“Don’t post bad vote on Public Forums and at Gold Rating Site without contacting the administrator of our program FIRST,” the site prompts prospects. “Maybe there was a technical problem with your transaction, so please always CLEAR the thing with the administrator.”
Other examples of the awkward use of the English language appear on the site. At the same time, OnlineInvestmentBank.org appears to be issuing an appeal for customers to embrace a culture of both spamming and secrecy.
“You agree that all information, communications, materials coming from onlineinvestmentbank.org are unsolicited and must be kept private, confidential and protected from any disclosure,” the site advises prospects.
The site also claims an exemption from U.S. law:
“As a private transaction, this program is exempt from the US Securities Act of 1933, the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the US Investment Company Act of 1940 and all other rules, regulations and amendments thereof,” the site claims. “We are not FDIC insured. We are not a licensed bank or a security firm.”
Money can be sent to the firm via Liberty Reserve and Perfect Money, according to the website.
Why a purported investment company and banking firm would use a .org domain was not immediately clear. On its website, OnlineInvestmentBank.org says it is offering a referral program and promises to pay participants “5% of your referrer’s deposit.”
“Everyone can participate in this program,” the website claims in its FAQ section. “We accept members from any country in the world.”
The site says it accepts a minimum deposit of “USD 10” and a maximum of “USD 500000.”
How it purportedly earns money and is able to give away 5 percent of its deposits in the form of commission payments are unclear.
Bizarrely, the website also appears to claim that customer deposits are locked down, but earn spectacular sums of interest daily — in addition to the 5 percent commissions paid for referrals.
Under an FAQ that reads, “What do you mean xxx% on your plans? can (sic) I withdrawal (sic) Principal (sic) too?”, the website notes:
“You can’t withdrawal (sic) your principal money. For example 102% after 1 day is (sic) means 100% which is your principal money plus 2% as profit.”
And the website also says it favors “e-currencies” because they attract less attention from two notable groups of potential meddlers: “hackers” and “any of the governmental organizations (like tax structures).”
“As a private transaction, this program is exempt from the US Securities Act of 1933, the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the US Investment Company Act of 1940 and all other rules, regulations and amendments thereof”
How interesting.
A quick Google on the disclaimer returns about 32,700 results.
That would probably be 32,700 HYIPs using the same disclaimer, and every, single one of them is wrong/lying.
From memory, HYIPs ponzis started using the fake disclaimer way back around the time of 12 Daily Pro, if not slightly earlier.
Come to think of it, that very disclaimer was used by the renowned fraudster Justin “Broker” Jones during the previous incarnation of his current fraudulent forex offering.
Oceanside Wealth, as it was known, as distinct from his current offering “Oceanside Forex” took great pains to make sure the fake disclaimer was used on all the “usual suspect” forums.
Hi LRM,
Good idea running that quoted section of the disclaimer through Google. After seeing your note, I ran this quoted section through Google: “You agree that all information, communications, materials coming from”
Man, one HYIP or Forex site after another popped up. One of them is called “EarnDailyThousand.” Another is called “HighReturnAtInvestment.” Yet another is called FxTrading-Invest.”
There are SCORES of such sites using the same language. There maybe be hundreds or even thousands.
Patrick
I see Broker has a picture on his website of a building. The building has a sign that reads, “O C E A N S I D E FOREX UNIVERSITY.” It’s an impressive-looking building. I wonder if it actually exists or if Broker and Oceanside just superimposed the sign on the impressive building to plant the seed that Oceanside actually operated a university.
I also recall that Oceanside once reproduced the SEC’s logo on its Blog, issuing an odd claim the the company “acquires U.S. Securities Attorney.” To my way of thinking, attorneys normally are “retained,” as opposed to “acquired.” I’m not sure why a firm that’s not registered with the SEC would reproduce its logo on a site that pitches an investment program.
In any event, it reminded me of some of the ASD nonsense. And Broker/Oceanside now also appears to be trying to plumb customers from the MLM pipelines — another thing that reminded me of ASD.
Oceanside is not striking me as a company that understands real-world PR. It also seems to be projecting some resentment toward regulators — perhaps particularly the agencies that are trying to respond to the economic crisis in no small measure caused by corrupt business practices.
Patrick
“I see Broker has a picture on his website of a building. The building has a sign that reads, “O C E A N S I D E FOREX UNIVERSITY.” It’s an impressive-looking building. I wonder if it actually exists or if Broker and Oceanside just superimposed the sign on the impressive building to plant the seed that Oceanside actually operated a university.”
Nope, that’s the Meriot-Watt University Dubai Campus.
http://www.hw.ac.uk/student-life/campus-life/dubai.htm
WHAT ????
Are you implying that Oceanside and Mr Jones might just possibly be playing loose and fast with the truth ??
Surely it’s just a mixup.
Broker Jones lying ????
NEVER.
(much)
I think those statements are part of the scripts they steal to launch their “opportunity”…! One thing that needs to be stressed is that if the operation is illegal, the TOS (where these statements are usually found) is void.