Again in October 2024 somebody registered the area “behindmlmreviews.com”.
In or round late November, a poor try at cloning BehindMLM’s web site was connected to the area.
Now scammers behind the positioning are charging $500 for faux BehindMLM evaluations – and neither the area registrar or internet hosting firm are doing something about it.
The BehindMLMReviews web site is about as much as impersonate BehindMLM, publishing principally AI-plagiaraized content material stolen from BusinessForHome.
The underlying purpose behind the positioning is to get unsuspecting MLM corporations to pay scammers for (presumably AI generated) “evaluations”:
BehindMLM has by no means and can by no means cost for evaluations. Editorial integrity apart, paid for evaluations aren’t evaluations – they’re ads.
The BehindMLMReviews rip-off website popped up on my radar round January 18th. On January nineteenth I despatched an e mail to the area registrar and internet host, Ascio and FirstHost respectively.
This isn’t the primary time scammers have tried to impersonate BehindMLM. As impersonation is a sort of fraud and regarded unlawful, usually area registrars and/or website hosting corporations are fast to behave.
Every week glided by although and I didn’t hear a reply again from both Ascio or FirstHost. This prompted me to ship a second e mail on January twenty fourth;
Hello,
I’m Oz, proprietor of the web site BehindMLM. Having not obtained a response to my earlier e mail on January nineteenth, I’m once more writing to report impersonation fraud.
On info and perception the web site area “behindmlmreviews.com” was registered with Ascio on October twenty ninth, 2024.
On info and perception the contents of the web site on “behindmlmreviews.com” is being hosted with FirstHost.
BehindMLM was based in 2009 and researches and studies on the MLM trade. A go to to the “BehindMLMReviews” web site reveals a transparent try to impersonate BehindMLM’s branding and web site design.
The rationale for this impersonation could be discovered right here:
(BehindMLMReviews contact us hyperlink)
The proprietor of BehindMLMReviews is charging $500 for faux BehindMLM evaluations.
BehindMLM doesn’t cost for evaluations. Moreover, Enterprise Impersonation is unlawful.
Part 6.1 of Ascio’s registration settlement states:
6.1. Along with any particular warranties required by relevant Registries, when making use of for a website identify, Registrant represents and warrants that:
(i) statements made within the software are full and correct;
(ii) to the most effective of Registrant’s data and perception, neither the registration of the area identify nor the way through which it’s instantly or not directly used infringes the authorized rights of any third social gathering;
(iii) Registrant won’t knowingly use the area identify in violation of any relevant legal guidelines or laws;
(iv) it’s going to adjust to Registrar’s AUP (v) that Registrant isn’t registering the area identify for an illegal function.
A replica of Ascio’s registration settlement could be discovered right here: ascio.com/insurance policies/ascio-registration-agreement/
FirstHost’s “Settlement on the supply of companies” states:
CLIENT agrees to not use the Companies for any semi-authorised or unlawful function;
CLIENT agrees to not use the Companies in violation of third social gathering rights (together with with out limitation third social gathering mental property rights and confidentiality).When utilizing the internet hosting service, the CLIENT is prohibited from:
Submit a services or products commercial of a knowingly false nature;
A replica of FirstHost’s Settlement on the supply of companies could be discovered right here: firsthost.lv/en/settlement
I’m requesting for a second time that motion be taken in opposition to the area “behindmlmreviews.com” and its connected internet hosting so as to forestall doable hurt to customers.
If I once more obtain no response by Monday, January twenty seventh, I shall be submitting a criticism with US authorities and documenting Ascio’s and FirstHost’s inaction on reported impersonation fraud on BehindMLM.
Thanks in your cooperation on this matter,
-Oz
One other week has passed by and neither Ascio or FirstHost have responded.
I don’t suppose anybody is silly sufficient to fall for purchasing a faux BehindMLM evaluate on a low-effort clone website however you by no means know.
I’m making this public so there’s a file of Ascio and FirstHost aiding and abetting scammers by means of failure to behave on reported blatant TOS violations.
Earlier immediately I additionally filed a report with our contacts in US regulation enforcement relating to the matter.
Impersonation of BehindMLM has come up in previous regulatory enforcement actions. The SEC cited particular examples in fraud expenses filed in opposition to OnPassive and proprietor Ash Mufareh;
To counter unfavorable evaluations of Mufareh and ONPASSIVE on current MLM evaluate web sites, Mufareh and ONPASSIVE furtively created web sites mimicking the names of the prevailing websites and on which ONPASSIVE personnel, at Mufareh’s route, then posted internally-generated constructive evaluations of Mufareh and ONPASSIVE, falsely passing them off as goal, third-party evaluations.
The Defendants initially responded to the unfavorable evaluations by telling individuals to “ignore the haters.”
When the unfavorable evaluations persevered, nevertheless, Mufareh accepted in November 2019 the creation of counterfeit and deliberately deceptive web sites mimicking the names and appearances of the abovementioned current web sites and the writing and posting on the counterfeit web sites of constructive evaluations of ONPASSIVE and Mufareh.
ONPASSIVE personnel particularly proposed to Mufareh―and he agreed to the proposal―that they’d “us[e] these two [counterfeit] websites as third social gathering website,” “write … unique evaluate[s] on our personal model (identical to a third individuals writing),” and use each counterfeit web sites “to affect the individuals,” with the “first goal assigned [being] to knock down these [review sites] from the search outcomes.”
The names of the 2 counterfeit websites purposely tracked the names of current MLM evaluate web sites of their internet URL addresses with barely altered domains.
BehindMLMReviews doesn’t look like aligned with any particular MLM firm however who is aware of.
Keep protected on the market individuals. Determined scammers are concentrating on every part for a fast buck.