Canadian Scam Fighter

Wayne Gretzky has NOTHING to do with Bitcoin UP - Fake CBC Site EXPOSED

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 23:13:00 +0000

This is yet another fake news article created to promote the "Bitcoin UP" binary options scam. They've tried to make it have some resemblance to the real CBC website, but it's still obviously a variation of the old favourite "Entertainment Today" layout. If this was real, then multiple websites would be reporting on it, not just a shady copyright-infringing fake news site. Wayne Gretzky has NEVER endorsed a binary options system. Stay away from Bitcoin UP, and don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

YuanPay's new trick

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 03:38:00 +0000

Remember the YuanPay scam I told you about earlier? I not only got them permanently kicked off of Netlify, but when they switched to GitHub Pages, I got them kicked off of that, and when they switched to GitLab, I got them kicked off of THAT. However, after getting kicked off of GitLab, they went back to GitHub and continued their series of AdSense ads. However, instead of the fake Forbes article, when you click on the ad, it shows this. That's just a landing page. If you click on the "I accept", it goes here, which is just the same fake Forbes article, except every instance of "cryptocurrency" is replaced with "electrocurrency", which is a made-up word the scammers use to sound cooler. Also note that, after 4 months of using free hosting services, the scammers seem to have finally figured out how to register a domain. Once again, stay away from YuanPay, and don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Most elaborate scam fake news site I've ever seen.

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 22:27:00 +0000

This is the most elaborate scam fake news site I've ever seen. The story is obviously fake, as usual. If this was real, then other outlets would be reporting it. However, instead of making a static HTML page, they have created a whole WordPress blog, with multilingual variations as well, showing that they are targeting other countries as well as Canada. They also have RevContent ads that link to even more scam sites. Stay away from Europa Casino, and don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Keanu Reeves did NOT Create Canadian Extracts Hemp Oil - Fake People Magazine Site EXPOSED

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 17:36:00 +0000

This is a fake People Magazine website, created to shill some scammy hemp oil. It claims that Keanu Reeves created it, which is obvious BS. The red flags are obvious - the un-People-Magazine-like URL, the fake comments section, the free trial offer, and the fact that the REAL People Magazine would not shill a hemp oil like this. This is being advertised on legitimate news sites using a Google AdSense ad that links to a "tabloid cloaking" page, hosted on a Shopify site. Google and Shopify are doing NOTHING about this, unlike Netlify and GitHub, which routinely take down the YuanPay fake news scam sites I report to them. The link trail:

james-crom-shop.myshopify(.)com/blogs/news/ten-simple-steps-to-maintaining-health

(embeds)

top.finepages(.)best/72ee4112-df96-4e25-8478-2f7f133132f8

(redirects to)

static.ezlanderz(.)com/o/202/1033/index.html

Stay away from Canadian Extracts Hemp Oil, and as always, don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Justin Trudeau Has NOTHING To Do With Bitcoin UP - Fake Toronto Star Website EXPOSED

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 17:15:00 +0000

This is an obviously fake Toronto Star website, created to shill a scammy binary options platform. You can tell it's fake by the several common red flags: it uses a variant of the "Entertainment Today" layout instead of the real Toronto Star layout, the domain is a .eu domain (Canada is NOT an European country), the comments are fake and don't work, all the links go to the same spam page, and no real news site would shill a binary options platform like this. They forgot to mention the name of the platform (whoops), but clicking on any of the images links to something called "Bitcoin UP", which is an obvious scam. Stay away from Bitcoin UP, and don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

I've changed my mind on online casinos.

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 03:37:00 +0000

When I originally started this blog, I thought that all online casinos were legitimate, and that the fake news created to promote these casinos was the work of rogue affiliates. But now, I know for a fact that most online casinos are scams. I will treat them the same way I do all other scams - with extreme prejudice.

"YuanPay" is NOT China's Official Cryptocurrency - Fake Forbes Website(s) EXPOSED (+ a host that actually takes down scam sites?)

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 03:21:00 +0000

This is not a real Forbes article. It is an impersonation, created to promote the "YuanPay" cryptocurrency scam. Surprisingly, the free web host these scammers use, Netlify, is actually responding to my abuse reports, and is deleting these sites. ("These sites" because the scammers create multiple mirror versions of the same fake news page.) So, all you see now is this. As of the time of writing, however, the scammers are still creating more mirrors. The red flags are the usual: fake comments, an overtly-promotional tone that the real Forbes wouldn't use, and the very un-Forbes-like URL. Stay away from YuanPay Group, and don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

The Return of CSF - Make Scammers Cry Again

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 21:29:00 +0000

Recently, there has been a rise in scam sites. I'm proud to announce that I am re-opening CSF, on its original Blogspot home. Let's make scammers cry again!

Elemor Advanced Wrinkle Cream is YET ANOTHER SCAM

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 22:25:00 +0000

I have recently spotted a new variation of the Sally Field scam (complete with capital i/lowercase L dyslexia in the AdSense ads); this time, it advertises a product called "Elemor Advanced Wrinkle Cream". I will not link to the fake news article, as the only difference between this version and the Creme/Pink Diamond version is the name of the product being advertised. Stay away from Elemor Advanced Wrinkle Cream, and once again, don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Return of the "Real Reason" Fake News (Tanya Kim has NOTHING to do with Essence of Argan)

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Sun, 13 May 2018 01:52:00 +0000

This is more BS from Essence of Argan. It's yet another variant of the old fake news story saying that the "real reason" (citation needed) that actress/anchorwoman X (in this case, Tanya Kim) left TV show Y (in this case, CTV's Breakfast Television) is that she invented skincare product Z (in this case, Essence of Argan). This, of course, is utter bullshit, and the red flags are the classics ("Entertainment Today" layout, fake results, fake testimonials (with Canadian cities instead of American ones this time), fake comments, and a "free" trial offer). Here's a rare screenshot of their Ad of Fail:

As always, stay away from Essence of Argan, and don't believe everything you read online.

Yet Another Dragon's Den Fake News Article

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Tue, 08 May 2018 22:48:00 +0000

This is yet another version of that fake news article claiming that a magic skin care product appeared on Dragon's Den. This time, it's Creme again, but the article calls it "Creme Ultime Ageless Cream" for some reason. There are a few differences from the most common version of this scam; they use a slight variation (specifically, it uses the British spelling of "Mum" instead of the American one) of the "Fit Mom Daily" logo used in the very first scam fake news pages (from circa 2007, advertising Garcinia Cambogia weight-loss products) instead of the "Entertainment Today" logo, the "AS SEEN IN" banner below the headline uses the logos of British tabloids instead of American ones, and the fake comments are slightly different. Of course, the red flags are the same old; the "free trial", the fake results, a variation of the "Entertainment Today" layout, and the aforementioned fake comments. As always, avoid Creme, and don't believe everything you read on the internet.

Seriously, Checkout Scammers, DON'T GO THERE

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 23:59:00 +0000

This is the sickest skincare scam I've seen in years. It uses Carrie Underwood's recent facial injury to advertise something called "Revyve Advanced". Using someone's injury to make money via affiliate marketing is wrong and bad. Back to the fake news article; it has the usual red flags ("Entertainment Today" layout, free trial, fake results, fake comments), and is vulnerable to the Voluumdata XSS Exploit. The comments are a better imitation of the actual Facebook commenting widget than most other fake news articles; they appear to have been copied from another (presumably non-scam) skincare product's Facebook page. Stay away from Revyve Advanced, and if any fake news scammers are reading this, don't try anything like this again.

EnduraFlex Rides Again (or: the Checkout Scammers STILL can't imitate the CNN site's layout)

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 23:27:00 +0000

This is yet another fake news story from EnduraFlex. This time, it tries to imitate the CNN site, and although the Checkout Scammers have made some improvements since the "Cornell University Student" weight loss scam, they still aren't there yet; the logo is still wrong (the real CNN website has it enclosed in a box) and the formatting is off. Speaking of the "Cornell University Student" scam, this fake news story contains a few "throwbacks" to it, including a fictional reporter named "Dr. Grant Pischner" (the Cornell student scam had a fictional reporter named "Suzanne Pischner"). Back to the story: it claims that "millions of older men are getting ripped in weeks!" (citation needed) thanks to EnduraFlex. It is written in a matter more suited to Buzzfeed than CNN, and is riddled with inconsistencies (the fake screenshots mention a product called "DSN Code Black" instead of EnduraFlex). The red flags are the same old: the fake comments, the fake "results", and the "free" trial offer (which links to the "AlphEnduraFlexesto" ordering page mentioned in my post about the Tiger Woods variant of the FakeESPN scam). Once again, stay away from EnduraFlex.

Tiger Woods does NOT use EnduraFlex - Yet Another Fake ESPN Site EXPOSED

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 23:02:00 +0000

This is more BS from EnduraFlex. It pretends to be the ESPN site AGAIN (where are the Disney lawyers when you need them?) It claims that Tiger Woods admitted to using EnduraFlex (citation needed). It then continues as a slight rehash of the old Sidney Crosby Alpha Force Testo fake news story, except with "NHL" search-and-replaced by "PGA", "Sidney Crosby" search-and-replaced by "Tiger Woods", "Alpha Force Testo" search-and-replaced by "Enduraflex Performance", and a few other minor edits. Therefore, the red flags are the same as that scam: the fake comments, the "free" trial offer, the fake "results", and the fact that the REAL ESPN site would never shill a supplement like this. The "free" trial ordering page being linked to by the fake news site appears to be a "missing link" between EnduraFlex and Alpha Force Testo (the "cdesign proponentsists" of FakeESPN-related muscle supplements - it would be even more obvious if it said "AlphEnduraFlexesto" somewhere), making the presentation as a whole (AdSense ad + fake news site + ordering page) even MORE suspicious-looking. The scammers appear to have switched back to that fancy iframe trick, but don't be fooled; the "checkout" subdomain is still there, and is still vulnerable to the Voluumdata XSS Exploit. Once again, stay away from EnduraFlex, and don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Taking a break

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Sat, 07 Apr 2018 16:21:00 +0000

I will be taking a break from this blog; I am seeing way too many new scam ads for me to debunk. I will be back to making scamvertisers cry later in 2018.

Sidney Crosby has NOTHING to do with EnduraFlex - Fake ESPN Site EXPOSED AGAIN

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 00:02:00 +0000

The Sidney Crosby FakeESPN Scam is back. The only difference between the new version and the version debunked in the Global News link is that "Alpha Force Testo" is search-and-replaced with "EnduraFlex Performance Enhancer". The red flags are the same; the "free" trial offer, the fake comments, the fake "results", and the fact that the REAL ESPN site would never shill a supplement like this. Note to any scamvertisers reading this: Search-and-replacing the name of the product won't help un-debunk one of your fake news articles. Once again, stay away from EnduraFlex.

Josh Brolin has NOTHING to do with EnduraFlex

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 21:01:00 +0000

This is another scamtastic fake news story; this time, it's promoting a muscle supplement called "EnduraFlex", which is just a rebadging of Alpha Force Testo (a.k.a. the Sidney Crosby FakeESPN Scam Supplement). The site pretends to be a magazine called "Men's Health Life", which is an obvious attempt to imitate the real Men's Health magazine without infringing on its trademarks (scamvertisers don't know very much about trademark infringement). The scammers are trying to cash in on the Deadpool 2 hype by using the likeness of Josh Brolin, who is playing the character "Cable", to lure unsuspecting fans into signing up for their 8000-CAD-per-month "free" trial. The red flags are classic; the "free" trial offer, the fake results, and the fake comments. Also note that the use of the phrase "legal steroid" in muscle supplement fake-news articles dates back to circa 2006-2007. As this fake news article is hosted on a "checkout" subdomain, it is vulnerable to the Voluumdata XSS Exploit, which the scammers haven't fixed yet; therefore, you can still turn the page into a wall of Goatse images by simply copy-pasting a short snippet of code into the URL bar. Avoid EnduraFlex, and once again, don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Bill Gates has NOTHING to do with Intelligex - Fake Forbes Site EXPOSED

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 19:07:00 +0000

This is a fake news story from a website pretending to be Forbes. It claims that Bill Gates admitted to using a "smart drug" called Intelligex in a CNN interview. This is an obvious fake, recycled from a similar fake news story about Stephen Hawking after he (Hawking, not Gates) died. They even kept some of the Hawking references in there! The same old red flags are there: the "free trial" and the fake comments. (Note that the link to the "free trial" site is broken - oops.) There have been many brain-supplement-shilling fake news sites pretending to be Forbes over the years; the REAL Forbes has tried to sue the operators of these sites many times, but they (the fake news site operators, not Forbes) are apparently based in Bermuda, making it almost impossible for US-based companies (like Forbes) to file lawsuits against them. Stay away from Intelligex, and don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Vanna White Scam Part II: Revenge of the Pink Diamond

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 18:46:00 +0000

This is a newer version of the Vanna White scam. There are a few differences; it uses a variation of the "Entertainment Today" layout instead of just copying everything from the People Magazine website, it advertises Pink Diamond instead of Ziladerm, and the fake news story itself is slightly different. However, the red flags (the free trial and the fake comments) are the same as every other skin care scam out there. Stay away from Pink Diamond, and don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Shania Twain has NOTHING to do with Creme (+ XSS Security Hole in "checkout" Subdomains)

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 19:42:00 +0000

This is more BS from Creme. This time, they pretend that Shania Twain created it. There are the usual red flags (the "Entertainment Today" layout, the "free trial" offers, and the fake comments); the formatting used for the "trial" and the "comments" seems to have been butchered, and they forgot the IFRAME redirect. However, I just went into the "checkout" subdomain and discover it manually. I also discovered an XSS security hole in their "checkout" subdomains (I originally found it on a fake Vogue article that pretended that Melania Trump created Creme, which has since been taken down, but it works on every one of their sites that has a "checkout" subdomain). This has easily-exploitable results; the only things that DON'T work with it are "script" and "iframe src" tags (which are automatically emptied). Here is an example, with a wall of goatse replacing the aforementioned Shania Twain article. Once again, avoid Creme, and if the scammers are reading this, they should fix the security hole.

UPDATE: They actually set up the redirect (using the traditional methods instead of the fancy IFrame), and changed the fake news to advertise Pink Diamond. The security hole is still there.

Online casinos: promising bitcoins to trap players (English translation)

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 01:31:00 +0000

(This is an English translation of a Radio-Canada article that exposes the identity of the rogue Casino Awards affiliate. Copyright 2018 CBC/Radio-Canada. All Rights Reserved.)

CBC/Radio-Canada has discovered an international network of fake news sites that attempts to make Canadians believe that they will earn hundreds of dollars by registering for an online casino. The misleading articles argue among other things that bet $10 is equivalent to making an investment in bitcoins, and that players are "virtually guaranteed to make at least $250".

By Jeff Yates

"Here. Finally. In Canada. You have a one-way ticket for billions of Bitcoins", announces a January 31st post on the "My Bitcoin Canada" Facebook page. In the video, we see a young woman supposedly win $1,000,000 by playing on an online casino.

The link in the post takes the user to a news article on an obscure site called "Tribune News Now". "If you are from Canada, you are about to become really rich: this Bitcoin casino is a real cash cow and Canadian residents make millions," it says.

The article states that a Quebecer named Jonathan Desormeaux has won more than 13 million dollars by betting his last $10 at this casino.

In addition, the supposed functioning of this "new online casino" is explained. "The casino takes the $10 deposit made by the players and instantly changes it into Bitcoins before reselling it for dollars. It is rumored this is how the casino makes its money; they use the players as instant investors in Bitcoin. The average player receive about $250 to $300 from his initial bet but some players gain larger amounts"

However, the article sends us to the site of a typical online casino that has nothing to do with bitcoins. The page asks the user to register and make a deposit of $10. The casino does not promise the player automatic winnings of several hundred dollars, contrary to the article. This is actually a fraudulent cost-per-action marketing (CPA) scheme.

How does CPA marketing work?

When a partner signs up for a CPA program, he earns money each time a user who has been referred does something on their website. In this case, the site owner earns a certain amount when a user who has been referred to the casino page registers and makes a deposit of $10. The fake news described above is used to lie to the user and encourage him to deposit $10 under false premises.

An international network:

In addition to the fraudulent ads targeting Canadians, we found similar fake news stories on related sites that target other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Finland, India, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, Russia, Sweden and Slovakia. These ads use identical tactics to try to dishonestly convince people in these countries to sign up for online gambling sites.

Other fake news articles exist to sell beauty products. One, for example, falsely claims that a young skin care business owner won a major contract on Dragon's Den . The article also contains fake quotes from celebrities, such as Jennifer Aniston and Celine Dion. Users are then invited to click on a link which supposedly allows you to buy a free sample of the aforementioned skin care product.

Radio-Canada managed to find the owners of these sites, two South Africans named Paul Domanski and Shaun Van Doorn. Their marketing company, Yazimedia, has registered no less than 126 sites in the last few years, according to a search done using DomainTools. On many of these sites, one can find the aforementioned fake news.

On one of these sites, Radio-Canada found a screenshot of what appears to be a dashboard that compares the performance of several CPA advertising campaigns. According to the screenshot, 19 different fake news campaigns appear to have generated 111,000 visits and made Yazimedia about $164,000. The fake articles targeting Canadians seem to have been visited about 20,000 times and generated an income of about $32,000. It was impossible to determine when Yazimedia got the money.

Unlike traditional ads, where the advertiser gets a fixed amount for each click or impression, CPA ads may generate varying amounts depending on the agreement with the advertiser. At the Casino Rewards group, which these advertisements promote, affiliates can choose three income options : either they earn $50 each time a customer they referred to the casino signs up, or they earn a percentage of all the money this customer loses at the casino.

A dubious practice:

When contacted, Loto-Québec insisted that the only legal games of chance in the province of Québec, whether on the Internet or in real life, are those licensed by them.

There are several scams on the Internet. When an offer seems too good to be true, one must be very careful. If you find advertisements of this type on a social media site, it is recommended to report them as soon as possible to the administrators of the website so that they can act accordingly.

Neither Yazimedia nor the Casino Rewards group, which benefits from these fraudulent advertisements, responded to Radio-Canada emails.

Casino Rewards owns some 30 online casinos and encourages Internet users to join its CPA program. On the page for affiliates, it is explained that they are not allowed to make a promotional campaign that "breaks a law, that is published on a site that violates copyright, or that could tarnish the reputation of Casino Rewards". It is not clear, however, whether or not it is permissible to lie to the audience or to use fake news in advertisements.

Pink Diamond renames itself back to Creme

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 00:26:00 +0000

The Jennifer Aniston scam is back, and so is the product name "Creme Anti-Aging Moisturizer". I also found a version of the Sally Field scam in the "checkout" subdomain of a site that had failed to set up the redirect; that one's also gone back to Creme. AVOID THIS PRODUCT LIKE THE PLAGUE, NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES THEY RENAME THEMSELVES.

Joel and Victoria Osteen have NOTHING to do with BioDermRX

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 20:08:00 +0000

There is a new fake news story from the BioDermRX team. It pretends to be People Magazine, and claims that Joel and Victoria Osteen have resigned from their church and created BioDermRX. This is total bullshit, and I think I read a story on a Houston local news site where they denied it. The usual red flags (free trials, fake comments, etc. etc.) are there, as always; I have also been seeing their AdSense ads while using an USA-based VPN, making this a rare example of an international scam campaign. I couldn't link the fake news story via Archive.is because the scammers used a redirect to Google to defeat archiving services; as a consolation, here is a Pastebin link.

UPDATE: They've changed it to mention another product called "Perlelux" (which they misspelled as "Prerelux"). Still the same old.

UPDATE 2: They've changed it again, this time to advertise Creme.

UPDATE 3: Back to "Prerelux" (sic) again.

UPDATE 4: A few of their ads (and redirection sites) are still up, but the actual code that redirects you from the landing page to the fake news story has been removed.

Chantel St. Claire is just another name for Creme/Pink Diamond

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 23:40:00 +0000

Recently, I found another version of the Sally Field fake news story. Instead of Creme or Pink Diamond, it advertises a product called "Chantel St. Claire". (I am not linking to it, as the only difference is the name of the product.) Do not buy this product; it is the same scam as before.

UPDATE: They changed it back to Pink Diamond. Again, same old.

Pauley Perrette Scam 2: Crappy Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Randomguy5251515) — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 01:05:00 +0000

This is Pink Diamond's version of the Pauley Perrette scam. There are a lot of differences between this one and Essence of Argan's (besides the name of the product, of course); these include crappy formatting, bad grammar, and improperly-stretched images. The team at Pink Diamond appears to be really bad at basic HTML; this version looks half-assed compared to Argan's. The red flags are the same: "free trial" links, made-up results, and fake comments. Once again, stay away from Pink Diamond.