Forex HYIP Investment & Money profit

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blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:36:00 -0800

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Who’s Still Alive? 20 E-gold Agent Profiles

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:12:00 -0700

In the days following the indictments of e-gold, Gold & Silver Reserve and the e-gold founders along with dozens of exchange agent accounts being seized…a lot has happened to the e-gold industry.

Seizures - In the last week or so, some $11 million USD(48 bars) in gold bullion has been redeemed from e-gold for cash. A good portion of that money, all of the funds in the 58 government targeted accounts, was seized by the Federal Government pending the outcome of the allegations.

1MDC - 1MDC, known as the ultimate easy to use payment system system backed by e-gold, has effectively closed. Yes, the web is still up and current 1MDC account holders such as myself, can transfer between other 1MDC accounts but the units have zero value and cannot be exchanged for money. (Just like eCache COW)

So…..who is still alive? - Which exchange agents are still transacting in e-gold, which ones have opted out and who is now waiting along the sidelines for more information? Let’s take a look. (Inspiration for this post came from my good friend Jude over at the NOBS Network)

xGold.ca - Still transacting e-gold (Canada)

Confirmed the report of receiving a wire transfer from OmniPay and still transacting business both inexchange and outexchange for e-gold and Pecunix - Canadian banks only.

“We are processing in and outexchange for e-gold, however, we are only dealing with Canadian bank account holders (we only do direct withdrawal and deposit). We do not deal with checks, money orders and wires. We are planning an exclusive offer to our clients who purchased e-gold with us: convert up to 20g of e-gold to Pecunix at no fee.”

IceGold - No e-gold sales today. Their news page reads like my old EKGs, wildly up and down.

On April 27, when the e-gold indictment was unsealed and made public, IceGold’s account was seized. That same day they changed their account number and resumed e-gold exchanges. They also discontinued all 1MDC exchanges at that time. On May 3rd, just a few days later, they discontinued e-gold exchanges saying, “…we are unable to sell our excessive e-gold to Omnipay at the moment. We will resume outexchanging again when we are in need of e-gold ourselves or have received a confirmation from Omnipay that they are ready to buy e-gold from us. We expect to operate normally again by the next week. Indeed, just 5 days later they started e-gold exchanges again, “….at 3% below spot rate” on any outexchange(sell) only to discontinue again later the same day. “We have suspended e-gold outexchanges again due to large volume of orders. We will resume outexchanging when we are in need of e-gold again or can sell to Omnipay.” IceGold is currently NOT exchanging e-gold and is on the sidelines. Down but not yet out

AnyGoldNow - No sale of e-gold.

As of today, May 11, “e-gold sales are suspended at this time, pending news from e-gold about the legal situation in the USA.” Their account was also seized. Its worth noting that AnyGoldNow is very large and well known in the industry. Their web is open and they are operating for clients in other currencies. I’m sure they will survive just fine.

Denver Gold Exchange - Out of Business?

As of today, May 11 their web is offline. Their account was also seized in the governments action. “Denver Gold Exchange Under Construction”. Since this is a very new company and all their business was based in e-gold, no other currencies, its likely they may not return. (IMHO)

RoboXchange - Auto exchange e-gold into other digital currency at higher than normal rate

Just visited the Robot and he is offering exchanges from e-gold into others such as Pecunix, Webmoney and Liberty Reserve at a fee of 30%. Exchange $1 of e-gold for .70 cents of an other e-currency. Make sure to check the balance of your incoming currency to make sure they have inventory to handle your exchange. There are some smart folks operating the RoboXchange, back in mid April, Olegg had this to say,

”In early 2006, when feds where under e-gold, we were also told about ddos. We’ve ceased operations with egold until somebody explain what is happening.” *

OmniPay - Unknown?

Reported still operating under government supervision but no firm statement on outexchanges. The OmniPay account(s) was also seized. Most agents are saying something like this, “…when OmniPay can again buy….” so this is a question in our minds as to what their future is and if they can currently transact in a timely fashion. Feedback?

GoldEx - Business as usual with delays.

“Please note that while we continue to operate as usual buying and selling egold, the exceptional situation at egold that is causing some egold users to panic and attempt to cash out, is creating a huge backlog of orders, we can’t therefore guarantee our normal processing times. Please expect orders to be delayed up to 5 working days, especially for orders FROM egold to bank wire/check or other digital currencies.” *NOBS

AutoCambist - No auto exchanges from e-gold

They won’t accept e-gold but you can exchange other currency in and receive e-gold if you like.

The Bullion Exchange - Not processing at all, down and maybe out.

Their e-gold account was one of the 58 seized in the government’s action.

“We have retained legal services of experienced legal counsel to help us sort through the legal aspects of the current situation as expeditiously as possible. The Bullion Exchange has not been charged with any criminal activity, our accounts have been seized in connection with mere association with E-Gold. Our attorneys are working with other attorneys to have the seized funds released through a civil lawsuit in an expedited fashion.”

London Gold Exchange - No outexchange sales. Inexchange (buys) allowed

London Gold Exchange did NOT have any accounts seized. Today, May 11 they are selling e-gold to the public but not buying at this time. London Gold Exchange is a very well established business and is expected to not only survive but thrive from the additional business. They exchange multiple other digital currencies.

“We are now accepting e-gold buy (In-Exchange) orders. At the moment we are still not taking any e-gold Sell or Convert orders (Out-Exchange and metal to metal exchanges). We hope to resume in a few days. There has been no real update over the weekend. There are reports of other exchangers receiving funds from Omnipay (the main wholesaler of e-gold), so that news is promising as at least they seem to be functioning behind the scenes. We will keep you up to date as soon as we hear any news.” *NOBS

e-forexgold - Business as usual.

No input here, any feedback?

Euro Gold Sales - No outexchanges, still operating for inexchange (buys)

“Due to an excess of gold currently, we are not buying any gold at the moment! Please try again in a couple of days. Thanks!”

GoldNow - Business as usual

Graham reports business as usual on inexchange and outexchange. You have to hand it to this guy, Nuclear Blombs could be dropping and he would still be selling.

RayServers Exchange - No e-gold business

Pecunix exchange services operating as usual.

Me-gold - Business as usual?

Their web appears to be operating just like any other day, outexchange services for e-gold included.

Cash Cards International - Business as usual?

I believe from reading this statement on the front of their web, this information is regarding e-gold. However, I’m not 100% sure.

“Effective May 1, 2007 We will continue provide normal “Exchange” services”

GoldPouch Express - No e-gold business.

“Due to an ongoing investigations between E-Gold.com and the Department of Justice and until further notice we regret to inform you that we won’t be buying, selling or trading “GOLD” from E-Gold.com”

GitGold.com - No e-gold business.

Account was seized.

“Our e-gold account, like the other exchange providers dealing with US customers has been affected. The management of e-gold.com has petitioned for an emergency hearing the first of next week and hopefully our account will be back open at that time. Until the problem is solved, we obviously cannot accept CASHOUT requests. We also cannot fund e-gold accounts.”

GetEMoney - Appears to be business as usual.

This Canadian company does not have any notice on their web and appears to be operating normally.

PGX PinoyGoldExchange - No outexchanges

“SELL orders are temporarily suspended. We currently have a lot of e-gold on-hand but with very limited exchangers to trade with.”

V-Coin: New Digital Money Start Up From Costa Rica

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:03:00 -0700

In July a number of press releases and bulletin boards were talking up a new online currency named V-Coin.

This new business is an online payment service. Its a closed system and like e-gold all transactions are final, but the digital dollars cannot be exchanged by third party agents so it appears all transactions go back and fourth with the SA company. This type of business does not offer much protection from fraud, default risk and other problems we have seen plague the industry in the past few years.

Its appears that customer deposits are held by the Central American International Trust Company S.A. out of San Jose, Costa Rica.

Not to change the subject, but there are two ways I would use the word ‘Trust’ in a sentence. First would be to show confidence in a product or person, “I trust her judgment when it comes to decorating.” The second use would be to describe a legal Trust such as “Belize Sun Real Estate Trust”, signifying that this business was a set up as a legal Trust. However, using the word “Trust” in a company name, without the legal benefit of actually being a Trust or administered by a Trust, might be considered by some as inaccurate or misleading. The ‘Central American International Trust’ is NOT an offshore Trust and I can’t find anywhere it says client funds are administered by a Trust. I could always be wrong….

One very basic good point can be found in section 3.1 of the User Agreement as shown below.

3.1.1. All VC$® in circulation shall be backed 100% at all times with unencumbered United States Dollars. VC$® is payable to User, on demand, subject only to the conditions specified in this Agreement.

I suppose its always good to know if I deposit $1000 USD into V-coin, management is not pulling an EMO and making half of that disappear or practicing fractional reserve. 100% USD backing, that’s a good thing, any proof? Costa Rica is a an impossible place for a foreigner to litigate a financial loss.

The Good Stuff

For both personal and business merchants opening a new account and sending funds are both free operations. You are charged a low fee when you receive funds and across the board for both merchants and individuals that fee is: 0.35% + VC$0.35 per transaction. V-Coin is convenient and similar to PayPal by the fact that you can email VC$ to anyone who is not yet an account holder. That potential new client can then sign up and receive your funds into their new account.

Are V-Coin accounts anonymous? No, (a good thing) the sign up requires all the usual name and address information plus ID numbers. From their user agreement…

2.2. Identifying Information. User must provide Issuer with valid and accurate identifying information as determined from time to time by Issuer.

Can someone using V-coin reverse my transaction like PayPal? No…

2.4.1. User agrees that all Transfers initiated by User are final and not reversible.

Will V-coin freeze my account for no reason? I don’t think so…

4.5.1.2. Issuer will Freeze or remove a Freeze from an V-Coin® account, if ordered to do so by an order from a court or arbitration body of acceptable jurisdiction, as determined by Issuer.

Does V-coin offer a merchant directory for additional exposure to users? Yes….from a recent post,

“V-Coin also offers a marketplace, much like a shopping mall for member merchants to promote their online businesses which accept payment in V-Coin at no additional charge.”

You may hear a bit of sarcasm coming though my writing in this post. I’m not real excited about V-coin and I would not at this time recommend using them. Here’s why….there are now many other proven online currencies available with strong track records. For a new entry to succeed it should clearly target a market and be descriptive and obvious for those users.

Are you targeting gambling?

Will your best customer be funding a V-coin account with his credit card?

Is it possible to use a local cash option to fund a V-coin account?

Can I exchange your digital money for another like Webmoney or Pecunix?

What banking relationship do you support? US?

What is your AML policy?

Its not enough anymore just to create an online payment system. You can’t reinvent the wheel. There are dozens of other payment methods now available and most of them are popular, regulated financially stable and transparent. My question is, “How will V-coin compete with these other services?”

Why would I use V-coin over Webmoney, NETeller, PayPal etc.?

Their web site needs to be very clear in showing visitors, the advantages of V-coin are……1,2,3 and right now I don’t see that anywhere.

From their web site, as an initial visitor, I can’t even tell how I am supposed to get my national currency deposited into a V-coin account. Hopefully, they will work on their marketing strategy in the future and have great success. I’ll check back.

These are my personal opinions expressed here and remember I have not yet used this service, so remember its a new company….be sure to take my opinion with a grain of salt.

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UK Banks May Not Consider Small Credit Card Fraud A Crime

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:01:00 -0700

There is a great UK news source I often read called the Guardian Unlimited. About a month ago they ran a story entitled, “Card fraud ‘being decriminalised’. The title naturally caught my eye. I don’t use credit cards and don’t own one.

For many years now I’ve just used digital currency I like the benefits such as NO chargebacks or card fraud. Digital currencies like Webmoney, Loom Gold, Pecunix, e-gold and others do not allow ‘in house’ charge backs or reversals. All sales are final.

As a merchant, I can’t think of a better way — than digital currency — to conduct business and not have to worry about fraudsters around the end of each month. As a consumer, no chargebacks can make shopping online a bit tricky, however if buyers investigate their merchants and read the return policies, these no chargeback limitations should not pose a problem for most people. This type of trust between merchant and consumer should only build confidence as any business grows online.

Now, on the other side of the isle are all the credit card fraudsters. Stealing money and merchandise from both merchants and card holders. Who pays for all that theft and loss? Consumers do! Higher transaction fees, higher merchandise prices, insurance, interest charges and that list goes on and on….

So what happens to the whole credit card merchant system, when no one cares to prosecute the thieves anymore? Well….that day is already here.

The Guardian story revealed that due to new laws, the police in the UK are no longer accepting direct reports from credit card victims. Under the new regulation which began in April of this year, its now the responsibility of the bank to determine which credit card crimes will be passed on to the police for investigation. They are allowing the little fish get away and just passing the cost on to consumers.

If your UK Visa card gets used by some fraudster, it might not even get reported to the police as a crime! I suppose if the fraudulent charges are not large enough, ah they will just consider it a CODB (cost of doing business) and pass it on as a higher monthly charges or fees. Amazing!

Last year in the UK, over £430m ($880+mil USD almost a Billion Dollars) went missing because of credit and debit card fraud. That means one in every three UK cardholders is the victim of credit card fraud. I suppose it is now so widespread that the police are simply overwhelmed and don’t want to handle such a large case load. Critics of these new UK regulations are saying that the banks are trying to sweep that figure under a rug by now under reporting the misuse and thefts.

This is amazing situation when a banking or financial authority does not report a crime but passes that cost along to consumers. The police spokesman confirmed that discretion had been handed to the banks to ensure the police could concentrate on cases “more likely to result in a positive outcome”.

“Tory e-crime spokesman James Brokenshire said: “The Government clearly hasn’t got a grip on this issue or an appreciation of the seriousness or scale of the problem.” Sandra Quinn of Apacs (the UK payments association) said the police had not been investigating minor cases before the new rules - which the banks had not requested - came into place. “Unfortunately the police don’t have the resources to investigate all types of card fraud,” she said, adding that hundreds of cases are being reported every month.”

Unfortunately, I cannot find the original story from Thursday June 21, 2007 2:23 AM, the link is now dead, but its available here at money.aol.co.uk and but Dave also mentions it over at Digitaldebateblogs.

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GoldNowBanc Issues Gold Grams on Loom.cc

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 20:58:00 -0700

GoldNowBanc is now operational and the new auto-account link should be up at the GoldNow site within a day or so. To register, you’ll need a valid email address. If you cannot wait for the autolink, ask them to manually generate a new account.

GoldNowBanc Grams are 100% backed with gold Krugerrands. Any balances can be redeemed with the hard shiny stuff, in 1oz lots, less fees. For maximum safety and privacy, the software package being used is Loom.cc software. In fact, you can turn off the account history from within the account for for absolute privacy.

To purchase GoldNow Gold Grams visit their web. They accept e-gold, Pecunix, e-bullion, and PayPal (this week only for PayPal 8-14-07). Contact Skype is ‘goldnow’.

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Open Letter To The GDCA Regarding e-Bullion

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 20:54:00 -0700

Dear Mr. GDCA President,

I have been writing and blogging lately about the possible or alleged recent issues regarding e-Bullion. I feel, as do many readers, it is important to determine whether these possible issues are rhetoric, a few unhappy agents or possibly big events that will effect the industry as a whole… I now see that the GDCA has posted a warning regarding e-bullion at: http://gdcaonline.org/content/news.html

In that warning it states that :

“….E-bullion.com closes and/or freezes accounts without any court order or reasonable justification, sometimes freezing customer funds forever.”

Please present proof of these events by showing the closed account documentation and any correspondence with e-bullion regarding that account and its closure.

Please comment on why e-bullion closed the account or accounts, any justification e-bullion presented or did not present.

Please provide your opinion as to why e-bullion has taken this action.

Please provide evidence of e-bullion seizing or freezing account holder funds and not returning them as stated in your comment/warning above. Who had their funds ’stolen’ or has stated they had funds seized?

Please show me the evidence of a rumored investigation by the USSS, because I heard a rumor they were going to be bought by Donald Trump. Rumors are not fact and have no place in an industry ‘warning’ without supporting information. Provide me these facts or the person openly commenting about an ongoing investigation being conducted by an agency of the US government.

Please provide me copies of any complaints from users that the GDCA may have received regarding e-bullion for the past two years.

Please include e-mail or other documentation so these can be verified by me.

Please provide me any exchanger opinions or complaints which you have documented regarding the policies and terms now in use by e-bullion.

You should know that I have already been in touch with Mr. Joseph Hamilton, CISSP Chief Technical Officer, e-Bullion.com, on several recent occasions regarding these stated rumors.

Its my firm belief that resolving any problem whether minor or serious can be accomplished by logical discussion and clarification of facts, not rumors and flaming.

I would appreciate it if you can comment here below this post at your earliest convenience, whether you can or will produce the above requested material to me via email. All other comments and questions are welcome. Feel free to remove any personal or financial information from these documents. After hearing from you, Mr. Hamilton of e-bullion will again be contacted for his comments, he is available and reaching me just fine.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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PSuX Officially Declared Dead 18 Months After It Really Died

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:55:00 -0700

A year and a half ago I introduced this blog to PointShareXtreme, only it was called PointShareGold back then. I was still pretty green to the HYIP industry and was jumping on anything that looked remotely promising. At the same time I was getting my proverbial butt kicked by HYIPs. So, when PSX stopped paying and starting a long, slow road to changes I was more than happy to wait and jump through hoops, as long as it didn’t cost me any more money. I posted what was going on at this blog until we were told we were under a gag order. Even then I continued to jump through the hoops and even notified everyone that had joined under me what those hoops were.

Well, this weekend Henry James Banayat finally announced the demise of his “vision.” Did he take any blame? NO! Did he apologize for any of the failed promises? NO!! Did he at least apologize for stringing everyone along for so long? NO!!! What he displayed this weekend was the most egotistical, narcissistic exit that I have seen, yet. (That includes the egotistical, narcissistic exit that Bobby Krimm pulled.)

Here are the two posts at the mothership site, Compumatrix and Network Interactive, Inc (CNII):

A Message from the CEO

Written by Administrator

Friday, 10 August 2007

PointShareXtreme is paying and will continue to pay. Unlike any other program, we have been paying members with prepaid load credits that can be converted into cash in several ways. This is the only program that has combined powerful concepts such as the prepaid industry, internet marketing/online advertising and e-Shopping. Only PSX funds can be used to purchase these e-products and avail our e-services. We are never a High Yield Investment Program or a get-rich-quick scheme. Our business plan had always been focused on sales and marketing, provision of jobs for people worldwide (working as Independent Internet Marketing Associates) and ensuring growth of small and medium enterprises. However, I am sad that the forum feels neglected just for the fact that our company are taking every measure to ensure the programs longevity. Our company are making things possible and are focused on ensuring that with the tremendous growth of this program, all members should have been trained, equipped and educated with our business plan, marketing plans and how or why our program will work and benefit a lot of people.

What was seen in negative forums are pointless allegations. Our company is well aware of the fact that the NBI is indeed trying to pull this program down by hitting the President and Founder of Compumatrix. Compumatrix manages PSX and other websites that are envisioned to assist people from every walk of life. If you were to search online, you would notice that the agent they are dealing with have had a reputation of “selective prosecution.”

It saddens me that our members stopped promoting this program since they thought and always seem to think that it is a High Yield Investment Program. We are not. The company, together with the teleworkers, sell prepaid load packages in the form of packaged online advertising credits, which should allow members to increase their leads, contacts and customer base. That is why we need millions of members worldwide. As of the recent statistics, there are over 1.1 Billion internet usetrs worldwide and our goal is to open up their eyes to the various business opportunities on the internet today and to let them showcase their skills and enhance their knowledge by letting PSX as a venue of informative materials which can be purchased if they have our PSX funds.

We have set our value. But members should respect the value of our funds. It is used to purchase our e-products and e-services. And we will place more goods and services that can be availed in our system especially upon launching our merchant program.

Everyone should think deeper into our long-term vision and be aware that this is a revolutionary system that would eventually change everyones lives, hopes and dreams.

Our company will remain to stay on this path towards that vision of changing the world through caring and sharing. And I hope members realizes that this is not a one-sided program. We need each others support in this venture. We need to fight towards achieving each and everyones goals.

Our company is determined and will see to it that our program will continue to work for each and everyone. Every available balance are attainable if they only start to value it and think of the things that the funds are good for first so that they’d know how to market it properly. All these shall start the moment you decide to accept the changes in the program and walk together towards the long term vision of PointShareXtreme.com.

And:

PointShareXtreme has a vision, like most visionaries throughout history; they are persecuted or worse, killed, before they can fulfill the purpose of that vision. Once the vision is destroyed, it doesn’t matter if it is then appreciated because the visionary is lost and the prosperity that might have been is lost as well.

So much has been said and done to “kill” the vision Henry James Banayat has for his organization, but it is not the efforts of the masses, it is the frantic actions of a “handful” of individuals. Individuals who are either not capable or unwilling to understand the necessity for the organization to evolve in order to keep up with a growing membership.

Since PointShareXtreme.com has opened for membership in the Philippines, there has become an urgent need to evolve. From the beginning, passive membership was permitted. Passive membership was basically, “purchase a plan and wait for the rebates.” In reality, it presented an unbelievable opportunity, “unbelievable but true,” to pay a little and receive a lot with no effort on the part of the passive member. As a result, the number of passive members grew to such a high number, that the funds of the organization were greatly depleted. At this point in time the policies of the organization must change drastically in order to remain stable. It is imperative that members actually start to consider putting forth some effort as well, to ensure the stability of the organization.

As members, we all need to take the initiative to “work” for our own financial future and not let this opportunity die. As it stands now, members that have been working up to this point are not receiving their rebates because passive members are not working at all and not contributing to the success of the organization. Every member, upon requesting membership, signed an application agreeing to two (2) specific points:

That I agree to be an independent marketing associate of CNII and I agree to market or sell its products and services under its various programs; and

The Company reserves the right to modify, amend and or update its policies and procedures under its pay program for its best interests and that of its members.

Every complaint that has been made has come from a member that has not fulfilled the conditions of the agreement they signed. In reality, what is happening here in the Philippines is the cause for the organization’s instability. It is now the responsibility of Filipino members to rectify the problem by taking responsibility and the initiative to “work” and repair the damage Passive membership has caused. Let’s all be thankful for the prosperity we have experienced thus far and exhaust every effort to ensure the long term prosperity all members have yet to experience.

As you can see, instead of apologizing, Henry did what a lot of scammers do; he blamed it on the members! Well, I lay the blame squarely on his shoulders. I am a bit embarrassed at having been swayed by broken promise after broken promise. It wasn’t that I had put a great deal of money into PSuX. It was more that I had nursed to a $120K virtual account! I, like so many others, let greed get in front of common sense. For that and for not writing about this sooner, I apologize to all NoBS HYIP Blog readers.

Good riddance to Henry James Banayat! I hope justice prevails and you rot in jail thinking about your so-called “vision” and all of the people that you hurt to help no one, except yourself!

One note of personal observation that I must add is that the forum administrators are not to be blamed in this case. In some programs, the forum administrators are in cahoots with the program administrator, but not in this case. They were told more lies than the members were. In the end, they were beaten to a pulp by this program, just like the members were.
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World’s First Virtual Currency Banking Licenses Issued At Entropia Universe

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:53:00 -0700

MindArk PE AB, the company responsible for the virtual world Entropia Universe has just announced the new owners of 5 virtual banking licenses.

The ‘virtual licenses’ were auctioned off by MindArk and after months of bidding (since Jan.), and the five licensed sold for over $400,000. An amazing price in real USD considering these licenses are for fictional banking in a virtual online world.

The auction winners are all very different personalities including: a Entropia Universe ‘celebrity’ virtual night club owner, one real world entrepreneur, a Russian Internet Payment Provider and one person who represents an actual real world bank (to be announced at a later date). Prices ranged from just over $59,000 to as high as $95,000 per license.

Each license is a virtual agreement which allows the holder a two-year exclusive license to integrate real world banking systems into Entropia Universe.

The virtual world of Entropia Universe is the ONLY online virtual world which pegs their ‘game currency’ to a fixed rate with the US dollar. Consequently, any virtual currency obtained while in the fantasy world can be quickly and easily withdrawn in US dollars. They even offer a debit card. I wonder if they will have an Anti-Virtual-Money Laundering Policy?

The Linden Dollar, which is another popular virtual currency from Second Life, has a floating value when converting the L$ back into real cash. You can find that fluctuating bid/ask exchange rate on the SL Exchange and other similar webs.

These new bank licenses will offer the holders a secure platform within the virtual world to loan money and collect interest. Bank operators can design their own online bank building and utilize the Universe’s extensive advertising opportunities. The bank’s avatars [employees] will interact as service professionals attending to other avatar’s [customers] banking needs. What’s the catch? Each license holder must provide his operation initial working capital of $100,000 real money.

Entropia Universe has set several world records for sales of virtual ‘property’ including a Treasure Island ($26,500) and an asteroid based space resort ($100,000).

Entropia Universe started in 2003 and has just under 600,000 registered accounts. Last year, 2006, they cash flowed around $360,000,000 in USD. Or 3.6 billion PED, their virtual currency.

Correction: The blog post originally showed last years cash flow at just $360,000 not million. Its correct above, 360 million USD.

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Is Linden Lab (Second Life) Violating The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act?

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:52:00 -0700

Processing online gambling payments is illegal for any US company. We’ve all read about the UIGEA (.pdf) and I’ve posted about the perils of this before. But now….the feds seem to be taking a closer look at Linden Lab for their role in the ‘payment processing’ in Second Life’s virtual casinos!

Yes, its true, Osama Bin Laden is still walking around a free man, but according to Cnet News, the Federal Government, by way of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern California, seems to be pondering whether Second Life could be considered in the wrong by ‘processing’ virtual money transactions for their online virtual casinos!

Ginsu Yoon, who is Linden Lab’s current vice president for business affairs, said “We have invited the FBI several times to take a look around in Second Life and raise any concerns they would like, and we know of at least one instance that federal agents did look around in a virtual casino.”

Yoon said the company was seeking guidance on virtual gaming activity in Second Life but had not yet received clear rules from U.S. authorities. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern California declined to comment.

Most people will agree that since players can exchange Linden Dollars for actual US dollars that gambling with Linden Dollars in any one of Second Life’s hundreds of casinos offering poker, slot machines and blackjack …might actually be a crime. Consequently, would Linden Lab, who handles transactions for the Linden Dollar may be considered ‘processing payments’ for online gambling.

Attorney Sean Kane, a legal expert on the issues of virtual worlds at New York’s Drakeford & Kane had this to say, “If you’re buying money on the Lindex (a virtual currency exchange) and utilizing it for gambling purposes, Linden could have a much higher level of responsibility,” he added. “If they would be found in violation, that’s difficult to say, but I can see a much stronger case being made.”

PLEASE……….aren’t there better ways for governments to spend valuable law enforcement resources than going after a $1500 dollar a month virtual money virtual casino? Next I’m going to read that Second Life Casinos now have to be licensed out of Belize or Costa Rica to offer action!

Wow, digital money and virtual money are just so new to the world I suppose that any part they plays in online commerce will always be suspect.

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Is Cash Cards International Simply Stealing From Nigerian Account Holders? You Tell Me… (Pt. 1)

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:49:00 -0700

Everyone knows Nigeria’s bad reputation as the home for a multitude of scams and illegal activity. As you read this post please note I am NOT trying to be the naive ‘good business’ ambassador to Nigeria. However, I feel this story needs some in depth exposure and discussion.

Not all the people doing business on the Net from Nigeria are scammers. Over the years I have met some very nice, hard working people living in Nigeria and they don’t all deserve to get financially slammed or dumped on because Steve Renner from Cash Cards knows how to read the FAFT money laundering country list.

Especially now, since June of 2006 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to remove Nigeria from its list of countries and territories that are non co-operative in the international community’s efforts to fight money laundering. (.pdf)

There are really NO hopeful options for a Nigerian who has lost their legitimate funds because of the Cash Cards International ’seizure’.

Additionally, if I had solicited and directly participated in an online business with Nigeria for years, then decided to freeze the funds under the premise of AML, I could walk away with a very sizable amount of ‘Frozen Funds’ assuming no further legal hassles. Does that make it right?

Was this private seizure done within US law or is Cash Cards ‘cashing in’ on some lesser fortunate people who did nothing wrong?

CashCards International is a distributor of ATM cards, an exchange agent for e-gold digital gold currency and also operates their own online currency known as V-Cash. They seem to have been around since 2001. The business is run by Steve Renner a successful Internet marketer and entrepreneur.

In June of 2006 Cash Cards gave this notice to the public:

“Effective Immediately, Cash Cards International can no longer do business with persons or businesses from Nigeria. For a number of years the Financial Action Task Force (”FATF”) has placed Nigeria on the “Back List” of Non Cooperative countries in the fight against Money Laundering. According to the US State Department, Nigeria is a worldwide hub for Money Laundering activity, and is notorious for Financial Fraud Schemes that involve the International Wire Transfer of funds. For more information:

http://www.fatf-gafi.org/dataoecd/16/23/36174130.pdf

http://www.fintrac.gc.ca/publications/avs/2004-10-29_e.asp

http://www.fatf-gafi.org/dataoecd/43/53/34949558.pdf

http://www.fincen.gov/advis32.pdf

http://www.oecd.org/document/61/0,2340,fr_2649_37453_2487165_1_1_1_37453,00.html

As an international corporation we have been monitoring the progress of Nigeria to meet the requirements to be taken off the “Black List”. Unfortunately, there just hasn’t been enough progress (see first reference above) and as such we must now suspend all transactions with individuals or businesses from Nigeria to include freezing all V-Cash accounts opened by Nigerians. At such time that Nigeria meets the criteria to be removed from the “Black List”, we will again open up these accounts.”

But as a Nigerian client during that time if you called Cash Cards Minnesota office, your conversation was like this, “…i got one of the support guys, he told me yes, Nigeria has been taken off the list[FAFT] but their banks are still waiting for the proper green light to resume operation.” *http://www.nairaland.com/

Many if not most Nigerians I’ve heard from since planning this post said they felt that Cash Cards International may simply be scamming them out of their money. They don’t understand why they can’t get their funds back. I have to also include my opinion which is — why have they kept these funds?

Tunde Akingbade is a reporter in Nigeria and ended up interviewing by telephone many locals who were on the losing end of the Cash Cards seizure. Mr. Akingbade had this to say,

“The estimate that I have is that what we have lost could be close to one billion naira. Each time we write and press to have our money, all we see is that these people ignore us because we cannot cross the sea to America to fight them one on one to retrieve our money trapped in the Cash Card International account.”

Here are some of the interviews highlights with the ‘victims’.

Mr. Emeka Anyanwu, was interviewed and he is a business administration graduate, with 450 people in his marketing team participating in the Cash Cards referral program:

I have an investment of about N980,000. [$7,644 USD] I was coordinating my team’s activity. Most of them were entrusting cash on me. The total investment of my team was about N4 million [$31,200]. …It was a referral business. They trade with you in gold and at the end of every two weeks they put it back in the Cash Card account….But, precisely, on April 28, 2006, they said they held a meeting in South Africa that Nigeria is one of the countries that had been listed for money laundering and, for that reason, our investment and cash have been frozen until further notice. We kept mailing them. It got to a time when they stopped replying us. If we called them, they didn’t talk to us anymore.

Mr. Akingbade asks him, “When did you start the business?”

We started early February 2006 … April, May, June, they first blew the news that countries that they will not deal with, countries that have star or asterisk in their names and they will not be doing transaction with them. We felt it was a normal thing. But the following month they froze our account without any notice…We even wrote to FBI.

And what report did you get from the FBI?

Nothing. We are now saying if this company actually had an investment with us and the company will no longer be doing business with us, they should return our capital investment. Apart from the capital investment, we have what is called V Cash account, which is E-Gold. In Nigeria, this is like a normal bank account. This is where all our earnings are placed. But if this company will no longer be doing business with us, why will they freeze the account?

Continued on Monday

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Virtual Game Currency Is Quickly Becoming ‘Bankable’ In The Real World

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:48:00 -0700

Look at these amazing numbers! On March 14, 2007, Second Life had just over 34,000 new sign ups. That day pushed their numbers up to 4,618,916 total members. Wow, 4.6 million members.

During that day, the average number of users online at one time was 25,330 members. Lots of money changing hands!!

A typical banking day in Second Life. *http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/

Take a look at March 9, 2007 where the exchange rate was about 270 Linden Dollars to $1 USD:

Spent $1,484,000 at an exchange rate of L$269.7 to US$1

Exchanged $236,000 at an average of $9,800 per hour.

Market buys were $190,000

Market sales were $45,000

Limit-limit buys were $1,400

The busiest time was at 2pm when about $18,000 was exchanged.

The quietest time was 6am when about $5,000 was exchanged.

Now take a quick look at the six real-world banks that maintain a virtual shop in Second Life such as ING’s Virtual Holland !

Sep. 2005: Wells Fargo is the first real-world bank with a presence in Second Life (SL)

Dec. 2005: Wells Fargo leaves SL, moving its Stagecoach Island to a new platform (see previous coverage here)

7 Dec 2006: ABN Amro becomes first European bank in SL (press release here)

7 Jan 2007: BNP Paribas opens a small test area (post here)

7 Feb 2007: Swiss bank BCV opens its doors in SL (press release here)

21 Feb 2007: ING Bank launches website and blog to get users involved in building what it calls Our Virtual Holland

2 Mar 2007: Danish Saxo Bank announces plans to create trading platform in SL (Reuters article here)

Clearly in such an unregulated environment, there is money to be made from banking and currency exchange.

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Second Life Gives Up Gambling

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:45:00 -0700

For many months now I’ve been following the growth of virtual currencies around the globe. Because most ‘virtual currency’ such as the Linden Dollar are convertible into national currency, its of vital importance to monitor the future growth of this industry. Possible taxation, regulation, trading restrictions or outright prohibition are all genuine threats to not just virtual currency but other currently unregulated ‘digital currency’.

On April 5th I took a rather sarcastic look at how certain government agencies were looking at Second Life for their gambling, Is Linden Lab (Second Life) Violating The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act?

This past week, Forbes is reporting that Second Life has dropped all forms of gambling due to the FBI’s advice.

Following an FBI investigation, Linden Labs has banned all forms of gambling from Second Life, according to a posting on the company’s blog. Linden Labs had announced in April that it was cooperating with FBI scrutiny of the virtual world, including law enforcement officials’ visits to the game’s casinos.

The company blog didn’t reveal to what degree the ban was mandated by the FBI, saying only that “Linden Lab and Second Life residents must comply with state and federal laws applicable to regulated online gambling” and threatening to remove players and objects from the game that violate the new policy.

Interested in learning more about Second Life? Visit their community portal, its very informative and you might be amazing at all they have going on!

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Look Out Virtual Worlds….Here Comes The US Congress

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:45:00 -0700

Sometime around August, the US Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will release their most recent report on the potential taxation of virtual goods. At present there is no denying the monster growth in these virtual worlds such as Entropia Universe, World of Warcraft, Second Life & EverQuest.

While the consensus is that the JEC is not yet seeking to impose new taxes on virtual economies, the Internal Revenue Service has started paying very close attention to these new ‘virtual’ issues. Real world sales proceeds from virtual assets such as castles, weapons and private virtual currency may soon have to be reported.

If Congress heads in the direction of taxing virtual worlds, this could create big problems for the game software creators and operators. Not to mention legal and tax jurisdictional problems, server placement….on and on. Forcing publishers to create taxing solutions to these potential problems at this early stage of the game could stunt the growth of this blossoming industry.

The multitude of in house banking, loan and ‘virtual’ financial services coupled with secondary markets disconnected from the primary game webs already creates a big problem for any agency trying to wrangle this virtual bronco.

I’ve been keeping an eye on Sparter’s new Gamer2Gamer market for virtual currency, along with the 5 new virtual banking licenses just sold at Entropia Universe and even the rumored ‘closer look’ by the Feds at possible violation of the UIGEA by Second Life. Its a brave new virtual world out there.

I hope that, unlike the digital currency industry, virtual gaming companies are spending on lawyers and lobbyist to bolster some helpful support before any possible regulatory hammer falls.

Bottom line…go easy on the new virtual economies and let them grow! Big government has already put the fix in for online gambling, please steer clear of the virtual worlds.

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Sparter’s Gamer2Gamer™ Exchange: Buying and Selling Virtual Currency Just Got Easier

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:43:00 -0700

The new online exchange, Sparter, backed by Bessemer Venture Partners has just grown very popular. I first wrote about this back in February when eBay had halted the sale of virtual goods. This exchange offers visitors the option of buying or selling a large selection of virtual game currency and the process resembles eBay trading. Available on this exchange are currencies from games such as World of Warcraft (WOW), EverQuest, Eve, Maple Story, Guild Wars, Final Fantasy XI, Lineage II, Star Wars Galaxies, Lord of the Rings and more.

“Sparter’s Gamer2Gamer™ exchange brings transparency and equality to what previously was often seen as an underground activity.” *

This type of web business which offers real person to person transactions is gaining popularity in the online gaming world. Currently there are several other large webs selling virtual currency but none that I am aware of which promote P2P buying and selling at ‘market’ prices.

Free market buying and selling adds liquidity to currencies and builds strength into the market over the long term, even the virtual ones. Its important to note that Sparter only works with virtual currency and not any other digital goods that virtual world games may offer.

Sparter’s escrow feature is a great option for buyers. Payment for virtual currency is held until the buyer confirms receipt and the transaction has been completed. Both buyer and seller even have the ability to rate each other after the transaction. Plus, anyone just visiting the web can browse the active listings.

On Sparter, anyone visiting can sign up to buy or sell at current market prices. How does Sparter help to shape market pricing? Their system crawls other retail webs, locating current prices then offers those figures as a comparison for Sparter traders. This service seems to help offer an accurate view of pricing in the marketplace. It seems like a good system.

Currently there is no fee to list an item for sale, but they charge a 10% commission to the seller at the close of their transaction. Its important to understand, Sparter does not set the price for sales (the market does that) and they also do not buy or sell any currency, they act as the transaction agent.

Sparter only allows payment with PayPal but since they are gaining popularity, let us hope in the future they will adopt other payment methods including Webmoney. Webmoney has gained significant popularity with the gaming industry in recent years and is accepted for some popular virtual goods.

These new secondary markets for virtual currency have also sparked discussion about government regulations, taxes and even money laundering. It obvious from their fast growth that the global market for virtual currency is only going to get bigger in the coming years. Next week, June 22nd, Stanford University is even hosting a Virtual Goods Summit.

Are you looking for a new online business? This may be the star to hitch your wagon to….

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China Rumored To Begin Licensing Their e-Payments Industry

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:40:00 -0700

This week ChinaTechNews has reported a ‘rumor’ that China will be issuing licenses to try and bring their growing e-payments industry under control. The rumor does not tell us concretely what will occur in furtherance of protecting consumers and regulating their industry but it does discuss some possibilities.

“The new rules to be released include Payment and Liquidation Organization and Management Method, implementation principles and relevant statutes. The former is about key rules in managing e-payment companies and it guarantees the basic rights of each online consumer.”

Additionally they say that ‘e-payment licenses’ will now be required for the following organizations:

Bank card associations

Invoice based e-payment companies

Online payment companies such as PayPal and Alipay

Other types of non-banking institutions

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Ron Paul Liberty Dollar Makes News

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:37:00 -0700

The Liberty Dollar, which is the company currently suing the Federal Government, recently came out with the Ron Paul commemorative disk. (shown below)

This piece featuring a bust of Ron Paul and is exactly like all of the other silver and gold Liberty Dollars, its beautiful. Their mint manages to create some beautifully crafted precious metal and I’d love to have one of these.

While I don’t worship at the alter of Ron Paul like some of my friends, because of his favorable position on precious metal backed money and smaller government I have followed his politics for more than a few years. From the recent televised Presidential debates, it has been nice to have gotten to know a little more about Mr. Paul.

Lately, even the media seems to be taking an interest in what is ‘behind’ all that paper money the US issues. Today, the New York Times had an article entitled “Ron Paul Gains New Currency”. From that piece,

“Paul’s campaign spokesman Jesse Benton says his boss supports “legalized competition between Federal Reserve notes and other specie currency” by allowing people to pay for goods and services with gold or silver.”

Silver backed physical currency seems to be making a big come back. A recent DigitalMoneyWorld interview with Gordon Hayes, creator of the silver backed Phoenix Dollar produced some of the highest traffic days on the blog we’ve seen this year.

Is America again ready for real money backed by silver or gold?

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Don’t Get Hooked By The DGC Phishing E-mails

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:33:00 -0700

From the top of the currency pyramid here is some ‘phishing prevention’ information on a few of the popular Digital Gold Currencies. Because a DGC transaction is not reversible and the currencies are highly liquid some of them, like e-gold, are constant targets for phishing expeditions (emails).

Here is some top advice from their webs plus a bit of my own input.

e-gold

E-gold has a great section on the safe operation of their accounts entitled “e-gold Security Alerts“. You should check it out as some of the recommendations work for just about any online currency including online banking.

Fake Emails purporting to be from e-gold

NEVER ACCESS YOUR E-GOLD ACCOUNT BY CLICKING A HYPERTEXT LINK IN E‑MAIL.

NEVER VIEW, OPEN, SAVE, OR RUN ANY ATTACHMENT IN E-MAIL PURPORTING TO BE FROM E‑GOLD.

Regardless of the subject matter of the fraudulent emails, they always have one thing in common: their intent is to gather pieces of information needed for a criminal to gain access to the victim’s e-gold account and divert the value either via a phishing attack, a Trojan horse attack, or both.

We urge Users to:

Never click hypertext links in HTML formatted e-mail to access your account.

Confirm that you are on the e-gold website before entering your e-gold passphrase into either a logon form or a payment authorization form (see note below about e-gold shopping cart interface):

• Verify the address/location/URL starts with: https://www.e-gold.com/

• Verify the site is secure (look at the SSL Lock icon at the bottom of your browser window)

• Verify that the site certificate is issued by VeriSign to www.e-gold.com

Never open/view/run/install an attachment in e-mail purporting to be from e-gold

Follow the e-gold Security Recommendations listed here.

Phishing Attacks…

The hypertext link in fraudulent email will appear to be to the e-gold website, but if clicked, it directs the victim to a fraudulent website, designed to ensnare the careless by mimicking the appearance of the real e-gold website. Phony login forms are used on these “phishing” websites to collect victim’s e-gold account number and passphrase. If victim has disabled e-gold’s AccSent protection, e-gold account number and passphrase are all the criminal needs to log in to the victim’s e-gold account on the real e-gold website and divert the value.

Trojan Horse Attacks…

Counterfeit websites may also attempt to trick User into downloading a Trojan horse with the objective of gaining control of victim’s computer. The email attachment in fraudulent e-mails usually is a Trojan horse. Again, the objective of Trojan horse may be to gain control of victim’s computer.

GoldMoney

Q&A

I received an email from an address at goldmoney.com with a hyperlink (web address) embedded in the email. The email asks me to log into my Holding. Is it safe to click the hyperlink and log into my Holding?

No. GoldMoney will never, under any circumstance, send an unsolicited email asking you to log into your Holding by clicking on an embedded link.

Criminal hackers often send out emails asking for the recipient to log into what appears to be a trusted online financial account. Although the emails appear to be sent from the financial institution, they are actually sent by the hackers themselves in a technique called “spoofing”. Malicious hyperlinks usually direct the recipient to a site that appears to be the trusted financial institution, but is actually a website set up by a hacker for the sole purpose of stealing your personal information, including your login ID and passphrase. If stolen, this information would give the hacker access to your GoldMoney account and your money.

Often, the hyperlink presented in the email looks exactly like the site being mirrored. For example, it may say: “Go to goldmoney.com to log into your Holding to verify information”. However, clicking the link will actually take you to the mirrored site run by the hacker. One common type of mirrored site are those with a small misspelling. For example, instead of “goldmoney.com” the web address will actually be “go1dmoney.com”, spelled with the numeral “1″ instead of the lower case letter “L”. Hackers purposefully do this, hoping you will not notice the difference. GoldMoney will never send you an email with embedded hyperlinks, with the sole exceptions being email alerts to view the Founder’s Commentary page, and confirmation emails that are sent to you when you first create a Holding or request the issuance of a new passphrase (in case you lose your passphrase).

The same goes for e-mail attachments.

If you receive an email from an address at goldmoney.com with an attachment. Never EVER open the attachment. Never download and/or open such an attachment. GoldMoney will never send email with an attachment. Criminal hackers often send out emails that appear to be sent from a trusted party but are actually sent from the hackers themselves (this technique is called “spoofing”). Unfortunately, the limitations of email software make these spoof emails possible.

The attachments often contain malicious programs called “trojans” designed to steal personal information stored on your computer or to log your keystrokes and steal passwords. If stolen, this information would give the hacker access to your GoldMoney account and your money. Attachments from a spoofed address may also contain computer viruses designed to cause havoc on your computer. To repeat this important point, never open an attachment sent to you from any email addressed from goldmoney.com. Immediately delete the attachment if downloaded onto your computer.

Pecunix

Pecunix has the distinction of being the only DGC never phished or hacked. Pecunix accounts have three login access levels to give you complete control over your account. Access is expertly restricted at each level. You can determine not only who uses your account, but also how much information other users can see and whether or not they have access to your funds.

Login levels:

By using the proprietary login system developed by Siddley Incorporated, you will never need to divulge more than four characters of your password (PIK) at any one time. You will never be required to reveal your complete password. Pecunix login security is immune to common Trojan Horse, virus and robot attacks. To enhance your account security, you may also use strong access verification via PGP authentication.

The standard security is backed up by an optional IP number security addition and strong reporting. An up-to-date security report identifies any failed login attempts and attempts at suspect activity each time you successfully log-on to your account.

Secure e-mail:

Also, within your account is a secure e-mail interface called the Pecunix Secure Messaging System. Any messages sent through the Pecunix Secure Messaging System are held encrypted at all times unless actually being read by either the user or Pecunix Customer Services.

The Pecunix web site is full of super information if you would like to learn more, they offer 6 short tutorial videos on the features and operation of an account. I highly recommend you take a look.

e-Bullion

e-Bullion^® offers it’s clientele the CryptoCard Secure Password Technology system to protect their accounts from password theft. If you are serious about using e-Bullion you require one of these devices. I would NOT operate any e-bullion account without a CryptoCard. It looks like a small calculator and delivers a fresh password each time you log in making the account IMPOSSIBLE to hack or phish.

Simple to Use. The CRYPTOCard doesn’t require the installation of any fancy software, plugs, or cords. Once you’ve ordered the card, there are a couple of simple initial instructions to follow and it will be fully functional and configured to protect your account. No wires, no CD’s, no software installation - just simplicity and security.

How much it cost?The CRYPTOCard costs $99.50. That is a mere fraction of the cost of a $5,000 safe. In combination with the e-Bullion^® system you get the safety of Brinks Global Security combined with the military strength encryption on the CRYPTOCard. If you are using your e-Bullion^® Account to store more than $5,000 worth of gold, the security of the CRYPTOCard is definitely worth the expense.

Finally, my personal recommendations…..I only receive email in text form, no Rich Text or HTML and I never open any attachments without personally knowing the sender and scanning them for buggies.

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Keeping Your Online Digital Money Account Safe

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:31:00 -0700

This is a follow up to a post from November 2006 entitled Online Brokerages: Digital Cash Ripe For The Picking

Digital money, online banking or even just using your credit card online has never been more dangerous. No, this is not a call to ‘Stop Using the Internet’ this is a ’scared straight’ post, designed to shock you into taking a closer look at online security. Worms, Bots, Trojans, Keyloggers and Root Kits appear across the Internet as an ever present plague of locust eating away at consumers’ private data. Keeping your digital money safe and secure should be your number one priority BEFORE you log in to that online financial account.

Because of the characteristics of digital currency:

The fact that transactions are not reversible

Very little of the receivers information gets disclosed to the sender.

Accounts are fast and free to set up without any personal verification of the details.

Digital currency accounts gets attacked by hackers, Phishers and thieves very often. Everyday, I receive from 5-15 phishing emails for e-gold, PayPal and some other banks I’ve never even used. Because of these threats to digital money accounts, most users of digital currency will make their online experience much more secure than the casual surfer using a credit card that offers a guaranteed refund in the case of fraud. Digital currency users KNOW that when your account is hacked, that money is G-O-N-E. There is no magic toll free number to call and get a refund. On with this true life story…

There is an older gentleman named Dave DeSmidt living in Mukwonango, WI, who kept his life saving in his 401(k) retirement account. I say life saving because held in his account with J.P. Morgan & Co. was 25 years of personal saving. This retirement money totaled $179,000.

Now while your credit card and online banking accounts are protected by law against fraud, online brokerage accounts are NOT. These digital money accounts, which are regularly accessed by users, have now become a prime target for hackers and thieves.

Mr. DeSmidt, awoke one morning last October, logged into J.P. Morgan and found a zero balance. His account had been hacked by an intruder and the entire saving disbursed to a private checking account of someone he did not know. DeSmidt said. “I don’t have a clue how it happened.”

Apparently, on October 23, someone in New Jersey, logged into his online brokerage account, changed the ‘linked’ bank account to another bank and requested a transfer of the full amount. The following day, Mr. DeSmidt’s balance read zero.

It is important to note that not even the name on the checking account matched the online brokerage account, yet the transfer was completed. Often fraud protection controls similar to those found on credit card accounts are NOT found on brokerage accounts. Computer crooks have progressed from credit card with small balances and fraud protection, to larger amounts and easier brokerage accounts. These targets offer the account holder little or no protection.

J.P. Morgan’s report on the theft had this to say:

“J.P. Morgan concludes there was no external or internal breach of controls with the J.P. Morgan environment,” the report said. “Access and authentication controls established within J.P. Morgan worked appropriately.”

Bottom line, the money was gone. There are no US federal consumer regulations to protect consumers when a brokerage account is hacked.

Now, having said that, let’s update this story….MSNBC became involved, publicized the theft and to make a long story short, Mr. DeSmidt did get his money back before Christmas. J.P. Morgan, without being required to by law, refunded his account. Its important to note, this is an exception to the rule, most thefts of this type are not covered by national news organizations and a loss can be permanent.

Bottom line, make sure your computer is secure BEFORE you log onto to that digital currency account. Here are a few webs I visit for assistance in the daily security of our PCs:

Kaspersky Lab

CounterSpy

eTrust PestPatrol

McAfee

Spybot Search and Destroy (S&D)

Panda Software

Gibson Research Corporation

KeePass

AI RoboForm

JAP — Anonymity & Privacy

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Secure Your Digital Currency Account With A New Entrust $5 Device

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:29:00 -0700

One of the biggest problems with both GoldMoney and e-gold is theft.

Man in the middle attacks, keyloggers, trojans and other scams cause a lot of headaches for digital currency users. While each company does a lot to fight online theft from personal accounts, especially e-gold Ltd, a big burden still sits with the end user.

Keeping your personal computer and connection secure while managing your online money is priority one for most digital gold currency users. Once that balance is gone from your e-gold account, it is not likely to be replaced

How can these companies offer an increased security package without creating excessive cost or stress on their customers? New solutions are now available and cost effective. PayPal, with 120+ million customers, has just offered to all users a hardware security key small enough to fit on your key chain. That end cost to the customer is just $5 per unit and was originally from VeriSign.

E-bullion, another popular digital gold currency, offers clients the CRYPTOCard, which is a calculator size password device that works together with the e-bullion web site to generate access codes for an individual account. I have one and it has worked great for many years. It is 100% hacker proof. The only problem is that the item costs $99.50. Ouch!

Just last week, the well know online security company Entrust, announced they are now offering the Entrust IdentityGuard Token for the low cost of just $5.

Any online currency company can now work through Entrust and offer to their customers total access security for those important online money accounts. This small hardware device is an easy-to-use time synchronous token that can be deployed alone or in combination with other authentication methods and is automatically supported in the Entrust IdentityGuard multifactor authentication platform. This hardware token is designed to deliver all the security and reliability organizations expect from a physical security device, without the high price.

It seems that for just $5, if PayPal can offer such as device to over 100 million accounts, the digital currency operators who transact well over a billion dollars a year in client transfers should also adopt such easy to use and inexpensive protection for their customers. Requiring it may be a hard thing to do, but offering it as an optional upgrade like PayPal has done, should convince most users to make that additional $5 purchase. Its well worth it.

Now that the $5 IdentityGuard Token is available to every online money web, hackers and thieves beware, E-gold and GoldMoney could soon have you working overtime.

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Brink’s May No Longer Vault Precious Metal For Digital Currency Services

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:28:00 -0700

Patrick from AnyGoldNow, one of the older DGC exchange agents, brings us this information seen in the Le Metropole Cafe. Le Metropole Cafe is a well known hangout for top precious metal gurus such as John Brimelow (VDARE), Bill Murphy (GATA), Greg Pickup & Neville Bennett. This is the direct quote from the cafe:

“I learned from sources at Brink’s Global Services today that their CEO sent out an email informing the staff that they will no longer vault gold for internet gold services. They expect to terminate their exiting contracts with vaulting customers! The source said they “no longer want those customers”.

My source claimed that they would still vault gold for “non-internet customers”. This distinction is essentially arbitrary in today’s world of electronic transactions. Their other vaulting customers include banks and commodity exchanges. Commodity exchanges obviously offer internet-based front ends for purchasing gold, and some banks (such as Everbank) do also.

My source also added that he presumed the issue was “money laundering”. However, I believe the only online allocated gold services that currently vault with Brink’s Global Services are e-gold (who also vaults some of their inventory with Transguard in Dubai) and BullionVault. BullionVault does not even allow any form of transfer between users and transfers money in and out only through a single bank account, so it cannot be used for money laundering at all.

This move will definitely cause operational problems for allocated online gold dealers, and chill the growth of newer ones. In the short term, those businesses will likely approach European firm Via MAT and Dubai’s Transguard, both of whom do some business in that space, who will hopefully take up some of the traffic.

In my MIDAS entry of December 14, 2006, I referenced a meeting with the Brink’s North America CEO. Brink’s North America and Global Services are related but distinct, with separate CEOs, under holding company Brink’s Incorporated (BCO). During the meeting, the North America CEO was unrelentingly unwilling to discuss any sort of vaulting services. When I pointed out that Brink’s already had several customers in that space, he told me flatly that he did not want to have them, and he indicated that Global Services would not be any more helpful. Apparently the chill I detected in that meeting has emerged as a corporate strategy against allocated gold for the international Brink’s corporate entity.

- David R”

As of today, February 23, 2007 e-gold has 2,593,325 grams ($57+ million USD) of precious metal in the Brink’s lock up. This does not seem to be any big concern since there are many more private vault services around the globe. However, we will watch for any additional information which may show a trend or possible new vaulting services. Other large precious metal positions with e-gold are held through Transguard and MAT Securitas Express AG.

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Digital Gold’s Top Man, An Interview With Mr. James Turk of GoldMoney

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:26:00 -0700

GoldMoney is the largest digital gold currency on the Internet. As of February 28, 2007 the company was holding just under $200 million dollars in gold bullion for clients.

This company is run by a very sharp businessman named Mr. James Turk. He has been dramatically successful at building his global gold business and looks to the future with total confidence. GoldMoney is clearly a company we can count for safety, convenience and unequaled strength in the coming decade and beyond.

My Interview:

(Q) Can you start by telling us your current title and relationship with GoldMoney?

I am the founder and chairman of GoldMoney.

(Q) Who would be your perfect customer and what is your target market for GoldMoney products?

I’m not sure what would constitute a “perfect” customer because we value all of our customers. Our target market is people and companies who want to purchase gold and silver in order to diversify the risks they incur by holding national currencies.

(Q) Which phrase better describes GoldMoney and why? “Good fences make good neighbors.” or “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

I don’t think GoldMoney can be adequately described by either of the above. What’s more, both phrases are valid. GoldMoney is a service that we provide, and people choose to use it voluntarily. So it can act as a bridge between neighbors. Then again, people often buy gold or silver because of these metals’ safe haven status, just in case something bad happens to the dollar or other national currencies.

(Q) GoldMoney has experienced dramatic growth in the past several years. What would you say are the 3 main reasons more clients using your products?

Our customers know that

1) their gold and silver are safe and secure

2) the rates at which they buy and sell physical gold and silver from us are very competitive

3) the convenient access to their metal that we offer provides them with excellent liquidity

(Q) I love the concept of gold as a medium of online commerce and how easy it is to use as an international unit of exchange. Do you feel GoldMoney is best suited for global commerce or more accurately described as a convenient personal way for individuals to buy and own gold?

It’s both. Companies use GoldMoney because it is well suited for global commerce. Individuals use GoldMoney because it is a great way to buy and own gold.

(Q) What do you feel are the two biggest advantages of using GoldMoney? Why would someone use it for online retail sales of a product?

The two biggest advantages are

1) our exceptional governance, which provides our customers with the assurances of integrity that their metal is safe

2) our website is easy to use and informative

Online retailers may choose GoldMoney for several reasons, but perhaps most importantly, are its low-cost and certainty of payment.

(Q) Clearly, GoldMoney is such a successful business it could be operated from almost any country in the world, why did you opt for its current jurisdiction and how is that better for your client’s safety?

We believe that money should be a neutral tool in commerce. In other words, it should not be subject to political and other influences. Also, we want to operate in a country where there is a strong respect for the rule of law, and further, that the legal system is based upon traditional Anglo-Saxon common law because it is based upon property rights. The Channel Islands — which are located in the English Channel — meet these requirements, which explains why it is one of the world’s largest financial centers. I understand that over $1 trillion of assets are managed there.

(Q) Do you feel that GoldMoney is a great way to transact business on the Internet given its advantages over credit cards or other currently popular means of e-commerce?

Yes, without any doubt. Also, given that the Internet is global, why should any national currencies be used? The Internet needs its own, global currency, and gold is perfectly suited for that role. After all, that is the history of gold — it is international money accepted throughout the world. The same thing cannot be said for many national currencies.

(Q) I was reading an article this week when preparing to write these questions. The article praised GoldMoney and the use of digital gold currency but to my surprise, around the last sentence in the article, it said something to the effect that GoldMoney was very popular way to purchase gold online but had not picked up many retail merchants in the past years. Do you feel that it’s important to the growth of GoldMoney to expand your operations to include more business and personal retail users? Are you making any extra efforts to attract this commercial market or are you happy growing as a successful online ’saving’ model and secure place to accumulate wealth?

We are happy with our progress in all respects. Most people see gold as a place to save money, so it is not too surprising that most people use GoldMoney as a place to accumulate wealth. But it is still early days. As people begin to learn and understand the benefits of digital gold currency (DGC), they are beginning to use it. It’s like anything else new — adoption takes time. But adoption is happening because DGC offers many benefits, particularly its low cost compared to less efficient payment mechanisms like credit cards and bank wires.

(Q) In today’s Web 2.0 world, online discussion and socializing seems to be a very good way to interact with the public and gain new quality customers. I subscribe to the GoldMoney email list and read your Alerts, but why isn’t there a GoldMoney blog or forum discussion area?

We tried that in our early days, with mixed results. We found that if a customer has a question, for example, they prefer to deal with it privately through our customer support team.

(Q) I know that Gold-Cart.com allows merchants to easily accept GoldMoney and a few other digital gold currencies. Do you recommend Gold-Cart.com to retail customers? Why or why not?

I do not make specific recommendations of any service. Do banks and other financial institutions recommend any of their customers? They don’t. I remain neutral because many of our customers compete with one another, so I let the market decide. Customers will choose which service they prefer, and the company that provides that service will prosper. In this regard, GoldMoney itself is a good example. We are by far the largest DGC.

(Q) We know you are bullish on Gold, but GoldMoney recently started offering digital Silver - my second favorite metal. Where do you see the digital silver part of your business going in the next 24 months? Why?

Silver is indeed an important part of our business and will remain so. Our customers who own silver get the same governance and other protections they also get with gold. The only difference is that silver cannot be used to make payments, at least not yet anyway. That new feature may be added in the future.

(Q) If a broader war erupts in the Middle East, Gold and Silver are obviously a very safe place for preserving personal wealth. Many people and I suspect families will be moving some funds into Gold. Why should Joe Public, who is a 45 year old, 50k $ a year, married with a mortgage regular guy use GoldMoney to keep his family’s long term money safe? Why not a Saving & Loan account or a US bank CD? Do you ever make a conscious marketing attempt to reach such a customer or is GoldMoney really for ‘Gold Bugs’ only?

This is a good question, and it explains why John Rubino and I wrote our book, The Coming Collapse of the Dollar. Its principal objective is education, to explain some of the monetary and financial problems that exist as well as what “Joe Public” can do about it. Also, much of my current writing that is posted on various websites like Kitco.com addresses basic issues in money and finance, and I write for everyone. It is not a marketing attempt, but if people like what I write, they often visit the GoldMoney website. They can then compare our services to other companies and choose what works for them.

(Q) Open2Exchange allows trading of GoldMoney in an open trading floor. Since it’s not a speculative type exchange, but rather a way for customers to get a better price when buying or selling their gold in the secondary market, would you like to these types of ‘open market’ transactions grow or disappear? Some GoldMoney customers love this type of secure ‘open trading’, how do you feel about it?

I have no strong feelings about secondary markets one way or the other, but we always have to be cognizant that we are following the law in the Channel Islands so that GoldMoney is not misused in any way.

(Q) I know the GoldMoney does a lot to verify ‘who’ all of your users are….this is very important is today’s financial world. I would like to take this opportunity to give you a special praise for going above and beyond what is ‘required’ of GoldMoney in the KYC department. What jurisdiction’s set of laws does GoldMoney follow?

Thank you. We follow the law in the country where we operate, Jersey, Channel Islands.

(Q) What does GoldMoney do to prevent any sort of illegal activity with its users?

We have found that verifying the identity of our customers acts as a deterrent to illegal activity. Basically, the law in Jersey, Channel Islands requires us to follow the same standard that banks follow. Even though we are not a bank, the law applies to all financial institutions.

(Q) Is GoldMoney a licensed Money Service Business (MSB) in the United States?

No, we do not have any business presence in the Unites States, and therefore do not fall under US jurisdiction.

(Q) When will I see a TV commercial for GoldMoney? Do you advertise in the mainstream print media? Do you feel that is important?

We advertise only on the Internet for the simple reason that our business is entirely Internet based. I can easily imagine though some time in the future expanding our advertising to mainstream print media.

(Q) Most of the articles I read, end with some wild speculation that digital gold currency ‘could’ be used for terror financing and it seems that any new financial technology today automatically gets that ‘possible’ label from day one. Having been at the top of the digital currency industry for a number of years, can you tell me, is there any situation past or present which has been positively linked digital gold currency with any sort of terror financing?

I am not aware of any.

(Q) I believe it is not only OK but required for government agencies to make such statements, its their job, but do you think it is unfair or irresponsible for the press to so often speculate on possible terrorist involvement with digital gold currency?

There is a difference between what “has” happened and what “could” happen. When people read these statements about how DGC could be used, I believe they accept them at face value. In other words, DGC is no different from any other tool or service — they can be used in proper or improper ways. Even good things can be put to bad uses. We don’t want that to happen with GoldMoney, which explains why we are so careful with our Customer Acceptance Policy and following the letter of the law where we operate.

(Q) In the US, prepaid cards have become second nature for most shoppers. From prepaid Visa cards to cell phone minutes, more prepaid cards are hanging on the end of isles in front of consumers than ever before, when can I expect to see a $25, $50 or $100 GoldMoney card hanging in my shopping isle?

I don’t have any view on that. I’ve never looked into it, and am therefore not even sure whether it is a viable business model.

(Q) In December of 2005, Businessweek came out with a series of negative articles on e-gold. The articles only discussed the negative aspects of the business and did not talk about any of the positive items. How did you feel when you first read that those articles? Did that negative press impact GoldMoney’s business?

That article clearly stated that GoldMoney is different from E-Gold, so I was not concerned by it. We continued our same growth path after the article came out, so I don’t believe it had any impact on our business.

(Q) GoldMoney has been so successful and experienced such strong growth over the past years, after those articles came out, did you feel the need to counter that bad stuff with any positive items, news or ad campaigns for digital gold? Why or why not?

My focus is on GoldMoney, not other companies. If GoldMoney was the subject of inaccurate reporting, I would of course respond. Over the years I have seen a lot of GoldMoney wannabees, but there is only one GoldMoney. The media coverage given to GoldMoney over the years has been accurate.

(Q) I know expanding your business by offering Silver to clients made a lot of people happy, myself included. What is the next big area of growth for GoldMoney? Are you planning any additional product roll outs?

The next big product roll-out is coming within a few weeks. We call it Customer Funds. Our customers will be able to place national currency on deposit at a bank in Jersey, which will facilitate our customers buying and selling of metal.

So for example, let’s assume you want to take some profit by selling some of your silver. Right now, we are required to wire the proceeds back to your bank account. Then when you want to buy again, you have to wire the money back to us. That’s expensive and time consuming. In a few weeks you will be able to deposit the proceeds of your sale into a bank in Jersey, and earn interest on that money while you are waiting to re-enter the market. Or similarly for new purchases, you will be able to wire money to the bank and earn interest, and then enter the market at the moment you are ready.

We’ve been working on this new product for several months. I has required a lot of programming and back-office planning, but I think it will be a major step forward for GoldMoney. It has also been the new service most requested by our customers, and we always pay careful attention to what they are telling us.

(Q) If I gave you the platform to directly reach 300 or 400 million people each week with your digital gold message, what would it be?

Everyone needs to understand gold, so that each individual can decide whether he or she wants to own some. This message basically explains the objective of my writings, on the GoldMoney website and elsewhere.

(Q) What is the most important idea, concept or vision you wish to provide your current or future clients? (safety, value etc)

Gold is money, but about 100 years ago we stopped using it as currency. Gold was not as efficient as other forms of currency, so gold-substitutes became predominant. But today’s technology is changing currency, just like it is changing in many other areas of our lives. The important point is that gold can now circulate more efficiently and safely than national currencies. I don’t expect national currencies to be replaced anytime soon, but I do expect in the years immediately ahead that gold will emerge as the predominant cross-border currency for international commerce. In other words, gold will once again fulfill its traditional role as global money.

(Q) How much gold do you have right now in you pocket? Do you ever carry a favorite coin or two for good luck?

I carry two 20-gram bars that I purchased over 20 years ago when I lived in Abu Dhabi. But I have always been carrying gold in my pocket since I lived in Thailand 30 years ago. I learned there that gold is money, and it is always useful to have some tucked away just in case.

That concludes my full interview with Mr. James Turk. I would like to take a moment to thank Mr. Turk for answering my questions.

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GoldMoney Announces New Client Services

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:21:00 -0700

GoldMoney can now handle your banking and bullion transactions in house and offshore.

Customer Segregated Funds

In addition to a GoldMoney digital bullion accounts, they are now offering clients a segregated national currency ‘connecting account’ with their local Jersey bank. Customers can now deposit funds directly into their segregated accounts using any of 4 different currencies: US dollars, British pounds, euros or Canadian dollars. These funds can immediately be use to purchase digital gold and silver from GoldMoney. If you decide to sell your digital bullion, any or all of the proceeds can be deposited instantly and directly into your non US segregated account. Additionally, interest will be paid on the currency deposits at very competitive rates, and account holders will have 24/7 access to the value by visiting the ‘Balances’ page in the GoldMoney Holding account.

How It Works

GoldMoney will accept incoming funds from US account holders by electronic check or bank wire. Once the funds are received they roll into your segregated account at the foreign bank. They sit there earning interest until you either buy some digital metal or request the funds be returned. There is no minimum or maximum deposit for the proper operation of the new account service. Interest based on your average monthly balance will be paid monthly, regardless of the size of your deposit.

The fee GoldMoney charges for this new service will reduce the interest income you receive by 1/4th of 1% per annum. Thus if the interest rate paid by their bank is 5%, the interest income you earn on your deposit is 4.75% after deducting the administrative fee. Interest rates are of course subject to change, but the present interest rates per annum after deducting the administrative fee are:

US dollar 4.18%

British pound 5.00%

euro 3.14%

Canadian dollar 2.75%

As of May 20th these new services will be live. James Turk revealed some of this information back in early March during his interview with us here at DigitalMoneyWorld GoldMoney webmoney
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BetGold Nows Gives TheGoldCasino Some Major Competition & New Games

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:20:00 -0700

BetGold.com is a casino using DGS software licensed in Costa Rica and that’s my neighborhood. Let’s take a closer look at the action….these are flash games so no download is required. You can also play in demo mode with no registration.

BetGold accepts e-gold and 1MDC. When you play using e-gold your bet is denominated in centigrams of gold not dollars in case you are used to betting in that fashion. They offer instant deposits and instant withdrawals at any time. With e-gold blocking U.S. customers from respectable gambling merchants, the pressure is on for TheGoldCasino (TGC), and BetGold Casino, to try new things in order to gain additional streams of revenue.

This is an area where BetGold Casino just may distance itself from TheGoldCasino. BetGold is reporting they will release a new game every month. The game for April is Blackjack Switch. In this new style of blackjack you play two hands of blackjack, wagering an identical amount on each. After your cards are dealt, you may choose to *switch* the second card on each hand, in an effort to improve them, even make Blackjacks.

Any Blackjack aficionado must check this game out. Click here to test it out and demo the game for free. No download and no registration just demo, its a fun one.

For sophisticated blackjack players, I might also mention some house rule differences between BetGold’s standard blackjack game versus TheGoldCasino’s that are more favorable to the player.

Max hands: TGC (1), BetGold (3)

Resplits: TGC (No / - 0.10%) - BetGold (Yes)

Peek ten showing: TGC (No / -0.10%) - BetGold (Yes)

Double: TGC (10/11 only / -0.18%) - BetGold (Any two cards)

Late Surrender (TGC - No) - BetGold (Yes / + 0.07%)

Rules % (dis)favorable to the player according to Wizard Of Odds.

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Banks? ‘We don’t need no stinking banks.’ We Have Digital Money!

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:19:00 -0700

I have lots of friends around the globe, well a lot of ‘Internet friends’ …we don’t meet face to face. Throughout the year we always seem to be sending or receiving money for one reason or another.

My ‘Internet friends’ are located in some far off places and tiny towns which do not appear on any tourist map! Their little known banks, different currencies and jurisdictional regulations often make it often impossible to quickly send or receive local funds. Consequently, we use digital money.

PayPal is sometimes used but not often. Due to the different rules in each jurisdiction most of my friends don’t use PayPal. So what are the most popular ways to ‘move money’ between friends? Keep in mind that all of these accounts can be used just moments after set.

Moneybookers

1MDC

e-gold

Webmoney

For receiving money, small amounts under 1k, Moneybookers is excellent. They offer multiple currencies, fast and easy account set up and most important, the account is working just moments after set up allowing their standard lower limits for receiving funds. We just opened a test account to view the current opening limits and in USD that was over $1300.

Increasing the limits on a brand new Moneybookers account is all about options.

We also like receiving Moneybookers because so many other webs accept their ‘money’. If you need to shop online for just about anything, chances are you can buy it with Moneybookers.

Unlike PayPal, you can get a Moneybookers account active and receiving without sending any ID or using a credit card for verification. Finally, one other big bonus is the ability to verify your address and thus raise your limit by having them send you a snail mail letter. No credit card required, this is a big plus for some users. Moneybookers is an instant working account and handy for lots of things including shopping, sending money to friends or simply having a working online account.

1MDC is hands down the simplest of all digital gold currencies. All of my friends love it. Daily use of 1MDC is very inexpensive, flexible and convenient. It takes about 20 seconds to get a new account and they don’t ask for any important items like address or DOB. An ID copy or credit card is never required (or even mentioned). 1MDC is instantly convertible into either e-gold or Pecunix directly from within the 1MDC client area. With a 1MDC account, I can send and receive funds without any limits and exchange directly into e-gold or Pecunix anytime, without any limits. The fees for usage are some of the lowest of any Digital Gold Currency. Finally, just about all digital currency agents will buy or sell 1MDC without any problem.

e-gold is also on my list because everyone I know accepts it. Accounts take just a few minutes to set up, they are free and don’t require any verified information. There are dozens and dozens of third party agents which will transaction in e-gold and also a few dozen ATM debit cards which allow easy access to your fund. There are no transaction limits on a new account (I’m aware of). Finally, there are dozens of way to convert everyday money into e-gold. This currency is also widely accepted around the globe and my friends seem to like it better than other digital money.

Last but certainly not least, I use Webmoney. Their online system for funding & transferring money is - by a wide margin - the most sophisticated and one of the best on the Internet. A new account holder simply downloads the Webmoney Keeper software, takes a few minutes to set up the account and it is 100% operational and ready to receive funds. Accounts are denominated in multiple currencies including the USD and EURO which are my most popular and the fees for usage are very low.

If you ever have a question or problem they have awesome online help. The Webmoney system provides users the ability to fund a new account through a variety of methods. The most common in my crowd would be bank wire transfer, prepaid cards and now Ukash (Europe & UK). Adding the Ukash option has opened up Webmoney to million of new users and my UK friends prefer this method.

Their software includes a great way to bill clients for products or services and also a very private online chat (IM) for personal or business messages. Webmoney is a very exciting business model. I was informed just a few days ago that prepaid cards make about 30% of all top-up volume in Russia and the surrounding states. That is amazing.

Reloading your digital currency account using a prepaid card is a big hit now in Europe, but who will bring it to the US on a national level?

When sending money online to your ‘friends’ or associates, what is the most common method you use?

The Ultimate - Alternate Payment System (APS) Pt.5 of 6

blogi@duartefund.com (Mike Lindasy) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:14:00 -0700

GoldMoney has a strict ‘Customer Acceptance Policy’ (CAP) and strict identity verification requirements. The CAP is an important part of GoldMoney’s commitment to ensure that their services and facilities are not used to facilitate criminal conduct. Depending if your account is personal or corporate, various forms will need to be filled out, signed and sent directly to the company’s offices in the Channel Islands. These forms must also be notarized or certified (apostille) as per your local jurisdiction. Any corporate account would of course include disclosures about the officers, directors, shareholders etc. Additionally, certified ID copies are required on the account operator including verification of their home address which is a bank statement, utility bill or copy of a tax return. Wheeew….

In order to properly operate or even use a GoldMoney account you basically need all the items that are regularly required to open a bank account. GoldMoney protects it’s operation and assets by absolutely requiring users to disclose ‘who’ they are…..its important to also note that GoldMoney sells digital currency directly to customers and engages in fund transactions with clients’ banks. Account holders can purchase GoldMoney through a third party agent but I suspect that a majority of customers go direct. A GoldMoney account seems a lot like a bank account and they require all the information and documents BEFORE any account holder can withdraw one dollar from that new account. So a new account is NOT operational until all your documents and disclosures have been accepted.

This type of protection/verification is very restrictive and I’d consider it overkill. I understand why they use such methods and it works well for their business model. However, our Ultimate system will be used for online commerce. The more red tape encircling a new account - the less an e-commerce operator will participate. I assume that all the red tape on a new account is the major reason, Goldmoney is primarily a precious metals ’saving’ account and not widely adopted by online commerce as a ’shopping’ currency like PayPal or Moneybookers.

PayPal has some stringent verification methods in place to prevent fraud or at least try to prevent fraud. In order to open and operate a PayPal account, a new account holder needs to ‘verify’ who they are with a credit card or bank account BEFORE they can operate the account. Additionally if they ask for it, and they often do, customers have to send in copies of their ID, bank statement, credit card statements etc. For the purpose of our new Ultimate APS, PayPal puts way too many restrictions on global accounts and this rules out a majority of OUR potential online users. The methods for funding PayPal are also not helpful to our target market. We are going to use prepaid cards and vouchers for the unbankable crowd - so PayPal type verification is OUT.

Both GoldMoney and PayPal require a lot of verification on users BEFORE a new account holder can transact one penny through the account. I don’t agree with these requirements so let’s look at a more acceptable way of offering new digital money accounts.

Webmoney has a terrific system in place to prevent misuse of their accounts but at the same time providing all new users a working WM account the moment they sign up. Registration is quick, free and does not REQUIRE a credit card or bank account.

Webmoney wisely does not try and verify a person using a credit card That method used by PayPal and others is simply useless since the creation of prepaid virtual cards. Its laughable how any company would consider that ‘verfication’ of anything!

Upon opening an account, the WebMoney Transfer Registration Wizard requests AUTHENTIC and verifiable personal data from its new account holders because later in the process that information can be ‘verified’ and an electronic ‘Passport’ issued on that account. Webmoney Transfer is ideal for global business. It it does not initially require users to verify their identity and account information. However, they do suggest that all users get verified and do business with other verified member.

After a very simple verification process, Webmoney issues that user a digital passport, that identifies the specific user and account, some of that personal info then becomes public for other users to view, but the user retains control of the amount of publicly visible info at all times. I think it is important for one user to be able to know who they are dealing with during a money transfer and the Webmoney system works very well in this regard.

The WM Verification Program offers several status levels. The higher the status of a WM-Passport the more options are available to the user from within the WM system and the more services they can use.

This is ideal for our Ultimate APS, if only Webmoney has a gold backed system

The Webmoney Transfer account is operational the moment you open it. New account holders can accept incoming funds and spend right away, fantastic!

Moneybookers is a bit like Webmoney in that you can immediately use the MB system the moment you open an account. Moneybookers is licensed and operated under the supervision of the FSA in the United Kingdom. Moneybookers allows use of a non verified account up to certain lower money transaction limits (about $1300) without any ID, credit card or bank account verification. Adding ID, credit cards or a bank account will loosen that restriction and raise your limits. Moneybookers even will verify a client using a snail mail letter to the registered address which is a very convenient option for our unbankable crowd.

For our Ultimate APS, Webmoney and Moneybookers offer the best solution for verification of ‘who’ a client is…the account is open and working from day one and if a client wants greater use of the account, they can provide additional information.

Finally, e-gold…. E-gold accounts, require NO verification of who you are, new accounts are instantly live and working, identifying information is NOT required and finally when a user provides verifiable information it is never checked !

Ouch, I will stay away from that kind of freedom. In our Ultimate system we have to follow some international guidelines in order to grow and prosper as a digital currency. That future growth may just require change and adaptation to new financial avenues which become the norm for Internet commerce.

The Ultimate - Alternate Payment System (APS) Parts 1, 2, 3, 4

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