GrandTheftCash - Contest SCAM!

[KKwebcoding]

(I tried to file a complaint but it wouldn't work. So I posted this here. )

The owner of this site got in trouble by shiftcode for rigging his own contests so that the top paying slots would be payed to his own account. He even admitted to this publicly. He says he is sorry, but that isn't a guarantee to his members that he isn't going to try it again. He willfully and purposefully defrauded his members and should be put on the boycott list so that site owners know this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. Furthermore he expresses no remorse in his "Apology" and instead provides an unconvincing "I'm poor" story, where he wants us to forgive him for his situation, not that he is actually sorry for doing it.

He says he had no choice but to rip off his members by lying and defrauding them. But he had several other choices.
1. He could have made the contests payout amounts he could actually afford.
2. He could have made the rules of the contests state that to get 1st places you have to have most offers and a minimum number of offers completed.
3. He could taken the hit and realize that it takes money to make money, and that by faithfully paying his members his business might grow.
4. If he could really live "money worry free" as he claims, he could have taken that job and simply sent money back to his family. (This is what I do, my mom is poor and I make good money and I send her things to help her out. She works online to support her, and my little brothers and I just built her a new computer for $500 because her old one was broken. I also bought my brothers a Wii and a year of Karate, and help pay her rent if she gets into a tough spot. )

The truth of the matter is that this site owner choose to rip off and defraud his members. Even worse is that less then 24 hours before this occurred Shiftcode sent out an email address to all site owners telling them that this was illegal and fraudulent behavior, he got the email and choose to rig his contest anyways, knowing 100% that it was wrong.

I included a highquality screenshot here: http://i54.tinypic.com/mwb50k.png


Hello ShiftCode Has decided to smack on the wrist For Frauding My Offer Con-Test

So Im making an apology



1st of I would like to say I have paid all my members for 3-4 months since we have been open
unless you cheated.or system banned you
2nd I would Just Like tell You Guys about My self.Back In April I started to make serious cash Online 3k-5k month not counting any Money made from this site.But I knew what I was doing would not last,So I saw the good Investment of opening up a GPT Site.Im Only 19 I was Born into A dirt Poor House,Where people may Have lost there jobs a few years ago My Mom and her Free loader Boyfriend Never Had Jobs.


So I did What I had to do,I at young age of 19 Started to support A Whole entire House(Mom ,Grandma,Brother Sister and Free Loader Moms Boy Friend.I had and still have a Opportunity to Live money worry free In New York Money worry Free.But I declined and still decline because,I know My Mom,Grandma,Brother,and Sister needed me.Im 19 and could be having the time of my life Instead I stay in Doors all day,I could be driving a Car Instead I bought My Mom Car to Drive The Kids back and forth to school.I have been waring the same Shirt and Pants for 3 years,I have not bought anything for myself in the months ,I mean do you guys know what its like to be on Chop Meat and Noddle Rations ?


The site just has not been making money like it use to. not crying to you guys but I lost 1,200 cash In offer fraud and 2,500 worth in reversals(Thanks Italy). Also I have been afraid to promote because Im afraid of my paypal Balance running out and not having any Money for my Family.
It just that Things have finally caught and I resorted to to very grease measure,So I decided to Rig My "Con-Test" to keep the profits up and I got Caught .So Im sorry

EDIT: Okay, when i submitted it it said something like "no user" so i thought that was an error, but they did email me and i confirmed the complaint. I'll leave this here though so people don't sign up and get scammed.

[Seraph]

This is also the same guy who purchased fake testimonials for his site:

http://i25.tinypic.com/2hyjez4.png

Oh, here's the thread where he got exposed and he admitted he posted fakes: http://talkprizes.com/prize_get_paid_programs/34315-grandtheftcash_grandtheftcash_com-2.html

[sonic]

LOL scammer admin first i heard about this well il be giving my commentary about his letter...

He said:1st of I would like to say I have paid all my members for 3-4 months since we have been open
Commentary: Fake testimonials dont count.

He said:I would Just Like tell You Guys about My self.Back In April I started to make serious cash Online 3k-5k month not counting any Money made from this site
Commentary: ?_? why do you need a GPT site if you make that much cash what job is it, is it scamming?

He said:Im Only 19 I was Born into A dirt Poor House,Where people may Have lost there jobs a few years ago My Mom and her Free loader Boyfriend Never Had Jobs.
Commentary: How do you have inernet then. Your only 19....more like 9 lol.

He said:So I did What I had to do,I at young age of 19 Started to support A Whole entire House(Mom ,Grandma,Brother Sister and Free Loader Moms Boy Friend.I had and still have a Opportunity to Live money worry free In New York Money worry Free.
Commentary: HOW DO YOU HAVE INERNET. when you say "I had and still have a Opportunity to Live money worry free In New York Money worry Free." does that mean scamming your own contest >_> and to me that barely makes sense

He said:But I declined and still decline because,I know My Mom,Grandma,Brother,and Sister needed me.Im 19 and could be having the time of my life Instead I stay in Doors all day,I could be driving a Car Instead I bought My Mom Car to Drive The Kids back and forth to school.
Commentary:you bought your own moms car yet you live with her so in a sense she still owns it you should have no problem didnt you make 3k-5k?

He said:I have been waring the same Shirt and Pants for 3 years,I have not bought anything for myself in the months ,I mean do you guys know what its like to be on Chop Meat and Noddle Rations ?
Commentary:LOL you said you made 3k-5k LOL and you couldnt buy some thing with that cash and you have inernet but cant get new clothing? Noddle Rations what is that i only know instant noodles you make it look like your in war Noddle Rations the heck has anyone seen or taste that yet?

He said:The site just has not been making money like it use to. not crying to you guys but I lost 1,200 cash In offer fraud and 2,500 worth in reversals(Thanks Italy). Also I have been afraid to promote because Im afraid of my paypal Balance running out and not having any Money for my Family.
Commentary:so you lost $3700 what happen to that 3k-5k thing again?

He said:It just that Things have finally caught and I resorted to to very grease measure,So I decided to Rig My "Con-Test" to keep the profits up and I got Caught .So Im sorry
Commentary:I agree with KKwebcoding you had alot of alternatives isnt this how grand theft auto goes keep playing until you die in this case keep scamming until you get caught still the same.

In all that owner is selfish yes he was helping his family but was he helping the members And all scamming admins deserve no respect thats my commentary make you own if you want :D
Remaining questions:How does he have internet if hes poor
he made 3k-5k what job is it?
"I had and still have a Opportunity to Live money worry free In New York Money worry Free." <-- does this make sense???
How do Noddle Rations look and taste like

[Anthony]

He's officially ruined.

[PBTreeMarie]

I tried to boycott the site after this episode http://www.gptboycott.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25799&highlight=GrandTheftCash

But alas it didn't work....

I knew he was a scam from the get go.

[RxQueen]

yep this behavior was pointed out months ago and nothing was done. I was the one that got scammed on a previous contest and the last day of the contest some "mystery" member gets first place completing over 100 offers in a day. Im so relieved this guy is FINALLY getting shut down.

[KKwebcoding]

yep this behavior was pointed out months ago and nothing was done. I was the one that got scammed on a previous contest and the last day of the contest some "mystery" member gets first place completing over 100 offers in a day. Im so relieved this guy is FINALLY getting shut down.

It's unfortunate that your warnings went unheeded. Fraud like this hurts every person in the GPT Community.

If members do not have faith that they will be paid, they will simply stop doing offers. If members stop doing offers then GPT Owners and Affiliate Networks don't make any money. Then these sites shut down, and Script companies begin to hurt. Finally, without new sites Design and Coding services stop making money and get shut down.

Frauds like this are a plague on the entire industry and cannot be tolerated.

[CoasterCash]

Wow.....just wow.

[tjq86]

That is terrible, and hurts the whole industry. We have real legit honest owners having contests for high priced electronics and big cash, and to have someone rig a contest and reap the rewards is a huge slap in the face.

I pointed out those fake prize pics months ago..If a member received a prize and actually posted it then great, but to pay random people to post pictures of their own personal stuff with your websites name on it is a huge SLAP IN THE FACE.

It's not my call, but if it were this guy would not be running a site on my script.

[CRGPTChuck]

He is not sorry to his members, he is just sorry that he got caught.

[KKwebcoding]

That is terrible, and hurts the whole industry. We have real legit honest owners having contests for high priced electronics and big cash, and to have someone rig a contest and reap the rewards is a huge slap in the face.

I pointed out those fake prize pics months ago..If a member received a prize and actually posted it then great, but to pay random people to post pictures of their own personal stuff with your websites name on it is a huge SLAP IN THE FACE.

It's not my call, but if it were this guy would not be running a site on my script.

If you guys have other evidence of fraud please click the Submit a Complaint to the left and complain. The site admins don't use forum posts to boycott people. So if you have evidence or have been defrauded you need to submit a complaint officially.

[shiftcode]

This is just an update. We did make GrandTheftCash send out a mass e-mail/mass inbox message to all his members explaining how the contest was rigged which you can see that in the first post. Their website will be watched to make sure the current members are paid and no more illegal activity occurs and I also will be getting the "fake" images removed from the homepage.

[ShadowKiller]

This is just...a disgrace to the well organised GPT world. I have heard about GrandTheftCash.com's admin more than the site and how he reacts or takes decisions. He made a foolish decision of making a ShoutBox Mod prize, which made his reputation go even lower after his terrible attitude in the ShoutBox. I have seen images of him cursing and using language that an administrator would never use. After the fake proof images, and all this, it just makes me...mad

I would suggest shiftcode doesn't delay this and shows no empathy. They should terminate the site immediately, not till the license ends, and end this disgrace to the GPT world.

Regards.

[Seraph]

I would suggest shiftcode doesn't delay this and shows no empathy. They should terminate the site immediately, not till the license ends, and end this disgrace to the GPT world.

Regards.
If they shut it down immediately, then that would just benefit him, as nobody would have the chance to get paid at ALL.

[shiftcode]

If the website was terminated immediately, he would most likely have left all members unpaid thus making things even worse. He was given an opportunity to make things right, in which he did. He will be monitored closely to make sure his site is in the guidelines of our Terms of Service.

[ShadowKiller]

Oh I meant like after he pays all the members their exact amount on the site account. ShiftCode should monitor daily, I think they are already, and then terminate it. I was scared that he would have bought like a year of license and that shiftcode will wait a year to terminate it.

[ShadowKiller]

So, is shiftcode giving him another chance? I thought he didn't use the last chance you gave him and still went on with his contest fraud. I am confused Andrew.

[shiftcode]

As stated in my last post, they have made the necessary corrections and we will continue to monitor them closely.

[Anthony]

I just lol@this thread.

[RxQueen]

Sooo GTC is staying?? What about the other site he runs?

[PBTreeMarie]

I have submitted a complaint against this site months ago, but like I said nothing happened.

He should NOT be allowed to own or operate a GPT site ever!! What's makes us think he won't do it again with a whole new site??? He got away with it this long!

[shiftcode]

His other website is suspended and he will not be allowed to make a new website with us. He has quite a bit of money due from affiliate networks and we are going to see to it that his members receive their hard earned money.

[Taff]

I have submitted a complaint against this site months ago, but like I said nothing happened.



Up to now there are 4 verified complaints and 2 unverified

By verified we mean that the email address of the complainant has been verified and we are able to contact them if the need arises.

An email containing a link to verify the complainants email address is sent out each time a complaint is made.

We need at least 5 verified complaints to place it on the Watch List

[KKwebcoding]

Up to now there are 4 verified complaints and 2 unverified

By verified we mean that the email address of the complainant has been verified and we are able to contact them if the need arises.

An email containing a link to verify the complainants email address is sent out each time a complaint is made.

We need at least 5 verified complaints to place it on the Watch List

Is there anything you can do to add him to the watch list? Shiftcode himself states that this owner was cheating on their contests, and the owner admits to the fraud.

I understand the purpose of requiring x amount of complaints is to prevent abuse of the system, or giving too much power to inviduals who may have a personal vendetta against a website.

But in this case, there is overwhelming evidence against this website which shows the owner has knowingly defrauded his members.

[KKwebcoding]

KKwebcoding, please remember that the only way to submit a formal complaint to GPTBoycott is via our complaint submission form.

Forum posts are not directly taken into account when considering which programs to boycott.
For full details of our boycott procedure please visit our Boycott List.

I know this. I tried to use the complaint thing and when i submitted it, the page i got back was blank and just said "no user" so i thought it was bugging out. But like 15min later I got an email and confirmed the complaint. But in between that I posted this forum.

I think its good idea to have the forum post in the mean time so that people can be warned to stay away from him, even if you don't have enough complaints to put him on the boycott list.

[PBTreeMarie]

I did verify my email

And that's good that his other account was suspended. Hopefully that will teach him!

[CRGPTChuck]

I hope mine went through... i verified my email etc.

[Anthony]

No one should be allowed a second chance, look at what he did. Ruined it for all of us.

[shiftcode]

This is my final post here. If his site would of just been shut down then all those members would of received 0 contest earnings and 0 pending earnings. And he would of received all his October & November earnings from affiliate networks without having to pay anyone. This guy needs to follow through with his contest and pay the members what they have been working all month for. Just shutting down a website isn't justice, it's just giving the admin a pocket full of cash and leaving the members empty handed. If this was a different scenario and we didn't host the script and couldn't monitor their every move than it may be a different story.

[chococrazy]

This is my final post here. If his site would of just been shut down then all those members would of received 0 contest earnings and 0 pending earnings. And he would of received all his October & November earnings from affiliate networks without having to pay anyone. This guy needs to follow through with his contest and pay the members what they have been working all month for. Just shutting down a website isn't justice, it's just giving the admin a pocket full of cash and leaving the members empty handed. If this was a different scenario and we didn't host the script and couldn't monitor their every move than it may be a different story.

Hey wanna go post in the Cricket Cash thread ;)
Which is the site that you said was going to get shut down :O

[CRGPTChuck]

Hey wanna go post in the Cricket Cash thread ;)
Which is the site that you said was going to get shut down :O

If you had read the thread and the title, you may know.

[chococrazy]

If you had read the thread and the title, you may know.

No I'm not talking about GTC, I'm talking about another site
http://techgeeks-online.com/forum/topic/1704-cricketcash-scam-revisited/page__view__findpost__p__17976
If it is GTC, then I just misread the earlier posts o.o

[Anthony]

This is my final post here. If his site would of just been shut down then all those members would of received 0 contest earnings and 0 pending earnings. And he would of received all his October & November earnings from affiliate networks without having to pay anyone. This guy needs to follow through with his contest and pay the members what they have been working all month for. Just shutting down a website isn't justice, it's just giving the admin a pocket full of cash and leaving the members empty handed. If this was a different scenario and we didn't host the script and couldn't monitor their every move than it may be a different story.

I'm talking about, paying all the members and then shutting down so it wont happen again.

[johnmarsh]

yes u right i think that band website at the time

[RxQueen]

well the site now says: "This website is currently suspended. The admin will be making payments and closing down the website."- good riddance GTC :p

[younggram]

This has me very upset, as I know most other publishers are as well. And we should be.

KUDOS to shiftcode for doing something about this moron.

Poor family?? really?? He uses this as an excuse to fraud?
Are you kidding me?

Like most other sites out there we pride ourselves in the fact we have been legit from day one. Members paid on time every time, contests paid. etc. No matter how slow it got.

I'm just glad he is finally caught.

[SunnySideCash]

It is sad to see another site busted for fraud. :(

It is bad enough when members intentionally fraud the advertisers with bogus information, using cheat scripts and other methods, but when a site owner intentionally frauds members, the results hurt the creditability of all GPT web sites.

This industry has had a difficult time maintaining a positive image. During these economic times, advertisers are even more sensitive to issues like fraud and lead quality, and many are clamping down on incentivized offers by making strict restrictions and fraud controls.

It is even more important than ever for members to select a legitimate GPT site. With a little advance research, it can be fairly easy to spot legitimate GPT sites.

Below are some tips that can help you make a informed GPT site selection.

Years in Business
You can easily check the date the site was first registered by using the Who IS Lookup Database on the internet at sites like Godaddy.com, Whois.net and others. Most GPT Sites that fail usually do so in the first 12-15months.

Site Affiliations
Check to see if the site is associated with any of the common GPT Consumer Sites like GPT Boycott and BeenPaid.com. If the site is a verified support of either organization, you know that they have had to complete a process to participate in that program. If the GPT site does not follow the requirements of the above programs, their verified status will be suspended.

PayPal Verification Seal
Check to see if the site has gone through the process to verify their PayPal account. It also helps if the site has a Business PayPal Account, which means they had to provide business account information, phone verification and banking information to receive a verified business account. Look for a gold PayPal Seal on the GPT site, click the banner and read the PayPal details about the site.

Payment Proof
Just because a site has testimonial or payment proof on the site does not mean that those posts are legit. Use third party forums and blogs to review payment proof postings. Most of these forums only allow one account per IP address, so it would be more difficult for an owner to post fraudulent payment proofs.

Internet Searches
The old standby is to type the name of the site, and look for more information. Type in the search box words like Scam, Fraud, Rip-off, etc. Of course, take all these posts with a grain of salt, since sometimes a disgruntled member may post a false account because they were banned for cheating. Overall, you can generally see a pattern.

Admin emails, posts and forum responses
How does the site owner(s) represent themselves? Do they swear? Are they aggressive or professional in a response?

Site Owners should always represent themselves in a positive, professional manner. They are business owners, and any less should be suspect.

If you find a lot of post by site owners that swear, negatively bash GPT members, other GPT site owners or any other person in general, you may want to reconsider working on that site.

Although it is not always easy to be positive and professional, especially while be attacked, a Site Owner that maintains integrity in such a predicament will carry that integrity in the day to day operations of the site.


These steps are in no way a guarantee you won’t get ripped off, but every step a site owner takes to help legitimize their program helps improve your chances that you will be treated fairly and most importantly, GET PAID!

Hope these tips will help you from being scammed. :)

[smalley2]

i was in 1st place in the contest he rigged:P

[grouponclone]

I did verify my email.

Thanks...