[Solved] Fraudulent Domain - Queensgardenhotel.co.uk

[Murray]

Dear Online Abuse Team:

 

Please investigate and suspend the following fraudulent domain: queensgardenhotel.co.uk

 

URL: http://queensgardenh...o.uk/index.html

 

This domain is hosted on your servers.

 

Summary: This site is being used to conduct 419 Internet Advanced Fee Fraud by impersonating a non-existent hotel. Under this common 419 Fraud ruse (commonly targeting victims from developing countries), fake non-profit organizations offer round trip air transportation to email recipients to attend non-existent international conferences. Email recipients are then asked pay hotel registration fees in advance by money order or bank wire transfer. After fees are paid, the promised round trip airline tickets are never provided.

 

A description of conference scams can be found here: http://www.scamwarne...hp?f=40&t=18787

 

and here:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...onment-12219472

 

Reasons why queensgardenhotel.co.uk is fraudulent:

 

1. The fake Queens Garden Hotel is not listed in the United Kingdom's Companies House registry of authorized businesses (http://wck2.companie...cessCompanyInfo). This is evidence of fraud.

 

2. The fake Queens Garden Hotel web pages have illegally copied symbols, logos, format, and web page format and content of the legitimate Washington Mayfair Hotel (real site here: http://www.washington-mayfair.co.uk/) - http://www.copyscape...&w=145&i=1&r=10

 

3. The fraudulent domain's contact web page ( http://queensgardenh...contact_us.html ) lists the following as its address: 36 Earls Court Gardens,Earls Court,London SW5 0TR United Kingdom. However, the legitimate Earls Court Gardens Hotel and not the Queens Garden Hotel is located at this address: http://www.travelsta...GardenHotel.htm , http://www.easytoboo...-gardens-hotel/ This is evidence of fraud.

 

4. The fraudulent domain's contact web page ( http://queensgardenh...contact_us.html ) lists the following telephone numbers: +44 (0) 703 594 9645 and +44 (0) 702 407 2530 as main contact telephone numbers. This telephone numbers resolve to be personal (non-business) telephone number ( http://www.numbering...sis&sub=phonenr ). A legitimate hotel hosting an international conference would not use personal telephone numbers as main contact telephone numbers. This is an indication of fraud.

 

5. The fake Queens Garden Hotel website claims to have been established in 1913 ( http://queensgardenh...o.uk/index.html ). However, it has one year domain registration was very recent (07 April 2012). A hotel in London established in 1913 would likely have a domain registration more than several weeks old. This is an indication of fraud.

 

6. This website is listed in the Artists Against 419's database of fraudulent websites: http://db.aa419.org/...w.php?key=67207

 

7. This fake hotel is referenced by fraudulent conference scam website: http://iccc12.co.uk/venue.htm. This fake conference domain is also listed in the Artists Against 419's database of fraudulent websites: http://db.aa419.org/...w.php?key=67185

 

If you need additional information to suspend this fraudulent domain, please contact me.

 

Thank you.

 

Murray Stanvall

Artists Against 419

http://www.aa419.org