NZ Scams to AvoidInformation about scams in New Zealand

It took 5 years and 257 complaints but the Commerce Commission have finally acted on NBO and all the spin off “businesses” operated by Shallendra Singh, Jitendra Singh and Sonia “All I ever did was work for him” Klair who just so happens to also be known as Sonia Singh.

Search into online scam

A fashion model’s internet business has been raided by the Commerce Commission in an unprecedented crackdown on alleged large-scale invoicing scams.

The glamorous 31-year-old is a model with Auckland agency Clyne, and is the sole shareholder and director of NZ Look Ltd, which publishes an internet directory.

On Tuesday, commission staff served a search warrant on NZ Look premises and removed 15 boxes of documents.

Klair, also known as Sonia Singh, had previously worked with other internet search directories that are also now caught up in a legal dragnet.

Klair refused to confirm her business was the subject of an investigation.

“Even if it is or isn’t, what’s that got to do with anything?” she said.

Stuart Wallace, enforcement manager of the commission, said five addresses in the Auckland region had been served with search warrants in an operation this week.

“Our staff have uplifted a great deal of material – there are computer records and a large number of documents,” he said.

The searches relate to internet search directories National Business Online (nbo.co.nz), New Zealand Business Online (nzbol.co.nz) and NZ Look (nzlook.co.nz).

Read the rest  of the article online at the NZ Herald.

The NZ Herald’s Sideswipe column raises the alarm on a “Who’s Who New Zealand” which is using questionable techniques to lure advertisers.

Well-connected ‘business’

Roger writes: “Someone called Jessica Smith has faxed us here in Ngaruawahia to tell us that our ‘business’ has been selected to be included in the 2010/2011 edition of ‘Who’s Who New Zealand’.

Our candidacy was approved on April 9 and Jessica tells us that this was done ‘by the Managing Director from information obtained from researched executive and professional listings’. This is very flattering but I am not sure how they arrived at this information.

Marist Brothers listed in the Waikato phone book is actually a two-man community of Catholic religious Brothers.”

Vanity must be the last reason for any company to advertise anywhere. Just because you’ve been “selected” doesn’t mean the publication is any good or that you will get value for money.

If you are contacted by this company please leave your feedback – are they legitimate but have lame marketers or is there a REAL problem?

BidNZ is an auction site that has recently been launched extremely quietly but boasts a good number of auctions. Of concern are forum posts claiming that their telemarketers have been trying hard to get people’s email addresses. I guess it can’t be spam if they plead that “on Feb xth you gave your email over the phone”. Read the rest of this entry »

I couldn’t believe my eyes when Invoice # 204556 plopped on my desk today from NZ Business Online telling me that I’d listed my company details on nzbol.co.nz. A whois search shows that the domain was only registered on the 7th September 2009 so perhaps they could explain to me why I had listed a company service that haven’t offered for a number of years now?

Oh, that would be because we never listed and this is a scam. Shallendra, when you read this, you can reply with the information on when and how we listed ourselves so that you were able to issue that invoice. Given that we wouldn’t do that, I doubt you can justify that invoice.

Fair Go ran article which claims that Shallendra Singh has invoiced thousands of other businesses. Read it and watch the clip at Don’t pay that invoice!

Fair Go’s article says:

Show me the evidence
I asked Shallandra Singh to provide evidence of the relationship that’s being “renewed”.

He said his telemarketers call thousands of businesses, offering a free listing on the website.

Six months or a year later they send out the offer to renew the listing. I asked him for evidence of that prior relationship – a voice recording of the sales call.

The major flaw in that argument – the same argument every other time – is that he hasn’t been running this one for more than 2 months so how can any of the listings be up for renewal?

If you get an invoice from NZBOL.CO.NZ – DON’T PAY!

Occassional checks on the Searcha.co.nz website show that it has been offline for a month now.

The domain registration information still shows the same old disputed details: http://whois.domaintools.com/searcha.co.nz. Shallendra Singh’s lawyers claim he’s not the owner but the whois documentation clearly state he is.

I’ve heard that the old NBO (National Business Online) offices at Albert Street are now officially the Searcha offices – which seems bizarre given that the website doesn’t even exist.

So… all the people who have signed up for advertising on Searcha – have you been told what’s happened to your advertising?

• Has it been transferred to one of the other sites?
• Have you been refunded?
• Any explanation at all?

I’d love to know!

Fair Go reports that Brenda Albert & Jody Albert are a mother and son team who sell horses and ponies sight unseen and deliver nothing or a horse that is completely unsuitable. Jody Albert was only 17 when Fair Go investigated so he probably thinks this is all a game – it’s not!

Trading Horses – Fair Go’s report

A New Zealander wanted for his role in an international money-laundering and investment scam that cheated hundreds of investors in this country and overseas is believed to be hiding in the Middle East.

Wayne Leslie Davidson, 63, was the New Zealand connection in a US-based, four-man money-laundering and investment fraud involving the sale of bogus railroad bonds and “obscure” pre-revolution Chinese Government bonds, United States prosecutors say. Read the rest of this entry »

Pacific Islanders duped in a passport scam were told to stand in line with $500 in hand to get their passports stamped – before being told they were not allowed to leave the country for the next 10 years.

Hundreds of Pacific people in Hamilton and parts of South Auckland are thought to have fallen victim to the scam, in which fake residency stamps and visas were given out at various marae for a charge of $500. Read the rest of this entry »

Shallendra Singh has turned up operating another directory in Australia. His new site is called ABOL – Australian Business Online and running from abol.com.au

At the moment it gets a “Questionable” status but given his record in New Zealand there is no reason to think he’ll be going straight with this one. Lets hope the Aussies aren’t as trusting as us! Read the rest of this entry »

NZBO appears to be the latest offering from Shallendra Singh of NBO infamy.

One comment on the iTamer post suggests that they’re using an Indian call centre and renewing 2 year listings. There appears to be no intention of running the directory legitimately. Such a shame.

The NZBO website is registered to a Jitendra Singh – yet the NZBO site seems to be a copy of a recent version of NBO which is owned and operated by Shallendra Singh. Interestingly NBO has reverted back to it’s original look and feel.

Whois for NZBO.co.nz

http://whois.domaintools.com/nzbo.co.nz

Jitendra Singh is registered as a company director for Searcha and NZBO. His address is in Papatoetoe and the 2 companies have an address for service in Birkenhead. He is the sole shareholder and director for both companies. Is it odd that the postal address on the domain registration is in Greenlane? Or that the phone number is very close to the phone number for NBO implying they are on the same exchange? Astounding that directory owners prefer to operate from the same locality.

I’ve found some interesting references to NZBO Read the rest of this entry »