Is Stormpay reliable?

Discussion in 'Affiliate Programs' started by spirit3189, Sep 11, 2006.

  1. #1
    I recently found this site http://www.stormpay.com
    It offers revenue to registered users for clicking some ads in cilckzone
    and an affliate program.
    I need suggestions regarding its reliability.If any one has an experience with stormpay,Please report.
     
    spirit3189, Sep 11, 2006 IP
  2. website4wealth

    website4wealth Peon

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    #2
    Here is a very good letter floating around online for your reference. All the link you need to make a sound decision are listed in here.

    Hope this helps.


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    I sent the following letter to multiple government agencies and news media (see the ccs in the letter). I realize that most of this information has already been posted (mostly by me) but my goal is to get the government investigating them and the news media to pay attention!

    March 15, 2006

    Commissioner for Securities
    State of Tennessee,
    Department of Commerce and Insurance
    enforcement@sec.gov

    To Whom It May Concern:

    Subject: StormPay, Inc. and John R. McConnell, Jr. in violation of Cease and Desist Order, File No.: 03-020, Dated August 7, 2003; http://www.state.tn.us/commerce/secu...al08072003.pdf

    Mr. John R. McConnell, Jr., residing at 4975 Shadowbend Cr., Clarksville, TN 370431 is the registered agent of StormPay, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State Business Search, http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/soscorp/details.jsp. Mr. Steven C. Girsky2, residing at 4987 Shadowbend, Clarksville, TN 37043 is the CEO and customer service contact for StormPay. StormPay (www.stormpay.com) is located at 1690 Golf Club Lane, Clarksville, TN 370433. Mr. John R. McConnell, Jr. and StormPay, Inc. are in violation of the above-mentioned Cease and Desist order.
    In the cease and desist order, Point #5 under the paragraph, “NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, it is ORDERED that,�? states:

    "The Respondents shall cease and desist, from and in the state of Tennessee, in the present and future conduct of employing any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud, making any untrue statement of a material fact or omitting to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading, or engaging in any act, practice or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person."

    On StormPay’s website, under fees (http://www.stormpay.com/stormpay/user/about_us.php?v=f), the following is displayed:

    "Receive Payments: Non NetIBA** Certified: 6.9% plus 69 cents; NetIBA** Certified accounts: 2.9% plus 39 cents. **NetIBA – NetIBA is a third-party validation service who validates the identities behind the e-mail address. NetIBA Certification is quick and easy. For more information, click here (link to www.netiba.com)." [Bolding is mine]

    Under FAQS (https://www.stormpay.com/stormpay/us...&cat=4&faq=25),

    "NetIBA Certified:
    NetIBA ( http://www.netiba.com) certification is the preferred method for account certification. NetIBA is a third party verification service who verifies the identity behind e-mail addresses, auction usernames, and website domain names. StormPay members who are NetIBA Certified have completed NetIBA’s simple, yet thorough, identity screening process. NetIBA provides a place in their registration application to inform them that you are a StormPay member. Once certification is completed at NetIBA, NetIBA will contact StormPay to upgrade your account status. If NetIBA certified prior to obtaining a StormPay account, please contact us to include your StormPay account ID and NetIBA certification number by selecting the "contact us" link at the bottom of the page. Visit NetIBA at http://www.NetIBA.com NetIBA Certified accounts may deposit up to $2,000.00 with a credit card, or $10,000 with a checking account per rolling* 30 days."

    Other benefits of NetIBA certification include, a) customers are allowed to deposit larger sums of money into their accounts, b) purchasing from a NetIBA certified vendor allows customers to utilize the StormPay Purchaser Protection Program4, and c) in the Stormclix program (a paid to click program), customers are able to view all the listings. This means NetIBA certified customers have the ability to make more money than customers that are not NetIBA certified.

    According to findlaw’s online dictionary5, a third party is “a person other than the principals.�? Similar definitions found on the net include “A general term that includes anyone not a party to a contract, agreement, instrument, etc.,6�? and “Persons who are not parties to a contract which affects an interest they have in the object of the contract.7�?

    Thus, to the average consumer interested in StormPay’s services, there is an apparent advantage in becoming NetIBA certified. Granted, it costs $19.95 to certify an email address for one year. Moreover, "NetIBA specifically disclaims any warranty . . . v) that the security methods used in providing services will be sufficient, or (vi) regarding correctness, accuracy or reliability of software, hardware, internet connections, or data of NetIBA." However, when you join NetIBA, you are “automatically enrolled in NetIBA's affiliate program. When you refer others to NetIBA you receive $5 for every sale you refer!�? NetIBA also proudly displays their own logo (have they certified themselves?). Despite being NetIBA certified, StormPay no longer displays the NetIBA logo.

    The NetIBA logo disappeared from StormPay’s website not long after it was discovered and posted in multiple forums that StormPay and NetIBA were deceiving people. It turns out that Mr. John R. McConnell, Jr. is the registered agent, the principal officer, and the customer service contact of NetIBA. The Better Business Bureau registered NetIBA’s office at 2115 Ashland City Road, Clarksville, TN, 37043. However, performing a reverse search at http://www.whitepages.com on NetIBA’s contact number, (931) 905-0112, shows their address as being 1690 Golf Club Lane, Clarksville, TN 37043 – the same address as StormPay!

    Furthermore, according to the Tennessee Property Data, the owner of 1690 Golf Club Lane is John R. McConnell, Jr.8 (Also interesting, while not illegal, is that John R. McConnell, Jr. and Steven Girsky are neighbors. According to Google maps, they live 168 ft, or 4 seconds, apart.)

    So this means that StormPay:
    1) Deceives people into thinking that StormPay is certified by a third party validation service (when StormPay is really certifying itself).
    2) Deceives customers into believing they are being certified by a third party (which NetIBA obviously is not) - which basically means StormPay thinks you are more trust worthy if you pay them more money (but you’re less trustworthy if you deposit more money).
    3) Encourages customers to pay them (in the guise of NetIBA) $19.95 a year so that customers are not charged as much anytime customers receive money.
    4) Only provides purchaser protection when customers use a vendor that is NetIBA certified and advertising for NetIBA, “The vendor you transacted with must display their NetIBA (www.netiba.com) certification on their website or auction listing.�?
    5) Deceives customers into paying $19.95 a year so that customers have the opportunity to make more money in the Stormclix program. Since StormPay also has a referral (affiliate) program, is this some type of pyramid/ponzi scheme?

    In addition, StormPay blatantly approves a ponzi scheme as seen on this website: http://www.asseenon-tv.com/indexsp.html. The first paragraph says, “Make 31,250 Cash in 60 Days with StormPay Guaranteed!�? This website also displays the NetIBA validation logo. Although I have heard rumors that StormPay owns this site, I do not have any proof of that.

    Other actions by StormPay, while questionable, may be legal. For example, StormPay tried to become a monopoly by sending out an email, stating that they were changing their TOS so that program owners using StormPay could not use any other payment processor. The program owner then had to “choose�? whether to stop doing business with all payment processors except StormPay or to stop doing business with StormPay. I am not familiar with the monopoly laws, so this may be legal. However, StormPay is not consistent with this policy. StormPay continues to let StudioTraffic (www.studiotraffic.com) use multiple payment processors:

    From StudioTraffic’s website:

    "StudioPay is our in-house payment processor. All StudioTraffic earnings must first be withdrawn to your StudioPay account, and then sent to you via your choice of payment processors, including check, electronic bank transfer, E-gold, StormPay, and many more." (http://www.studiotraffic.com/faq_pay.php)

    "When you upgrade with PayPal or with a Credit Card, you will be contacted by one of our authorized third-party resellers to complete the transaction." (http://www.studiotraffic.com/faq_earnupgrade.php)

    My objective in writing this letter is to bring StormPay to the attention of federal agencies that can properly investigate StormPay and determine if StormPay is committing fraud, thereby violating the cease and desist order of 2003. If this is the case, I hope that the appropriate maximum legal punishment is imposed, as the original cease and desist order was only a temporary deterrence.

    Additionally, I hope to bring StormPay to the attention of the national media (who I assume will do their own research to verify my statements before reporting them). My intention is for the media to expose the questionable activities of StormPay so that StormPay does not defraud more people before the completion of a government investigation.

    Although StormPay stated in January that they were under investigation by the FBI, I have not found any official statements verifying this. Since I could not verify this, I felt it important to notify various government agencies in hopes of reaching the correct agency and prompting an investigation. If StormPay is already under investigation, then I apologize for any inconvenience.

    Neither StormPay nor NetIBA has monetarily injured me. I am not seeking any type of compensation. However, they did briefly deceive me. John R. McConnell, Jr. and Steven Girsky have committed fraud through the relationship between StormPay and NetIBA. I have read numerous accounts of people that have been defrauded and monetarily injured. These accounts can be read on the following forums: getpaidforum.com, talkgold.com, topix.net, no-scam.com, http://scam-warnings.com, and boycottstormpay.com. There were also complaints on http://www.forums.12dailypro.com/. I do not know if that forum is “working�? again – I am not and have never been a member of the forum or the autosurf.

    Other sites with information you might find useful include www.stormpayfraud.com and www.mystormpaylawsuit.com.

    Additionally, I hope StormPay gains the attention of the international media, to prevent additional members of the international community from being defrauded, see here: http://www.dailyindia.com/show/4590.php.

    Please let me know if I can be of any other assistance. I have many bookmarks of sites with information. Recently I have also been taking screen shots of various parts of StormPay in case they change again, as well as some other sites. I am happy to provide anything that I can. I would prefer to keep my real name and address private if possible. Thus, I have not included them in this letter. I will gladly provide this information in cooperation with any government agency that requires it. Please email me at -- to request this information or ask any other questions.

    Respectfully,
    Mystery

    cc: (ccs emailed individually)
    • Securities Division - TN
    • FBI - NC, Kevin Kendrick
    • FBI - TN, Knoxville
    • FBI - UT
    • US Department of Justice and Attorney General
    • Comptroller of the Currency, Administrator of National Banks
    • Greg Gonzales, Acting Commissioner of Financial Institutions – TN
    • Division of Consumer Affairs – TN
    • Department Consumer & Business Services, Unlicensed Money Transfer – OR, C. Gail Smith
    • Department of Justice - OR
    • ABC 4 News: brent@abc4.tv
    • ABC 3 WWAY: ahenning@wwaytv3.com
    • Eye Witness News - TN: newsdesk@myeyewitnessnews.com
    • The Leaf Chronicle: jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com, markhicks@theleafchronicle.com, and heatherdonahoe@theleafchronicle.com
    • The Charlotte Observer: tlonefight@knightridder.com
    • Wall Street Journal: b.grueskin@wsj.com
    • Information Week: ptravis@cmp.com
    • Newswithviews.com: BAFFauthor@aol.com
    • Journalnow.com: news@wsjournal.com
    • Thomas F. Lennon, Inc.: tfl@tlennonfor12dailypro.com
    • Help for StormPay Victims: help@stevegirsky.com

    Online complaint forms that may receive this letter:
    • Internet Crime Complaint Center: http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/
    • Federal Trade Commission: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
    • Better Business Bureau: http://complaint.bbb.org/
    • Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee: http://www.gobbb.org/complaint.html/
    • Department of Commerce and Insurance: http://www.tennessee.gov/consumer/ccp.html

    References:
    1 http://170.142.31.248/SelectCounty.a...ectCounty=063; in the owner name box type McConnell
    2 http://170.142.31.248/SelectCounty.a...ectCounty=063; in the owner name box type Girsky
    3 http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/soscorp/details.jsp
    4 http://www.stormpay.com/stormpay/user/about_us.php?v=pp
    5 http://dictionary.lp.findlaw.com/scr...1597673ab94486
    6 www.mtgmortgages.com/glossaryT.htm
    7 www.sanderco.com/Glossary%20Pages/T.htm
    8 http://170.142.31.248/SelectCounty.a...ectCounty=063; in the address box type Golf Club; Scroll down to McConnell
     
    website4wealth, Sep 11, 2006 IP
  3. alpalino

    alpalino Peon

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    #3
    Stay away from storm pay.
     
    alpalino, Sep 11, 2006 IP