Fake Driver's License - Internet Fraud

[RoadKingTrooper]

There's 5 minutes of my life I'll never get back:rolleyes:

Is this about skin cream that doesn't work or a Drivers license that "looks altered"?:confused:

[Outshined]

There's 5 minutes of my life I'll never get back:rolleyes:

Is this about skin cream that doesn't work or a Drivers license that "looks altered"?:confused:

You woulda wasted it anyways.

[charlydevo]

Crafty,

I just browsed through some of the links that you and your friend sent to me. I take back what I said about your case being worked on. It is not.

This is a civil matter. You or somebody that you know got ripped off. This is not a criminal case. Also, the driver's license is not illegal. It is a computer image, not intended to defraud the government. It hasn't been produced as identification. It is just a picture. You got screwed. Sorry. Be careful buying stuff on the internet.

[craftycockney]

Hello Chuck

This isn’t straight forward and that’s why I came on here for words of wisdom from you guys. Being patient, sitting back and doing nothing isn’t an option on this one because I am not confident that the authorities will do actually do anything unless they are pushed. If you have time to immerse yourself in that first site I sent, you then you can see that this has been going on for a long time and still this guy is out there trying to con innocent people. I first alerted his State’s AGO nearly three years ago with a complaint which was combined with an 80 page PDF of the guy’s lies, deceit and fraudulent activities. There are no “ifs” and “buts” with this as the evidence is all over the internet but again maybe some will argue that in court it would be argued as “hearsay”.

Yes I know the driver’s licence is just an image and isn’t being used for it’s normal purpose because the guy is displaying it to try and prove how he currently looks – but he doesn’t look like that and that’s deception. You will see on the other link that I sent that he does however claim on his website that “Photo taken at Pennsylvania DMV on 02/26/2009 and License Issued” Elsewhere on the internet he claims that this is a genuine driver’s license.

Look on the Penn DOT website:

"A PERSON IS GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR OF THE FIRST DEGREE IF THE PERSON, WITH FRAUDULENT INTENT, HAS POSSESSION OF, SELLS OR ATTEMPTS TO SELL, USES OR DISPLAYS A DRIVER'S LICENSE, KNOWING IT TO HAVE BEEN ALTERED, FORGED OR COUNTERFEITED".

Also:

"ANY PERSON COMMITTING THIS OFFENSE IS, UPON CONVICTION, SUBJECT TO IMPRISONMENT FOR A TERM OF UP TO 5 YEARS."

So as far as I am concerned he is displaying a driver’s license knowing it has been forged. Some technicalities in there I suppose but that is why I sent a formal complaint through to Penn DOT and there last their last two replies have been “I am not at liberty to discuss this situation with you, due to the Federal Privacy Protection Act."

I haven’t been ripped off or screwed by this individual but because I have exposed him as a liar he has done his best to try and ruin my reputation on internet support groups – he failed. I do know someone who has lost out financially to him and they are currently via his State CPD trying to have their money refunded.

What I find appalling about this individual is his lies and deceit in order to make money out of people who suffer from an incurable skin disease. Apparently his new product put him into remission but the only proof we have of this is the “DL Image” on his website. Pathetic but some people not aware of his reputation will fall for it and buy his product.

Have you ever heard of John Brinkley the American charlatan around the 1920's?

There is a good book about him by Pope Brock called: "Charlatan - The Fraudulent Life of John Brinkley"

Well it took 15 years to nail Brinkley despite overwhelming evidence he was a quack. Taken from the book:

"This, needless to say, is where Pope Brock's tale turns dark and cautionary, a reminder of the high price of gullibility and ignorance. These are aspects of human nature that just don't go away; even today, in the age of supposed medical enlightenment and sophistication, "rejuvenation is a global bazaar of infomercials and Web addresses, tools and toys for every need." John R. Brinkley may be long dead (since 1942), but his heirs in quackery continue to flourish."

Well there are parallels here with the bogus doctor and faker I have been telling you about. Lets hope it doesn't take 15 years to bring him to justice.

Thanks

CC

[charlydevo]

Listen Crafty,

You're probably a nice guy and you're trying to do the right thing. So, I'm going to try to be very nice. But, I'm not going to keep entertaining you. After this post, I won't discuss this with you anymore.

Forget about the license. As far as we know, he doesn't even possess a phony license. He might very well have used Photoshop to create the picture of the license. There is no evidence to suggest that he has possession of an actual fraudulent license.

Furthermore, nobody is going to dig into the issue too deeply, because it only pertains to one license. I'd like to tell you that there are enough investigators to deal with every suspected crime. But, there certainly aren't. Investigations have to be prioritized. This one doesn’t even make the list.

As far as the scam goes, you can forget that too. There are many reasons why this will not be investigated. First, and most importantly, we don't even know where this guy lives, or where his scam web site is hosted. For all we know, he's in Nigeria. So, even if there is a criminal element to this scam, it is highly unlikely that anybody could do anything about it, even if they wanted to. I’m certain that an attorney will tell you that there is no point in trying to go after the guy civilly. I’m also quite certain that you’ve already found that out. But, if you can find a lawyer to go after him, I wish you the best of luck.

Again, forget it. If you got scammed, I'm sorry for you. But, let it go. Like I said, be careful about buying stuff on the internet. There are many scammers, and little that anybody can do about it. You aren't the first guy to get scammed by something like this. You won't be the last. If I could, I'd show you dozens of complaints that I've read pertaining to similar situations. At this point, these types of complaints go into the round file. I figured out a long time ago that law enforcement lacks the ability to do anything about them.

Let it go and move on. Next time you won't get ripped off, because you'll know better.

[craftycockney]

Your information will taken and dealt with. It sounds like you are expecting to be "kept in the loop" so to speak, and that's just not going to happen. Yes, for all you know, it could be in the trash. Or it could be under some serious investigative scrutiny and work. In any case, that's all you know and all you NEED to know. If an arrest is made and charges are filed, then you'll know what came of it. In any case, it's something that takes a good bit of time and you will not be kept informed of every, or ANY for that matter, step being taken.

If I were to deal with you, for example, and you called wanting to know where things were at, I'd simply say, "Mr. crafty, thank you for the information. Please know that it will be scrutinized and further investigated if necessary and appropriate. Thank you for being an involved and concerned citizen, but please understand that you have no further involvement in this matter and will not be kept informed as to its investigation." And that would be that.

Hello SnapShawt

Thanks for that - fair points and with that commonsense and honest attitude I would imagine you receive a lot of respect from the public. Without going into specifics the guy I am talking about was also under investigation from another authority and the investigator I dealt with couldn't have been more pleasant and helpful. Sure they wouldn't discuss details as such but they gave enough clues for me to work out that the case was still very much open and encouraged me to send more information as and when it was available. Again this is a complicated spin off case and also involves another guy being investigated by a medical board for deception and unprofessional behaviour.

Regards

CC

[craftycockney]

Listen Crafty,

You're probably a nice guy and you're trying to do the right thing. So, I'm going to try to be very nice. But, I'm not going to keep entertaining you. After this post, I won't discuss this with you anymore.

Forget about the license. As far as we know, he doesn't even possess a phony license. He might very well have used Photoshop to create the picture of the license. There is no evidence to suggest that he has possession of an actual fraudulent license.

Furthermore, nobody is going to dig into the issue too deeply, because it only pertains to one license. I'd like to tell you that there are enough investigators to deal with every suspected crime. But, there certainly aren't. Investigations have to be prioritized. This one doesn’t even make the list.

As far as the scam goes, you can forget that too. There are many reasons why this will not be investigated. First, and most importantly, we don't even know where this guy lives, or where his scam web site is hosted. For all we know, he's in Nigeria. So, even if there is a criminal element to this scam, it is highly unlikely that anybody could do anything about it, even if they wanted to. I’m certain that an attorney will tell you that there is no point in trying to go after the guy civilly. I’m also quite certain that you’ve already found that out. But, if you can find a lawyer to go after him, I wish you the best of luck.

Again, forget it. If you got scammed, I'm sorry for you. But, let it go. Like I said, be careful about buying stuff on the internet. There are many scammers, and little that anybody can do about it. You aren't the first guy to get scammed by something like this. You won't be the last. If I could, I'd show you dozens of complaints that I've read pertaining to similar situations. At this point, these types of complaints go into the round file. I figured out a long time ago that law enforcement lacks the ability to do anything about them.

Let it go and move on. Next time you won't get ripped off, because you'll know better.

Hey Chuck

Of course I'm a nice guy and probably as much as you are a good cop. I'm also a persistent little bugger and a lot tougher than you are giving me credit for. I didn't expect any of you to have to entertain me thanks but the fact some of you were prepared to comment on this story is good enough for me and you have confirmed what I suspected anyway. I can tell you that if this guy lived in the UK then he would have been behind bars now but in the US it appears different.

Thanks but no I'm not going to forget about his license. I suspect he just went to one of the many websites around and paid for a PA DL template and just entered the details and photo he required for his deception. Regardless of where it came from he is still displaying it as genuine and that's illegal. Maybe Penn DOT are still on the case? How do you know this one doesn't make the list?

No I'm not going to forget the scam either. Correction but we do know where he lives - in Indiana and that's where his site originates from. The easy option is just to give up but I don't like doing easy options and it's a question of getting the CPD back on track and if necessary get the local police involved again. The CPD need complaints from real people and they may well be forthcoming over the next few months.

Not sure if you understood what I said before but let me repeat it - I didn't personally get scammed. My involvement in this is just to help others by warning them about this guy and if I can bring him down or at least stop his cash cow, then that's a result in my book. I have always said that if I just prevented one person from being ripped off by this guy then all the effort has been worth it. I wouldn't argue with you about the number of similar complaints and the fact the Police are sometimes powerless to stop these guys but this one could be different. By the way this guy is also deranged and a loner, so heaven forbid that it happened but we hear often of this type of personality who suddenly crack, get a gun etc and start shooting innocent people. I warned the authorities about this and that's why he needs checking out - fast.

So thanks for your input but I ain't ready to let go yet. Just remember this guy is an American and this is a short extract again from the book about that famous fraudster - John Brinkley:

"Mr Brock describes with suitable bounce and sardonic gusto what Brinkley got away with. If it is only half true, he is still a mouth opening monument to American credulity. Are the Americans divided between wise guys and suckers with such an unduly large proportion of the latter?

Well, it took them the majority of eight years to realise what they had chosen in George W. Bush."

Anyway I'm off on vacation for a week - keep cool.

CC

[RoadKingTrooper]

Anyway I'm off on vacation for a week - keep cool.

CC

Good to see you go !

[craftycockney]

Hey Old Timer - Is that the best you can offer?

Well the feeling is mutual :D