How to find a terrorist when Bush cannot...
Alright.
Strap yourself in, buckle down, and hold onto your heads. You're about to get a lesson in due diligence, and the awesome power of Google. Bear in mind that as this post goes to press, the Secret Service and Computer Crimes Division still consider this an "open case". Maybe one day, we'll give our friend Greg a call in the SS office and see if he has an update for us.
Anyway, on with the show.
It started with an email, like most computer crimes do, from a friend in Germany who had been hunting for funding sources for his internet idea. He forwarded me the following email:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope that my friend can recover it. But we saved everything on a second drive. So I do not hope that anything is lost.
I let you know the code as soon as I have it on hand......
Check this out..... Seems to big a big scam as well......
Hehe pay C Class Ticket
*lolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll*
HIGH BANK INTERNATIONAL LTD
EMAIL COPY ONLY
Date 23/01/2007
Thank you for supplying the Business Plan via “Business Plan Postings”, which we have now had an opportunity to study.
>From the information provided we would advise that the proposal is of interest and we would now wish to commence detailed appraisal and due diligence with a view to the issue of an Offer Commitment setting our proposed terms and conditions once this has been satisfactorily completed.
We would anticipate a facility being made by way of a combination of debt and equity, with debt secured by a debenture creating a legal charge over company assets and supported by other security and with equity in the form of Ordinary and/or Preference shares. Buy-out options are likely to be available at pre-determined intervals with a full exit.
Part of the due diligence procedure is for a senior member of the board to visit your location to interview and complete all required documentation relevant to your project.
All Costs relating to but not limited too Air Travel (business class) hotel and transportation. Official Translation. Independent Business and or Property Appraisals. The completion of all Legal contracts and their registration. Payable by the applicant upon signing the “Commitment Contract” which contains all outline terms and conditions.
Could you please confirm that you wish to proceed on this basis in order that we may commence our procedures?
We look forward to discussing this matter further with you in due course, however, please do not hesitate to contact us in the event of query.
For further information about “High Bank International Ltd” and the financial facilities offered please see our website.
Sincerely
Mr. Morris Goldman
Director of Film Finance
High Bank International Ltd
www.high-bank-int-ltd.com
The contents of this email may be privileged and are confidential. It may not be disclosed to or used by anyone other than the addressee(s), nor copied in any
way. To do so is prohibited and may be unlawful. If received in error, please advise the sender, then delete from your
system.
Although this email and attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defects which might affect any computer or IT systems into which they are received, no
responsibility is accepted by High Bank International Ltd for any loss or damage arising in any way from the receipt or use
thereof
Accepted:______________________________
Dated _________________________________
Email Address
This document must be signed by the applicant.
--
info@high-bank-int-ltd.com
-----------------------------------------------
As I always do for this guy, I performed some due diligence, starting first with the website, which spat back an address and not much else:
HighBank International Limited
The Tower
Daltongate Business Centre
Cumbria
LA12 7AJ England
Registered Company No 5777344.
Since I couldn't find much on HighBank itself, I searched for the mailing address -- and came across this:
http://www.britanniacrestuk.co.uk/mail-forwarding.html
That's right, a mail-forwarding site. According to the page, for a modest fee:
"At our prestigious offices in the North of England, your mail is sent to our address and then forwarded on to you once a week.
Example of address shown below:
XXXXX Ltd or Mr / Mrs XXXX
The Tower
Daltongate Business Centre
Daltongate
Ulverston
Cumbria
LA12 7AJ"
As you can tell, the addresses are a spot-on match except for the "Ulverston/Cumbria" difference. Highbank used this mail-forwarding service, no doubt.
Curious, I dug again, using Google to come up with any instance of the Highbank name it could find. Creditgate in the U.K., came up with this little tidbit:
https://secure.creditgate.com/search/search.aspx?AP=Full%20Non-Limited&CompanyID=05777344&CompanyType=L&BS=1&BT=Full%20Data
From here, you can clearly see, by scrolling down, that this office changed addresses:
REGISTERED OFFICE CHANGED ON 20/04/06
FROM: 44 UPPER BELGRAVE ROAD CLIFTON BRISTOL BS8 2XN
Thinking I might be onto something, I then Googled this address and pretty much spooked myself:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2006/013.htm
As it shows, this article warns "to advise that on 7 February 2006 the United Nations Sanctions Committee added a further five individuals and four entities to the UN Consolidated List maintained under Resolution 1390 (2002). The individuals and entities therefore fall within the UK financial sanctions regime under the Al-Qa’ida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/111, as amended by S.I. 2002/251).
Financial institutions and other persons are required to check whether they maintain any accounts or otherwise hold any funds, other financial assets, economic benefits and economic resources for the individuals and entities named below. If so, they should freeze the accounts or other funds and report their findings to the Bank of England."
Scrolling down the list of entities/individuals, my heart just about stopped:
1. MEADOWBROOK INVESTMENTS LIMITED
Address: 44 Upper Belgrave Road, Clifton, Bristol, United Kingdom, BS8 2XN
Other Information: Registration number 05059698.
Compare this address to the CreditGate address -- and it's a spot-on match...
...And that's how you find a terrorist! :-)
Strap yourself in, buckle down, and hold onto your heads. You're about to get a lesson in due diligence, and the awesome power of Google. Bear in mind that as this post goes to press, the Secret Service and Computer Crimes Division still consider this an "open case". Maybe one day, we'll give our friend Greg a call in the SS office and see if he has an update for us.
Anyway, on with the show.
It started with an email, like most computer crimes do, from a friend in Germany who had been hunting for funding sources for his internet idea. He forwarded me the following email:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope that my friend can recover it. But we saved everything on a second drive. So I do not hope that anything is lost.
I let you know the code as soon as I have it on hand......
Check this out..... Seems to big a big scam as well......
Hehe pay C Class Ticket
*lolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll*
HIGH BANK INTERNATIONAL LTD
EMAIL COPY ONLY
Date 23/01/2007
Thank you for supplying the Business Plan via “Business Plan Postings”, which we have now had an opportunity to study.
>From the information provided we would advise that the proposal is of interest and we would now wish to commence detailed appraisal and due diligence with a view to the issue of an Offer Commitment setting our proposed terms and conditions once this has been satisfactorily completed.
We would anticipate a facility being made by way of a combination of debt and equity, with debt secured by a debenture creating a legal charge over company assets and supported by other security and with equity in the form of Ordinary and/or Preference shares. Buy-out options are likely to be available at pre-determined intervals with a full exit.
Part of the due diligence procedure is for a senior member of the board to visit your location to interview and complete all required documentation relevant to your project.
All Costs relating to but not limited too Air Travel (business class) hotel and transportation. Official Translation. Independent Business and or Property Appraisals. The completion of all Legal contracts and their registration. Payable by the applicant upon signing the “Commitment Contract” which contains all outline terms and conditions.
Could you please confirm that you wish to proceed on this basis in order that we may commence our procedures?
We look forward to discussing this matter further with you in due course, however, please do not hesitate to contact us in the event of query.
For further information about “High Bank International Ltd” and the financial facilities offered please see our website.
Sincerely
Mr. Morris Goldman
Director of Film Finance
High Bank International Ltd
www.high-bank-int-ltd.com
The contents of this email may be privileged and are confidential. It may not be disclosed to or used by anyone other than the addressee(s), nor copied in any
way. To do so is prohibited and may be unlawful. If received in error, please advise the sender, then delete from your
system.
Although this email and attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defects which might affect any computer or IT systems into which they are received, no
responsibility is accepted by High Bank International Ltd for any loss or damage arising in any way from the receipt or use
thereof
Accepted:______________________________
Dated _________________________________
Email Address
This document must be signed by the applicant.
--
info@high-bank-int-ltd.com
-----------------------------------------------
As I always do for this guy, I performed some due diligence, starting first with the website, which spat back an address and not much else:
HighBank International Limited
The Tower
Daltongate Business Centre
Cumbria
LA12 7AJ England
Registered Company No 5777344.
Since I couldn't find much on HighBank itself, I searched for the mailing address -- and came across this:
http://www.britanniacrestuk.co.uk/mail-forwarding.html
That's right, a mail-forwarding site. According to the page, for a modest fee:
"At our prestigious offices in the North of England, your mail is sent to our address and then forwarded on to you once a week.
Example of address shown below:
XXXXX Ltd or Mr / Mrs XXXX
The Tower
Daltongate Business Centre
Daltongate
Ulverston
Cumbria
LA12 7AJ"
As you can tell, the addresses are a spot-on match except for the "Ulverston/Cumbria" difference. Highbank used this mail-forwarding service, no doubt.
Curious, I dug again, using Google to come up with any instance of the Highbank name it could find. Creditgate in the U.K., came up with this little tidbit:
https://secure.creditgate.com/search/search.aspx?AP=Full%20Non-Limited&CompanyID=05777344&CompanyType=L&BS=1&BT=Full%20Data
From here, you can clearly see, by scrolling down, that this office changed addresses:
REGISTERED OFFICE CHANGED ON 20/04/06
FROM: 44 UPPER BELGRAVE ROAD CLIFTON BRISTOL BS8 2XN
Thinking I might be onto something, I then Googled this address and pretty much spooked myself:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2006/013.htm
As it shows, this article warns "to advise that on 7 February 2006 the United Nations Sanctions Committee added a further five individuals and four entities to the UN Consolidated List maintained under Resolution 1390 (2002). The individuals and entities therefore fall within the UK financial sanctions regime under the Al-Qa’ida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/111, as amended by S.I. 2002/251).
Financial institutions and other persons are required to check whether they maintain any accounts or otherwise hold any funds, other financial assets, economic benefits and economic resources for the individuals and entities named below. If so, they should freeze the accounts or other funds and report their findings to the Bank of England."
Scrolling down the list of entities/individuals, my heart just about stopped:
1. MEADOWBROOK INVESTMENTS LIMITED
Address: 44 Upper Belgrave Road, Clifton, Bristol, United Kingdom, BS8 2XN
Other Information: Registration number 05059698.
Compare this address to the CreditGate address -- and it's a spot-on match...
...And that's how you find a terrorist! :-)
posted by ScribesUnlimited | 5:10 PM
1 Comments:
Hi there:
The address you have given at 44 Upper Belgrave Street, is actually the address of a company that registers new companies in the UK, so there are many people with that address.
However, I would be interested to know, did your friend get funding, as I have been offered funding by these people as well?
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