As I grow older and less naïve, I realize that the truth is hard to find and that so much of what I had believed, was just a ruse, a scam, a way to assuage the awful truth that we are mortal, temporary, and like all things will forever pass away.
But we comfort ourselves with the belief that there is more than this. We fool ourselves into believing what we wish. We create an illusion that hides the truth.
ONLINE DECEPTION
The other day I was prompted by an email to click on a 30-second bedtime procedure to relieve neuropathy.
I watched a little but it went on and on, repeating how its ingredients do wonders, using testimonials. It was tedious listening to the hyperbole. I’m sure you know what I mean, so I fast forwarded to the end. Of course, I saw no 30-second procedure, just a 30-minute video trying to sell a proverbial little pill.
Does it work? Who knows. But many are willing to take the chance. Neuropathy is painful; if there’s a way to get relief, it’s worth a try. Isn’t it? As the lottery ads say, “you never know.”
I noticed a phone number and address at the end of the script.
I called. No third-party reviews, the rep said, but they give a 180-day money back guarantee.
I checked Trust Pilot, which had only two one-star reviews, and Scambuster which summarized:
This online store is offering products that are popular amongst scammers. As demand is high, these scammers are trying to lure you to buy these products often at much lower prices than the normal market rates. We advise you to take extra care before you order by checking if the company is legit or possibly a scam.
In fact, there are no studies that show the pills work, just data on each individual ingredient and its potential efficacy.
These offers of relief come with a trial that has a deadline requiring a cancellation or an automatic charge. One time, for another similar offer, I couldn’t get a refund because I didn’t cancel in time even though I had sent it back.
It wasn’t just the offer that triggered me to write about it: it was the address listed for the company. A Google search turned up a number of interesting articles about 30 N. Gould Street, the address of Wyoming Corporate Office, LLC., which registers businesses.1 They also act as agents for legal documents, accept and forward mail, and function as a virtual office.
Virtual Headquarters
The latter is important because as a result of using a virtual location they have registered more than 53,000 businesses. This fosters anonymity. In fact, many of these businesses are not located in the U.S. and it is the perfect arrangement for scammers. Consequently, there have been numerous complaints against companies registering at 30 N. Gould St.
Using a “shell company” with a non-existent address is the perfect setup to avoid liability. But this is not only done in Wyoming but also the states of Delaware and Nevada, and probably others based on my own experience with a different scammer who I will tell you about shortly.
The business registrations bring in millions of dollars of revenue for the state, says Ken Pandergraft, Wyoming state representative. He says the problem is political, that the state’s attorneys-general are appointed rather than elected and that the state’s governors aren’t interested in eliminating this source of state income. But he adds that there are those in the legislature searching for a solution.
My own experience is a perfect example of a company using a fake address to help escape accountability.
I wanted to build two websites with Word Press, for which I only had minimal knowledge.2 I found a web design business whose site looked really good and after deciding on a price, they or he (I don’t know but suspect he was the sole proprietor and only employee) went to work.
It was something of a collaboration. I supplied images and information and he designed it. It took three months. It was okay, nothing out of this world. But I was lazy and hadn’t made an effort to increase my knowledge of Word Press. All I knew was how to post content but not enough to manage or promote it. So, I relied on him.
In addition to building my two websites and hosting them, I had been paying for Google Ads, Search Engine Optimization, and Social Media Optimization. In all, $8900 during a period of six months.
By that time I realized that whatever he was doing wasn’t getting traffic to my website, so I complained and a flurry of reviews about my books and work appeared on the site.
They were glowing, too glowing, and obviously the work of AI.
I began to think my web host / builder was not what he appeared to be. But more important is that I’m an historian and posting false information on my website would damage my credibility.
https://undergroundrailroadconductor.com
I have since redesigned it.
His website listed the address of his corporate headquarters in NC. I decided to do a Google Earth search. It showed a fairly large office building, and I was able to find a few other companies at the address, so I called one.
Not surprisingly, no Excelerator (name changed) there. The business owner gave me the number of the building owner. He also said there never had been such a business there. He did say some mail had come for them, but he thought it was a mistake and ignored it.
The business, I learned, was registered with the North Carolina Secretary of State in the name of a resident from another state. This person was not the web designer and I called him once but my call was not returned.
I contacted both the Federal Trade Commission and the Internet Crime Complaint Center, the Internet department of the FBI, and attached the records of my complaints to my refund requests to Paypal. I did not ask for a refund for the payments for the web building, and only half for the ads and optimization.
To my surprise, the web host / builder refunded $6800 of the total I paid, tacitly acknowledging malfeasance by being extra generous to atone for it. But their false corporate address and web store front remained online for nearly two more years.
Little did I know at that time that virtual addresses are now commonplace.
Could that merchant be charged with a crime? Perhaps. They were at least guilty of the deception that they were located in the U.S. He never said his corporate office in the U.S. was a virtual one, though he did say he was from India.
What is it about India that has caused it to become a center of online fraud and scammers?
You may recall the Social Security scam that was occurring a couple or so years ago. When you were contacted, the caller had the distinct accent of someone from India. I myself had a couple of conversations with them, and one told me he had been a goat herder in Nepal before coming to work as a scammer in India.
In 2022, a law suit was brought against multiple Indian-based call centers and their directors charging that they used a VoIP provider that allowed them to speak to Americans and pose as agents of the Social Security Administration.
“These India-based call centers allegedly scared their victims and stole their money, including some victims’ entire life savings,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine.3
A brief survey of the scamming tactics of Indian criminals found that Americans were hardly their only targets.
In India itself, according to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, 6,000 complaints were filed daily last year. These included phishing, fake job offers, credit card and investment scams, and online shopping fraud. But most heinous were digital arrest in which fraudsters remotely placed victims under false arrest and extorted large sums of money. AI-assisted voice cloning apps were sometimes to emulate voices of family members to extort money as well. Phone calls and text messages were the primary methods of contact, with WhatsApp being a platform of preference.
A recent New York Times article provided insight into why cybercrime may have become so prevalent there. According to it, colleges in India are educating large numbers of graduates with technical degrees. This has spawned an Indian version of Silicon Valley.
American IT companies are racing to set up offshore campuses there, according to it. Companies like Google, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Visa, Samsung, Amazon, as well as financial giants like JPMorgan Chase and retailers like Target and Lowe’s.
“As of 2024, there were about 1,800 offshore corporate offices in India, owned by hundreds of foreign-based multinational companies — most of them American. There are 1.9 million people in India working for foreign companies, with 600,000 to 900,000 more expected to join them by 2030.”4
An unfortunate side effect of this large number of technically-trained workers in India is turning it into a cybercrime center. Former gurus are trading their spiritual quests for more earthly ones as the capitalist ethic infiltrates societies worldwide.
Perhaps it’s not surprising when one considers the growing realization that the truth is that we are only temporary. So, as the refrain from the old Janis Joplin song went, you need to “get it while you can.”
Scammers are everywhere these days. They are con artists, people who make you believe they are someone they are not. Like the clown in the White House.
Big Mac Donald
Such is the crazy world we live in today. We can pretend to be so many things. Even a clown can pretend to be President. Next time you watch Trump on TV, remember behind that mask of insolence is Big Mac Donald.
'Virtual Wild, Wild West': Cybercriminals use Wyoming shell companies for global hacks,” Reuters, Dec. 12, 2023; “Another scam recorded from business related to 30 N. Gould St. registered agent,” The Sheridan Press, Aug 6, 2021, Updated July 17, 2023; “Commercial registered agents bring business with unintended consequences,” The Sheridan Press, Nov. 25, 2020, Updated Nov. 21, 2024.
I had built these sites in the past using obsolete software and had taken them down for a couple years. I also had earlier worked with a web designer who had built a site in Word Press but only offered maintenance not marketing, and I wanted to find someone who did both.
“U.S. Authorities Charge 6 Indian Call Centers Scamming Thousands of Americans,” The Hacker News, Feb 6, 2022.
“India Is on a Hiring Binge That Trump’s Tariffs Can’t Stop.” New York Times, March 26, 2025.