Pace Lattin says: Alleged “Scam” SwipeBids& SwipeAuctions tied to Acai Peddler Jesse Willms.
Just recently a member of the AdScam group, a Yahoo Group that I run complained that he was tricked into putting down his credit card for an auction called “SwipeBids” and was charged $159.00 for “prepaid bids.” I’ve known this guy for a while and he isn’t exactly the type of guy that normally falls for schemes – he does consulting for fortune 500 companies and honestly thought he was signing up for a legit Auction Service. I had known a bit about these sites, so I decided to look into it – and quickly found that the service “SwipeBids and SwipeAuctions” was being run by a well known player in the industry, Jesse Willms. What I found wasn’t just bad, but really damn ugly.
SwipeBids aka SwipeAuctions is a reverse auction of sorts. From what I’ve been told, it’s a simple process: you sign up, buy a pre-paid bid package and then start bidding on items that seem really cheap. Each time you bid, you get charged a fee, in this case 50 cents. On top of that, there is a time attached to the auction which makes it seem that you are about to “get” the product, but its reset whenever someone bids for the item and raises the price a bit. I’m not going to comment about the specifics of these auctions, their legitimacy, but instead address what I find very scummy about SwipeBids aka SwipeAuctions in particular.
1) There is absolutely no third party monitoring whatsoever for this service. This service is claiming to be a real auction of sorts, but has no third party monitoring. In theory, it’s a type of gambling, where you are paying for tickets to try to win the product. Without this third party verification, there is no way to know if anyone actually receives the products, or worse that there are not bots driving up the prices.
2) Offshore VISA only processing. From asking around, this was because they are basically banned from MasterCard and American Express – and no onshore US based processor will take them. This is a good sign of a scam, when a company can’t get one of thousands of processors and credit card companies to work with them
3) There is no customer service phone number. Well, actually there is a number, but it goes to an automated service line that provides no information. If you call it basically has a bunch of information on where to go back online.
4) Refunds are close to impossible. Despite signing you up, using your credit card number, they require that one mails the form and provide a whole host of personal information to “prove” who you are. (They didnt require that when they charged the card!) On top of that, they will not actually refund you the amount, but then require you to “please contact us 21 days after mailing in your request”. Since there is no phone number that deals with this and no way to contact a person on the phone this is close to impossible. I’ve read several people who said it was similarly impossible to get a refund.
5) They use RedHerrings to divert attention from the problems. Their website obviously knows that people are finding out the issues with SwipeAuctions, so they address these issues by pointing out that they are legit—how? They give money to charity, they have a high Alexa ranking, and best, say that they have easy way to reach customer service (Eh?). They don’t really address the issues, but instead show pictures of hungry kids and make a claim that if you work with them, they will feed kids in third world country with the money they take from you. I feel horrible pointing this out, because I do believe in supporting these charities — but spending $2,500 on charities while scamming millions out of hard working people doesn’t make it right. (I have a call into WorldVision)
6) They market themselves through FLOGS. Unfortunately, a lot of the traffic and signups they get are from fake news websites that promote them – we all know these issues. These sites look like real news sites, claim that people are “winning hundreds of items” a day from SwipeAuctions and plays a video from a legit organization that has nothing to do with their site.
7) The owner is a known scumbag affiliates with Acai Scams and is under investigation left and right. This link says it all. – Unfortunately he’s also created half a dozen fake blogs claiming that among other things, that he is really a great guy who gives money to charities. He also created a blog about Brittney Spears (along with underwear shots) so that rankings for his name wouldn’t show up that high on scams. No, seriously it’s here.
8) There are thousands of complaints online about SwipeBids / SwipeAuctions saying it is a full fledged scam. Here is the best explanation of how the SwipeBids scam works. Here is an attorney looking to do a class action.
Here’s the problem for this industry: Tons of networks, affiliates and others are promoting this program. Since Mr. Willms is outside of the Country (I think he’s still in Canada… which is kinda another Country, right?) and most likely has a great defense team, or a private jet to get him to Switzerland, the rest of the industry will be left holding the bag when this scheme is shut down. Let me make this clear, from sources in law enforcement and in the media, SwipeBids/SwipeAuctions is on the radar of numerous agencies and has been the subject of many complaints from consumers. This will eventually, like Mr. Willms, other ventures be shut down – and people will not be paid. Even worse, they will not get paid, and most likely be subject to civil and criminal investigations into the business they did with this company.
Here’s another video expose of Jesse Willms scams from Canada TV. “At age 22, Jesse Willms has made millions of dollars from his ‘Just Think Media’ online business, which sends so-called free trial products to customers. But, thousands of customers are angry after their credit cards kept getting billed for products they didn’t want.” Note the video says that the police say this guy is a scam too.
What do you think of SwipeBids and other Penny Auctions?
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31 Responses to “Pace Lattin says: Alleged “Scam” SwipeBids& SwipeAuctions tied to Acai Peddler Jesse Willms.”
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(C) 2010 Pace Lattin. It is the policy of this blogger to not edit or remove any content and comments, unless it is specifically attacking a protected group or irrelevant to the conversation, such as a spam. These are the OPINIONS of the respective writers, posters, commentators. All DCMA Notices shoudl be sent to pace@pacelattin.com
Why is it that only Pace is willing to talk about this shit?
Probably because the rest of the industry is making fat rolls off of it.
Kudos sir…
Great article! Are there any penny auction sites that are doing it right?
Let's be honest. Most of the CPA offers that are making money are worthless crap or outright scams. Seriously, this whole industry needs a wholesome flushing. Sad thing is it will be the government stepping in instead of the industry coming together to stop the fraud and deception.
Yes, Pace. I notice that you are the only guy out there talking about this particular scam as well. The spam for this has been out there for a few weeks. It is important that the tech community as well as the general public be made aware of this garbage!
Thanx Pace!!
Have you heard of the company swipeauctions.com? Do you have any detail on them such as the above?
But i just watched a commercial on TV that claimed i can loose 30 pounds in 30 days. Are you telling me that is a lie too?
Nice post Pace.
A good use of search links shows people exactly what kind of a scum bag they're getting into bed with if they dally with Jesse Willms.
Your comments so far are a bit wide of the mark saying that you're the only one pointing out Willms' dodgy deals though. Paul at WorkAtHomeTruth has copious writings and there are several websites devoted exclusively to bashing Willms, his websites like SwipeBastards, Effective Cleanse, Acai, Ultra-teeth-whiteners and his Just Think Media and Terra Marketing businesses.etc (should be terror?)
Please check out the stuff I have on the young conman, like this one or this one, say.
There are a heap of comments and backlinks worthy of further perusal!
Thank for this pace. Do you think there are any legit auctions reverse auction sites?
@julie – swipe auctions is the company above!
@BR – is that the cocaine diet?
@dennis – I don't know if reverse auctions are even legal, are they?
While I applaud Pace for his efforts on exposing SwipeBids for what they are, I would like to point out to the commenteres on the thread that other have indeed spoken out about this, including myself. A good source is http://www.pennyburners.com, http://www.scamraiders.com, and pennyauctionlist.com.
@MS Spot on. ("Let's be honest. Most of the CPA offers that are making money are worthless crap or outright scams. Seriously, this whole industry needs a wholesome flushing. Sad thing is it will be the government stepping in instead of the industry coming together to stop the fraud and deception").
All the big earners involve deceptive marketing and most are nothing more than scams – from acai pills to teeth whitening, to colon cleanse to 'work at home and get paid by Google' to the penny auction sites – in fact many of the big players (including Jesse Willms various companies) have been involved in all of these "offers" under ever changing website and company names.
@Pace – even the FTC and various Attorney Generals seem unsure as to wether reverse auctions are even legal, they are certainly unethical – or as this blog post described them "as close to pure, distilled evil in a business plan as I've ever seen" (note that Swoopo is legal in the European Union although there have been calls for it to be regulated as a gambling site).
Specifically regarding Swipebids/Swipeauctions, using tineye I have managed to track down one of the people used in one of their photo testimonials (this was on their site not on one of the many cpa affiliate flogs/fake news sites promoting them) and they have confirmed that the photo used in the testimonial was stolen from their blog, that they had never had any dealings with Swipebids (now Swipeauctions) and that the testimonial was fake.
All these sites are worrisome. While they may not have a known scammer behind them, they mislead people and have the same issues this one does with accountability and monitoring. Just a week or so ago I have to explain to my parents why they should not try to get an iPad for $22.
What is the real issue? Is it Penny Auctions or reverse auctions? I think the problem is Jesse Willims. I dont think Penny Auctions should be ilegal as there are many of them that are legit. This is not gambling, and in fact where is the Consumer responsibility?? This is one of the biggest problems out there.
Although I know of Jesse and his BS tactics and I agree he should be shut down, not only because what he does, its what he does to one single industry at a time. I have never known anyone who can get and fuck up an industry better than Jesse. He can single handed take down and cause regulation and heat to any industry that is doing legit business.
Also the Publishers and networks like clickbooth whom take 110 cpa to run this type of offer, when other penny sites dont charge anything and leave it up to the consumer to decide on what amount of bids to buy. If a consumer wants to buy 200 bids than let him on his own free will, but dont charge someone 159.00 upfront just to pay a cpa and make some dough. So lets not blame or focus on a whole new industry rather than ONE DAMN SCUM BAG that screws it up for the legit business. Talk about the networks and Publishers who are running the offer!
Although I know of Jesse and his BS tactics and I agree he should be shut down, not only because what he does, its what he does to one single industry at a time. I have never known anyone who can get and fuck up an industry better than Jesse. He can single handed take down and cause regulation and heat to any industry that is doing legit business.
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Touche. I don't think it can be said any better than that, Jimmy2shoes.
Jimmy hit the nail on the head. Willms needs distribution in order to suck in consumers. The distribution costs are most likely 50%+ of the total rev. scammed from consumers payable to our favorite CPA networks. In most cases, the CPA network is the receipent of the biggest share of rev generated by the fraudulent progam. They're deep in bed with these guys and there are thoughts that they sometimes help faciliate the deals.
I have heard from a very trusted source that that the FTC has a strong interest in deep connection btwn fraudulent programs and affiliates/affiliate network.
It’s really great to post my comments on such a penny auction news blog. I would like to appreciate the great work done by the web master and would like to tell everyone that they should post their interesting comments and should make this blog interesting. Once again I would like to say keep it up to blog owner!!!! I am glad that the blog owner has chosen a very interesting matter in order to spread huge knowledge among people. I would like to congratulate for this hard work to the blog owner and would like to be part of his blog by submitting.
Nice information, valuable and excellent, as share good stuff with good ideas and concepts, lots of great information and inspiration, both of which we all need, thanks for all the enthusiasm to offer such helpful information here. A penny auction scam is a make new category of method to auction. If you like getting brand new items and receiving incredible deals on them than a penny auction possibly barking right up your passage. When command in a penny auction the bids cost a little bit of money.
You are right, they are selling bids not stuff. That is where the real money is made. Just take $10.00 sold price on an item. That is 1000 bids at .50 a bid. That means that item actually sold for 10 + 500 = 510.00
By the way, some guy above talked about Jesse Willms owning swipeauctions. He is right.
W5 put a full story out on him at: http://watch.ctv.ca/news/w5/w5-just-think-twice/
A Great watch and real eyeopener!
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/w5/w5-just-think-twice#clip312666
here you go, more for Jesse
So here is some dirt, hope you post it pace and don't mind that i used you in my blog.
http://jimmydirt.blogspot.com/
The CPA affiliate networks play a key role in allowing scammers like Willms to flourish – why are Intermark Media, Clickbooth, Epic (Azoogle) and Neverblue still promoting Swipeauctions?
terramarketinggroup.com/partners.php
As of today Facebook has shut down all ads running for penny auctions thanks to one person, Jesse Willms. I wonder if this guy cares to even take a moment to understand what he does to an industry one at a time. What is wrong with the networks, do networks know that the very offers they run hurt the business they love.
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As of today Facebook has shut down all ads running for penny auctions thanks to one person, Jesse Willms. I wonder if this guy cares to even take a moment to understand what he does to an industry one at a time. What is wrong with the networks, do networks know that the very offers they run hurt the business they love.
Jimmy, what's the background on this, where has the information come from?
my sister yesterday applied for bid sauce, some people have been complaining it’s full of autobidders. has anyone tried bidding?
Thanks lots for the post. Please keep up the good work. I will be returning lots.
I got scammed! I followed all their instructions for a refund, and got confirmation from them that I would be refunded, and on the day the refund was due this is what I got…It’s a lie because their website is still actively taking credit card orders.
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Gloria#SA3582′
Gloria#SA3582: Thank you for visiting SwipeAuctions.com Livechat Line. How may I assist you today?
Michael Alvarez: hi… was due a refund and 10 business days have passed. Please let me know what’s going on
Gloria#SA3582: Please wait while I check your order details in our system.
Gloria#SA3582: Swipeauctions is winding down operations due to merchant shutting down our processing and is no longer accepting new customers. In addition, Swipeauctions will not issue refunds for membership fees (see the Swipeauctions’ Terms & Conditions). During Swipeauctions’ wind down period, all products corresponding to already paid winning auctions will be shipped in accordance with the Terms & Conditions.
Michael Alvarez: It was not a membership fee and I was guaranteed a refund. Please send a check.
Gloria#SA3582: I sincerely apologize, but I have no further details to provide to you at this time. As a livechat agent, I have not been fully informed of all the details behind the shutdown. Therefore; I am simply unable to assist you with any further information.
Michael Alvarez: This is a scam. Even if shut down, refunds are still possible by check.
Gloria#SA3582: I sincerely apologize, but I have no further details to provide to you at this time. As a livechat agent, I have not been fully informed of all the details behind the shutdown. Therefore; I am simply unable to assist you with any further information.
I AM A VICTIM!! i have been asking for refund since september 2010. i did every thing they told me to. send a refund request form, contact them after 18 days.. then when i contacted them after 18 days, they said that i should contact them after 3 more days because that 18 days was changed to 21 days.. so i did. then i contacted them on the 21st day, they said that my request is being reviewed, contact them again. the next week passes and they said that i will be receiving my refund AFTER A WEEK. the new week starts, i contacted them again, saying that “You have successfully qualified for our Money Back Guarantee; therefore I have credited your account the original SwipeAuction Access Bid Pack charge. This credit has been applied immediately at our end but may take up to 6-10 business days to appear on your credit card.”… AND SO I WAITED AGAIN FOR THAT 6-10 days. october 23, 2010– i contacted via online again. this is what the agent said.. Sable#SA8852: This credit has been applied immediately at our end but may take up to 6-10 business days to appear on your credit card.
arni: when was it applied?
Sable#SA8852: You will receive your refund soon. 2-3 days. (they dont even answer your questions directly!!) then october 27, 2010– i contacted them again, and this time, im really pissed!! “I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, but the refund you were expecting has not actually processed due to a technical issue which has just recently been resolved in our merchant account. Head Office assures us that the issue has been taken care of and there will be no further delay in refunding your account. I am now going to re-submit your refund through our merchant account and you can expect to see your refund to process without any further delay.” ..and so, the agent said that i will be receiving my refund in 3-5 days. TODAY, NOV 2 2010, i contacted them again for the nth time. and what did they say?? “Falon#SA1458: Swipeauctions is winding down operations due to merchant shutting down our processing and is no longer accepting new customers. In addition, Swipeauctions will not issue refunds for membership fees (see the Swipeauctions’ Terms & Conditions). During Swipeauctions’ wind down period, all products corresponding to already paid winning auctions will be shipped in accordance with the Terms & Conditions.” and to make everything clear, (coz talking to someone online is bullshit! THEY JUST COPY-PASTE!! WTH?!), i called their customer service department. and yeah, this KORAL601 told me that the entire SwipeAuction company is shutting down. their merchant has not processed any new account and refunds blah blah blah. this happened yesterday, nov1, and she said that as a customer service employee that’s all the info they can give me. i even asked, me: so there’s no other way your office can give back my refund?
koral: none. we don’t have access on the merchant office. the bank is already closed. AND NOW, IM SOOO DISAPPOINTED AND PISSED TO NOT RECEIVE MY REFUND BACK! THIS COMPANY IS A BIG SCAM! THIEF!! THE CUSTOMER SERVICE DOESNT EVEN HAVE CONSISTENCY IN GIVING UPDATES!! UGH!
Did you dispute your swipe auctions charge with VISA and request a chargeback? If you feel wronged here, do that and attach this W5 report on Willms.
http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100320/EDM_w5investigation_100320/20100320/?hub=EdmontonHome
Also, go to the bbb.org and run off their report on Willms as well and file a complaint there too.
Did you report Swipe Auctions to the FBI Internet Crime department?
I would act instead of complaining if you feel ripped off. My 2 cents anyway.
Jesse’s new website:
http://www.selloffauctions.com/prelogin_index.php