Escrow Alliance Online ripoff I almost lost $600! Internet
Was going to buy a video camera from someone online. She suggested using an escrow to complete the transaction. The video camera was already $100 lower than anywhere else and then she offered to pay the escrow fees and the shipping. I looked up escrowalliance.com to see who actually owned the domain - it was registered to some guy in Texas (not a company name) and the phone number was disconnected. When I looked up the California address, it was actually the address of Netscrape Corporate Headquarters.
The website is also using the TrustE logo, to denote that they are secure - however, they are not registered with TrustE, and I never saw the lock symbol during my sign up or sample transaction on the site.
I searched for every form of "escrow alliance" on Google, Yahoo, and AltaVista and couldn't find anything. I doubt they really exist.
Then, I emailed her back and asked to use escrow.com, because Ebay recommends them, she replied saying that she has used "escrow alliance" before and they are fine, and that escrow.com could take too long to complete the transaction.
Watch out - I could have lost $600 to a bogus escrow company!
Dave
Redmond, Washington
U.S.A.