Eastline Delivery Service

Summary

I'm calling this one "Eastline Delivery Service" because that text is used in the banner image on one of the websites, although neither of the instances I've seen so far use that name as their ostensible identity. There was an "Eastline Delivery Service" scam reported last year, but, sad to say, I was not included in that spam run -- or I just missed it. Ultimately, this is just further money mule recruiting, although it may be that they recruit general reshippers as well.

The Spam

The spam advertising the site is provided in both plain text and HTML. The HTML includes a lot of external references to graphics. Most sensible email clients block external graphics by default these days, as spammers sometimes use it as a means of detecting who views their mail. There seems to be no such explicit tracking in this instance, but I am reporting only the plain text version as a matter of convenience.

Representative text

   [spacer.gif]
   Online Auction-Dealers Ltd. offers expert services related to putting out
   for bidding at international e-auctions (eBay, Yahoo!, etc) on behalf of
   vendors from all over the world. Being a high-reputed dealer we guarantee,
   on the one hand, complete compliance of goods with their description at the
   auction and on the other hand, prompt and timely payment.

   Online Auction-Dealers Ltd. also supports the Seller with Financial
   Representative's services in the Buyer's country, therefore accelerating and
   facilitating payment process through mutually acceptable payment methods.
   Online Auction-Dealers Ltd has opened Administrative Coordinator vacancies
   in Australia.
     * Education: Sales, customer operations, basic math skills, certifying
       presentations and public performance skills (preferable).
     * Basic knowledge and skills:
          + Ability to negotiate with customer and financial representatives;
          + Generating and holding presentations, public performance skills;
          + Generating commercial offers and business documentation skills;
          + MS Office (Excel, Word, Power Point) and Internet advanced skills;
     * Personal characteristics:
          + Initiative;
          + Ability to work independently and communicate with co-workers and
            customers;
     * Responsibilities: The position entails the communication and
       coordination of activities of workers engaged in one or more projects.
       Administrative Coordinator may perform work of a similar type and level
       as that of subordinates. Administrative Coordinator provides liaison
       with clients and reports to senior management..
     * Wage Details: $52k AUD plus bonuses

   Working Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm (1 hr for lunch).

   Costs and Fees: There are no upfront costs.

   If you are interested in this vacancy and you feel, that your qualifications
   correspond to our requirements, please click [1]HERE to fill in an
   application form.
   Thank you for your interest to this job.
   Sincerely,
      Online Auction-Dealers Ltd.
   [spacer.gif]
   2007 (C) Online Auction-Dealers Ltd.
   All rights reserved. [spacer.gif]
   New York, NY 10308, 56 Whitman Ave.
   Phone: +1 (646) 219-6976
   Fax: +1 (646) 219-6982

References

   1. http://www.auctiondealer.biz/index.php?page=reg

Website

Here is a snapshot of http://www.abb-ds.net/ taken at around the time this blog entry was first posted. Note that the top banner/header is one large JPG image, and none of the things that look like links or form elements in that region are active. The website code attempts to load a Shockwave Flash application there, if available (which it isn't on my system).

The other instance of this site that I have seen at the time of posting is http://www.auctiondealer.biz/, and no header image was loading on that site, leaving the region blank white. The two columns below the banner, rather than the banner itself, are the key identifying features of this scam.

The websites are hosted behind a botnet providing proxy service.

Domain Information (for experts)

The following domains have been verified as hosting this scam. Limited WHOIS information is provided here, primarily for the purposes of trend analysis. Registrant details are included only to the extent that I believe they are relevant and not misleading fabrications.

abb-ds.net

   Domain Name: ABB-DS.NET
   Registrar: ENOM, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.enom.com
   Referral URL: http://www.enom.com
   Name Server: NS1.FIND-MB.COM
   Name Server: NS2.FIND-MB.COM
   Updated Date: 24-jan-2007
   Creation Date: 24-jan-2007
   Expiration Date: 24-jan-2009
Registrant Contact:
   -
   sohee lim (soheelim@usa.com)

auctiondealer.biz

Domain Name:                                 AUCTIONDEALER.BIZ
Domain ID:                                   D16425790-BIZ
Sponsoring Registrar:                        THE REGISTRY AT INFO AVENUE
Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID:                123
Registrant ID:                               DI_5586272
Registrant Email:                            williamcampana@yahoo.com
Name Server:                                 NS1.US-COLUMS.COM
Name Server:                                 NS2.US-COLUMS.COM
Created by Registrar:                        THE REGISTRY AT INFO AVENUE
Last Updated by Registrar:                   THE REGISTRY AT INFO AVENUE
Domain Registration Date:                    Tue Feb 13 18:37:42 GMT 2007
Domain Expiration Date:                      Tue Feb 12 23:59:59 GMT 2008
Domain Last Updated Date:                    Tue Feb 13 18:39:39 GMT 2007