Chinese copycat companies entering a brand new level of FAKE

[Sariel]

OK guys, take a deep breath because if you thought that Chinese companies taking instructions of AFOLs' MOCs and turning them into sets were bad, I have a brand new level of bad for you. I found a company using photos and model descriptions lifted straight off my website to claim that they're selling my MOCs, while in reality they are most definitely not (I'm 100% sure, since I've never published any instructions for these, they aren't showing a single photo that isn't stolen from me, and they certainly could not have reverse-engineered MOCs in the 3,000+ pieces area from a couple of photos).

The link: http://www.detail-useful.com/sale/index/details?id=88237090094344

Any idea if there's a legal solution? It's one thing to sell copied MOCs, but these guys are apparently selling nothing. Or let me rephrase for clarity: there is no way in the world that they're actually selling what they claim to be selling. Best case scenario is probably they send you a potato in a box if they're feeling generous.

[LvdH]

Stealing just hit a whole new low. What in the actual ..... Worst part is, that there will actually be people who will be scammed by this. I doubt you can do anything against it. I guess the warning is the best you are able to do...

[Carefree_Dude]

I don't know if there is any way to actually do anything to people in China. Sucks this is happening though. 

[Maaboo the Witch]

7 minutes ago, Goldenmasamune said:

I don't know if there is any way to actually do anything to people in China. Sucks this is happening though. 

This company is apparently headquartered in London. UK trading standards might have something to say about that...

[Sariel]

1 minute ago, Maaboo35 said:

This company is apparently headquartered in London. UK trading standards might have something to say about that...

It's what they claim, but their domain is registered by a Chinese company.

[sirslayer]

Im not to surprised!! Your an artist and your work is priceless!!  too bad you didn't market yourself in the china sector more aggressively .. it's not too late..  

Edited September 24, 2018 by sirslayer

[kbalage]

As I wrote on Facebook, it's very similar to the fake LEGO shops popping up almost on a daily basis. You can ask on the LAN if the LEGO legal team can give you any advice, but in reality I don't think there's much you can do. It's a scam, and now MOCs are also used for scamming people. I'm sure they are registered in a country where you have zero legal options, and the page will disappear within a few days/weeks.

 A funny (or sad) addition - they used my video of @Didumos69's w16 on the Porsche's product page, so they have clearly zero idea what engine is supposed to be in that car...

[brunojj1]

This is so unreal, it has to be fake  ... But the level of audacity has reached a new height, no doubt. 

Remember the good old days with Aliexpress where you were waiting for months for your well paid article to be delivered, without any tiny doubt about the credibility of the "shop" 

@Sariel I´m sorry if it´s not funny for you at the moment, but we´re kinda in the same boat now  . This whole Chinese fake stuff becomes dramatic and ... at least entertaining for the crowd.

[jorgeopesi]

Obviusly I hate this but I have curiosity for the price, the quality is as low as the price or Lego earns too much?. I wouldn´t never think to buy it but I would understand a father or mother looking for a cheap toy for the children, if you don´t know Lego very well the price will be the difference.

[rm8]

Looks like their mission is  to "sell" as many as they can, telling "it's a new presell product" and then disappear together with site.

Until there are not only poor people, but also stupid - there is a place for those who can use this situation for profit. And possibilities to do this are unlimited. Free chesse is only in the moustrap.

[terryli]

I fhink that is scam, may be they just steal some photo from you and don't have any futher BI. They just want to scam people money.

[kbalage]

2 minutes ago, jorgeopesi said:

Obviusly I hate this but I have curiosity for the price, the quality is as low as the price or Lego earns too much?

You cannot sell such a big creation with all the electronics for this price even if it is the crappiest Chinese copy. It's a scam, page set up for people who believe in miracles and amazing one of a kind deals, or have zero idea about the approximate real value of such a car.

[gate]

Actually, thought that there were such precedents here already (In russia these kinds of fake ads and promos are really popular, sadly).

I can only feel for you, Sariel. I guess you can wirte a complain to the domain registration company saying that the site makers are violating rights with some proofs.

Edited September 24, 2018 by gate

[Maaboo the Witch]

Hopefully it'll be like Lego England or whatever it was called and disappear from the web in a few days.

[Seasider]

I see the stuff on Facebook almost everyday offering the Chiron at half price. It’s a shame to see this happening to “one of our own”. Unfortunately this is something that’s tricky to stop, it’s blatantly a scam site and as you say their more likely to get a potato in a box rather than a lot of plastic. I’d ask TLG to see if they can offer any advice and hope that it goes like the recent spell of Lego UK and Lego England sits I’ve seen recently.

i just hope this doesn’t put you or any of the big creators off building such fantastic models

[BrickbyBrickTechnic]

If you see what's under the category tab, none of it's close to LEGO. This is just sad. I'm really sorry to see this happening to you, Sariel.

[Johnny1360]

Man $39.99 what a deal I would buy one just for the BuWizz. Honestly anyone that would pay for one of these sets and actually expect to get what is promised is a fool and should really consider taking off their rose colored glasses. 

I certainly don't condone what is being done here, it is an obvious rip-off scam and they should be tarred and feathered for it, or much worse. The fact that anyone would buy into it though just proves the old adage "there's one born every minute"

[suffocation]

Anyone falling for that shite must have left their brain in the womb.

Edited September 24, 2018 by suffocation

[Saberwing40k]

Sadly, there does not seem to be a way to report fraud sites like this unless you give them money, unless someone knows differently.

[shadow_elenter]

Yep... a new bottom.

[Carefree_Dude]

17 minutes ago, Johnny1360 said:

Man $39.99 what a deal I would buy one just for the BuWizz. Honestly anyone that would pay for one of these sets and actually expect to get what is promised is a fool and should really consider taking off their rose colored glasses. 

I certainly don't condone what is being done here, it is an obvious rip-off scam and they should be tarred and feathered for it, or much worse. The fact that anyone would buy into it though just proves the old adage "there's one born every minute"

The people falling for this are the elderly who know nothing about the product and want to buy a gift for a family member

[MxWinters]

Wow, how sad can people get? "More than 1400 parts of the entire product", could have sworn Sariel said more than 3000 parts. Funny how they have a huge green shield saying "AES 256bit", yet if you add this into the shopping cart and click checkout, it then asks for your home address, this page has a http:// address and Firefox says the page isn't is encrypted. Isn't that info classed as personal data which needs to be encrypted by UK/EU law? The contact page is dodgy too, non British phone number and "detail-usefull" doesn't exsist at that address quoted, although they could have registered in a different name. I'm shocked how people can be so disrespectful to a community member who has given so much just because they know nothing will happen to them. Utter shame on them and if they are hiding behind the Chinese government, utter shame on the Chinese state for allowing this to happen and continue to happen. Of course I'm refering to the Chinese government here, not the Chinese people in general.

[Johnny1360]

2 hours ago, Goldenmasamune said:

The people falling for this are the elderly who know nothing about the product and want to buy a gift for a family member

How could you possibly know this to be true? Regardless of who falls for it, they would learn a valuable lesson cheap and would perhaps be more wary in the future. Just to be sure I in no way think this is okay and still think these people are scum of the earth. I really wish there were a way to help people understand "if it sounds to good to be true it probably is"

It truly is sad that these few slime balls profit off the good nature of the few truly generous highly talented builders that choose to share their creations. I really would like to hear some suggestions on how to curtail such low down activity. 

[BusterHaus]

5 hours ago, terryli said:

I fhink that is scam, may be they just steal some photo from you and don't have any futher BI. They just want to scam people money.

It is a scam, and even if they are taken offline, they still damage Sariel's reputation. 

@Sariel I would try to contact GoDaddy to have the domain name suspended on the basis of copyright infringement - the site is being used for IP theft. You can also try contacting the hosting provider (can't find find if it's also GoDaddy) and ask them to suspended service to this website. Most terms of service have a section that talks about using domain names/hosting for illegal purposes.

I would also consider putting up an easily found statement on your website that talks about this topic. Victims of this scam may (wrongly) blame you through any number of mental gymnastics. You can be ahead of the game by explaining that your creations are used in scams that are out of your control. It will help you protect your reputation, which is quite well known here, but may not be to other AFOLS. 

Good luck. 

[Ankoku]

@Sariel You may want to try this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/contact

It is a program on the BBC which deals with rogue companies, scams etc.

With this and LEGO England, you can present a story they can go with and it brings attention to a type of scam which people may not otherwise be aware of. Save those poor old pensioners from receiving potatoes in the post.

Since you are actually the creator of the MOC, they may take more interest in it, than if someone random contacted them.

On a side note:

Images on the site are split into 3 categories.
Images unique to the branding of the site are on jhimg.com

Images of products are on alicdn.com (The latter being the CDN for Alibaba.com)

Images relating to the eCommerce software they are using are hosted on the site itself.

Using the jhimg.com domain, you can start to spot copies of the site, like this one:

http://www.simple-many.com/sale/index

The branding on that site is a broken image which returns this:

No Such Key

The specified key does not exist.

Host ID: img-like-new.oss-cn-hongkong.aliyuncs.com

And yeah, there is Chinese all over the shop in the coding for the page.

The company in question, registered to the address is:
QANDIES LIMITED

In 2003 it was listed as a mail order company. In 2007, it was listed as a Retail Sale Via Mail Order Houses Or Via Internet

Directors are:

Mr Guohui Qin, WENJUN LOU, MS CLARE MARIE TANKER

The oldest of the 3 is 42.

This is how the scam seems to work, if you dispute an order:

https://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/popreal-do-not-order-from-this-company-scam-scam-scam-c993749.html

 

There are lost of complaints here about the place on Google:

https://www.google.com/search?q=+2.27+Romer+House%2C+Lewisham+High+Street%2C+London%2C+SE13+6EE+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b#lpqa=d,2

Google has it listed as: PerfeHair, Hair extensions supplier

More variants:

https://www.outmanlets.com

https://www.gamesir.hk

The list of them is endless.