Can I Trust This Agency? Or Are They Just Trying To STEAL Something From Me?

by 3000
31 replies
Hello Warriors,

I'm in a little dilemma, I accepted a proposal from a person working for "Iziada Agency". I Googled them and nothing shows up. Anyhow, they wanted to add some banners on my site. They accepted my price but now they want me to add a plugin to my site. Here's their email;

Hi!

Thanks for reply to our proposal!
We like your price.We would like to place one 728*90 banner at the top of all pages.

To pass to the banner control system follow the link http://webmaster.izidaagency.com
To enter use the following data:

login: *****
password: *****

You should install and activate the plugin in order to display advertisement. Before making payment, advertiser must approve location of the banner. The banner will be shown on your site when you add special code to your web- address (for example: http://(my website url) /?adv_test=1). It means, that visitors will see the banner only if it is approved and payment made.

To get installation instruction for your site type pass to: Izida Agency /
To activate your site you have to enter the code: *****

What way of payment is suitable for you?

Best regards,
Mathis Gaillard.
site: www.izidaagency.com
e-mail: mgaillard@izidaagency.com
phone: + (0)9 78 62 91 00


I don't feel too comfortable adding plugins I don't know that much about. Can you guys help me try to figure this out?

I'm not sure if that plugin will copy my login information or anything else malicious.

Thank you,

3000
#agency #steal #trust
  • Profile picture of the author TheJustWarrior
    Not in a year of Sundays, your site, your rules.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    I don't know too much about the process of having someone advertise on your site. If the plug-in is not a normal thing for advertisers to do though, I would not allow them to add it.
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  • Profile picture of the author bogdan247
    SCAM.

    Wow, I can't believe this!
    I just got a similar "offer" from Kervel Agency. Here is their address: kervelagency.com.
    It's the same website with your Izida agency. Only the name differs. Even the text of the emails is similar.
    This is most likely a scam. Stay away from them. I will definitely do so!
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  • Profile picture of the author SteveJohnson
    I'm assuming this is a WordPress site - if so, they wouldn't be able to get your password, but everything else would be fair game.

    Something sounds a little off about this. Most ad networks use javascript to place ads. Possibly the plugin is just to get the ad in the right spot, but the stuff about the URLs is a little bothersome also.
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  • Profile picture of the author SEOAssasin
    sounds like a scam
    be careful
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  • Profile picture of the author TPFLegionaire
    Hi

    Just got the similar email from Oscar Meunier...of the kervel agency in paris

    I represent Kervel Agency. At the moment we are preparing an advertising campaign for Lacoste Company (it is a French company producing clothes, footwear, perfumery etc.) We already have designed banners for the campaign, they are the following sizes: 160x600, 240x400, 300x250, 336x280, 468x60, 728x90.
    What can be your price for one banner (banner should appear at ALL pages of your site) of abovementioned sizes (please specify the place for the banner – top, bottom, left, right)? Please mention a normal link for banner, without javascript code and set prices in US dollars per month.

    Best regards,
    Oscar Meunier.
    site: www. kervelagency .com
    e-mail: omeunier@kervelagency .com
    phone: + (0)9 78 62 98 00



    Ah well....be carefull out there
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    • Profile picture of the author 3000
      Originally Posted by TPFLegionaire View Post

      Hi

      Just got the similar email from Oscar Meunier...of the kervel agency in paris

      I represent Kervel Agency. At the moment we are preparing an advertising campaign for Lacoste Company (it is a French company producing clothes, footwear, perfumery etc.) We already have designed banners for the campaign, they are the following sizes: 160x600, 240x400, 300x250, 336x280, 468x60, 728x90.
      What can be your price for one banner (banner should appear at ALL pages of your site) of abovementioned sizes (please specify the place for the banner - top, bottom, left, right)? Please mention a normal link for banner, without javascript code and set prices in US dollars per month.

      Best regards,
      Oscar Meunier.
      site: www. kervelagency .com
      e-mail: omeunier@kervelagency .com
      phone: + (0)9 78 62 98 00



      Ah well....be carefull out there

      Got the same email.

      Hello,

      Thanks for reply to our proposal!

      I represent Izida Agency. At the moment we are preparing an advertising campaign for Lacoste Company (it is a French company producing clothes, footwear, perfumery etc.) We already have designed banners for the campaign, they are the following sizes: 160x600, 240x400, 300x250, 336x280, 468x60, 728x90.
      What can be your price for one banner (banner should appear at ALL pages of your site) of abovementioned sizes (please specify the place for the banner - top, bottom, left, right)? Please mention a normal link for banner, without javascript code and set prices in US dollars per month.

      Best regards,
      Mathis Gaillard.
      site: Izida Agency
      e-mail: mgaillard@izidaagency.com
      phone: + (0)9 78 62 91 00




      So this looks like a scam because the site they wanted to "advertise" was one of my sites that I left to expire. It barely gets 20 visitors a day. I would figure a company like Lacoste would want a site with with exponentially more traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author nrupen
    It sounds like scam. A snippet of code would be ok but plug-in is suspicious.
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  • Profile picture of the author 3000
    Thanks everyone for their input. So I/we can concluded that this is a bogus company trying to scam people somehow.

    This is why I love the WarriorForum lol !
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  • Profile picture of the author Vlad Romanov
    I would reply with the following:

    Dear Mathis,
    Thank you for the interest in advertising with us, we have a strict policy regarding plugins and will be happy to install it once the payment is processed. Proceed with a payment of xx$ to xxxx@paypal.com and once it has been verified we will be happy to place the add as we previously agreed,
    Have a good day,
    Vlad
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author 3000
      Originally Posted by Vlad Romanov View Post

      I would reply with the following:

      Dear Mathis,
      Thank you for the interest in advertising with us, we have a strict policy regarding plugins and will be happy to install it once the payment is processed. Proceed with a payment of xx$ to xxxx@paypal.com and once it has been verified we will be happy to place the add as we previously agreed,
      Have a good day,
      Vlad
      I was going to go with a script like that but I was just thinking of just messing with him or ignoring him entirely.

      I might go with this one as well....

      Dear Mathis,

      In regards to plugins there will be a an extra fee do to our strict policy. The added fee would be $1,000/month blah blah blah...

      I wanted to see if they would agree, if they did then you can tell they are just full of it because top agency only pay that amount for websites that bring in 100,000 or more visitors a month
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      • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
        Originally Posted by 3000 View Post

        In regards to plugins there will be a an extra fee do to our strict policy. The added fee would be $1,000/month blah blah blah...

        I wanted to see if they would agree, if they did then you can tell they are just full of it because top agency only pay that amount for websites that bring in 100,000 or more visitors a month
        If they do, call by the blog in my previous post and leave a comment.


        (Disclosure. Yes, it's my site. No, I'm not trying to sell you anything)
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  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    You googled them and nothing showed up? You weren't trying very hard This is on p1 of Google when I look
    Martin Dumont « Keep Safe On The Net

    The comments are interesting.
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    • Profile picture of the author 3000
      Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

      You googled them and nothing showed up? You weren't trying very hard This is on p1 of Google when I look
      Martin Dumont « Keep Safe On The Net

      The comments are interesting.
      Lol I guess not. I just typed in the url of the agency trying to find some background on them.

      Thank you for your quick research .

      I will definitely add my 2 cents on the link you get me. Thank you again!
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  • Profile picture of the author glue
    this is really something else!

    i got the same exact phony message cannot believe these people would stoop to such madness. even on the official lacoste website, there is no mention of them so in no way could they possibly be associated with that company.

    ....oh well, let's chuck it up to a learning lesson, i guess. at least we know better what to look out for and to never, never accept any plugins!
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I would absolutely NOT install a plugin to display an advertisement on my site from some other unknown site. Unless you're a coder, you have no idea what that plugin does. In fact, unless it were a pretty large sum of money, I'd never display and 728 banner across all my pages. That's way too much advertising real estate for my sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author jahangir87
    I have seen the similar post in many other forums.No doubt sounds like a scam.However one solution may be ask them to pay some money in advance before you place their banner.If they truly like your site to advertise they wont mind on spending some money.
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    • Profile picture of the author alistair
      Got the same email from a Oscar Meunier from a kervelagency.com.

      I looked up the name oscar meunier and looks like he's something to do with Sherlock Holmes

      I don't think I will be taking him up on his offer.
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  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    Ok - here's an interesting thought for the day.

    How come I KNEW it was a scam immediately I saw it and added it straight to my antiscam blog, along with a little background research to find the website the scammer had copied, whilst endless people are posting on this forum asking how much they should be charging?
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    • Profile picture of the author CC
      Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

      Ok - here's an interesting thought for the day.

      How come I KNEW it was a scam immediately I saw it and added it straight to my antiscam blog, along with a little background research to find the website the scammer had copied, whilst endless people are posting on this forum asking how much they should be charging?

      Rosetrees, I was wondering the same thing ... also why would anyone even consider the thought of allowing a strange plug in to be placed on their sites????

      Has common sense gone out the window?

      Constance
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  • Profile picture of the author Gilearn
    I have received the same email and when I googled the site among other searches I saw this post. Thanks guys. The deal was too lame...
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  • Profile picture of the author JamieSEO
    S.C.A.M.

    When in doubt, don't risk it
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    • Profile picture of the author HollerRegardless
      Glad I found this, looks like hes up to his old tricks with a different name and agency. Looks like he got so eager he forgot his signature on the last one:

      Hello,

      Thanks for reply to our proposal!

      I represent Kara Agency. At the moment we are preparing an advertising campaign for Lacoste Company (it is a French company producing clothes, footwear, perfumery etc.) We already have designed banners for the campaign, they are the following sizes: 160x600, 240x400, 300x250, 336x280, 468x60, 728x90.
      What can be your price for one banner (banner should appear at ALL pages of your site) of abovementioned sizes (please specify the place for the banner - top, bottom, left, right)? Please mention a normal link for banner, without javascript code and set prices in US dollars per month.

      Best regards,
      Noa Morin.
      site: Kara Agency
      e-mail: nmorin (at) karaagency .com
      phone: + (0)9 78 62 31 00

      ------------------------------------------------

      Hi!

      Thanks for reply to our proposal!
      We like your price.We would like to place 728*90 banner.

      To pass to the banner control system follow the link http: (slash) (slash) webmaster (dot) karaagency (dot) com
      To enter use the following data:

      login: <REDACTED>
      password: <REDACTED>


      You should install and activate the plugin in order to display advertisement. Before making payment, advertiser must approve location of the banner. The banner will be shown on your site when you add special code to your web- address (for example: <REDACTED>). It means, that visitors will see the banner only if it is approved and payment made.

      To get installation instruction for your site type pass to: Kara Agency /
      To activate your site you have to enter the code: <REDACTED>


      What way of payment is suitable for you?
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  • Profile picture of the author GlobalTrader
    Due diligence, my friend!

    Here is a link to the whois data for their domain - just registered 10 days ago and hiding behind domain privacy - sounds like a hit and run scammer that will use their plugin to gain control of your site and use it to spam until it is shut down??? -

    IzIdaAgency.com - Iz Ida Agency
    Signature

    GlobalTrader

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    • Profile picture of the author sitehero
      Theres no better way for a shadow colored hatter to farm out their spam than to piggy back on someone elses account and use it like a proxy. You can guarentee, anyone who activates that plug-in will lose all their bandwidth allowence because this will be a scripted spam tool. It just goes to show theres some EVIL people out there with ZERO conscious because the consequences for each victim could be enormous, it could literally destroy a website overnight. Its shocking because these people are hunting victims with spam tactics so I dread to think what their end goal is. Off the top of my head it could be anything from stealing mailing lists for more spam or like I said before, using your host as a proxy to deliver more spam.

      Its probably a pretty ingenius little system that grows exponentially and ends up earning the hacker thousands on auto-pilot, probably connected to organised crime I bet. Can you imagine the number of poor souls who probably fall for it, even some people on here nearly did so that must tell you something.

      It makes me so angry because its these types of people that are going to end up killing the free internet as we know it. 10 years from now and it'll be like a highstreet or a fortune 500 haven because all of us lesser souls will end up getting government legistlated off the public spaces.
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      • Profile picture of the author danifae
        I just saw this tread. I was so childish as to accept their offer, but 2 days later they told me their client rejected my site, so I deactivated the plugin.

        By the way, their site doesn't exists anymore (but they are still "working" with another name and domain).

        Does anyone know what the effects can be??
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        • Profile picture of the author Jon Patrick
          Originally Posted by danifae

          I just saw this tread. I was so childish as to accept their offer, but 2 days later they told me their client rejected my site, so I deactivated the plugin.

          By the way, their site doesn't exists anymore (but they are still "working" with another name and domain).

          Does anyone know what the effects can be??
          Who knows what that plugin did in the two days it was active on your site, and then they didn't even make their payment to you (of course).

          Obvious scam is obvious. Avoid this kind of junk at all costs.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    It smells fishy to me. Most of my experience in word press plug in is max neg. Try to read the PHP code and see. FREE plug ins are used for all sort of nefarious purposes. I do not want to go into details but, I would steer clear of word press plug ins.
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  • Profile picture of the author paul_1
    Always check starting with the background, and then best would be reviews. You can also trust your instinct. Just be careful, scam are all over. This discussion and seeking help with your fellow warriors is a good step to guide you. Good luck in your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    AVOID until verfied.

    Man sadly on the Net you have to think everyone is out to scam you unles you can verfiy legally they are not!
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