Scammer: SynOps

[Sonnyblack]

Just did a seen over on bitcoin-otc for SynOps

15:41 <freenode> gribbleSynOps was last seen in #bitcoin-otc 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 6 seconds ago: * SynOps Selling 3.5 BTC for moneypak reload code

SynOps If you have 3.5 BTC available, I expect those coins to be deposited to my wallet today.

[Sonnyblack]

Yet another update;

I will get your 3.04 BTC to you this evening.

I have extended hours today since I was not available some of the day,
so Ill be available from now until 10pm.

The latest we send Bitcoins is 9pm usually, so you will have them by
then.

I have to take a trip to the office and pickup my yubikey and ill send
them over. I would have my wife send from the app, but the app still is
not working even after I updated it.

Thanks


And the Fiasco continues........

[Sonnyblack]

Update: Looks like SynOps came through

The transaction is under way, for your information, the transaction ID
is:
c5085efeeadf1e57d6cdd74d0978e5a7021685652aa2794349f126dcc568c630

Thank you
---
WWW.BitFiServices.COM/Home
Bitfi Services
Fredericksburg, VA
GVoice: 804-404-3248

Haven't had a chance to check and verify, but did want to update to be fair to SynOps. Will update again once I return from work.

[Sonnyblack]

Update:

Received 3.04 BTC after threaten to release .docx on SynOps on these forums. I am not really sure if SynOps was scamming me or actually planning to pay me. Only SynOps truly knows the answer to that question but regardless the exchange was unsettling and more trouble then it was worth.

Thanks to KelticFox for his/her support in this matter and providing an easier resolution.

Fiasco over. Finally

[joesmoe2012]

User SynOps claims no transaction between the two of us.

A few day ago I made arrangements with him for the sale of $5k+ of greendot for his BTC.

After accepting showing up late to our designated meeting time, he took the first card number, unloaded it, and then claimed that mtgox was down so he couldn't send my btc right now.

After bugging him for a few hours, he finally sent half of the BTC he owed me.

Its now been days, multiple messages, and he has not sent the remainder. He owes me around 2BTC.

I recently rated him -1 on OTC-ratings to request that he get in touch with me to finish processing the greendots he'd arranged to process. He failed to contact me and rated me negative in return, claiming no transaction had ever taken place.

So his rating of -1 is false under his own account as according to him there was no transaction.

At this point i have given him a -10, full scammer status. He is not replying to PMs, has not made any attempt to rectify the situation, and overall should not (cannot) be trusted or depended upon as a reliable member of this community.

[Justin00]

can't believe you let him leave..
if it was me.... he woulda been staying at my house for a few days/weeks till mtgox was 'back up' again

kinda sucks what happened to you

User SynOps claims no transaction between the two of us.

A few day ago I made arrangements with him for the sale of $5k+ of greendot for his BTC.

After accepting showing up late to our designated meeting time, he took the first card number, unloaded it, and then claimed that mtgox was down so he couldn't send my btc right now.

After bugging him for a few hours, he finally sent half of the BTC he owed me.

Its now been days, multiple messages, and he has not sent the remainder. He owes me around 2BTC.

I recently rated him -1 on OTC-ratings to request that he get in touch with me to finish processing the greendots he'd arranged to process. He failed to contact me and rated me negative in return, claiming no transaction had ever taken place.

So his rating of -1 is false under his own account as according to him there was no transaction.

At this point i have given him a -10, full scammer status. He is not replying to PMs, has not made any attempt to rectify the situation, and overall should not (cannot) be trusted or depended upon as a reliable member of this community.

[joesmoe2012]

Just received a message from him on IRC, so it looks like he's around right now.

[joesmoe2012]

Logs....

Here is the PM where we do the transaction and he fails to provide the full payment: http://pastebin.ca/2353712

Another PM, where he claims he'll soon have the coins he owes me from the 1st card and will be ready to process more soon: http://pastebin.ca/2353713


Message From Him just now:

View is Loading…
[09:13] <SynOps>    i exchange moneypaks!
[09:18] <joesmoe>    yes i know
[09:18] SynOps is away (SLEEPING: Open at 7am til 9pm Tuesday. www.bitfiservices.com)
[09:18] <joesmoe>    i sent you the code for one and you sent me half the BTC.
[09:18] SynOps is away (SLEEPING: Open at 7am til 9pm Tuesday. www.bitfiservices.com)
[09:20] <SynOps>    When?
[09:21] <SynOps>    let me check my logs
[09:22] <SynOps>    only reviews say you never dealt with me and I never dealth with you.
[09:22] <SynOps>    Id be happy to fix something if there was an issue, admin@bitfiservices.com

[joesmoe2012]

Bad Rating from him, given today:

[04:59] <+gribble>    New rating | SynOps > -1 > joesmoe | never have done business with, most likely turned you down, as I am allowed to chose whom I do business with. I am sorry you have a grudge.

No transaction took place today (or ever according to him).

[joesmoe2012]

And a few e-mail just incase anybody actually thinks I didn't do a transaction with SynOps as he claims (see his rating on bitcoin-ots-ratings of me as well as his PM to me today that I posted earlier, where he c laims we've never done business, he gets to chose who he does business with and didn't chose me....

<edit>
I was going to attach them here but it won't let me attach PDF's. If anybody would like a copy of the multiple e-mails between SynOps and I confirming that we would be doing business, what exact time we would be meeting, etc (and that he was late) just PM me and i'll send them over.

[Britainacoin]

I tried to contact SynOps multiple times, by PM on here and by email asking for an update, and he has refused to reply. I offered to take payment in BTC or USD, and even offered to accept part-payment instead of the full amount.

And a message for SynOps if you read this - When other people were calling you a scammer because you were late in paying, I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt and asked you to give me an update on when I would receive my money. But as you refused to reply to that email, and appear to be giving negative feedback towards people who just ask you for their money back, you have now lost that.

[SynOps]

FOR BTCJAM USERS:

Email me at btcjam@bitfiservices.com

My idea of creating an IRC chat room , basically failed, only a handful showed up, happily that many ideas were exchanged though.

FOR USERS CLAIMING WE OWE YOU BTC OR A REFUND:

Email me at customerservice@bitfiservices.com

Im also available on IRC on #bitcoin-otc.

My website will be back up within a day or two.

[bitspill]

-- snip --
<SynOps> is it an exchange, or otc loan, or btcjam loan payments?
<l0nhx> u borrowed coins from me
<l0nhx> i'm not doin this over again. jsut get your coins together by tomorrow. and i won't rate u bad
<SynOps> From where (what method did we make contact and a deal?), i assume borrow you mean loan.
<l0nhx> fucksake mate
<SynOps> Im sorry I dont remember this username your using
<SynOps> and its not reg or authe

..... and again.

Although would it have been that bad for you to have simply said "Oh yea, it was an OTC Loan (or other)" then you guys could have proceeded to the next step.

[Britainacoin]

FOR BTCJAM USERS:

Email me at btcjam@bitfiservices.com

My idea of creating an IRC chat room , basically failed, only a handful showed up, happily that many ideas were exchanged though.

FOR USERS CLAIMING WE OWE YOU BTC OR A REFUND:

Email me at customerservice@bitfiservices.com

Im also available on IRC on #bitcoin-otc.

My website will be back up within a day or two.

Why are you asking people to contact you when you refuse to respond to them when they do SynOps? I emailed you 4 days ago, saying that I would be willing to write off part of the loan, and would accept payment in either USD or BTC. You chose not to answer that email.

Anyone can go through a rough patch in business, but there's 2 things SynOps is doing that make me think he is a scammer:

1. He doesn't keep in contact (He keeps inviting people to email him, and talk to him on IRC, but when I tried contacting him he just ignored me).

2. Others are reporting that he gives out negative feedback towards people just because they are asking for what he already owes them. If someone gives SynOps bad feedback for a justifiable reason i.e late payment, not keeping people updated, etc, he gives them negative feedback out of revenge. Would an honest business try to discourage people giving honest feedback by threatening a "tit for tat" negative feedback, or would they take the feedback on board, and improve their service?

[joesmoe2012]

On IRC again a few minutes ago. Still no 1.4BTC that he owes me (almost a week now).

[Blindfolded]

Whoever loans Bitcoins to people and doesn't tie repayment to a "normal" currency is just asking for trouble.

I think you mean whoever BORROWS bitcoins and doesn't tie repayment to a "normal" currency is just asking for trouble. This guy owes some serious money to some serious people using a currency that is exploding in value (at least until a few hours ago) at a fairly large interest rate.

If i were him I'd either get out of debt as soon as possible, or get out of town as soon as possible. I personally know one of the people he borrowed from, and they don't fuck around. They intentionally loaned bitcoin while the price was low, expecting people to default. Assuming that the value of bitcoin would go way up later.


a 25$ loan with interest is now a 2500$ loan with interest.

[joesmoe2012]

FOR BTCJAM USERS:

Email me at btcjam@bitfiservices.com

My idea of creating an IRC chat room , basically failed, only a handful showed up, happily that many ideas were exchanged though.

FOR USERS CLAIMING WE OWE YOU BTC OR A REFUND:

Email me at customerservice@bitfiservices.com

Im also available on IRC on #bitcoin-otc.

My website will be back up within a day or two.

Who is "we"

There is no plural people that owe refunds buddy, only YOU.

[ssateneth]

In light of all the problems, the MITM scamming and releasing dox now.....


Online Information:
Handle: SynOps
Alternative Handles: BitFi, UnknownLogistic, Bitcoin-Exchange, Excite, RavenousJames
GPG Key: 62BEAFBA0A261E37
GPG Fingerprint: D9A9D9CA2263223F8AED9B9962BEAFBA0A261E37
Events Database: SynOps or IP Address
Known BTC Addresses: 1CsfmhJsR1XBQVjTYqY3XNJPAFPWCFm4zP (Main Address),
15TncZKz358pha6L8v2v8NnoqKvhq6QZEf (OTC Address)
Known IP Addresses: 71.62.48.235 (ISP Assigned Static IP - Comcast).
Known Email Address: synops@bitfiservices.com,
admin@bitfiservices.com,
bitcoinfinancialservices@gmail.com
Facebook:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bitfiservices
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/4853686
Skype: Bitfi.services
Website: http://www.bitfiservices.com/
Ebay: ravenousmindcontrol

Real Life Information:
Real name: James Allen Boswell
Alias':
Date of Birth: 13/2/1986
Address: 117 East Omni Court, Ashland, Virginia, 23005-2468 (Though email signature states Fredericksburg, VA)
Alternative Addresses: Apartment 5, 5309 Briarbend Court, Fredericksburg, Virginia,
Phone Number: 804-404-3BIT (804-404-3248),
(540) 710-xxxx,
(540) 848-xxxx,
(757) 464-2121,
(804) 788-7016,
(703) 697-1001,
(540) 658-8605
Occupation: Freelancer (Internet Services)
Trivia: Banks with 'Bank of America'.

Has 4 convictions:
Grand Larceny - 17th November 2004 (Case ID: 177GC0500506700)
Improper Display of Plates - 12th March 2005  (Case ID: 177GT0502339600)
Improper Exhaust System - 12th March 2005 (Case ID: 177GT0502339500)
Operating Un-inspected Vehicle - 22nd June 2005 (Case ID: 179GT0501385000)
Capital One also filed case for $906 - 14th March 2007 (Case ID: 177GV0700044000)

SynOps owns no business listed under Public Filings, Commercial Records or SEC Registrations.
I've searched for Habjab (stated parent company) and BitFi in all states.
I've also searched for any businesses owned by James Boswell in Virginia.... nothing.

Physical Attributes:
Height: 5'11" (1.80m)
Eye Colour: Blue
Weight:
Hair Colour: Brown

Family:
Wife: Ally Boswell
Son: Haydon A Boswell

witnessed

[tweeeaks]

I confirm everything Kelticfox has posted about my situation.

Basically there was an initial misunderstanding about no operating system being loaded on the laptop so I decided to discount the price and help him get one loaded successfully (which excuse after excuse consumed much time - in the logs).  Fast forward to a couple days ago and I discovered that was all bullshit and he had successfully loaded Windows 8 on the Toughbook and was trying to sell it on bitmit.

I am sure its the same Toughbook because the picture he used to list it is from and ebay auction I linked him to (in the logs), it states there is no usb door cover (in the logs), and there is no optical drive (in the logs).

He has again today (2013.04.12) said he's shipping the package back, I'm just waiting on the tracking number.  But this is 3 days past the time he last said he was shipping it out, so we'll see.

I'll keep this thread updated with progress.

If you have the time here are the logs: http://pastebin.com/SyL0FMnS - god this has been a waste of my time.

[tweeeaks]

Some updates...

Email from SynOps:

BitFiServices BFS   
1:52 PM (21 hours ago)
to me

I just posted my friends nexus 7 up on bitmit for him.

He thinks he could get the toughbook to work.

He wants to know if you would trade straight up for it

www.bitfiservices.com ...click on bitmit and you can see the nexus 7 on recently listed for information on it.

Otherwise its going out to ship.

My reply:

tweeeaks
1:55 PM (21 hours ago)
to BitFiServices

No thanks.

Please ship today with the updated shipping address and provide me with the tracking number.

His reply back:

BitFiServices BFS
1:56 PM (21 hours ago)
to me

Same tracking number as the picture we sent, and I am changing the shipping address.

The tracking number gives me the following result when entered:

Delivery status information is not available for your item via this web site. A return receipt after mailing may be available through your local Post Office.

So still just waiting for something to happen -- and as I stated multiple times to him, I really need tracking so I can plan my pick-up.