UABB appears to be another scam

[BlockHash]

It appears that this MATTHEW N. WRIGHT is posting all over the forums, touting his so-called expertise and his organization that is supposedly supposed to function like the "BBB" for Bitcoins.

What we know right now is that he has spent a good amount of time telling people that were a victim of the MyBitCoin fraud that they were fully of shit. Then he suddenly switches and starts waxing poetic about his investigation skills and how his "organization", which is basically nothing more than a template website, is going to go after MyBitCoin using nothing more than their word that they were going to hire private investigators. Now, it's going to be a longshot for anyone to have any kind of resolution from this MyBitCoin fiasco - their location of business and assets were governed in Nevis, which as most informed people know, is a haven for scams and anonymity. Getting any kind of judgement against them is a pipe dream and even if one managed to somehow convince the courts to side against them, enforcing a judgement is another extremely long-shot.

Knowing this, this Matthew N. Wright is hanging around telling people to send him information, very basic information that he somehow doesn't have access to in his location of Korea. Further, he doesn't even have the capability to do essentially anything, asking the forums to do all the leg work - and on top of that, suggesting donations and for those so inclined to be willing to divulge personal information for "affidavits". Further, his UABB wants Bitcoin businesses to provide all of their personal information AND use an escrow service (offered and operated by the very same UABB) to be a part of his organization. Does this pass the smell test?

Folks, Bitcoin is on some rough waters right now and scam opportunists are chomping at the bit to take advantage of a weary user base that is still trying to come to grips with the events of the past few weeks.  Do not be fooled by the bluster and the seemingly professional antics of those associated with the UABB - there is no legal authority for the UABB to act on anything, even if they were 100% above board. Do we really think that these people are going to front their own money to lead an investigation that is basically doomed before it even starts? For all of the promises, they certainly are short on any sort of delivery and there is much question as to their backgrounds and their supposed capabilities.

Be cautious with who you jump on board with in the community. Just because it sounds good, doesn't mean it is.

[BitcoinBug]

I think I was the first one suggesting the need for detective or investigator, but according to this:
http://pastebin.com/MfPt99eR
... the owner of mybitcoin.com is anonymous and therefore not much more can be done.

UABB does smell fishy though 

[Xephan]

I'm more concerned about whether this is an attempt to grab power and create a centralized "government" in the bitcoin economy. You know the warning flag when somebody tells you "trust me"? Seems to be the same here when their introductory text tell us "this isn't a power grab".

If a central committee becomes established as the "authority" on who's trustworthy/right/wrong, then basically they can run anybody who doesn't sing to their tune out of the project and market.

[charity57]

Lol whenever someone stresses the need for you to trust them I run away as fast as possible!

[makomk]

What we know right now is that I have spent a good deal of time attempting to keep people from crying wolf due to their own lack of due diligence in checking facts. Most ofthe users who claimed that MyBitcoin 'scammed' them lost their own passwords for christ's sake. Basically I did the right thing at the time by telling most of the users that they should be focusing on PROVING, not claiming, and eventually they all agreed-- why are you even posting this filth?

The reason they were complaining wasn't because they forgot their passwords - it was because MyBitcoin claimed to allow them to get their passwords reset by submitting a support request, and yet they tried this and got no response. In fact, no-one has managed to get any kind of response or communication from anyone involved in running MyBitcoin for the past month. (Several people also had payments to their MyBitcoin addresses fail to show up in their accounts on the website - they too sent in support requests and got no response.) That's why so many people were crying "scam!" and warning others to stay away. It looks like they were right to be cautious.

[tasarz]

My problems with UABB are well-covered on the main board, but in addition:

-You have three separate websites for three different organizations, two of which are entirely non-functioning.  You claim to be doing all the coding by hand, but as a CS major, setting up a website shouldn't take more than a few hours.  Even less if you use something like Wordpress.  You seem to have dummy companies listed, with no actual websites linked and no way to register.  In short, your website offers nothing of substance.  I could write a functioning website like yours in a few hours, and yet you've had weeks to develop nothing but a shell.

-Your contact information has nothing- no phone numbers, no bios or pictures of you or your associates.  You mention having 30+ members of your team, but not a single person other than you has ever made a public post.  How are you paying these 30 members?  And if you do have these associates, why is the person in charge building the webpage?  What exactly are these other members doing?

-You have a failed track record with regards to your preparatory school.  Why did it go under?  What got you interested in the business?

-And most importantly, you are making grandiose claims with no supporting achievements.  At first, you explicitly requested funds for an 'international investigation' into Mybitcoin.  Then you backed off the funding requests, but said you had everything under control.  Now, you're claiming that you may have to leave the investigation to us 'unwashed masses.'  Is this what we can expect from your many organizations- 3 days of spamming the forums, then backing off with no results?

Edit: Reading a post from a few weeks ago, it seems that you got into a very public 8-page dispute with another member of the forum, which led to you asking to take out a loan of 1 BTC to pay someone for services you requested.  Throughout that thread, you insulted other members' and moderators' intelligence, reading and writing abilities.  Why did you buy someone's services when you had no way to pay him?  Furthermore, you mentioned buying 128 graphics cards for mining- another business scheme, it seems.  Can you provide any proof that this mining rig is up and running, or is this another idea of yours with no follow-through?

My advice to you, if you are a legitimate businessman, is: put your money where your mouth is.  Stop posting so much, and get back to the community when you actually have something to offer other than empty promises.

[Not Drinking The Kool-Aid]

But wait, wasn't not having any central authority or law enforcement the central selling point of BitCoin?

Survival of the fittest, baby.

[BlockHash]

My problems with UABB are well-covered on the main board, but in addition:

-You have three separate websites for three different organizations, two of which are entirely non-functioning.  You claim to be doing all the coding by hand, but as a CS major, setting up a website shouldn't take more than a few hours.  Even less if you use something like Wordpress.  You seem to have dummy companies listed, with no actual websites linked and no way to register.  In short, your website offers nothing of substance.  I could write a functioning website like yours in a few hours, and yet you've had weeks to develop nothing but a shell.

-Your contact information has nothing- no phone numbers, no bios or pictures of you or your associates.  You mention having 30+ members of your team, but not a single person other than you has ever made a public post.  How are you paying these 30 members?  And if you do have these associates, why is the person in charge building the webpage?  What exactly are these other members doing?

-You have a failed track record with regards to your preparatory school.  Why did it go under?  What got you interested in the business?

-And most importantly, you are making grandiose claims with no supporting achievements.  At first, you explicitly requested funds for an 'international investigation' into Mybitcoin.  Then you backed off the funding requests, but said you had everything under control.  Now, you're claiming that you may have to leave the investigation to us 'unwashed masses.'  Is this what we can expect from your many organizations- 3 days of spamming the forums, then backing off with no results?

Edit: Reading a post from a few weeks ago, it seems that you got into a very public 8-page dispute with another member of the forum, which led to you asking to take out a loan of 1 BTC to pay someone for services you requested.  Throughout that thread, you insulted other members' and moderators' intelligence, reading and writing abilities.  Why did you buy someone's services when you had no way to pay him?  Furthermore, you mentioned buying 128 graphics cards for mining- another business scheme, it seems.  Can you provide any proof that this mining rig is up and running, or is this another idea of yours with no follow-through?

My advice to you, if you are a legitimate businessman, is: put your money where your mouth is.  Stop posting so much, and get back to the community when you actually have something to offer other than empty promises.

Major +1 from me. This pretty much sums up my issues as well as the ones covered in the OP.

[vinas]

It's a scam and Matthew N. Wright is not real.

[BlockHash]

It's a scam and Matthew N. Wright is not real.

Pretty much seems that way. Nothing that he claims can be verified; even his so-called "credentials" that he likes to throw around at every opportunity.

This person is the type that doesn't need to be associated with BitCoins, because it's people like him that either fool the gullible or tarnish the reputation of the currency just by his antics alone.

(Reading his online "qualifications", he has enrolled in two diploma mill "universities" and still counts them as a valid part of his qualifications. Yeah, this is a true captain of industry!)