Who are payback-ltd.com?
Payback-Ltd.com are another Israeli scam recovery company based in Tel Aviv that supposedly specialise in recovering money from scammers even though they have no legal, financial or technical qualification or legal footing to take any action in the UK, US or Australia. They are not forensic accountants, computer analysts or trained in the legal processes of the countries in which they operate. What they are is a liaison between you and your bank, and your bank is just around the corner, so why would you need them?
If you need a liaison with your bank you are far better off going to a company in your own country who can deal with your bank face to face, but why would you even need to do that?
You are the customer of your bank, and it is you to whom they owe the service of guarding your money. If you have been scammed then you can provide any data that your bank requires. You do not need a third party confusing everything and muddying the waters. You are the best person to employ in recovering money from your bank. Have some faith and don't despair, because that is exactly what these companies live off. Despair!
Why Do They Run Such An Odd Business?
Now going beyond this rather concerning business they have entered into, considering that they do not really seem to deal with customers in their own nation. They seem to deal with people in the English speaking world that have been targeted by these scammers, but they do not explain how they know about these scammers and where they target people. Is there some other connection between these types of people and the scammers?
For starters they appear to use a very similar structure of website to the average boiler room scam site, BS on the left, sign-up box on the right, they even have the same 07400 123456 number as the suggested mobile contact number, just like the scammers:
Can that really be a good sign?
What Do They Claim to Recover?
Amongst the sites they claim to have made successful recoveries from are:
Now none of these companies are even brokers, so they either offer totally different services to what they are claiming, or all of these are just pasted on the website to pretend they offer cryptocurrency recovery when they do not. How you could make a recovery from CoinBase is completely beyond us. This action represents a currency transfer and so a bank returning the debit seems like odd behaviour. That would legally imply that cryptocurrency is worthless, unless the cryptocurrency is reversed too, but those transactions are not so easily reversed without the consent and availability of both parties, they are also completely untraceable by transaction, only by wallet destination, which they would not know.
Who are Money Back Ltd?
The next worrying element of this site is the TrustPilot set-up. Now all of the scammers have impossible TrustPilot ratings, so we know that the TP website is completely hopeless at stopping scammers and is actually a huge problem as it is where most people check on scams like Bitcoin Rush, see a good score, and then proceed to be scammed. The signs are fairly obvious - reviews with very few reviews but have added a profile photo of a suspiciously stock photo looking face. They all use the same tricks. With the reviews here though, they seem to reference another company altogether. The website URL is definitely right, Payback-LTD.com, but the company name is now Money Back Ltd, which is important as the LTD indicated a private limited company, not a trading name, so which is it? It appears to have the PayBack logo on the TrustPilot site, but not the correct company name.
Now the Money-Back.com site is a different site, as you can see below they have a spate of bad reviews on TrustPilot, which is obviously the reason they have rebranded themselves to be Payback-Ltd.com as everyone was reading the bad reviews and steering clear of what some people are referring to as a second con or second scheme to defraud people. These reviewers seem to be inferring that they regard this company as simply trying to get a second bite at people who scammers have already identified as vulnerable:
How do Payback-Ltd/Money-Back.com Get Their Business?
As you can see written on the right hand side at the start of this clip, they pay TrustPilot for 'extra features' which means that they obviously regard TrustPilot as a large source of their business. The positive reviews are a few lines long at best and have no specific details of anything, as if they have been simply pasted in by third-party people who are being paid to submit reviews. The positive reviews are so terse as to be applicable to any recovery company and able to be posted by people who do not necessarily understand what they say. This is proof of nothing of course, but it is worth noting as it does not suggest legitimacy either.
You can see the details of the Israeli registered company here: https://en.checkid.co.il/company/MONEY+BACK+LTD-VBoEBdL-515711653
And it has the following to say regarding operation within the UK:
Moneyback Ltd (which trades as Payback) Israeli company #515711653, is authorized and regulated in Israel and operates globally. In the UK, the company operates through a legal exemption, which removes the need for Moneyback Ltd to be authorized and regulated by the FCA.
Interestingly enough, on the Payback-LTD.com site we can read the following:
Money Back Ltd operates under the trading name: Payback, has been in operation since August 2017, and is a law-abiding company which counsels & helps victims of fraud to recover their stolen funds.
Money Back Ltd (trading as Payback) (CRN: 515711653) is registered, based, and is operating in Israel and various other jurisdictions, worldwide.
So as you can see, both of these companies are the same Israeli registered entity that is not licensed or regulated within the UK and so is not bound by any UK laws. They may well be law-abiding in Israel, but they would not be impeachable in any way as concerns refunding money. If they perform any service in the UK that service would not be guaranteed at all as they have no regulation whatsoever in the UK. What this means is that they are no way accountable for their actions by anyone within the UK and are therefore incapable of breaching any laws there, as they are not in the UK and not regulated to operate there.
They do mention each of the territories in which they do the most business in their terms and conditions:
4.1 In the United Kingdom jurisdiction, the company operates through a legal exemption, with the full knowledge and awareness of The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which removes the need for Money Back Ltd to be authorized and regulated by the FCA.
This doesn't actually make sense. What is the legal exemption exactly, and what are they being exempted from? Why would you need an exemption if you are acting within the law? It also doesn't actually mean that the FCA know that they are operating. The sentence explaining that they acting under an exemption with the full knowledge and awareness of the Financial Conduct Authority doesn't actually mean that they have been approved to act under that exemption. It just means that the FCA know that they are operating without being regulated or authorised.
4.2 In the Canadian jurisdiction, the company operates with the full knowledge and awareness of The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
4.3 In the Australian jurisdiction, the company operates with the full knowledge and awareness of The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
4.4 In the United States jurisdiction, the company operates under the provisions of The Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
4.5 In the European jurisdiction, the company operates with the full knowledge and awareness of various large Financial Regulators and their associations (i.e.: The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), The Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM).
But this still does not actually explain that this company is not regulated by any of these authorities, and that non of these authorities have any jurisdiction to take any action against someone who is not in Europe, Australia, the US, Canada or the UK. Perhaps the FBI could take action, but we are not sure as to the legal implications of this as there is no clear boundary. The FBI tend to arrest people overseas in cooperation with the local governments and we seriously doubt that the Israeli government would take the time to make such an arrangement on such a paltry crime.
They do state that they offer a full refund if requested within fourteen days, but what would they have achieved within ten working days? At what point do they take money and at what point can you see start to tell what they have achieved? This promise is somewhat non-sensical and feels more like just another reason to sign-up rather than any king of warranty that will enable you to recover any money spent. If you want a regulated company to perform your recovery, use one that operates and is licensed within your country where your bank resides. Just make sure you have tried to recover your money yourself first as you are the customer of the bank with that account, no one else.
Are Payback-Ltd Involved with Creating the Scams?
This company appears very similar in tactics and method as does actionrefund.com as they both associate themselves with US, AUS, UK and EU markets, even though they do not share a time zone, a language or a legal system with any of them. They also seem to have a very similar way of attracting customers through TrustPilot which is exactly what the boiler room scammers do in the first place.
We can have a look at their legal pages which just appear to be utter-tripe and to have been typed-up by someone with no legal training whatsoever - they are non-legal and utter nonsense:
1. Introduction
This statement should be read combined with all policies shown on this Website, which set out the rules and expectations for how Money Back Ltd does business in compliance with all applicable laws of the countries in which we operate.
Legal terms are not a statement, they are terms and conditions. They stand alone as the sole
2. About The Company
Money Back Ltd operates under the trading name: Payback, has been in operation since August 2017, and is a law-abiding company which counsels & helps victims of fraud to recover their stolen funds.
Money Back Ltd (trading as Payback) (CRN: 515711653) is an Israeli-registered company, and operating in various other jurisdictions, worldwide.
CFD trading and the selling of CFD products is outlawed in Israel anyway, so how and why exactly did they get into it? Why are all of these firms from Tel Aviv? Why do they have so many features of their website shared with the scammers?
3. The Services
Money Back Ltd (trading as Payback) helps consumers, who approach us for advice and guidance.
The services are provided by and/or are under the supervision of, competent attorneys who are Israeli-licensed attorneys admitted to the Israel Bar Association. The services include recovery consulting, which constitutes assisting our clients through the procedure of cancelation and refund of transactions using an out-of-court alternative dispute resolution process. The company does not represent its clients and is not obligated to appear in any litigation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings, the services rendered do not include court representation.
Furthermore, Money Back Ltd (trading as Payback) cannot guarantee the outcome or result in connection with the recovery consulting services that consumers retain. Money Back Ltd (trading as Payback) offers consumers a free consultation
Recovery consulting services will be subsequently commissioned and will incur fees and/or commissions, based on the service and the complexity of each individual case, under contract.
3.1 Cancellation of the services under the contract is in accordance with the Israeli Consumer Protection Law (Transaction Cancellation), 2010, S.2(3).
4. Compliance, Regulation & Authorization
Money Back Ltd (trading as Payback) Israeli company (CRN: 515711653), is authorized and regulated under the Israeli law and operates globally. Money Back Ltd activity is authorized and in full compliance with any regulatory requirements of the jurisdictions in which it operates.
4.1 In the United Kingdom jurisdiction, the company operates through a legal exemption, with the full knowledge and awareness of The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which removes the need for Money Back Ltd to be authorized and regulated by the FCA.
4.2 In the Canadian jurisdiction, the company operates with the full knowledge and awareness of The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
4.3 In the Australian jurisdiction, the company operates with the full knowledge and awareness of The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
4.4 In the United States jurisdiction, the company operates under the provisions of The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and complies with the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The company does not practice US law.
4.5 In the European jurisdiction, the company operates with the full knowledge and awareness of various large Financial Regulators and their associations (i.e: The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), and The Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM).
4.6 The company complies with Data Protection Regulations such as: GDPR and CCPA.
5. No Warranties
Money Back Ltd (trading as Payback) performs the services rendered to consumers, who approach us for advice and counsel them to the best of our knowledge and understanding, based on our experience. The company does not represent its clients and cannot make and express or implied warranties of any kind about any outcome or result in connection to the recovery consulting services that consumers retain.
What do you mean no warranties? What about this?:
Isn't this guarantee any kind of warranty. According to Worcester-Borsch:
The main difference between a guarantee and a warranty is that a guarantee is usually free, whereas a warranty typically includes a premium for the cover (much like a form of insurance). The great thing about a guarantee is that it is legally binding and adds to your rights under consumer law.
So they are giving a free guarantee that adds to our consumer rights, well actually no. Because they operate out of Israel, you will have no powers to recover that money and neither will the FCA. Whether they have a real exemption to work within the UK or not, they do not have to abide by any UK law just like you do not have to abide by any Israeli law. They are unregulated which means they can do anything they want.
The other thing to not on that guarantee is that they have worded it in such a way that the sign looks as though they promise 100% to recover your money, when this is only about getting a refund from the upfront fee they will charge. They must charge an upfront fee or they cannot guarantee the refunding of it. If they charge at then end then how could you complain about the service after they get your money back? This sign is highly misleading and they must be aware of this. Taking this into account along with the same sign-up form as the scammers, these people are highly suspicious. There is definitely a chance that they are connected to the scams on some level as they exhibit so many of the same traits.
6. Liability
Money Back Ltd (trading as Payback), including its officers, directors, and employees, shall not be liable for any direct or indirect, consequential, or special liability arising out of or in any way related to the services, rather under the contract. By engaging the service, the client knowingly accepts and takes the responsibility upon himself/herself and acts for himself/herself under the services rendered by the company.
So what is the point of engaging them? They do not represent you. They just send over a few forms and take more of your money upfront:
These messages are identical to the ones posted by people about all of the scams we see online such as Brexit Millionaire, Bitcoin Prime and Crypto Genius. This is even more evidence that these people are connected with the scams themselves.
Moneyback Ltd (which trades as Payback) Israeli company #515711653, is authorised and regulated in Israel and operates globally. In the UK, the company operates through a legal exclusion, which removes the need for Moneyback Ltd to be authorised and regulated by the FCA.
They have repeated that last part again which once again indicates that no lawyer or solicitor was involved in writing this document.
We do not currently recommend any recovery companies even if you have tried everything else first with the Police and your bank as there is no reason that they will succeed if you could not. They have no legal expertise, no legal authority and no technical or financial knowledge that we can see any evidence of. At best they are going to make an appeal to your bank for a chargeback and if they can do that from Israel, you can do it far more effectively from the home country of your bank.
There is too much coincidence here for us to discount the possibility that all of these scams originate in Tel Aviv. The recovery companies are nearly all based in Tel Aviv (we are starting to see other nations picking up the gaps in the business but Israel was way out in front for years) which is suspicious enough. How did they even find out about the scams if they are not being created in Hebrew? Why do so many of the scam sites share so much with the websites of the recovery companies? Why do the recovery companies operate TrustPilot and other parts of their operation in exactly the same way as the scammers? Why do the Trustpilot reviews not giving them five stars reort exactly the same behaviour as the scammers themselves? What is the connection between these companies and the scammers? We just don't know for sure. This whole thing stinks to high heaven, so just be careful online and don't get scammed, and all of these companies will not longer be needed and forced to do business elsewhere.