davereid commented...
9/17/2008 - 13:04
Even more interesting, a Yahoo search for frenchchick227 turned up a photo sharing website profile with all of its pictures removed or made private:
http://community.webshots.com/user/frenchchick227

But there is still a search result for one of the albums from that site:
http://community.webshots.com/rss?contentType=rss&value=frenchchick227
"Mexico
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 8:30 AM
Cruise to Belize, Cozumel and Progresso with Brittany
by frenchchick227"


Looks like the business is doing well. :)
davereid commented...
9/17/2008 - 13:07
This forum lists a frenchchick227's birthday as May 17, 1986
Traegorn commented...
9/17/2008 - 13:07
I saw that account, but after seeing all the photos removed I hadn't bothered looking for an archive of it.

Thanks!
meep commented...
9/17/2008 - 13:51
odd item of note, her Xanga page has mysteriously been cleared. It still says it's hers and still has a big (and hideous) pink pro-ana banner across the top, but the posts have all been deleted. Perhaps she found your post here?

Aremis
Traegorn commented...
9/17/2008 - 13:59
Considering this has been featured on the Consumerist today (Hello Consumerist readers!) I bet she did see it.

Which is why I archive everything: http://www.trhonline.com/craptacular/vanillablade.png
Traegorn commented...
9/17/2008 - 14:15
They've also deleted the eBay store.

Again, I have screen shots of all of it. http://www.dreamthroughmagick.com/ seems to be gone, and while I don't have screenshots of it, the information is almost exactly the same as the other Coven of Four page... and I did save the WAV file of Brittney talking they had on there. :P
Traegorn commented...
9/17/2008 - 15:14
Also, a Virginia based IP just tried the weakest DoS attack I've ever seen.

Methinks I touched a nerve.
meep commented...
9/17/2008 - 15:29
My bet is that the site disappears entirely and a new one under yet another mysterious pseudonym pops up in a year or so.
davereid commented...
9/17/2008 - 15:35
Just sent a scam warning to their webhost asking for them to take a look into their sites.
Lucky225 commented...
9/17/2008 - 16:07
I used to do info brokerage for private investigators I have verified her residence and cellphone number as follows:

Current Residence:

24245 Wilderness Oak, San Antonio, Bexar, Texas 78258, United States

Current Cell:
757-813-5945

Other information that may be useful/helpful:

She has a blockbuster account at the blockbuster in the same complex as her maildrop.

She orders from Domino's Pizza

Her email address returned this information from a spam database:


frenchchick227@yahoo.com
Brittney Gross
12724 Sandpebble Cir APT#23
Newport News VA, 23606
757-813-5945
Alleged DOB: 12/25/86

Enjoy!
Lucky225 commented...
9/17/2008 - 16:11
I forgot to include her apartment number;


24245 wilderness oak APT #1003
San Antonio, TX 78258
Traegorn commented...
9/17/2008 - 16:37
Brit's Place
Little Houses on the hill side, little houses made of ticky tacky... :P
davereid commented...
9/17/2008 - 17:07
Searches for the phone number resulted in two "car must sell today!" threads in a forum by a ... Kevin that used to live in Virginia and now lives somewhere else.

http://dragva.net/forum/showthread.php?t=4
http://www.dragva.net/forum/showthread.php?p=1318
http://dragva.net/forum/showthread.php?p=3436#post3436

"So I feel kind of ...pissed. It's one of my Virginia Regrets.
pssh
good thing I don't live around idiots like you anymore."
Lucky225 commented...
9/17/2008 - 17:37
dave; look at the DATE on those forum posts, 2005. They're in San Antonio, TX *NOW*, The address I posted is verified.
maggock commented...
9/17/2008 - 19:27
Hahaha, I popped their photos into tineye.com (an image search machine) and found 'Kimberly' on a Russian dating site or something: http://uk.anastasia-international.com/photo-profile-Russian-woman-online-Ksenia-1107351.htm

'Abby' also had herself posted on bride.ru but her photo has been deleted.
Traegorn commented...
9/17/2008 - 19:35
@maggock

That is officially the best thing ever.
Lucky225 commented...
9/17/2008 - 20:03
ROFLZ!!! Tineye.com ftw!
Traegorn commented...
9/17/2008 - 22:13
Covenof4.com is down, the book site is down, Ratethecaster.com is down... lots of their sites are now down.

Except FastSpells.com.

It's only a matter of time though.
sagodjur commented...
9/18/2008 - 1:28
Anyone read the terms and conditions on fastspells.com? They violate the VISA merchant agreement by claiming customers cannot dispute charges and will be held liable for disputing charges. Anyone feel like making a complaint to VISA?

"You agree not to report that credit card (or other approved facility) as lost or stolen. Nor will you dispute any authorized charge by our authorized agent or the Company. You agree and acknowledge that if you fraudulently report the credit card (or other approved facility) used to obtain the Service or goods from the Service as stolen, or if you fraudulent report that an authorized charge by the Company or authorized agent is unauthorized, you shall be liable to this authorized agent and the Company for liquidated damages of up to $10,000.00." - http://fastspells.com/terms.html
Traegorn commented...
9/18/2008 - 8:28
Their Terms of Service, if you googled them, are actually copied from Porn sites.

But that's neither here nor there, as FastSpells.com has disappeared now as well.
Kitten of Doom commented...
9/18/2008 - 8:31
A.) That's sick. not you guys, obviously, but them. you guys are amazing. seriously.
B.) it's hilarious that in the span of a day all that "went down". Only a matter of time, indeed.
C.) I hope one of you DID complain to VISA, 'cause that's a load of crap. Correction: loads. that's loads of crap.
D.) You don't need the ego boost, but Trae, you're amazing. Kick those scammers where it hurts, man.

Dani, Your local Ninja Kitten of Doom
meep commented...
9/18/2008 - 10:03
Wow, I figured this all might have made a dent, even a significant hole in their business. I didn't think it would fold like a deck of cards in a few weeks time. It's apparent the initial post Trae made, if it was noticed by fastspells.com folks at all, was brushed off as typical consumer snooping. But the detail and breadth that Trae went into with post 2 and the rallying cry and assistance from the peanut gallery definately caught someone's attention. Hopefully that someone was a fraud investigator, but I doubt it. My only worry is that this site will reincarnate as yet another scam by the same folks only smarter because they now know how people can follow their trail (which I won't go into in hopes that I'm wrong and they're not that smart).

Meep
Traegorn commented...
9/18/2008 - 11:10
Well, now that we have their actual names, it means that if they set up another scam they are much easier to find for people who get scammed. It would just be a matter of a simple inquiry to a Bank, Credit Card Agency, PayPal, etc.

If Kevin or Brittney starts this again, they can be found and stopped - and law enforcement can get involved if need be.
Traegorn commented...
9/18/2008 - 11:17
The FastSpells.com front page is back up, but the rest of their site is still offline
meep commented...
9/18/2008 - 11:37
It's down again. All they have is an 'down for maintenance' splash now.
Podar commented...
9/18/2008 - 12:11
Great detective work. While I'm not strictly Wiccan, I do try to adhere to the beliefs as much as possible. This type of scam that takes advantage of people's weaknesses really gets under my skin. I just wish there were more people like you exposing these asses.

Wolf
MissAnnThrope commented...
9/18/2008 - 23:17
I signed up just to comment on this. Of course, I like the site, so I might stick around a bit.

I think you've managed to really annoy these scam artists. Based on the original article linked from The Consumerist, I didn't see that the sites mentioned were all down. So, I visited ratethecaster.com. Oh, they're really annoyed and taking it out on anyone who visits.

It says it's a suspended page link in the address bar. But what you get are endless (and I do mean endless) java pop-up windows. Each with a little message, telling a story of how the page is designed to annoy. When it finally ends, it starts all over again. It hijacks your browser. It won't let you close the browser, click back, close the tab, etc. The only way out is through the Task Manager and praise the developers at Mozilla! When I restored the session, I had enough tabs open that I was able to click that tab shut before the endless pop-ups started.

Also, I had never heard of the piggy bank scam. So, I took a trip to My Space. Heh. The owner of that profile visited yesterday and removed whatever had been there. Nothing like trying to cover your tracks, eh?
Traegorn commented...
9/18/2008 - 23:20
I thought they'd take it down. Which is why I archived screenshots of most of it. I'll get those up eventually too.
MissAnnThrope commented...
9/18/2008 - 23:34
Hmmm...

I noticed the former links for dragva.net also lead to that annoying pop-up page. So, I did a bit of checking on truevalueweb.com, which is the website all these defunct links seem to hit.

It seems to be owned by a 22 year old in... Norfolk, VA by the name of Andrew Bucklin. Hit his My Space page fast, as I'm sure it won't be there tomorrow. Especially since it seems to be the same blond guy as in the million dollar scam thing.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=9187283
MissAnnThrope commented...
9/18/2008 - 23:40
I hate posting too fast. This little scammer lists his current school as...

Liberty University
Lynchburg,Virginia
Graduated: N/A
Degree: In Progress
Major: Computer Management Information Systems
Minor: Computer Science

He's due to graduate next year.

What makes Liberty so special? It's a fundamentalist Baptist college. So I guess it's ok for "Christians" to scam those looking for spellwork or readings, as they're not saved. The lad even has a passage from Corinthians on his My Space. What a hypocrite.

What do you want to bet that the DoS attack came from this upstanding fundamentalist?
meep commented...
9/19/2008 - 2:20
Nope, not deleted, but made private.
Traegorn commented...
9/19/2008 - 7:26
Good thing I made screenshots, eh?
Traegorn commented...
9/19/2008 - 8:32
Also, I won't post it because I don't know how much he's involved (i.e. Did they just get their webspace from a friend, or was he in on the scam?) but I found his Cell phone number.

Posted to a public webpage. *shakes head*
Lucky225 commented...
9/19/2008 - 10:27
Wow, this story keeps getting better and better, as per Ms. Reynolds being annoyed.. she was SHOOK! Just look at what the webhost wrote about me posting her home address and cell:

Jen replied on September 18, 2008:

I can tell you that your actions in particular freaked the woman that I spoke to out. Part of me felt somewhat sorry for her - her voice was shaking, she was clearly frightened, and she was obviously stunned that there was this much information available on her.

She did, though, confirm her identity and stated that it all started with the site being mad at “her” web site, so everything you all did and posted was clearly accurate, as the number she called from was, in fact, the one posted.

It’s clear the never expected their identity to ever be exposed. I imagine it was traumatic for her. About as traumatic, I imagine, as it was for the people she told she could cure.
davereid commented...
9/19/2008 - 11:10
Love Google Cache. Here's the saved version of Andrew's myspace page and blog. He is originally from Texas, has a friend named Kevin, and has a very close friend named "Brit"...

cache 1

cache 2
meep commented...
9/19/2008 - 11:18
Yeah, I suppose the 'naive college student trying to make a quick (albeit dishonest) buck' should have occurred to me as a scenario. But just because you don't run your scam like a superspy doesn't mean you shouldn't be held accountable for it. You gotta know this isn't legal/ethical.

That said, while I haven't ever run a scam or, to my knowledge, done anything illegal, I've said some pretty attrocious things on the net over the years. I know what people could get on me off the net and I wouldn't be as surprised as to the depth of info someone could get. But it would freak me out if some actually demonstrated they had gone out and gotten it.

Hopefully this scares her enough to pull her off the scammer rosters for good, at the very least. I don't think anyone here is about to initiate any lawsuits, especially given the fact that none of us were actually victims of this scheme. But if I were her I'd be seriously worried about that at this point. You don't even need the address, just a name and a town of residence and a disgruntled customer could start some serious trouble for you.

I don't have to tell any Wiccans here that when it comes to harming others, you reap what you sow. Perhaps she should have read that chapter of her Wicca 101 book a little closer before she embarked on this little escapade.

meep
MissAnnThrope commented...
9/20/2008 - 10:08
Well, I mentioned this young man for three reasons. He is the web host that has put up the neverending java pop-up windows that cause you to need to reboot your browser on the pages he suspended. Any other webhost would suspend a user who put up a browser hijacker. Also, he bears a striking resemblance to the blond guy in the MillionDollarPiggyBank.com and he mentions his good friends Kevin and Brit. So, I felt he deserved a mention. I'm sorry if I shouldn't have mentioned him.
MissAnnThrope commented...
9/20/2008 - 10:08
Well, I mentioned this young man for three reasons. He is the web host that has put up the neverending java pop-up windows that cause you to need to reboot your browser on the pages he suspended. Any other webhost would suspend a user who put up a browser hijacker. Also, he bears a striking resemblance to the blond guy in the MillionDollarPiggyBank.com and he mentions his good friends Kevin and Brit. So, I felt he deserved a mention. I'm sorry if I shouldn't have mentioned him.
Traegorn commented...
9/20/2008 - 11:06
Oh no, I'm glad you mentioned him. He deserves to be mentioned -- I just don't know if I should drop all the information I've found on him or not. :P
Prncez commented...
9/21/2008 - 11:34
On ratethecaster.com there was another website by the name of moonspells.org that was supposedly "rated" the 3rd best. This website has also been removed. I bet there was some type of affilliation. I was actually scammed by Kimberly Rose of fastspells.com. I am so glad that I know the real truth now. That picture on that Russian dating site is definately of her...there is no doubt about that. I have learned a very valuable lesson from all of this.
Ashareem commented...
9/21/2008 - 15:00
I hope you are also forwarding this informaiton to http://www.ic3.gov/
Traegorn commented...
9/21/2008 - 15:05
I was never defrauded, so I don't have grounds to make a claim.

However, I hope that by providing this information, I have made it easier for those who have been victimized to make any necessary claims.
private_investigator commented...
9/22/2008 - 14:29
Juicy Details! Fastspells.com is not even a registered business located in the government database. Brittney Reynolds ( aka Kimberly Rose ) scam was based completely off google ads for exposure. Why would someone like Kimberly spend between $900 - 2,400 USD per day in advertising, while offering her services starting at a mere 39 USD?

This link shows how much she was spending daily on advertising: http://www.spyfu.com/Domain.aspx?d=4743440473731742836

This would support the evidence that Kimberly had scammed many people per day out of thousands! Ask yourself... why would Kimberly pay advertising expenses of up to 2k per day if she was not bringing in so much more?

I wouldn't doubt if Kimberly Rose was making anywhere from 8 - 12 thousand per day off her scams.

Her days are numbered. I'm just waiting to hear news of her arrest!
MrTuxelicious commented...
9/23/2008 - 14:24
Their / her ebay-id is coven_of_four. Interestingly not a registered member anymore since a coulpe of days.

On ebay she introduced herself as BRITTNEY GROSS and her contact-address was frenchchick227@yahoo.com, later frenchchick227@gmail.com.
First they claimed to have been casting together for 10 years, later it were many years, she said they almost couldn’t remember how long and their young looks allegedly were due to youth spells … she said they wouldn’t reveal their real age.

On ebay they also sold under another id shadows_of_light. When asked about the 2 shops looking so much alike and both sellers located in Bena, VA she claimed it was a „sister-shop“ run and designed by the same guy… interestingly the leader of that shadows_of_light-coven also was young, blonde and named Brittney Nicole.

Additionally coven_of_four also have the site http://www.magickthatworks.com/ which isn’t down yet. I know it’s them first hand, as she told me it’s their side when I was suspicious about it.

IMO there are no words for such evilness and cold-heartedness. If karma and the Wiccan 3-fold-law really exist, I hope they strike back really bad on these persons.
Traegorn commented...
9/23/2008 - 15:08
I'm fairly certain Gross is Brittney's maiden name.

And yes, that does appear to be one of her sites. I'll add that to the top of the page.
Prncez commented...
9/23/2008 - 20:16
It now appears that www.magickthatworks.com is currently down. I think someone is getting a little scared.
MrTuxelicious commented...
9/24/2008 - 13:56
Yes, www.magickthatworks.com seems to be down now as well.

By the way she started dealing on ebay on Apr-07-05 under the username brittandkev and changed her name on Mar-05-06 to coven_of_four.

And there was another magick-miracle-spells-site probably linked to her as well (say probably because it didn’t go under the name Brittney but it used the same introduction of her coven of four) www.weightlossspells.net (down now as well).
Traegorn commented...
9/24/2008 - 16:35
Actually, I don't think weightlossspells.net is one of hers -- the Paypal account is different, and the site actually isn't down for me at least.
Traegorn commented...
9/25/2008 - 0:13
Just a note: That Virginia based Computer store review mentioned early in this article actually comes back to exist.

Andrew Bucklin is employed at MicroHelp, Inc. (the previously mentioned business).

So, here's our team: Andrew Bucklin, Brittney (Gross) Reynolds and Kevin Reynolds.

Thus endeth the lesson.
MrTuxelicious commented...
9/25/2008 - 2:37
How realistic is it at all to get any money back from them if you paid with credit card/direct debit through Paypal?
I mean as far as I know Paypal will not refund for intangible goods anyway and spells are something widely believed not real, so how would this work out?
halfmoontom commented...
9/25/2008 - 13:39
WOW.... remind me not to get ya'll made at me, you guys get hardcore about this issue... though i agree, great reporting TRHO!
Farmgirl commented...
9/30/2008 - 10:57
So all this said and done what can we as the consumer do who is apparently stupid and trusted these people? I am quite sure the money back refund is useless! Any ideas?
Prncez commented...
9/30/2008 - 16:41
I believe that getting a refund is highly unlikely.
It doesn't hurt to dispute the charges with Pay Pal if that's how you paid. It's no guarantee, but its worth a shot.
LESSONLEARNED commented...
10/1/2008 - 11:05
Is there any specific hotline or number to call to possibly get a refund? Paypal does not seem like a hopeful place to call. Also, I am embarrassed to report something like this regarding spells. What steps would I have to take??? I am a pretty smart consumer and I admit I never thought being scammed would happen to me, but, hey, I am taking it in stride and I did get conned. But, certainly was a wake up call for me...ANYONE is subject to get scammed. If I cannot get a refund....I dont expect to....but thought I would inquire anyway. I hope a specific hotline would eventually be of availability.
LESSONLEARNED commented...
10/1/2008 - 11:09
Question....what if a copy of this 2 part article was sent to Paypal??? Would they issue refunds at that point???? Like...e-mail them the link???
LESSONLEARNED commented...
10/1/2008 - 11:34
Doesnt Paypal have their own fraud department? And what if we sent a copy of this article, plus the many several reports posted on Ripoffreport.com??? Would this help at all?
Depressed commented...
1/5/2009 - 18:50
Just to update everyone, as of this past weekend the website, fastspells.com has gone offline & all e-mails to kimberly@fastspells.com are bouncing back.
Prncez commented...
4/7/2009 - 19:36
It looks like good 'ole 'Brittney Reynolds is now running magicksoftheworld.com.