Recently we were made aware that someone registered the AOL Instant Messenger name vBulletinJason. This person is NOT a member of the vBulletin Staff.

Generally you will never be contacted by a member of the vBulletin Staff via instant meassaging programs. In my 4 years here I have done it twice, both times I explained the situation to them and directed them to please verify my identity by sending an email to the support system at support@vbulletin.com

If someone attempts to contact you via any instant messaging program, the likelihood is that they are trying to scam you. If you receive such a contact, please report it immediately to support@vbulletin.com along with the username and program. If the person is a staff member, they will reply to the ticket you generate.

Regarding used licenses, we have a Buyer Beware policy on this. If someone scams you, we do not feel it is our responsibility to make good on the license.

There are steps you can take to protect yourself from being scammed, though.

First, find out their customer number and the license number they are selling.

Second, send this information to support@vbulletin.com. We will look up the license and give you details as to the type of license and the expiry date of the license or members area access and also tell you whether the license is eligible for transfer under our license transfer policy. You will be able to verify that this information is coming from a representitive of vBulletin because it is viewable online in the Support Ticket System. I encourage you to follow up by going to the ticket system to make sure that the ticket is available online and that it's not some person faking the email headers.
Please remember that you will NEVER get an email from the personal account of a vBulletin Representive verifying the authenticity of a license.

Here is our license transfer policy:

The new policy states:

Jelsoft may, in its discretion, allow you to transfer your license to another party, providing the license:
- has not already been transferred in the previous 12 months; and
- was purchased more than 3 months in the past.


You need to be aware, though, that the person may charge back the license to their credit up to 6 months after the purchase. If they do this, again you are stuck with an invalid license.

You need to be aware, though, that the person may charge back the license to their credit up to 6 months after the purchase. If they do this, again you are stuck with an invalid license.

Jelsoft may, in its discretion, allow you to transfer your license to another party, providing the license:
- has not already been transferred in the previous 12 months; and
- was purchased more than 3 months in the past.


So why don't Jelsoft just change the policy to allow tranfer only after 6 month to avoid this trouble?

True, would have saved some of us from getting ripped off from a WHT user that stiffed us. Nothing like owning invalid licenses.

Not Jelsofts fault that the guy screwed a bunch of us, but the policy leaves that window a little open for those that abuse the trust of people.
Glenn

Most credit cards limit chargebacks to 3 months. Some limit them to 6 months.

We cannot control what credit card companies do, we can only control our own policies, which are reasonable.

While I'm sorry that some people are getting ripped off by scammers, there is little I can do about it except as outlined above. We cannot take responsibility for what other people do.

As long as people contact vB support to verify the license then there shouldnt be any problem.
I think the only problem was when people didnt try to ensure the license was legal and valid.

There will still be people getting scamed now simply because they dont check with vBulletin support but it is down to the buyer to ensure they do everything they can to make sure what they are getting is real and legal.

I think Jelsoft does a lot to try prevent fraud and there isnt much more they can do, I think its fine as it is at the minute

Yes I agree, Jelsoft is always very helpful when confirming license information. I have never had a problem.

Originally posted by John D
As long as people contact vB support to verify the license then there shouldnt be any problem.
I think the only problem was when people didnt try to ensure the license was legal and valid.


You need to be aware, though, that the person may charge back the license to their credit up to 6 months after the purchase. If they do this, again you are stuck with an invalid license

Even if the license is legal and valid during the transfer but then if the seller made a charge back after the transfer we still stuck with an invalid.

Is there any ways that your company can override this since the license is not longer belong to that guy. I know that my CC company won't allow my charge back, we need to request any refund from the company that sells you the products.

Originally posted by brandon
Even if the license is legal and valid during the transfer but then if the seller made a charge back after the transfer we still stuck with an invalid.

Is there any ways that your company can override this since the license is not longer belong to that guy. I know that my CC company won't allow my charge back, we need to request any refund from the company that sells you the products.

No, there isn't anything we can do to stop the chargeback. We can appeal it if we're made aware of it, but there is generally no notice from the credit card companies on this.

Since we implemented the new policy the instance of fraud and chargebacks has gone down significantly. Most people aren't willing to sit around and wait 3 months for the license transfer, so they don't bother. They want to be able to buy and sell the licenses then charge back before it ever hits their invoice.
There are still some people who will jump as at a "good deal" and these are the kinds of people that the fraud guys target.

There are 2 great pearls of American wisdom to always keep in mind in regards to this:

"There's a sucker born every minute"

and

"If it seems too good to be true, it probably is"