Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 39
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    4,568

    Shawn Hogan aka the owner of Digitalpoint indicted for cookie stuffing

    Jacob Wall

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Northern, Michigan
    Posts
    3,600
    Shawn Hogan is a great person, he is always nice and responsive to me on the forums. I wish him luck!

    The possibility of 20 years in prison is just horrible for something as little as cookie stuffing.
    Last edited by Chris Miller; 07-31-2010 at 02:40 AM.

  3. #3
    Cookie stuffing is fraud, they were scamming ebay over Millions so I think it's just right to take them to court.
    Host Mist - Helping People Say Hello World
    Shared | VPS | Dedicated

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,783
    $15.5 million is not just a little cookie stuffing.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    768
    Nothing of value will be lost here. DP is an internet wasteland.
    linveo.com | Shared Hosting | AMD and Intel KVM VPS | Dedicated Servers
    Direct Admin | VirtFusion | TenantOS | 24/7/365 Support

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    US/UK/MY
    Posts
    3,042
    Quote Originally Posted by Techark View Post
    $15.5 million is not just a little cookie stuffing.
    Yeah, that's not just petty theft.

    What astounds me, is that eBay let it happen for as long as they did.
    SimpleSonic - We Make Fast... Easy!
    US/UK/MY - 100% Uptime - Shared - Reseller - cPanel - DirectAdmin - WHMCS Included!
    Blazing Fast NVMe SSD - CloudLinux - Imunify360 - LiteSpeed - MailChannels - JetBackup

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    768
    Quote Originally Posted by Plexihost View Post
    Yeah, that's not just petty theft.

    What astounds me, is tht eBay let it happen for as long as they did.
    Probably because eBay is too busy with their hands in the pockets of their customers to realize they are getting robbed too!
    linveo.com | Shared Hosting | AMD and Intel KVM VPS | Dedicated Servers
    Direct Admin | VirtFusion | TenantOS | 24/7/365 Support

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Posts
    3,338
    Which is why i hate visiting the DigitalPoint forums, It's full of Adsense and advertisements. It's an affiliate freak fest.
    QuadraNet Enterprises | Providing Secure Infrastructure Solutions to modern businesses since 2001.
    QuadraNet is a globally recognized cloud solution provider ​with the Best-in-class responsive 24x7 customer support.​
    Locations: Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, New Jersey, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle & Amsterdam.
    Andrew Moore andrew.moore@quadranet.com Visit https://www.QuadraNet.com

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    US/UK/MY
    Posts
    3,042
    Quote Originally Posted by LinuxFugleman View Post
    Which is why i hate visiting the DigitalPoint forums, It's full of Adsense and advertisements. It's an affiliate freak fest.
    That and full of Adsense publishers that tried to cheat the system asking "Why did my account get banned?".
    SimpleSonic - We Make Fast... Easy!
    US/UK/MY - 100% Uptime - Shared - Reseller - cPanel - DirectAdmin - WHMCS Included!
    Blazing Fast NVMe SSD - CloudLinux - Imunify360 - LiteSpeed - MailChannels - JetBackup

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    1,052
    This is kind of old news is it not?

    He got brought up on these charges over 2 years ago?
    Not sure what to put here :-P

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    768
    Quote Originally Posted by mooseweb View Post
    This is kind of old news is it not?

    He got brought up on these charges over 2 years ago?
    No, those were civil charges. Now the FBI is after him with criminal charges. Read the article...
    linveo.com | Shared Hosting | AMD and Intel KVM VPS | Dedicated Servers
    Direct Admin | VirtFusion | TenantOS | 24/7/365 Support

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    US/UK/MY
    Posts
    3,042
    Quote Originally Posted by mooseweb View Post
    This is kind of old news is it not?

    He got brought up on these charges over 2 years ago?
    He went to court July 22, 2010. So I wouldn't consider this old news. It's far from over too as they have more court dates pending.
    SimpleSonic - We Make Fast... Easy!
    US/UK/MY - 100% Uptime - Shared - Reseller - cPanel - DirectAdmin - WHMCS Included!
    Blazing Fast NVMe SSD - CloudLinux - Imunify360 - LiteSpeed - MailChannels - JetBackup

  13. #13
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Northern, Michigan
    Posts
    3,600
    Quote Originally Posted by Techark View Post
    $15.5 million is not just a little cookie stuffing.
    Shawn cleared up that it was not all just from cookie stuffing and that is not even a large portion of it he said there is some other stuff in the compliant.

    Source: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showt...2#post14685461




    Quote Originally Posted by RU-Adam View Post
    Probably because eBay is too busy with their hands in the pockets of their customers to realize they are getting robbed too!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    464
    That's crazy and highly suspicious.. top 2 in the company are top 2 eBay affiliates..?
    HostMonkey | Your kingdom starts here. (tweet us @HostMonkeynet)
    Affordable and Reliable Shared Hosting, VPS Servers, and Dedicated Servers
    OpenVZ, SolusVM CP, 99.9% Uptime Guarantee, 24x7x365 Support
    Server Reseller Program: significant discounts, to increase your profits!

  15. #15
    $15.5 Million... Ouch.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    9,064
    Quote Originally Posted by FreeTheNoob View Post
    Shawn cleared up that it was not all just from cookie stuffing and that is not even a large portion of it he said there is some other stuff in the compliant.

    Source: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showt...2#post14685461
    It does look like, however, that he is not denying that he engaged in cookie stuffing.

    My own guess is that he got in way over his head.

    -mike
    Mike G. - Limestone Networks - Account Specialist
    Cloud - Dedicated - Colocation - Premium Network - Passionate Support
    DDoS Protection Available - Reseller Program @LimestoneInc - 877.586.0555

  17. #17
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    35
    Quote Originally Posted by RU-Adam View Post
    Nothing of value will be lost here. DP is an internet wasteland.
    +1000

    I very much agree. Lots of scammers and time wasters.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Chennai , India
    Posts
    4,632
    Quote Originally Posted by john111 View Post
    +1000

    I very much agree. Lots of scammers and time wasters.
    +1. Most of things are rubbish out there.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    116
    agreed. i stopped visiting that place quite sometime ago

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by FreeTheNoob View Post
    Shawn cleared up that it was not all just from cookie stuffing and that is not even a large portion of it he said there is some other stuff in the compliant.

    Source: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showt...2#post14685461






    No matter what Shawn Hogan says on DP it won't be "cleared up" until after all legal proceedings are finalized.

    Compliments of revenews.com.
    Criminal Charges Filed

    On June 24, 2010, two separate indictments were handed down by a grand jury in California against Shawn Hogan (pdf) and Brian Dunning (pdf) following an FBI investigation by the Cyber Crimes Department. The indictments charge Hogan and Dunning with wire fraud and criminal forfeiture. Hogan was charged with ten counts of wire fraud and Dunning with five counts of wire fraud.
    On July 22, 2010, Hogan and Dunning appeared before the court. Both were released under a $100,000 property bond and surrendering their passports. Both Hogan and Dunning entered not guilty pleas. Hogan’s next court date is September 9, 2010 and Dunning’s is August 19, 2010.
    According to court documents, the maximum penalty in both cases is:

    • Imprisonment of 20 years
    • Maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain/loss (whichever is greater)
    • 3 years of supervised release
    • $100 special assessment (per count)

    The indictments parallel the eBay civil suit, accusing the affiliates of engaging in hidden forced clicks within the eBay affiliate program.


    For years cookie stuffing techniques have been discussed and debated in the affiliate marketing world. I’ve seen a rather casual attitude taken by some regarding the practice. I’ve seen long debates about what constitutes a physical click by the end user. I’ve seen black hat techniques for cookie stuffing and hiding the behavior discussed publicly. For me, one striking point with the indictments is that the FBI and a grand jury were evidently able to grasp technical aspects of affiliate marketing and tracking, and ultimately arrived at the conclusion that the tactics were criminal in nature.


  21. #21
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    UK, Major Cities
    Posts
    501
    If he really did make 15.5 million solely from eBay affiliates. I'm sure he can get himself a pretty good lawyer.
    - Colin Dunn | Systems Administrator
    I think CentOS is a pretty cool guy. eh runs mah server and doesnt afraid of anything...
    ^ That sig/meme is so old, I just don't have the heart to change it. I hope the cool kids around still get it... 2008 was a good year!

  22. #22
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Northern, Michigan
    Posts
    3,600
    Shawn Posted a blog summarizing how this all got started over here. http://blogs.digitalpoint.com/entry.php?b=215

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    336
    Quote Originally Posted by Techark View Post
    $15.5 million is not just a little cookie stuffing.
    my thoughts exactly

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    England, UK
    Posts
    645
    Quote Originally Posted by FreeTheNoob View Post
    Shawn Posted a blog summarizing how this all got started over here. http://blogs.digitalpoint.com/entry.php?b=215
    Can't read it unfortuantly
    DP is either on fail servers or getting ddos'ed

  25. #25
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Northern, Michigan
    Posts
    3,600
    Quote Originally Posted by CKGroup View Post
    Can't read it unfortuantly
    DP is either on fail servers or getting ddos'ed
    Yea their servers cost over a 100k so I think they are being ddos'ed or their colo provider is having problems.
    Last edited by Chris Miller; 08-03-2010 at 12:25 PM.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Hulk Hogan, watch your mouth!!
    By vito in forum Web Hosting Lounge
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 04-16-2009, 07:01 PM
  2. Anyone ripped of by JASON FIELDS = AKA WARLOCK = AKA ECS WORLD A
    By honestone in forum Ecommerce Hosting & Discussion
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 08-30-2008, 06:21 PM
  3. Thanksgiving Stuffing
    By The Dude in forum Web Hosting Lounge
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-03-2005, 10:41 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •