E-Gold Investigation / 12dp Decision - by Charis - 12DP Admin at 2006-01-06 23:09:03
Recently we announced that due to mounting issues with one of our payment processors, E-Gold, we would be extending our payment period for that processor from 7 business days to 10 business days. This decision was made due to a number of disturbing factors including:
1. The extreme increase in hacked E-Gold accounts and the amount of time staff has to dedicate to correcting member accounts and payouts due to this issue.
2. The continual downtime the site experienced during the month of December, severely affecting the functioning and slowing our ability to make and receive payments.
3. The lack of communication and member support from the staff of E-Gold during downtime
4. The large amount of E-Gold funds we had lost to cheaters using this payment method to conduct fraudulent activities and remain untouched.
It was because of these reasons and many others that we encouraged members to seek Stormpay as a better alternative, particularly given their new lowered rate option. One thing we did not count on when we made the recommendation was the huge response from our members evidenced by a large migration to Stormpay. Because we don’t keep a large amount of reserves in E-Gold for security purposes and so that the money can be utilized for various investments, when this happened, it created a decline in our E-Gold reserves and a huge increase in our StormPay reserves.
Extending the payment terms for E-Gold to 10 business days was designed to allow us the time to move necessary funds to E-Gold through an exchange as needed to help balance the reserves. We were in the process of planning for such transfers earlier this week when we became aware of some very disturbing news regarding E-Gold, that made us stop in our tracks.
In the most recent issue of Business Week magazine, one of the most highly respected business journals in the US, a detailed expose was published about E-Gold and its founder, Douglas L. Jackson. The article entitled, “Gold Rushâ€Â, stated that E-Gold has become the currency of choice for ‘cyber crooks’. The article, which is reprinted in its entirety below this message, also stated that the E-Gold offices and the home of its founder were raided on Dec. 19 (the same time frame which the E-Gold site was down with no explanation.). No charges have been filed to date, but there are also over a dozen FBI probes into online criminal rings involving terrorism, child porn, etc. all with one thing in common, E-Gold.
We are not presuming any guilt on their part and would never do so. However, we are very disturbed the the criminal element that is using E-Gold and are very concerned that future government action or sanctions against the company might lead to freezes of all accounts, including ours and those of our members. We also have prided ourselves on building and maintaining a business built on moral values, ethics, and a professional reputation. We will not but our members funds at risk and we will not continue to associate with a payment processor that is clearly at risk for legal sanctions.
We have been weighing all week, our options on how to handle this situation. We have been very wary of moving any more funds into E-Gold because of this situation. This is why you have noticed E-Gold payments slowing this week. We finally arrived at a very difficult, but necessary decision today. We apologize for the short notice, but given the additional due diligence we conducted after learning of the raid and the expose, we believe that immediate action was necessary for the protection of our funds and of yours, as well as our business reputation.
As of this evening, 12daily Pro will no longer be accepting upgrades or making withdrawal payments via E-Gold.com. We will honor all current pending withdrawals and upgrades purchased using E-Gold with a payment of full earnings and referral commissions. This evening, we will make the last of our E-Gold payments, which will be for all upgrades expired on Dec. 23. For all E-Gold upgrades expiring on Dec. 24 - January 18, payments will be made by Jan 31, with the timing of payment somewhat dependent on which payment option is chosen. We will be offering a number of payment options to all members will pending E-Gold withdrawals and active upgrades. Beginning Monday, January 9, members will be able to submit a customized support ticket for each affected upgrade which will allow you to select from the following options:
1. Payment via Storm pay (fastest option, 1% fee). We have had hundreds of requests for such transfers in the
2. Payment via EMO (no fee)
3. Payment via EMO money order (must be US citizen and have withdrawal amount $1000 or over)(fee tbd)
4. One time only compounding of withdrawal into new upgrades package(s) to allow time to setup/verify a StormPay or EMO account. (fee will be any amount under $6 left over after all withdrawal funds are applied to new upgrade package)
These options will generally all prove faster than recent E-Gold withdrawal times and all E-Gold withdrawals will be completely paid by Jan 31.
For more information on EMO, our new payment processor, please read the news item entitled, “Our New Payment Processorâ€Â. We will begin accepting upgrades via EMO sometime next week. The good news for E-Gold users is that EMO accepts E-Gold funding, so your transition should be an easy one. And international users will find a great benefit in their debit card option.
Please do not submit help tickets or phone calls regarding this matter this weekend. We will be opening a new dept. just for these customized requests on Monday and will expedite requests in order of expiration.
We know there will be a lot of questions regarding this and we will be providing more clarifications on Monday along with the opening on the new dept.
Know that this action will also allow us to feel secure that 12dp itself is not being utilized by criminals for the same illegal purposes as some are doing with E-Gold, as members who are NOT involved in any illegal activity will have no problem or issue with creating verified accounts with one of our two other processors.
We thank you for your patience and support during this time. We have made this decision for the safety and security of our program funds and yours.
Charis
12daily Pro Admin
