Originally posted in the Pinoy Money Talk blog
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We've heard it before -- even straight from StudioTraffic moderators themselves -- that the now-defunct and now-a-scam program StudioTraffic (also "Studio Traffic" or simply "ST") was being investigated by the FBI. Today I received mail from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov) that seemed to officially confirm this.
The letter from IC3 goes:
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Dear (my full and real name here):
Studiopay/Studiotraffic is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the FBI and Onondaga County Sheriffs Department. Investigation of this matter has developed information that you have had financial transactions with one, or both, of these companies. If you have been victimized by either of these companies please file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at the following website:
http://www.ic3.gov/
Please reference Studiopay as the subject of the investigation when filing your complaint. Provide as much detail as possible pertaining to monies invested, individuals contacted, method of contact (telephone, mail, E-mail etc...), amounts, and dates of payment and any amounts received from Studiopay. If possible, include dates of contact, the Studiopay employees contacted and brief summaries of the conversations.
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Of course, I had to check first whether this was a genuine IC3 letter. The email header seems to prove this. Part of the header goes:
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Received: from smtp.ic3.gov (smtp.ic3.gov [151.205.1.16]) Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of no-reply@ic3.gov designates 151.205.1.16 as permitted sender)
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Checking the IP address shows this:
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IP Information: 151.205.1.16 IP Location: United States - Virginia - Richmond - National White Collar Crime Center Reverse DNS: smtp.ic3.gov
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Also, the mail addressed me using my full and real name. I don't think there's any way for IC3 to associate me with StudioTraffic or Studio Pay (SP), unless they have information that ST or SP used to own. Like the rest of ST and SP members, I divulged my personal information when we were asked to verify our accounts, especially the StudioPay account. It appears IC3 is now in possession of this ST or SP database.
Anyway, those for me were enough proofs that the above mail was a genuine letter from IC3.
So if you suffered a loss as an investor in ST, head off to the IC3 site and file a complaint. Like the PIPS scam saga, this too will surely take a long time before a closure is reached. Whether that closure, however, would mean good news for StudioTraffic victims remains to be seen.
Pinoy Money Talk (PMT) will keep you posted on the developments of this StudioTraffic / StudioPay investigation.
Edit: After posting this, I remembered I had two ST accounts because I followed the "Two Accounts Strategy" but the email I used for the second account never received this email. But the one that received this was the one (and the only one) I used in StudioPay. This probably means IC3 currently has the StudioPay member database.
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