SCAM WARNING: the decades long history of the
eBusiness Number Registry scam (alias/aka "
European Business Registry", "
EPBG Db-Records", "
European Business Guide") shows just how incredibly difficult it is to deal with persistent fraud, even when those involved are
discovered,
sued or prosecuted (
EU Parliament petition), they often simply uproot and plant elsewhere, Eastern Europe being a favourite location due to lax enforcement and policing of fraud.
Long story short, the scam works because there
is a genuine
European Business Registry that essentially does what the scammers claim to do, act as a centralised database of European businesses, the difference between the two being the connections the real EBR has to the European Parliament (it essentially functions largely under EU remit) - the fraudulent
European Business Registry/
eBusiness Number Registry/
European Business Guide obfuscates these facts, taking advantage of possible confusion to scam the unwitting in paying three or four-figure sums for services that do not exist, and are never provided. Such an issue is this
the actual European Business Registry issued notice on the topic (
assuming recipient is aware of the aforementioned official Bodies - the European Parliament Data Protection Registry, another legitimate European organisational entity scammers use to further add to the confusion).
The fraudulent eBusiness Number Registry and European Business Registry service (ebusinessnumber.com) is little more than a sparsely populated, publicly accessible website that appears to be based in Germany, the service being paid for is money for old rope in other words. A cursory read of their poorly worded boilerplate Terms of Service should be all that's needed to expose the nature of the scam.
With that said, the same poorly written ToS includes a peculiarly specific clause that should cause for great concern as it allows a third-party to be assigned control over accounts and administration therein. This clause is present for the sole purpose of providing a contractual and binding agreement between parties, permission, for unknown entity or third-party to billing additional fees and sums for services not directly related to 'advertising' or 'promoting' the registry or website, but the administration of the accounts themselves, costs intentionally hidden from contractees.
The following quote is from the image shown below, which is largely replicated on the website (eBusinessNumber.com). It is almost entire a demand of payment, mentioning NOTHING about the services that are being purchased other than the insertion into and online directory.
VALIDATING THE PRESENT DOCUMENT REPRESENTS THE FULL ACCEPTANCE OF THE CLAUSES LISTED IN THE T&C FOR INSERTION ON THE WEBPAGE eBusinessNumber.com SIGNING/STAMPING IS BINDING YOU LEGALLY AND ENFORCES INSERTION OF YOUR COMPANY'S PROFILE IN THE ONLINE DIRECTORY WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED 24/7. VALIDATION TIME OF THE PAYABLE SERVICE REQUEST IS THREE YEARS AND IS ENFORCED ON THE TENTH DAY AFTER THE VALIDATION DATE. THE ENLIST PROCESS IS INITIATED AFTER THE SERVICE PROVIDER RECEIVES THE DOCUMENT. THE SIGNATORY OF THIS DOCUMENT HEREBY ORDERS THE INSERTION OF THE COMPANY'S PROFILE WITH SERVICE PROVIDER eBusinessNumber.com ONLINE DIRECTORY eBusinessNumber.com THE SIGNATORY WILL HAVE THE COMPANY'S DETAILS INSERTED IN THE DIRECTORY FOR A MINIMUM PERIOD OF THREE YEARS. THE ANNUAL CHARGE FOR INSERTION IS EUR 899,-; THE AMOUNT IS INVOICED AS PER THE SCHEDULE DETAILED IN THE CLAUSES OF THE ORDER.THE CANCELLATION OPTIONS OF THIS REQUEST WILL BE MADE ACCORDING TO THE CLAUSES WHICH GOVERN THE ORDER. ALL DATA WILL BE RECORDED FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY. PLACE OF JURISDICTION TO SOLVE EVENTUAL DISPUTES IS THE SERVICE PROVIDER'S ADDRESS.
Typical email received
Hello,
please complete and submit the attached document to have your company (re)included in the registry for the 2019/2020 edition.
THE eBUSINESS NUMBER REGISTRY
Willi S
12437 BERLIN
DEUTSCHLAND
Alternatively, send us a scanned copy of the completed document by replying to this email.
Updating is free of charge.
Best wishes,
eBusiness Number Registry
