I love my Virus TI Snow! I clicked "Like" on Virus products on Facebook, and then began to receive pop-up advertisements for third parties creating and selling synth patches for Virus Ti synthesizers. Bought some really nice ones called Creative Solutions Bundle from a guy named Andy Robert. Couldn't be happier with them.
Then a popup ad arrived from a website called "TranceMidiSamples.com", with a message saying to like them on Facebook and receive a voucher for discounts on their synth patches. I went to their website, found several patch bundles that looked appealing, and decided I would order. I liked "TranceMidiSamples.ccm" and registered on their site. Checked my email and got an bot produced response indicating I was now registered with their site, but no voucher. Starting the order process, and figured I would use their PayPal link for the purchase. Put two bundles in the shopping cart which were priced at $30 each before discount. Then the next screen asked for my voucher number, which I didn't have. Went back to their Facebook page, and found that someone had asked how to get the voucher after "liking them on Facebook". The response was truly non-responsive, something like "Glad you like our products." I went back to their website and sent email to [email protected], asking about how to get the voucher so I could place the order. Got an automated response, that said they would respond to my email as soon as possible. Two days later, no response at all. I decided I wouldn't place the order until I got the promised voucher. Then I decided to proceed further in checking the various links on their website. That's when things became very interesting. The testimonials link showed no testimonials. The "About Us" link said, "This page could not be loaded". The terms and conditions link (you are required to agree to their terms and conditions to place an order, said, "Rule 1, Rule 2, Rule 3, Rule 4, but no actual rules listed. Practically every single link on their website was blank. No location for the company, no phone number. Now it seemed apparent that this site is most likely fraudulent. I contacted PayPal and shared this story, and they said they would begin investigating it immediately. Made a personal contact with a friend who is a special agent with the FBI and he urged me to file a criminal complaint for fraud at http://www.IC3.gov, which I am in the process of doing. Contacted Access Music directly and they informed me they had never heard of this site but would be watchful for others who might be similarly solicited.
Little doubt in my find that this is a scam. I decided to go as far as I could go in their order screens without actually providing a credit card or logging into Paypal to complete the order. Things only got worse. They added sales tax, which by law in the U.S. is determined by what state you live in. In my case, that would be 7%. When I clicked the button to calculate the amount due, the sales tax charged was $12 instead of $4.20 on the full price total of $60. Please don't allow yourself to get scammed by these people. I have little doubt that had I gone ahead and placed the order, I would have received nothing at all, and they would have defrauded me. Granted, Paypal transactions are protected, but who wants to go through the hassle of waiting to get your money back. A word to the wise, be careful!
