Why, not to sell xdk's on ebay

**Tyler** · 10-21-2009

Got an email form somebody i know, his kit was pulled from ebay, now m$ is contacting him with this and calling his house,

so if you got a hunch to sell a kit on ebay, well take some caution and try not putting your number in the listing, there threatening to sue him if he dosnt comply, anyway...

Originally Posted by Microsoft

<My Name>, this message is regarding the recent Notice of Claimed Infringement submitted by Microsoft to eBay's Verified
Rights Owner program, in which we requested the removal of your auction #<Auction Number> . The Xbox Development Kit ("XDK")
offered in this listing is not authorized for any type of resale or redistribution. Even when in the possession of the
developer(s) to whom it is licensed, the XDK remains the property of Microsoft Corporation and distribution of the console to
any third party is a violation of Microsoft's intellectual property rights.

Please contact me at 888-760-5877 as soon as possible to discuss returning this property to Microsoft.

Thank you,

Rose
Microsoft Compliance Support Program
888-760-5877

neull · 10-21-2009

Sorry, I think your letter is invalid and completely made up though. Microsoft uses a different department to contact the seller. Also, from googling the "Microsoft Compliance Support Program" apparently only two results show... Now, I'm not going to take the liberty to call the phone number and find out, since it is a 1-800 number, and those can literally redirect to anywhere, and can be copied off of any website. (I know from work, once we had someone copy the phone number from our website and use it on a credit card application, and decided to quit sending in payments)

I'm not saying that it's absolutely fake.. It may have some merit to it, but I have to say it seems rather fishy, as all the facts do not add up.

null2 · 10-21-2009

That number is real, but they deal with letters recieved in the mail. In addition, the answering machine asks for the date on the letter. This isn't a letter, it's an email, and it isn't dated.

Not saying it's fake, but it looks like it.

**Tyler** · 10-21-2009

Originally Posted by MTWomg

That number is real, but they deal with letters recieved in the mail. In addition, the answering machine asks for the date on the letter. This isn't a letter, it's an email, and it isn't dated.

Not saying it's fake, but it looks like it.

yea there was more info i think but i got a crop'ed version, anyway i asked for the email and i got this

I checked the mail headers and it's definitely MS internal. i.e. xxx.redmond.corp.microsoft.com -> smtp.microsoft.com -> me

mscsprog@microsoft.com
_____________________________________________

if it is real what should he do about it?

null2 · 10-21-2009

Originally Posted by Tyler

yea there was more info i think but i got a crop'ed version, anyway i asked for the email and i got this

I checked the mail headers and it's definitely MS internal. i.e. xxx.redmond.corp.microsoft.com -> smtp.microsoft.com -> me

mscsprog@microsoft.com
_____________________________________________

if it is real what should he do about it?

There is no fucking way ms sent an email of that quality out. If it's real tell them to get fucked any way. They want the kit? Pony up the cash, microsoft.

**Paulo** · 10-21-2009

Its pretty simple. Ask Rose how to reach her when calling an official Microsoft number found on the Microsoft website. If it is a real letter then it shouldn't be a problem.

null2 · 10-21-2009

Originally Posted by Paulo

Its pretty simple. Ask Rose how to reach her when calling an official Microsoft number found on the Microsoft website. If it is a real letter then it shouldn't be a problem.

That's the other issue, the whole letter reeks of High School Freshmen quality writing. That letter is a great example on how not to write a letter.

Who the hell sends out a letter with only their first name on it? Not Microsoft.

**Tyler** · 10-21-2009

better tell my friend its a phony, probably a scammer trying to get his kit

i dont doubt its fake as its not my letter :)

:icon_bigg but thanks for helping guys i appreciate it :icon_bigg im sure he'll be glad to hear it :dance:

null2 · 10-21-2009

Originally Posted by Tyler

better tell my friend its a phony, probably a scammer trying to get his kit

Probably some 13 year old halo kiddie, judging by the quality of the writing.

**mairsil** · 10-21-2009

Originally Posted by MTWomg

Probably some 13 year old halo kiddie, judging by the quality of the writing.

There is no fucking way ms sent an email of that quality out.

Please, enlighten us as to what is wrong with the quality of the letter. There are no grammatical or spelling errors, nor are there any misleading or false statements. The language used in the letter is perfectly fine and appropriate. It is also quite common for representatives of a company (MS or otherwise) to use just a first name. The name may not even be referring to a person; it may instead be a "codeword" for routing the call to the appropriate department.

**Paulo** · 10-21-2009

Well there has been at least one other person with the same problem that i know of. The letter was from a different department however that person actually sent the kit back.

Another thing to remember is if this person has all of his from eBay, they wouldn't just give the details to anyone.

As i said he should confirm it by asking this person to contact her via a phone number known to him via the MS website and then ask to speak to her supervisor or something.

If i were him and it checks out i would be sending the kit back.

null2 · 10-21-2009

Finally...

That phone number has been found on a previous fake take down notice. An email was sent to a guy selling Vista keys on ebay from an @live.com account.

Here is the post about it:

http://forums.overclockersclub.com/i...owtopic=159342

**Tyler** · 10-21-2009

got another email form him

__________________________________________________ _
I would like to sincerely thank you for your concern and help

I'm almost positive this is a DAMN. GOOD. SCAM.

As I said, the email origin was from valid, authenticated MS servers. On the other hand, I discovered that the phone number was associated with a scam and does not belong to MS. This person managed to gather my phone numbers, emails, etc. Very unfortunate

A few things made me suspicious, blocked phone number and unprofessional speech to start off with. The email headers were very convincing to me, though. All in all a pretty decent scam afaik. We'll see if they call again

Perhaps I should warn others.
__________________________________________________ ___

btw he thanks you guys for your assistance :icon_bigg

**TigerSteam** · 10-21-2009

Wow, that's a pretty good scam. How'd he send it from Microsoft servers, or at least make it look like he did?

neull · 10-21-2009

Originally Posted by TigerSteam

Wow, that's a pretty good scam. How'd he send it from Microsoft servers, or at least make it look like he did?

I've played a few pranks with some friends before, making them freak out. But it's pretty easy, you can send emails from a command prompt's telnet feature, just connect to an smtp email server, and type in a few commands, your from email, the text, and that's it..

Only thing is it produces rather crude emails, without formatting of any sort (no paragraph breaks, etc) also, if you look at a full header and trace the IP, you'll be able to determine if it was a fake... If the IP originated at Microsoft, then it's real.

Or, as Xenon.7 said, Ghost Mail would do the trick; that's the first time I've heard about it though.

**Esjay** · 10-21-2009

Originally Posted by gamerfreak1727

I've played a few pranks with some friends before, making them freak out. But it's pretty easy, you can send emails from a command prompt's telnet feature, just connect to an smtp email server, and type in a few commands, your from email, the text, and that's it..

Only thing is it produces rather crude emails, without formatting of any sort (no paragraph breaks, etc) also, if you look at a full header and trace the IP, you'll be able to determine if it was a fake... If the IP originated at Microsoft, then it's real.

Or, as Xenon.7 said, Ghost Mail would do the trick; that's the first time I've heard about it though.

Well, there is a way to fake your email, which I cant remember how to do, but i've had friends send me fake emails from *.gov accounts. Seriously, I agree with mairsil, about waiting on a lawsuit.

**Xenon.7** · 10-21-2009

Ghost Mail..?

**mairsil** · 10-21-2009

You know what, I just called the number. It identified itself as "Microsoft's Letter Line." From the message, I get the impression that it is effectively a call service which does use the "name" on the letter as a means of routing the response to the appropriate department. Many, MANY of Microsoft's numbers, particularly those relating to legal issues, are unpublished. If this were truly a scam number, I'm sure that it would have a hell of a lot more search engine hits than one message board thread.

And please, I do not mean this as an insult, but what educational background/field do you have that makes you think the letter is poorly written?

null2 · 10-21-2009

The phone number was used in a scam attempt involving an email sent from an @live.com account. That alone is enough for it to be pretty obviously a scam to everyone else here.