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GEO.HOSTING is a scam
BalleKlasker
Member
in General
GEO.HOSTING is marketing servers in 50 countries - in reality they are all located in the Netherlands.
They have made false location registrations to RIPE and their tech chief thinks that's how geolocation is done - what a lame idiot.
To make the scam more profitable this russian company collect EU VAT on top of their already premium prices.
Thanked by 1host_c
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Never heard, but thanks for letting us know.
+44 is for UK - it should be +40.
You have to pay VAT since 1/Aug/2023.
A romanian company which does it use billmanager - what can I say more, rich guy. I can afford only WHMCS.
you didn't have 20k usd to spent on billmanager?, but hey whmcs works just fine
Are you aware that IPv4 addresses can have different GEO locations? A server node can be, example: in France, Germany, or another country, while the IPv4 address may show a GEO location from a different country. This is not a scam, even if VAT is charged on top. For example, some companies in the UK advertise prices excluding VAT but display the full amount at checkout. If a customer is not happy with this, they always have the option to decline the purchase and avoid wasting time on LET discussing it.
Wow - more people that don't understand how geolocation works. To spell it out:
The RIPE location means nothing - it's the physical location that the geolocation companies triangulate that matters.
I am aware of how GEO RIPE location works, but the OP’s entire topic is about a company he believes is scamming him by selling IPv4 addresses with GEO locations different from the node’s location and charging him EU VAT on top.
In fairness to the OP, the website does not make it very clear (to say the least) that this is just the IP that is "geo located":
and
The OP is indeed correct, though: https://bgp.tools/as/41111
The problem here is that RIPE GEO location, which you understand, has no relevance.
I hope you are the only one in this Forum that think that lining a lot of servers up in the Netherlands and selling them as servers in Mexico, Brazil etc. is not a scam.
I'm pretty sure that the russians running the company are not collection the VAT for the EU but for their own pocket, but that's not the big issue - the geolocation scam is.
Globally located in Netherlands
I think he meant that IP geolocation is not always correct. It's not unusual to see a company mark all their IP subnets in one location with their RIR, but use them in different countries or even continents. Likewise, IP geolocation databases can be wildly incorrect, too. You already know this, of course. I'm just saying that's how his message came across to me.
That is a valid UK phone number.
Usually, providers boasting multiple locations tend to provide IP addresses to make network testing easier for customers. I like the part where they did just that, and the pink dots are super helpful. /s
MTR from Gcore NL LG (https://looking.house/point.php?id=530)
Yup checks out
Also only 1 upstream (AS52000) - https://bgp.tools/pathimg/41111-default?
Geolocation is not an exact science - but accuracy around 99% is achieved by companies like ipinfo.io, maxmind.com and the like.
Just how lazy or incorrect hosters are when making their RIPE registration only matters the first month after registration. Within the first month the geolocation companies will triagulate the server locations and what is in RIPE becomes irrelevant - the triangulated location "takes over".
If they were a little more clear about the product they sell this could be really nice for VPN's in obsucre/far away locations. for example from i get 22 ping to their "thai" location from warsaw location:
The problem here is that the fake RIPE location doesn't fool anybody - so using it for a VPN will not work - everybody knows that it's really in the Netherlands - so you won't be able to visit Thai TV or Netflix TH or whatever.
Yes - never heard of Stour Marine. I was expected to use a Romanian line.
Overall I don't see where is the issue ? You should change the title.
https://www.google.com/search?q=scam+meaning
Company Name: FAST GEO HOSTING S.R.L.
Registered 12.07.2023
No fiscal data from 2023
Fiscal Registration Number RO48477021 ( VAT payer is registered, VAT payed at income )
HQ Address: Bdul. Iuliu Maniu 57 Bl. OD16 Sc. E Et. 2 Ap. 188, Sector 6, Bucharest
Owner is a Lady ( probably the wife, who knows )
AS41111 - alocated 5 years ago on Sep 23, 2019 ( I presume they bought/leased this one )
Updated - a year ago on Aug 08, 2023
Number of IPv4 14,848 - wow
Number of IPv6 6.04 × 1025
Upstream - MIRhosting B.V. 52000
Judging by the IPV4 sub-net, 58 x 256 with let's say ~0.6 USD / IP = ~8900 USD / MO
So either somebody bought somebody/something out, o there is a more complex system behind it.
All IPV4 sub-nets are in Cyprus as GEO-LOCATION.
https://bgp.he.net/AS41111#_prefixes
All IPV6 sub-nets are in Romania as GEO-LOCATION.
https://bgp.he.net/AS41111#_prefixes6
Without further details, all is pure speculation.
EDIT
LIR account is fresh:
mntner: GEOHOSTING-MNT
admin-c: GEO1111-RIPE
upd-to: [email protected]
auth: SSO# Filtered
mnt-by: GEOHOSTING-MNT
created: 2023-08-04T13:36:53Z
last-modified: 2023-08-09T17:51:05Z
@host_c nobody cares since he paid a service and got it as it is. How can be this a scam? :-)
I did not say it is a scam.
I doubt cashing out 9K / MO only for IP's is what scammers do.
Pretending to sell servers in 50 countries and in reality selling servers in 1 country - that's a scam.
The company are based on Romanian territory, VAT/Tax payer, totally legit.
A scammer cannot afford using BILLmanager either having 14K IPs.
I can see there's a geofeed too via https://geo.hosting/geoip-geofeed.csv
Can you proof that ?
As GEO.HOSTINGS tech chief wrote to me:
"Hello. The physical server is located in the Netherlands, but the ip address is in Mexico."
and how can be this a scam since they informed you accordingly, you can get a refund ?
Honestly, he's right. Just by the website's name, I assumed it was just geolocation and all servers somewhere else, but they claim this
Compare that to what @AlbaHost does with his Geo AL servers. You can also just use their looking glass to check.
I think it's much more clear to the end user, isn't it?
Tunel, VXLAN, or other transports might be used.
This is nothing new.
Why they chose to go this way, only they know, it is their business.
But you can interpret this as you wish.
Can someone provide an example of scammer that has 14K ip's?
Refund from russians? That's not going to happen.
He told the truth when I confronted him - not a second earlier.
I hope an moderator will going to see where you point the finger. This is 🇷🇴 and you don't even tried to ask for a refund. :-)
unless this is a shadow marketing.
The address in Bucharest turns out to be a ‘studio bronzare’. So basically a tanning studio. Seems the address is fake. Wondering how they got to that address.