Hopefully, they just took my advice to stop posting more details on any public forum.

Right now, AI programs still "write" atrociously. However, if they eventually generate writing equivalent to that of good human writers, all of us will be out of business, not just essay companies such as the one referenced in this thread.

The best that AI can do right now is make an ESL writer sound more like a very bad NES writer.

@Sammyahmed

If you paid by credit card, those screen shots should be all the proof you need to file a successful chargeback, because you didn't receive what you ordered.

If prospective customers did a little bit of due diligence to research the posting history of writers on this forum, they wouldn't really need to rely on pure luck just to find a good trustworthy writer here.

One advantage of using a writer who posts here regularly is that it allows you to see how well we actually write in English. Good native English speakers can always tone down our writing to meet the needs of ESL clients, but that obviously isn't the case the other way around, because ESL writers can't simply choose to write as fluently or as well as native English speakers.

As I explained in the same previous thread you're referencing, "trust" isn't even necessary when the ID info provided by a writer is independently verifiable by clients. Once I provide my full name, anybody can find my address in NYC and my landline, without even relying on me for the phone number, because my info is all listed publicly. That's even more reliable than relying on me to provide the same info, because it's completely impossible to hack into public records to create a fake decades-long address and phone history, retroactively. In my case, it's also completely impossible to hack into the public website of the US Department of Health & Human Services Inspector General's office to (retroactively) insert my (unusual) name as the Writer/Editor of HHS-OIG reports that have been on the agency's server for 15+ years.

Frankly, I haven't experienced much of an issue with prospective clients requesting more proof of identity from me than my full name, precisely because they can confirm my identity independently, and they can reach me by phone at the same phone # that they find in public information databases for NYC residents. Anybody can make up a new fake name that can't be verified independently using public databases; however, nobody can fabricate a name that's so easily confirmed by decades of public information, especially when the person can also be reached by phone at the exact phone number associated with the name in all of those public information sources. In 20+ years, fewer than 10 prospective clients have even needed to call me, partly because some of the same Internet searches that generate my address and phone history also generate my email history and display my AOL email that also dates back more than 20 years.

Finally, regarding the idea of video meetings: (1) A video meeting obviously provides no proof at all of the name or identity of the person appearing on the screen; and (2) I'd think that the absolute last thing that any student would want to do is create a permanent video record of his interview with an academic writer if he's so worried about being ripped off or blackmailed that he needs to do a video chat with a writer, in the first place, especially a writer he does not yet know he can trust to be a legitimate honest writer and not a blackmailer. Conversely, there's zero potential risk to prospective clients associated with doing a basic search online to verify that the name provided by a writer is both real and also associated with a lifelong residential and phone history. Once you've verified that the person on the other end of the phone can't possibly be anybody other than the person whose name the writer provided, (because you used public information to find that phone number, independently), you know you're really dealing with the same person whose name you searched. As always, the best possible protection you can ever have against potential blackmail is simply knowing the real identity of the person with whom you're dealing, because blackmail is completely impossible to perpetrate without anonymity.

Again, it would be advisable for you to continue these types of conversations about the details of your particular situations privately, for some of the reasons mentioned in Post #18.

It might only be very easy to make up a new name that's entirely devoid of any residential history capable of being verified independently. That's why I have always made very clear that it's important to confirm any ID information provided by a writer independently, using public information searches:


It would actually be impossible for someone to make up a name, especially a very unusual name, and also to create a fake retroactive history of addresses and phone numbers associated with that newly made-up fake name, going back decades. Just about any search of my full name will immediately generate my current street address, as well as my landline, where I can be reached. Furthermore, it would also be completely impossible for someone to hack into the US Department of Health & Human Services Inspector General's public website, to fraudulently insert my name as the "Writer/Editor" on the Acknowledgement page of HHS-OIG reports that were published 15+ years ago. The same goes for hacking into the US Patent and Trademark Office to fake anything about my 1992 patent for reusable hockey tape under my name in the publicly searchable USPTO database. Finally, I don't believe it's possible to obtain a new landline in NYC (especially with an old 212 # vs. a new 646 #) without proof of occupancy at the exact physical address associated with that landline, or under the name of any person other than the person associated with the proof of occupancy on that new account. Phone numbers can also be searched very easily, nowadays, with those search results providing the entire history of landlines; in my case, the (independently) verifiable history of the landline where I can still be reached today goes back many decades.

So, without trusting a single word from me as to the truth about my identity, anybody can simply do his own quick completely independent search of public databases to cross-reference and verify my full name, my long-term NYC address associated with it, my long-term landline associated with it, as well as the irrefutable evidence that I obviously really worked as a Writer/Editor for the US Federal Government at 26 Federal Plaza, in Manhattan.

I've already done that several times for very skittish clients who were already ripped off by a company or a bad writer by the time they decided to try me.

No legitimate essay company or writer ever promises an unconditional refund based on whether or not the customer is "satisfied" and nobody should ever trust any essay service that makes such a ridiculous promise. Legitimate companies and writers stand behind their work and will always provide free revisions to correct their own mistakes, but only objective mistakes, such as failing to follow something clearly required by the original specifications and instructions.

That's the most important information to help others avoid becoming victims of the same companies. Simply identify the company that did this to you in your first post and include only the most basic information, such as how quickly all of their phony customer service enthusiasm about "helping you find the perfect expert writer" before your payment changed and immediately turned into blackmail threats as soon as you tried to cancel the order when they missed your deadline, or after you requested revisions, under their "guarantee" of unlimited free revisions, just to conform to your original specs that you provided with your initial order, or because the essay they sent you turned out to be completely worthless, barely comprehensible ESL writing, etc.

Avoid adding subsequent details that could easily identify you to your blackmailers if they monitor this forum. One of the purposes of ignoring all of their direct messages, in the first place, is for them to realize that they're just wasting their time trying to threaten you with the "consequences" of ignoring their demands. When you continue posting more details of all of their subsequent threats and other communications, you're simultaneously letting them know, indirectly, that you're still reading every word of their messages and threats, which only encourages them to continue bothering you.

As I suggested in this other related thread, it's not necessarily in your best interest to continue posting more details about your project/transaction on any public forum:
essayscam.org/forum/gt/blackmailed-thesis-research-company-located-7056/

The most important thing is simply to post the name and url of any of these criminal blackmailers so that other potential victims can avoid being scammed. Beyond that, the fewer details you publicize about your project, the better, for your own sake.

Ideally, if you've already been blackmailed, your first post here should name the company and then you should ignore all of their subsequent messages and block every account through which they contact you. I'd suggest that you avoid continuing to post all the details of their messages and of your exchanges with them, because there's a pretty good chance that your blackmailers also monitor forums such as this one. Continuing to post about it here undermines much of the entire purpose of ignoring their messages in the first place, because it indicates to them that you're still reading their messages and that their threats are frightening you. They (obviously) know enough about your transaction to figure out who you are from all those details that you post here. If you've already made the mistake of using a scam company before reading anything on this forum, simply post the name and url of any blackmailers here in your very first post, to help others (hopefully) avoid the same trap, and then stop adding more details about your particular project and/or transaction.

Never pay blackmailers. If you do, they'll just continue demanding more money from you, anyway. All you need to do is read any of the existing threads here on related topics. In short, ignore every message from them, ideally, starting with their initial demand; then, immediately block them on every means by which they contact you. Report them to ic3.gov/Home/ComplaintChoice in the US and to actionfraud.police.uk/how-to-report-fraud in the UK. Don't do anything else, regardless of what their messages say. Never even consider contacting anybody at your school, "first."

It's hardly a good sign that (literally) the very first first sentence on their homepage is grammatically incorrect: "Get an expert academic writing assistance!" However, their most dangerous offer to prospective clients is their "Editing And Proofreading" service. If you send any essay company your own essay, they can do whatever they want with it, such as adding it to their own database for sale or for use as a free sample on their website. Even worse, once they have your work, they can immediately start blackmailing you for money as soon as you decline to place the order, by threatening to upload your essay to plagiarism scanners so that when it's checked after submission, your entire work immediately gets flagged as though you plagiarized every word of your own hard work. As always, the only way to protect yourself against that is to use only essay writers who will provide you with their full ID information, street address, and their local landline phone number, on request, because threats and blackmail are absolutely impossible without hiding behind the cloak of anonymity, even in remote online transactions.

That's why the safest option is always to use a provider who is willing to disclose his full name, exact location, and a local landline phone # to prospective clients on request, so that you can confirm that information independently, using public information searches, just to make sure that you're dealing with a real person who can never hide behind the cloak of anonymity typically associated with online transactions.

All you need to do is read this thread: https://essayscam.org/forum/es/essayhub-blackmail-6924/

I just figured that you might want to share your own history, too.

Thirteen years later, if you want an essay that sounds like it was written by a high school freshman with made up references, at least you can get that for free from ChatGPT. If you want a quality essay that's appropriate for the college or graduate level with real references, you'll still need an honest experienced human writer.

No problem. I was born and raised in NYC, went to grade school on 85th Street, high school in Riverdale, college in Upstate New York, and law school in NYC. How about you? Where are you from, originally? At what age did you immigrate to the US? What is your primary language?

PV didn't suddenly retire; he planned his retirement years in advance, and he referred most of his clients to me.

One of the biggest problems with using AI instead of search engines is that AI programs can't respond appropriately when asked questions that they can't answer correctly; instead, they simply make up false information (and fabricate nonexistent sources for that information). Here's futurist Ray Kurzweil on Joe Rogan's podcast explaining this phenomenon of AI "hallucination" and, specifically, why traditional online search engines are far superior (10:00-14:00):
youtube.com/watch?v=Tr-VgjtUZLM

The same holds true for independent writers who have been earning the repeat business of their long-term customers for a decade or more. As long as you're on this forum, you can check their reputations going all the way back to their very first posts.

Generally, any essay company with "faculty" or "professors" or "experts" (etc.) in its name or url has absolutely nobody on staff who is or who has ever been anything close to a faculty member or professor at any academic institution, or who possesses any kind of expertise in anything related to any field of academic writing. The same is almost always true with respect to any essay company with "UK" in its name and/or url being located anywhere near the UK.

You're welcome. I'd also avoid continuing to post more details of ongoing exchanges with blackmailers here, because there's a good chance they're reading these threads and it only encourages them to continue when they know that you're still reading their messages and that they're scaring you.

All of the help you need to avoid being blackmailed in the first place and everything that you definitely should and/or should not do if you're already a victim is fully detailed in Post #s 2, 4, and 9 right here in this thread.

There's no such thing as a "copyright certificate" (in this context). Any demand by an essay company for payment in relation to a "copyright certificate" is simply an excuse for their blackmail, because "We have to pay for your copyright certificate" sounds better than "We're blackmailing you because we want your money."

Copyright is automatic and belongs to whomever created the work. The creator may choose to register the copyright and apply for a certificate of copyright registration, but its only purpose is to be able to prove copyright ownership in a lawsuit against someone else for infringement, such as for using the work without the copyright owner's permission. If the copyright owner doesn't intend to sue someone for infringement, there's no reason to spend money on the application fee for a certificate of copyright.

Transferring copyright to someone else, (such as to the customer who paid for the work to be created), requires no "certificate" and nothing more formal than anything in writing that says the creator is transferring copyright to the customer. That writing can be as simple as an email or a TOS note saying "customer owns exclusive copyright" or even a statement on a website that says "customer owns copyright to any work" etc. The customer doesn't need any kind of certificate, either, unless the customer intends to sue someone else for using the work without his permission.

All of the guarantees and other promises or representations posted on any website, including about copyright ownership, are always enforceable as terms of your agreement with the service provider, even without any other "writing." Stick to providers whose websites state that the customer owns the copyright to any work and just save a screen shot of that page. That's your proof of copyright transfer from them to you. There's almost no conceivable reason for you to worry about registering your own copyright, but if you choose to do so for some reason, just do it yourself for a small fraction of the ridiculous amount of money demanded by scam essay companies blackmailing you about it. (They're obviously never going to use your money for any "certificate," either, if you're actually gullible enough to pay them.)

So, stop worrying about all these laughably stupid demands about "copyright certificates" because they're nothing more than a way to trick you into believing that those demands are something more than exactly what they are: blackmail. As always, ignore, delete, and block any and all messages from the company and just get on with your lives.

In my experience, no commercial essay site ever sells copyrights; in fact, they expressly state that the company retains exclusive copyrights and that customers must "cite" any portion of any work provided by the company. Always do a quick search (CTRL + F) for "copyright" on the web page and/or the FAQs/TOS/Guarantees page to see whether the company or writer you're considering retains copyrights or allows customers to own the exclusive copyrights to any paid work. If you want to own all the rights to the work that you purchase, simply make sure that you use a provider who allows customers to do so.

For an experienced writer, the hardest part of dissertations can be finding enough appropriate source material. Luckily, PhD candidates tend to be very familiar with the related literature and, typically, can supply much of it.

There is no such thing as any plagiarism tool that can scan and identify AI writing. AI programs don't typically plagiarize words or combinations of words that can be identified by a scanner.

Even the best AI programs, such as GPTChat currently produce garbage when used for academic essays. Editing garbage still produces nothing but slightly better smelling garbage.

If you didn't actually submit anything they provided for academic credit, there's nothing for which you could possibly be disciplined, even if they managed to reach your professor.

Relying on AI to do your research is a terrible idea, because, wholly aside from their atrocious writing, AI programs are notorious for using completely inappropriate types of non-academic sources, such as informal blogs written by random non-experts and grade-school-level websites. In this case, detailing how a university student got caught using GPTChat, one of the sources used in an essay about Leadership was a book about wizards and witches:

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12086319/First-known-student-UK-university-caught-using-AI-bot-ChatGPT-citing-Wizards-Witches-book.html

This provides a perfect example of two things:

1. It's very important to simply use your own critical thinking skills and just ask yourself whether the "justification" for any kind of money demand even makes the slightest bit of logical sense. If you asked for a refund and they refused, why would you even consider sending them more money for the "copyrights" to work that was so bad that you requested a refund for it in the first place? If your original payment was less than £499, why would you send them even more money than whatever you originally paid for the project that you didn't want and couldn't use? The idea of paying additional money to receive a refund of the original payment with a promise that both payments will be refunded is absolutely ridiculous. If your original payment was more than £499 and they really had any intention of "refunding" anything, why wouldn't they simply withhold that portion of it temporarily to cover the "copyright certificate"? They didn't even pretend that they weren't blackmailing you, because they demanded money not to report you to your university. After that, it doesn't matter what excuse they use as the "justification." Blackmailers don't issue "refunds."

2. If you are actually being blackmailed or threatened, the last thing you should ever consider doing is paying the ransom, because nobody who is blackmailing you in the first place can ever be trusted to stop doing it after you pay the ransom.

The best way to eliminate any risk of trouble from any legitimate writer is simply to avoid ever doing business with anybody who refuses to divulge his full name, address, and landline that can be independently verified.

Just continue blocking them on every form of communication through which they attempt to contact you and never respond to any of their messages at all for any reason.

I agree with this.

Most of my existing clients who tried AI quickly realized that it's completely inadequate for their needs because AI writing is substantially devoid of any kind of analysis and the essays that it produces just can't compare to (good) human writing.

I don't think the other contributors to this thread were necessarily collaborrating with the OP. What the OP apparently did was simply try to put the company on notice, and well in advance, that the customer already knew exactly where to publicize a bad outcome in the event the company failed to provide what it had promised and obligated itself to provide. It's not "blackmail" to let a service provider or seller know that the customer will leave detailed (true, good-faith) negative feedback in the event it turns out to be warranted; it's more of providing an incentive for the company either to: 1. Simply deliver exactly what was promised, or 2. Refund the payment if/when they realize that they are unable to do so, for whatever reason. It's only "blackmail" if the actions being implied are intended to recover money back despite it not being rightfully owed, or intended to pressure the company to provide more work (or unpaid/unowed) editing after delivery of appropriate work pursuant to the order. Threatening to harm a company's reputation over an unowed refund for simply delivering the exact work that was agreed uopn is "blackmal," as is threatening a customer for refusing to pay more money than was originally agreed for a project.