Originally Syndicated on September 26, 2024 @ 7:09 am
What Happened?
Partners Special Capital Limited, an investment firm claiming to offer lucrative financial services, has recently come under fire for its questionable business practices and attempts to suppress damaging reports. Allegations against the company include accusations of misleading clients, dubious financial dealings, and failure to deliver promised returns. Former clients and financial watchdogs have raised concerns about the firm’s lack of transparency in its investment strategies, leading to speculation that it operates in a manner similar to other high-risk ventures that prioritize short-term gain over long-term stability.
Despite mounting criticism, Partners Special Capital Limited has reportedly employed tactics to censor negative reviews and bury unflattering news. This includes legal threats against former clients and publications, aimed at minimizing the impact of damaging stories. The company’s aggressive approach to controlling its public image has only intensified suspicion about its legitimacy, as more clients come forward with complaints about poor service, delayed withdrawals, and unmet financial promises.
In an era where financial transparency is critical, Partners Special Capital Limited’s attempts to hide its shady past raise red flags for potential investors, who are urged to proceed with caution.
Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)
Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.
List of Fake Copyright Notices for Partners Special Capital Limited
| Number of Fake DMCA Notice(s) | 1 |
| Lumen Database Notice(s) | https://lumendatabase.org/notices/43984235 |
| Sender(s) | Norine Cohn |
| Date(s) | Aug 21, 2024 |
| Fake Link(s) Used by Scammers | https://telegra.ph/PartnersSpecialCapitalLtdcom-Partners-Special-Capital-Ltd-otzyvy—NE-VERIT-Kak- vyvesti-dengi-08-21-4 |
| Original Link(s) Targeted | https://grazyna30495.blogspot.com/ |
Evidence and Screenshots
How do we investigate fake DMCA notices?
To accomplish this, we utilize the OSINT Tool provided by FakeDMCA.com and the Lumen API for Researchers, courtesy of the Lumen Database.
FakeDMCA.com is the work of an independent team of research students and cybersecurity professionals, developed under Project UnCensor. Their OSINT Tool, designed to uncover and analyze takedown notices, represents a significant step forward in combating these abusive practices. It has become a valuable resource, increasingly relied upon by journalists and law enforcement agencies across the United States.
Lumen, on the other hand, is an independent research initiative dedicated to studying takedown notices and other legal demands related to online content removal. The project, which operates under the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, plays a crucial role in tracking and understanding the broader implications of such requests.
What was Partners Special Capital Limited trying to hide?
Partners Special Capital Limited presents itself as a sophisticated investment firm offering a range of trading opportunities across various financial markets. It claims to operate out of the UK and provides different account types and trading plans, catering to both beginner and experienced traders. However, upon closer inspection, numerous red flags have emerged, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the company’s operations. Complaints from clients, coupled with investigative reports, have revealed a troubling pattern of fraudulent practices, a lack of regulatory oversight, and efforts to suppress damaging information online.
False Identity and Misleading Information
One of the most concerning aspects of Partners Special Capital Limited is its apparent misuse of the identity of a legitimate company. The broker claims to be registered in the UK, using the name of a company that does exist in the UK registry. However, the legitimate company is engaged in capital management and real estate investments, not in providing brokerage services. This deception allows the fraudulent operation to mask itself under the guise of a credible, established firm.
The real company, which has no relation to financial brokerage, operates a website outlining its actual services in capital and debt market investments. Partners Special Capital Limited, on the other hand, has no valid regulatory standing and does not hold a license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or any other regulatory body, despite claiming to operate in one of the most regulated financial markets in the world(Financial Reviews by Experts). This is a significant red flag, as any legitimate brokerage must be authorized by a regulatory authority to legally operate.
Unregulated and High-Risk Operations
The absence of proper regulatory oversight is a clear indication that Partners Special Capital Limited is operating illegally. This lack of regulation puts investors at extreme risk, as there is no guarantee that their funds are protected, nor are there legal avenues to recover investments in the case of fraud or malpractice. Without a regulatory body monitoring the broker’s activities, there is no assurance that it adheres to standard financial practices or ethical conduct.
Unlicensed brokers like Partners Special Capital Limited often operate in the shadows, targeting inexperienced traders and investors who may not be aware of the importance of regulation in the financial markets. The company’s deceptive marketing tactics and lack of transparency regarding its trading conditions are warning signs that investors should heed carefully.
Dubious Trading Practices and Lack of Transparency
The trading conditions offered by Partners Special Capital Limited are vague and non-transparent. The broker offers several types of trading accounts, but essential details such as spreads, maximum leverage, and swaps are not clearly disclosed on the website(Financial Reviews by Experts). Typically, legitimate brokers provide clear, detailed information about these factors upfront to ensure that traders are fully informed about the costs and risks associated with trading.
In the case of Partners Special Capital Limited, traders only find out about these critical details after making transactions, leaving them vulnerable to unexpected losses. Additionally, the company offers suspiciously high returns on savings accounts, with promises of 21-37% interest and monthly payouts. These claims raise further concerns, as they are not backed by transparent investment strategies or insured funds, making them likely too good to be true.
The lack of clarity in how these returns are generated suggests that the platform may be relying on new deposits to pay off earlier investors—an operational model often associated with Ponzi schemes. Such schemes collapse once the influx of new money slows down, leaving investors unable to withdraw their funds.
Complaints and Allegations
Numerous complaints from former clients of Partners Special Capital Limited highlight the difficulty in withdrawing funds, the lack of cooperation from customer support, and the constant pressure to deposit more money into their accounts. These are hallmark tactics of fraudulent brokers, where traders are encouraged to invest larger sums but face major obstacles when attempting to access their funds.
Review platforms and forums are rife with negative reviews from clients who describe the broker as a scam. Many have reported losing significant amounts of money, with some victims claiming to have lost tens of thousands of euros and pounds. The company’s unwillingness to process withdrawals and the unresponsiveness of its support team have left many traders feeling powerless and deceived.
Efforts to Censor Negative Information
Partners Special Capital Limited has made multiple attempts to suppress negative reviews and damaging information online. One of its primary tactics is to frequently change its domain name. Originally, the company operated under the domain partnersspecialcapitalltd.com, but after receiving negative reviews and being blacklisted by regulators, it switched to partnersspecialcapitalltd.vip. This domain-switching strategy is often used by fraudulent companies to evade detection and maintain an appearance of legitimacy, making it difficult for potential investors to find accurate information about the broker’s shady history.
Furthermore, the broker’s website provides minimal information about its trading platform, services, and account options. In fact, the website appears to be poorly designed, functioning mainly as a registration portal, with little functional content. This lack of detail not only makes it difficult for traders to make informed decisions but also suggests that the broker is not interested in maintaining long-term relationships with clients. Instead, its focus seems to be on acquiring deposits from new investors before disappearing under a different domain.
Fake Awards and Misleading Marketing
Another way Partners Special Capital Limited attempts to deceive potential investors is through the use of fake awards and exaggerated marketing claims. The company boasts about winning numerous awards within just a few months of operation, a claim that is not only improbable but also lacks any verifiable details. The awards are not named, nor are the categories or institutions that supposedly granted them mentioned.
This is a common tactic among scam brokers, who use false accolades to create an illusion of legitimacy and competence. These claims often lure in unsuspecting traders, particularly those who are new to the world of online trading and may not recognize the warning signs of fraudulent operations.
Conclusion
Partners Special Capital Limited is a clear example of a fraudulent broker that preys on inexperienced investors through deceptive marketing, false claims of legitimacy, and vague trading conditions. With no regulatory oversight and a growing number of complaints regarding withdrawal issues, poor customer service, and fake information, the company has raised numerous red flags that point to its status as a scam.
Investors are strongly advised to avoid dealing with Partners Special Capital Limited, as the risks far outweigh any potential benefits. It is essential for traders to thoroughly research any broker before investing, ensuring they are properly licensed and regulated by reputable authorities. For those who have already fallen victim to this broker, seeking legal recourse or utilizing chargeback services may be the only viable options to recover lost funds.
Only Partners Special Capital Limited benefits from this crime.
Since the fake copyright takedown notices were designed to remove negative content for Partners Special Capital Limited from Google, we assume Partners Special Capital Limited or someone associated with Partners Special Capital Limited is behind this scam. It is often a fly-by-night Online Reputation agency working on behalf of Partners Special Capital Limited. In this case, Partners Special Capital Limited, at best, will be an “accomplice” or an “accessory” to the crime. The specific laws may vary depending on the jurisdiction. Still, the legal principle generally holds that if you actively participate in planning, encouraging, or facilitating a crime, you can be charged with it, even if you did not personally commit it.
How do we counteract this malpractice?
Once we ascertain the involvement of Partners Special Capital Limited (or actors working on behalf of Partners Special Capital Limited), we will inform Partners Special Capital Limited of our findings via Electronic Mail.
Our preliminary assessment suggests that Partners Special Capital Limited may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Partners Special Capital Limited, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Partners Special Capital Limited to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.
Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –
- Inform Google about the fraud committed against them.
- Inform the victims of the fake DMCA about their websites.
- Inform relevant law enforcement agencies
- File counter-notices on Google to reinstate the ‘removed’ content
- Publish copies of the ‘removed’ content on our network of 50+ websites
By investigating the fake DMCA takedown attempts, we hope to shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how Partners Special Capital Limited and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking them to allegations of fraud, tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking…
Since Partners Special Capital Limited made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and our original review of Partners Special Capital Limited, including but not limited to user contributions, remain a permanent record for anyone interested in Partners Special Capital Limited.
A case perfect for the Streisand effect…
Potential Consequences for Partners Special Capital Limited
Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.
Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.
Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.” Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).
Is Partners Special Capital Limited Committing a Cyber Crime?
Yes, it seems so. Partners Special Capital Limited used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Partners Special Capital Limited could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.
Faced with these limitations, some companies like Partners Special Capital Limited have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.
Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Partners Special Capital Limited is certainly keeping interesting company here….
The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.
Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.
Reputation Agency’s Modus Operandi
The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.
Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.
How did Partners Special Capital Limited purport this DMCA Fraud?
As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Partners Special Capital Limited creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.
The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.
The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.
In committing numerous offences, Partners Special Capital Limited either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Partners Special Capital Limited, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.
The Reputation Laundering
Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.
The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.
In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.
This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.
Not In Good Company
Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Partners Special Capital Limited is in great company ….
Ironically, the manipulation tactics used to remove public-interest information from the Internet are backfiring on Partners Special Capital Limited, which is now associated with the worst of this world.
Here are some of the specimens that share the internet space with Partners Special Capital Limited –
Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado
Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado appears to be the former foreign affairs minister of the Dominican Republic. His name is listed next to more than 500 links to news articles, blogs, social media posts, and YouTube videos targeted for removal or de-indexing. Many of the articles refer to questions over his political fundraising practices. They include accusations that Vargas had received donations from an individual who would later be convicted of drug trafficking. Some targeted links remain active, while others return 404 errors or “file not found.”
José Antonio Gordo Valero
José Gordo joined OneCoin in 2015 and has been named in an indictment for the OneCoin scam in Argentina. The articles listed next to Gordo’s name in the documents reviewed by Rest of World include references to his role at the company.
Diego Adolfo Marynberg
He appears to be the same Marynberg connected to funding right-wing causes, including settlement efforts in Israel. Reports also alleged that his company received preferential treatment in acquiring Argentinian bonds worth millions of dollars. More than 70 URLs appear next to Marynberg’s name in the documents, including pages from the Israeli newspapers The Times of Israel, Haaretz, and Clarin, one of Argentina’s most prominent news sites.
Majed Khalil Majzoub
Majed is an influential businessman with close ties to several governments, including the administration of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Majzoub’s name appears next to more than 180 URLs, mostly from independent outlets. Of the two URLs that pointed to articles from Germany’s Der Spiegel, one now returns an error message; the other, which appears to refer to relations between Venezuela and Colombia, directs to an unrelated story about Brexit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Partners Special Capital Limited commit a cyber crime?
Yes, filing a fake DMCA notice is illegal. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows copyright holders to issue takedown notices to protect their works from unauthorized use online. However, submitting a false DMCA notice can result in legal consequences.
Under the DMCA, a person knowingly submitting a false copyright claim can be subject to penalties, including damages. DMCA notices require the filer to certify, under penalty of perjury, that the content infringes their copyright. If the notice is found to be fraudulent or made in bad faith, the filer can face.
What are the potential consequences for Partners Special Capital Limited?
Civil lawsuits: The affected party can sue for damages, legal fees, and other costs.
Perjury charges: False certification in a DMCA notice can result in perjury-related penalties, which vary by jurisdiction.
Other legal penalties: Fines or other penalties depending on the case
Did Partners Special Capital Limited commit a Civil or a Criminal offense?
Perjury is a criminal offense, not a civil crime. It involves intentionally lying or making false statements under oath, typically in a court of law or other legal proceedings, such as affidavits or depositions.
Criminal charges: Perjury is prosecuted as a criminal act, and a conviction can lead to fines or imprisonment, depending on the severity of the false statement and its impact on the case.
Felony status: In many jurisdictions, perjury is classified as a felony, which carries more severe penalties than misdemeanour offences.
So, while it may affect civil cases, the crime of perjury itself is strictly criminal.
What is the Streisand effect?
The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms.
Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible.
Can Partners Special Capital Limited purge its Digital past?
Once information is uploaded to the internet, it can be replicated, shared, archived, or stored across multiple servers. If Partners Special Capital Limited manage to delete the original post or file, copies may remain accessible in other places, such as web archives, screenshots, or other users’ devices.
In practice, completely erasing content from the internet can be extremely difficult due to how widely information can spread and be stored. Thus, the idea that “the Internet never forgets” reflects the challenge of entirely removing digital content once it has been shared.
What else is Partners Special Capital Limited hiding?
Click here to visit the Google Search page for ‘Partners Special Capital Limited’. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)
To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with us. If you have any information on Partners Special Capital Limited that you want to share with us, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].
All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.
References and Citations Used
Over thirty thousand DMCA notices reveal an organized attempt to abuse copyright law.
Reputation Management, or Internet Conspiracy
Exposed documents reveal how the powerful cleaned up their digital past using a reputation laundering firm.
Companies Use Fake Websites and Backdated Articles to Censor Google’s Search Results.
Bad Reviews: How Companies Are Using Fake Websites to Censor Content
How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists
Many thanks to FakeDMCA.com and Lumen for providing access to their database.
Photos and Illustrations provided by DALL-E 3 – “a representation of Partners Special Capital Limited censoring the internet and committing cyber crimes.”
- Our investigative report on Partners Special Capital Limited’s efforts to suppress online speech is significant, as it raises serious concerns about its integrity. The findings suggest that Partners Special Capital Limited has engaged in questionable practices, including potential perjury, impersonation, and fraud, in a misguided attempt to manage or salvage its reputation.
- We intend to file a counternotice to reinstate the removed article(s). While this particular instance is relatively straightforward, it is important to note that, in other cases, the overwhelming volume of automated DMCA takedown notices can significantly hinder the ability of affected parties to respond—especially for those not large media organizations.
- You need an account with fakeDMCA.com and Lumen to access the research data. However, accounts are not widely available since these non-profit organisations manage large databases that could be susceptible to misuse. Nevertheless, they do offer access to non-profits and researchers.
- It’s unclear why U.S. authorities have yet to act against these rogue reputation agencies, whose business model seems rooted in fraudulent practices.
- We’ve reached out to Partners Special Capital Limited for a comment or rebuttal regarding this investigation. It will strongly suggest they were behind the takedown attempt if they remain silent.
About the Author
The author is affiliated with Harvard University and serves as a researcher at both Lumen and FakeDMCA.com. In his personal capacity, he and his team have been actively investigating and reporting on organized crime related to fraudulent copyright takedown schemes. Additionally, his team provides advisory services to major law firms and is frequently consulted on matters pertaining to intellectual property law. He can be reached at [email protected] directly.
