romogon, that possibility for fraud and identity theft did cross my mind.

So Belmont8- any update? I came across this webpage today and it just didn't "feel" right. They appear to be the only ones who supposedly have a rose that I want in stock, but I'm just not convinced they are legit.

I initiated a dispute with my credit card company. The results are pending but in the meantime the purchase amount was refunded. I have a feeling that this vendor is not responding to the credit card company's correspondence either. No roses have arrived, needless to say.

I'm sorry they turned out to be crooks, Belmont. I'm glad you charged the purchase. At least someone is standing behind you.

Has anyone else had an experience with this "nursery", besides Belmont? If this is in fact a fraudulent entity then we need to share that information far and wide.

Judging from the responses above, I doubt anyone who posts on this forum is willing to buy from photo thieves, or to risk loss of money and possible ID theft.

The "nursery" could possibly be a front for some sort of illegal activity. That would be my guess, and I would not want my name and information associated with this outfit.

I can't remember on which thread I read it, but recently someone stated that they were almost positive the site was a phishing attempt to gather CC info. I'll try to find the thread and post a link. I wonder if contacting Google would help? They possibly could post a warning or remove it from search results.

John

@belmont8: can you tell us how your experience ended last year? Were you refunded the money? Did you ever receive merchandise and/or a response? Was your CC compromised in any way?

The credit card company refunded my money and that is the last I heard of it. No response or merchandise from the nursery. No fraud on my card.

OK, I found the thread where they discussed the site as being a phish-ery, lol. Christopher has actually posted a link to THIS thread, so now we've created a full circle. The references to it being a phishing site are down near the end of the thread, with the damning evidence in the posts by Bumblekin.

Evidence that Antiqueroses site is fake

Lol that is me, I mean I am active in the Northeast clubs and shows, always get a guest speaker from real local nurseries such as Der Rosenmeister. You would have heard talk about a local amassing such an amazing collection of rarities. I tried to submit a complaint to the FTC and federal phishing sites, it's hard to convince when I haven't lost money.

I think this is a bogus site. Dont send them money

I just had to check out the website after spotting this thread again. The site states that "most of our roses are winter hardy (hardy at least to zone 5 and 6, some to Zone 7),...." That alone is suspicious since a rose nursery would know that zone 7 is warmer than 5/6. Sigh. It's a shame not only that old rose lovers have become prey, but also that such a wonderfullly presented OGR nursery in central NJ doesn't actually exist. Gee, it sounds so perfect, and the photos the Internet criminals stole are heavenly gorgeous, aren't they? Just the right bait for con artists to snare some private info from OGR fans. Sigh again and Grrrr. Carol

Carol, several of those photos are mine, stolen from my site and HMF. I wrote several times to request their removal and got no response whatsoever. Threatening legal action didn't prompt a response either :-(

Grrrrr again, Paul! I wish there were better avenues of recourse for internet crimes. If I get one more email from a "The First Bank of Kenya" or the "IRS".... Carol

There are official ways to deal with such issues, but invoking DMCA to go after the ISP (which is my only recourse at this point) is convoluted, tedious and slow. I decided at that point that I wasn't going to pursue it. However, knowing now that this appears to be a fraudulent entity, I should reconsider; getting this scammer off the internet would be a service to the community.

If you're up to it, Paul, your time and energy in doing so would serve the whole community. This is a clever and seductive scam. Close inspection raises suspicions, but the site is slick!

The criminals behind the scheme must have thoroughly researched their subject matter and their target audience. They stole only the most exsquisite images, and they listed both popular varieties and rare treasures.

Interestingly, the site claims that some of the more common varieties are sold out while uncommon varieties are listed as in stock. Is this a slip due to ignorance that, in the real world, rare gems would fly out of the greenhouses? Or are the predators cleverly hooking old rose gardeners (and potentially our credit cards) with highly prized bait? Implication: at antiqueroses.com you can finally snag that longed for and long awaited plant of Gloire de France.

I'd like to see this operation gone! I find the tailored design of the website and the malicious intentionality of its authors very creepy. Carol

Putting the suspicions on line here, Dave's Garden, National Garden Association https://garden.org/ and anywhere else you can think of will help put the word out to avoid them like the plague. If the information is presented clearly with all the supporting evidence, clearly stating the name (s) of the entities involved, it makes it easily searchable on most search engines. Anyone who doesn't research any business they consider using BEFORE sending any money or information to is being extremely "naive". Of course bad reviews are extremely easy to receive from any disgruntled customer, but they at least give you some background information to delve further into the business and their legitimacy.

I thought there might be a way to complain to the company that hosts the site (Squarespace). But there does not be any easy way to do it since you have to have an account to contact them.

I located the following info on an internet search:

IP Address of Antiqueroses is 198.185.159.135

Hostname:www.antiqueroses.comIP Address:198.185.159.135Organization:SquarespaceISP/Hosting:SquarespaceUpdated:

www.Antiqueroses.com Reverse IP | Websites on the same Webhosting

We found 2 hostnames for IP Address 198.185.159.135

1customflagcompany.com2www.antiqueroses.com

Map location for www.Antiqueroses.com | Antiqueroses

Antiqueroses.com Whois

Registrar

NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.

Whois Server

whois.networksolutions.com

Referral URL

http://networksolutions.com

Status

clientTransferProhibited
https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited

Contact Email

Creation Date

04/15/1997

Updated Date

04/28/2015

Expiration Date

04/16/2020

Registrant

Agh, Marcella
3 JEFFERSON CT
PRINCETON, NJ 08540-9523
UNITED STATES
Telephone: 19088758698
Email:

Administrative Contact

Agh, Marcella
3 JEFFERSON CT
PRINCETON, NJ 08540-9523
UNITED STATES
Telephone: 19088758698
Email:

Technical Contact

Agh, Marcella
3 JEFFERSON CT
PRINCETON, NJ 08540-9523
UNITED STATES
Telephone: 19088758698
Email:

Nameservers

NS75.WORLDNIC.COM
NS76.WORLDNIC.COM

Antiqueroses.com Meta Tags

Interestly, there is a physical address and phone number for this bogus company. Also, Antique Roses dot com is linked to the Custom Flag Company (see above), but the only CFC I pull up is located in Colorado. Its site lists what looks like legitimate contact and customer service info. Curiouser and curiouser....

Depending upon the person/company hosting the site, it may require many complaints for them to do anything. At least posting this information on multiple sites helps bring it to the fore when someone searches the company name.

I tell ya, Squarespace gets ZERO points for making information about their service accessible to non-customers. However, I did finally locate DMCA/copyright information on their Copyright Policy page.

I am certain that all of the photos presented on antiqueroses.com are stolen, and many of the photos probably belong to GW users. So, if you would take a look and see if you recognize any of the photos as yours, or belonging to someone you know, please refer to the Copyright Policy page linked above and file a report to get the images removed (if they are yours). I will be doing this for my own photos, of which there are several. With any luck, Squarespace will act to get this joker booted from their service.

hardy at least to zone 5 and 6, some to Zone 7 This, as others have said, proves that they are NOT from NJ. This is a scam from overseas somewhere. It is someone that is not familar with our zones. They think that the higher the zone goes the colder it is!

This all came about because I was on a mission to snag a "Cosimo Ridolfi" after falling in love with that mottled mauve close-up pic on the HMF site. Then I got all excited thinking I may not have to apply for an import permit/go through a 2-year quarantine/inspection after all. Then reality hit, I, or some of the big-wigs in my club, (The Syracuse Rose Society) would have heard about this epic collection. But no, it actually isn't a thing. I still would love to import some of these anyway!

Yes, the Squarespace/Network Solutions info was a little too accessible (understatement). Ordinarily, I wouldn't reprint such sensitive material, but I thought it might be useful to the various plaintiffs on the forum. Just FYI, the name listed by Squarespace/NS as the website owner does indeed match someone in New Jersey at that address according to public property tax records. So, if necessary, perhaps authorities will succeed in locating the owner...unless there's identity theft involved or the website owner has moved. Also FYI, the property tax connection was an equally easy find. Carol

Guys to be honest.. I used Google maps to find the house and looked at the satellite images. There IS actually a Greenhouse and what look like a ton of little bushes all over the place. It is very small though. Maybe they are still quarantining things LOL

Did you happen to notice the date of the satellite image at the bottom right of the image? I have run into issues trying to find businesses and nurseries in this area where the images show a live business, but in the time between the image being taken and when I sought the entity, they had folded. You find it a lot in the images taken by the self driving car for street images, but quite a few of the satellite images are out of date, too. It's also been particularly interesting looking up real estate to see how its changed in the time between the satellite, street level and advertised dates.

I dabbled around the internet a bit more. It looks like the 3 Jefferson Ct. property may have sold after the last tax posting (mentioned above), and the new owner of the residence is someone other than Ms. Agh.

Ms. Agh's name matches up with a New Jersey actress whose married name is Agh. (She's on IMDB.) Ms. Agh seems to have remarried a former Toys R Us executive but kept the name Agh. She bought a historical property with her new husband, and there's an article in a family newspaper (the family historically connected to the home) about the property and the purchase. Coincidentally, it's written by someone from Portland where I live. Really.

Two thoughts come to mind. It's unsettling how much information we can access about each other on the internet. The other is that what I'm reading is not adding up to bogus rose business. I wonder if Ms. Agh knows her name is connected to this website?

You would be surprised just what can be dug up with a little detective work. My sister just took a vacation to Texas and wished to look up a second cousin she hadn't been in touch with for 37 years. She didn't have his phone number, but we knew what city he had lived in and the usual familial information. I was able to dig out his cell phone, address (without paying any site for any information); the fact he recently retired from his law practice; his divorce a few years ago; what cemetery his father was buried in and the phone number for the cemetery (in case the other number wasn't still current) and a lot of little "interesting" pieces of information about his hobbies; his ex wife's pursuits and several members of her family. All without any expense and in about half an hour's time. Yes, she located him and they spent three days reacquainting with each other. Imagine what someone who didn't have your best interests at heart may be able to find out about you and make use of.

It was a recent pic, it said 2017... you should take a look and see what you think

I have to say, sounds very like a front for illegal money. I wouldn't want to touch this thing for all the found albas in Germany, which I covet to the point of obsession.

Has anyone reported paying for and receiving plants from this nursery?

I just placed an order with this company 2 days ago. And then I saw this forum. Should I see if the order goes through? Did anyone receive the roses they ordered? Arthur de (Sansal?) is the rose I purchased as no one else had it. Starting to panic...

Rachel, I don't want to sound alarmist, but if I were you, I'd stop payment with your CC company or bank, then ask them to disable that card and issue another one for the account with a new number. Just to be safe. Explain to them you suspect the possibility of identity theft. Everything about this "company" is shady. It has all the hallmarks of a phishing operation.

Once you have a new account number, if you use your card with websites where you have them store your payment info then you'll have to go to each site and edit your card number. If it's a debit card and you have any automatic payments set up, be sure to reconfigure those before your next payment is due.

John

Rachel,

As far as we know, nobody who placed an order with that "company" ever received their purchase. I'd follow John's suggestion, if I were you.

Can I wait 1 week and see? Or do credit cards require immediate action when something is in dispute?

Check your card statement for the details. Personally, I wouldn't chance it. There is no evidence your plant will ever materialize and strong evidence to the contrary, but it's your choice.

I just realized I used a debit card...

Still check your statement or call your bank. It may not be too late, but you will never know unless you check. Good luck.

Rachel, I will repeat what I speculated earlier. I believe that if this site is not a phishing site, it must be a front for illegal activity. I would respectfully suggest that you DO NOT WANT your name, identity info, or shipping address to turn up when the operation gets raided, which it surely will (IMHO).

I agree with the others, and am grateful that I never stepped into that pit.

If I were you, I wouldn't wait at all and would call your bank the first thing in the morning cancelling this transaction and follow all the steps that you were advised earlier for a debit card. I did a quick search on google images and the photo for this rose on their website is exactly the same as the photo on another website (rosomaniya.ru) but rotated by 90 degrees. This is very shady for any business and I think you should take all precautionary steps against potential identity theft. I don't know if this would happen, but better err on the side of caution. Hope all goes well for you and good luck.

Edited: I wanted to remove the link to this other website, because frankly I wouldn't dare going there for it may also be an illegit website, but for some reason the link cannot be removed. I looked at it only at google images, so please don't go there.

Rachel, ditto all the above suggestions! Carol

I contacted my bank and they are refunding me.

Oh, and I was issued a new card. Thanks everyone! Now how can we remove these people? They have been doing this since 2016 it appears...

Rachel,

One way to deal with them and get them off the web is to file a DMCA take down for misappropriated photos (It appears ALL of the photos they use are swiped from other sources, including HMF and my personal web site). If they do not comply with the removal of stolen intellectual property, then their host would be contacted by the authorities and a request made to rescind service to this entity. I've written several times and the most recent emails to them requesting removal of misappropriated, copyrighted content have threatened DMCA intervention, and have been ignored every time. I have not yet pursued DMCA filing because its a pain to do, but perhaps I should.

Yes sir, you SHOULD. People and companies get away with this crap because it's either time consuming or a PITA to take action against it. But, until and unless we do, they will continue doing it and we'll continue to complain.

Paul, what about sending them all a fat bill for use of your images? This topic proves they were used for sales. I have a friend who had his images used for a vets van.... they paid for the usage and he charged a premium

@Kippy: I have sent them an invoice for photo usage about 18 months back, via email, and it was ignored as were all my other emails.

I ordered 3 roses in April 2017 and cc charged. Never heard a word from them, they did not respond to my emails. I was suspicious when I saw the photos...whole website was too slick. My cc company is now handling it. I wish I had checked this forum first.

I'm so sorry Camieux! I wish there was some way for all the victims to band together and approach authorities. Carol