Credit card giant VISA International has suspended its business with ePassporte, an Internet payment system widely commonly used to pay adult Webmasters and a raft of other affiliate programs.
Company owner Christopher Mallick broke the news to ePassporte customers in an e-mail sent Thursday, saying Visa International had suspended the company’s ePassporte Visa program, which is processed through St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla National Bank.
Dear ePassporte Account Holders,
Please be advised that, at 12:00 PM PDT today, September 2, 2010, we were notified that effective immediately, Visa International has suspended our banking partner’s (St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla National Bank) ePassporte Visa program. The ePassporte e-Wallet program continues to be up and running, except funds cannot be transferred between your Visa Account and your e-Wallet. At this time ePassporte can no longer issue Visa Cards, and the ability for our Account Holders to make point of sale purchases and withdraw funds from ATMs has also been suspended.
At this time we do not know why this drastic action was taken by Visa. To us, it is unconscionable that such action would be taken without the opportunity for ePassporte to fully understand Visa’s reasons and to be able to take all steps necessary to keep our program running the way it has so successfully done for over 7 years. But that is what Visa has done.
As soon as we have more information we will be in contact with you.
In the meantime please be assured that your funds are safe.
We are very sorry for the short notice and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The ePassporte team is working diligently to rectify this situation.
We kindly ask you to bear with us while we work through this issue.
Please feel free to contact us via the message center or at our call center, should you have any questions, comments or concerns.
Thank You,
Christopher Mallick
ePassporte’s Visa Virtual Account allowed customers to pay online at any Website that accepted Visa cards. The program also issued customers physical cards that could be used to withdraw cash at ATMs around the globe.
I reached out to both Mallick and Visa for further details and will update this blog if I hear from either.
Update, Sept. 7, 1:07 p.m. ET: Visa just issued the following statement, sent to me via e-mail in response to my request last week for more information:
“At the request of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank (SKNA), on September 2, 2010, Visa blocked network access for prepaid cards issued by SKNA and operated by ePassporte.com to address certain program deficiencies. ePassporte.com is a third-party agent that works with SKNA.
“It is important to note that impacted SKNA prepaid cardholders are still able to access their funds through SKNA or SKNA’s agent, ePassporte.com. For more information cardholders should contact SKNA or ePassporte.com.
“Visa is committed to maintaining the integrity of its global payment network and routinely conducts due diligence to ensure Visa prepaid programs adhere to the company’s stringent program requirements and controls.”
Original post:
This news caught my attention because I have recently encountered ePassporte accounts tied to several shady affiliate programs, such as those used to reward people who promote rogue anti-virus products and online pharmacy sites.
A number of adult Webmaster forums are buzzing with the news, but few seem to know more than what’s in the statement from ePassporte. However, the administrator of the online forum italkcash.com suggests that the move by Visa is in response to new anti-money laundering requirements mandated by the Credit Card Act of 2009, which affects prepaid cards and other payment card instruments that can be reloaded with funds at places other than financial institutions.
While ePassporte’s Mallick can’t be happy about these developments, the situation may provide a nice bump for his new movie: Mallick helped produce the Paramount film Middle Men, a movie released Aug. 6, 2010 that is based on his personal experiences in the porn Web site billing industry. The synopsis from the film’s Wikipedia entry seems oddly prescient:
In 1995, straight-and-narrow businessman Jack Harris (Luke Wilson) who builds the first online billing company dealing exclusively with adult entertainment, finds himself in the middle of a whirlwind filled with starlets, con men, Russian mobsters, federal agents, and international terrorists. Caught between a porn star and the FBI, Harris learns that even becoming one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs of his generation may not be enough to keep him out of trouble. It is based on the experiences of producer Christopher Mallick.
Click the image below for a Youtube.com trailer of the movie.
I was able to talk to ST. Kitts Bank today and all they said is that they were working on the issue and we should know something by September 30th 2010. They didn’t really say much else except to direct me to their notice about ePassPorte cardholders at:
https://www.sknanb.com/message.htm
To All SKNANB Visa Prepaid Cardholders
SKNANB is committed to adhering to Visa’s stringent program requirements and maintaining the integrity of the global payment network. On instruction of SKNANB, on September 23rd, 2010, ePassporte’s network access for cards issued by SKNANB was disabled. As a result, SKNANB prepaid cardholders will not be able to view their card balances through the ePassporte.com website.
SKNANB is actively working to restore, as soon as possible, SKNANB prepaid cardholders’ ability to obtain information regarding their Visa card balances and to access Visa card funds. SKNANB prepaid cardholders can expect further communication from SKNANB on or before September 30th 2010.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your SKNANB prepaid card, please contact SKNANB at vcprepaid@sknanb.com. In addition, a dedicated telephone line will be established shortly.
SKNANB thanks you for your continued patience.
St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Limited
I asked them whether it would be 3 days 3 months 3 years and they just said the September 30th date again. They really didn’t sound too concerned for us. I also asked how or what exactly they were doing to rectify the situation and they said they did not have the authority to give me that information. But they have the authority to hold our money hostage for as long as they want.
I will continue to pray that this is resolved soon. At least ePassPorte and St. Kitts are not remaining totally silent even though more updates would be nice.
I apologize for any duplicate posts. At first I thought my original id and messages were being censored because they were not showing up right away so I tried a different id and email address. All seems to be fine now.
My email I created just for this situation with ePassPorte is still BULKORSPAM-EPASSPORTE@YAHOO.COM
Anyone feel free to contact me anytime. I will share what I know about the current situation and I hope you do the same. That way we can keep each other updated if any of our posts are moderated or censored on this forum.
FixingToBeHomeless aka VeryWorried aka just plain Worried 🙂
I am in the process of creating a website at http://www.fuckepassporte.com I just bought the domain name and I will be working on it the next few days with everything I know about this situation. I will also be creating a guestbook type format where everyone can share their views and comments on this entire situation with Christopher Mallick,ePassPorte, and ST. KITTs BANK. No comments will be censored unless they threaten anyones life or refer to children. Check the website above starting tomorrow to see the progress being made. Feel free to tell or post to everyone you know about the new website http://www.fuckepassporte.com I pray this entire situation will be resolved for everyones benefit soon.
Got the latest. Got on the buzzer with VISA and they connected me to the bank. I told them the whole story (VISA that is) and they got the right person on the phone for me to explain what’s happening. ePassporte is CLOSING. Or at least this bank will no longer have dealings with them. NOT TO WORRY however, the bank assured me that cards will be fully operational on Thursday Sept 30th. So we will all be able to use our cards again and you must contact the bank if you want to do a wire transfer. The bank is in the process of establishing another company LIKE ePass to work with in the future. Nothing set in stone yet..but they gave me a website to check and here it is: http://www.sknanb.com I suggest, and she agreed, that I share all this with you so that you don’t have to waste any time
Hey, check it out… “epassportesucks.com” is available, according to GoDaddy! Now if only I had access to my funds I’d be able to buy the domain name!
I registered http://www.epassportesucks.com It is a very simple site almost any comment is allowed. Click on the Guestbook link to leave comments and stories. Lets use this website to keep each other updated on the situation until hopefully we get our money back. 🙂 Please tell everyone you know about this new website. Thanks!
I can understand how Epassporte can escape so easily … ;Ready the money is no longer with us, if you want the money try to bank YADA YADA!! How can something like that, I got money in the account and Epassporte money suddenly disappear … UPSSS … and appear at a certain bank?? What happens. Where are we?in the street?!
Are no laws for situations like this … Why do I care what the problem is … I got money in Epassporte account .. they gain from this transfer automatically … all they have to return my money .. not a bank!
Im curious ..on this page exist people from USA ??? How the USA law protect US citizens in this situation ???
Please someone try to respond to me??
Thanks !!
xJulian
‘ve lost 3 pages of this blog you will find links to send other comments here I hope you help
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2010/09/following-the-money-epassporte-edition/
Thanks for the link Mauro … but unfortunately we could not find what interested me. I am interested if someone has opened legal action against Epassporte ..! Complaints and video parodies not help me .. I see people here who lose money or are about to lose money from Epassporte account and they behave like children .. Video parodies jokes etc. ..! Something practical, real. LEGAL .. did anyone?? Certainly not to call or sent mails to Epassporte !!
*** I registered http://www.epassportesucks.com It is a very simple site almost any comment is allowed. Click on the Guestbook link to leave comments and stories. Lets use this website to keep each other updated on the situation until hopefully we get our money back. 🙂 Please tell everyone you know about this new website. Thanks! ***
Anyone know the current number of bodyguards employed by Chris Mallick… Just joking, but the guy burned people all around the world, some not so nice by nature and probably out big bucks. Others nice people but very angry and likely to lose control if they ever cam face to face with him. He has to be soiling his pants ever time someone comes up behind him and says, “Are you Chris Mallick?”
Not feeling one bit sorry for the guy… I just put myself in his shoes for a moment and took delight in the realization that he messed up my life and business, but he probably ain’t basking in the sun anywhere someone may recognize him I’m sure.
I registered http://www.epassportesucks.com It is a very simple site almost any comment is allowed. Click on the Guestbook link to leave comments and stories. Lets use this website to keep each other updated on the situation until hopefully we get our money back. Please tell everyone you know about this new website. Thanks!
It a Big date ..30 Sept …and the SKNAN Bank not have news for us ..the Visa card holders …
Someoane have news about this situation???? something on email???
The 30 sept date magically disappeared from the message, this is not a good sign.
REMEMBER for the latest updates on ePassPorte/St.Kitts please go to my website at http://www.epassportesucks.com
Yes the September 30th deadline has DISAPPEARED from the St. Kitts website. Not a good sign at all. Lets all blast them with phone calls,letters, and faxes CONSTANTLY until we hear positive news. If there is contact information for the bank president or anybody else with St. Kitts then please post that information as well here or at my website.
St. Kitts contact information is:
St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Ltd.
Central Street,
P.O. Box 343
Basseterre, St. Kitts, West Indies
Tel: (869) 465-2204 Mon – Thurs: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Fri: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Fax: (869) 465-1050
Email: webmaster@sknanb.com
I honestly don’t know when to stop hoping. Maybe I should just look at it as Christmas if I ever do get my money back. If anyone could call St. Kitts bank for me,talk to them about the date change, talk about when we can get our money, then I would appreciate it if you would post the results of your conversation. I used up all my minutes on my cell phone and I will not get any more new minutes till October 4th.
REMEMBER for the latest updates on ePassPorte/St.Kitts please go to my website at http://www.epassportesucks.com
Yes the September 30th deadline has DISAPPEARED from the St. Kitts website. Not a good sign at all. Lets all blast them with phone calls,letters, and faxes CONSTANTLY until we hear positive news. If there is contact information for the bank president or anybody else with St. Kitts then please post that information as well here or at my website.
St. Kitts contact information is: (Grrr! It won’t let me post certain information. I will try to repost here and at my website.)
St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Ltd.
Central Street,
P.O. Box 343
Basseterre, St. Kitts, West Indies
Tel: (869) 465-2204 Mon – Thurs: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Fri: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Fax: (869) 465-1050
GOOD NEWS, hopefully.
As previously advised, SKNANB has been working diligently on the necessary efforts to restore prepaid cardholders’ ability to access their Visa card funds.
Subject to slight adjustment, it is expected that from Wednesday, October 6th, the overwhelming majority of cardholders will be able to access the funds on their Visa Card using their existing card, without providing SKNANB further information. A small percentage of cardholders will be asked to provide certain confirming information. SKNANB prepaid cardholders can expect further communication from us on October 4th in this regard.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your SKNANB prepaid card, please contact SKNANB at vprepaid@sknanb.com. In addition, cardholders can call +1-869-466-9733 to contact the cardholder services centre between the hours of 8am and 4pm Atlantic Standard Time. Please note, the call volume could be quite large, as such, there may be extended wait times.
We understand the inconvenience and SKNANB thanks you for your continued patience.
St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Limited
Question: Epassporte Visa card users in the U.S. made a formal complaint to the authorities (FBI) about the situation, that they are tricked and fooled by Epassporte?? Q: What international legal option is available to be sued Epassporte? ? Can anyone help me with these questions?
I can not understand! are not even sick of the lies from Epassporte? are not even sick of the lies of the bank SKNA?
It time to try something legal against this thieves …..
I really hope we can get or withdraw our funds on this coming Oct. 6, as what they told us.
guys check this out –> https://www.sknanb.com/message.htm
To All SKNANB Visa Prepaid Cardholders
As previously advised, SKNANB has been working diligently on the necessary efforts to restore prepaid cardholders’ ability to access their Visa card funds.
Subject to slight adjustment, it is expected that from Wednesday, October 6th, the overwhelming majority of cardholders will be able to access the funds on their Visa Card using their existing card, without providing SKNANB further information. A small percentage of cardholders will be asked to provide certain confirming information. SKNANB prepaid cardholders can expect further communication from us on October 4th in this regard.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your SKNANB prepaid card, please contact SKNANB at vcprepaid@sknanb.com. In addition, cardholders can call +1-869-466-9733 to contact the cardholder services centre between the hours of 8am and 4pm Atlantic Standard Time. Please note, the call volume could be quite large, as such, there may be extended wait times.
We understand the inconvenience and SKNANB thanks you for your continued patience.
St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Limited
LATEST NEWS
EPASSPORTE HAD CLOSED IT FOORS COMPLETELY
It Sent the FOLLOWING Message to ALL its Customers TODAY (4 October 2010)
IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING YOUR EPASSPORTE ACCOUNT
Dear ePassporte Account Holders,
It is with great regret we inform you that ePassporte must close its doors due to a lack of revenue and circumstances beyond our control.
Effective immediately, the call center, ePassporte’s sales and marketing team and risk management staff will no longer be available. A small group will remain to organize wallet requests and help disburse funds. On the ePassporte website, in the near future, wallet holders will be provided further information on what is needed to obtain your funds. This will mainly be a process to protect wallet holder funds from fraud. We expect this will be a simplified process, and as we receive the necessary information, our small remaining staff will process requests as quickly as they can. Please direct your wallet questions, concerns and requests to walletrequest@ePassporte.com.
For those of you with funds on your Visa Accounts, we are informed that St. Kitts Bank is working on a plan to provide everyone with full access to their funds through their Visa Electron Cards or by bank wire transfers and will inform you accordingly.
We appreciate your support for the ePassporte program over the past 7 years and deeply regret we must close our doors at this difficult time.
Sincerely,
ePassporte.com
Worst news ever, 1 month brought it to its knees, it’s a shame, I think it is all due to that movie Mallick spent on 20 million, and now we are the ones who paid for it.
Yes
I think the Movie he MADE is a Biograhy of his LIFE, I would Like to See it though.
I am One of his Victims, I lost my money because of this.
Thats Email Above is whay i received from his a few hours ago.
I did a Google Search and Came across alot of “Shady” Info abuot him being involved in money laundering, Online Gambling Casinos and Porn Site.
I also Read alot of comments on Forums where ppl said they lost hundred to Thousands of money in his Company. He sent them Emails that there Account was linked to unsual transactions and that it was suspended, and what ever money they had there was
Pocketed by HIM.
I guees some people are in the dark here. He was with Paycom/Epoch in Marina Del Ray and has been processing adult/dating and casino for 14 years. How do I know? They kept my money on January 15 2002. Lot’s of it.
May be try Mallick’s facebook?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Christopher-Mallick/1095914860
And here is a link to his production company
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Angeles-CA/Oxymoron-Entertainment/169233480057
P.S.
We can see from his facebook activities that Mallick was very “busy” solving epassporte troubles in September.
I get this message on my main profile on FaceBook when I tried to add Christopher Mallick as a friend:
“This Request Can’t Be Sent.
Do you know this user personally? To prevent misuse of Facebook, this request can’t be sent. To learn more, please visit the Help Center. If you believe you’re seeing this message in error, you can report the problem.”
So I tried adding him on my other profile and I had no problem adding him. Maybe he figured out who I was, among probably thousands of others, and blocked me on the only account he is aware that I have. I wouldn’t doubt it.
LET”S HOPE THIS IS “REAL”……….
To All SKNANB Visa Prepaid Cardholders
As previously advised, SKNANB has been working diligently to restore prepaid cardholders’ ability to access their Visa card funds.
Thursday, October 7th, 2010 is the confirmed date that the majority of cardholders will be able to access the funds on their Visa Card using their existing virtual card and/or physical card(s), without providing SKNANB further information. A small percentage of cardholders will be required to provide certain confirming due diligence information. On or after October 7th, prepaid cardholders may attempt to use their cards to confirm that no additional due diligence information will be required. Alternatively, you may email us at vcsupport@sknanb.com, including the first and last name on the card and the last four digits of either the virtual or physical card and we will verify as soon as is possible as to whether or not you will need to provide additional due diligence information.
SKNANB has received questions with respect to cash withdrawal limits. The daily limits for cash withdrawals will be US$320.00 (three hundred and twenty) per day. This limit cannot be modified. SKNANB prepaid cardholders should continue to check this site for further updates.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your SKNANB prepaid card, please contact SKNANB at vcprepaid@sknanb.com. In addition, cardholders can call +1-869-466-9733 to contact the cardholder services centre between the hours of 8am and 4pm Atlantic Standard Time. Please note, the call volume could be quite large, as such, there may be extended wait times.
We understand the inconvenience and SKNANB thanks you for your continued patience.
St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Limited
I posted this on my website http://www.ePassPorteSucks.com/Guestbook.php :
While they (StKittsBank) did indeed change it to October 7th it did say that October 7th is the CONFIRMED date that the majority of cardholders will be able to access their funds on the ePassPorte branded Visa card.
Knowing how my luck runs for little old piss ant poor person me I wouldn’t be surprised if they needed further documentation that for whatever reason I won’t be able to provide.
Besides jumping for joy,paying bills, and shouting “hallelujah” if we do get our money back on that date, what are you going to do with your money?
I know I have never had a professional full body massage. I will go to one which is legit and not run by the porn industry which just might be connected with lovely Christopher Mallick LOL!
Seriously I deserve to treat myself,and relieve some stress, after going through all this nerve racking bullshit. 🙂
I just tried (a few Mins ago) to LOGIN to My Epassporte Account,
and ALL I got WAS that same BIG MESSAGE in My Face that Epassporte had CLOSED it Doors,
And the Only other Option was To Click LOG OFF,
You cant see your Account Balance or anything, on the Site
SO How Does the bank of St Kitts Nevis
Intend to Give everyone back there Money with there Visa Card?
If you Cant even View Your Epassporte Account. ???
SomeBODY Please CALL the FBI for this MAN.
He is another ALLEN STANFORD .
you can now withdraw your funds using your existing visa electron card, i tried it already and its working now… thank god
that’s great news. but how about when your money is in the ewallet? can you still withdraw it?
my very very big problem now is i lost my physical card few months ago and i only get the funds thru wire transfer.
hope epass can still wire my money
How is that u got money out and mine is rejected saying I should contact my bank!!!???????? Can someone explain this 2 me? I tryed 4 times today at different ATM’s and nothing works who else got money out?
the Epass Visa card work now …i done with Epass ..