September 3, 2010
207 Comments

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.


207 thoughts on “VISA Blocks ePassporte”

  1. Me

    then probably I am the unlucky percent they talked about…ty Julian for letting me know

  2. Julian

    Im from Romania …i was to BCR ATM …the card work ok …if you have some problems … sorry …must try to contact St-K bank … transfer may have tried … or something
    it-s wrong with that you sent money…it canceled …

  3. Me

    I called today the bank SKNB and they said me my account is indeed inactive and I can’t take them yet but…what they said is that after my e-mail with name and those 4 digits from VISA card they will ask for my balance…now how can I give them exactly ammount if I didn’t made any print screen because I didn’;t knew that won’t be visible anymore?(I have an idea how aproximatly was there but not the exact ammount) Please someone to help me.Epassporte closed their doors and I am wondering is there a way to find this?

    1. Andrea

      Has anyone tried using their funds up at a supermarket , or to make online purchases?

  5. Andrea

    I have a small amount of money in my visa electron, and dispite being told by SKNB today its active, I still cannot withdrawl anything “card not recognised”. Seems impossible to email through epassporte to. I made a query about the fees I have paid out for the accounts, and SKNB have reffered me back to epassporte. Seems like they are all passing the buck as to speak!

  6. Andalin

    A rumor says cards Epassporte SKNB will leave open until Sunday 17 Oct ….. after that if have money there must open a acount on SKNB ….

  7. Jhones

    that rumors is truh ….SKNB give money to all … but only if you have in count under 1000 $$ …und to not be arab ….(somthing about black money )
    and the sknb it ready to close all Epassporte cards on 17 oct …that is not good ….
    bye bye money

  8. gil

    hi
    did anyone receive money from epassporte wallet, as they promise.
    i have $4960 in my wallet pleas respond
    tx gil

    1. Sorin

      Hi

      Log in to epassporte

      than follow the instructions

      you need to give your bank account details and sign that form

      you need to sign the disclaimer form

      you also need to send a copy of your last bank statement

      and you will be charged a hefty $50 for the wire transfers

      Good luck and whata pain in the asssssss

    2. Joergen Andersson

      I have exatly the same problem as you have, my girlfriend has 11.000$ in her wallet. if anyone know how to get them out. plz contact me. edb@jadata.dk

  9. TyGfy

    A relatively small amount of people have gotten their wallet money from Epassporte.
    Most are getting brushed off and strung along.

  10. anxa

    tygfy, how do u know there s a small amount of people who got their money? from what i read, here on some other forums, no1 has gotten anything.
    &me neither. i have $4000 stuck in wallet.

  11. De

    gil did you get your money back, from the wallet?
    I followed the instructions, but nothing happens.

  12. Ed

    Did anyone get the money from the wallet ? I did give to ePassporte all transfer instructions , but nothing is happening … Any help would be appreciated ! Cheers …

  13. De

    I didn’t get my money from the wallet yet.
    But after many emails to SKNANB, my card has been unblocked. So now I can use my card until Jan 12th 2011.

  15. Mallick Media Shaliza Somani Scam

    It is especially interesting all the little companies and the same people involved in other fraud cases, such as Christopher Mallick ( John Chris Mallick)

    and Shaliza Somani for example ( John Bennett vs Joseph Elkind – fraudulent transfer )

    Those companies include but are not limited to:
    Oxymoron Entertainment
    Mallick Media
    OneStarMediaInc
    The shell corp. 24-7 Commercial Marketing and
    Epassporte of course.

    If you have received any email from any of the above U.S. companies or other contact in an official capacity (like providing you support for epassporte wallet funds), this may be regarded as breach of corporate confidentiality (corp. veil) and may subject them to lawsuit for wallet funds in the USA itself.

    http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?p=1005982#post1005982

    -So much fraud, so much scam.-

  16. Gwen

    I submitted all the forms and now I can not log into my account. The links provided by epassporte don’t work.
    How is nothing being done? is there no one who regulates these companies? Where is our money? …ARGHHH!!!
    I am tired of running in circles, jumping hoops and otherwise getting the run around!

  19. jha

    i wish i could meet the guys from epassporte (with a gun in my hand) they have stolen 11.000$ from me. im so fucking angry, these money was for a surgery

  20. jha

    what the fu.. is that for a link you post here? you should be fuc…. banned from her you jerk

  21. Alexandra

    I have been waiting for EPassporte to get back at me regarding the wire transfer( which it says it’s pending) for 5 months and nothing has happened so far.

  23. Louisville Collection Agency

    When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!

  24. Stei

    ok guys, he’s not going to pay. it’s a 100% guarantee he’s not going to give you your money back. it’s pretty much an official statement:

    YOU WILL NOT BE PAID. end of story.

    now.

    what you need to do:

    go to ic3.gov and file a complaint. IT’S YOUR FUCKING DUTY.
    go there and file a complaint NOW! it doesn’t matter if you have 5 bucks stuck in there or 300 large ones.

    here’s mallick’s info, you will need it.

    John Christopher Mallick
    Address: 150 Union Jack Mall
    Marina Del Rey, CA 90262

    Phone# 310-809-6732
    Mailing Address 13428 Maxella Avenue, Box 563
    Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

    Date Of Birth Social Security
    2/12/1959 457-15-0639

    chris.mallick@epassporte.com
    cmallick@n247cm.com
    chris@oxymoronent.com

    DO IT NOW! WE NEED A LOT OF THESE COMPLAINTS! basically, it’s the last chance.

    1. Mallick Embezzlement

      Good. Could also find out who the District Attorney’s and prominent law enforcement are in areas where he has any property or business. Start a campaign/free websites to call them out, include Mallicks campaign contributions which are publicly avail.. such as his campaign contributions under 24-7 commercial mktg, which he spelled many different ways to give money.
      The campaign can be target toward upcoming and current officials asking why they aren’t doing anything to prosecute this criminal in this era of financial reform. While people are out of work, Mallick is stealing their money and the feds and state govt aren’t doing anything about the fraud.

  25. stei

    LATEST NEWS!

    IT’S OFFICIAL. TELL EVERYONE!

    MALLICK SAYS: I’M NOT GOING TO PAY!

    That’s it guys, it’s the end of the road. Next week Epassporte N.V. is going to be declared bankrupt. Liquidation will give NOTHING! Right now it’s 100% clear, it’s OFFICIAL, Mallick is not going to pay you! Period.

    What can you do? What should you do now, when it’s all over?

    You MUST file 3 complaints! Do It Now! Your country is not important! The sum is not important!

    1. http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx

    2. https://denebleo.sec.gov/TCRExternal/questionaire.xhtml

    3. https://ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FT…d.aspx?Lang=en

    here’s mallick’s info, you will need it.

    John Christopher Mallick
    Address: 150 Union Jack Mall
    Marina Del Rey, CA 90262

    Phone# 310-809-6732
    Mailing Address 13428 Maxella Avenue, Box 563
    Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

    Date Of Birth Social Security
    2/12/1959 457-15-0639

    chris.mallick@epassporte.com
    cmallick@n247cm.com
    chris@oxymoronent.com

    Current Epassporte N.V address

    13428 Maxella Avenue, Suite 563, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
    +1 310.828.0247

    you can also use this email questions@oxymoronent.com

    1. G-F-Y

      Steig

      Good info.

      email me – tygfy-at-ymail

      I want to chat a bit.

  26. Alex

    jcmallick.com
    Be sure to send him lots of fan mail!

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