http://www.echipsol.com/main/customers_faq.html

Are these people legitimate ? He filled in his credit card details and
then the site failed them saying the bank will not authorize.

If the site is a scam, how can he prevent them taking money with the
credit card details he has provided ?

Thanks

Dear wolvies-ga,
I have quickly searched for information on this question as you have
said it is urgent. Do ask for clarification if you require additional
information.

I can find no adverse information about the web site, or company, from
law enforcement sites or consumer protection bodies. It appears to be
a recently formed company. As you noticed, there is no contact
information on the web site which is always a bad sign.

A domain name check reveals the following:

domain:       echipsol.com
status:       production
organization: CENTAURUS ASSOCIATES, INC.
owner:        AARON WOLFBERG
email: echipsol@cobio.net
address:      9th Street, ste 460
city:         Wilmington, New Castle Country
state:        De
postal-code:  19801
country:      US
Created: 2003-09-30 Expires: 2005-09-30

http://www.whois.sc/echipsol.com

This address appears to be identical with an office suite / mail box address: 
Mail Boxes Etc 
110 West 9th Street, Wilmington, DE 19801 
(302) 661-1665 

http://go.vicinity.com/mbe/BizFinder.d?E=sPT7_qZ0MVlakwHUlh3Iphh3IpkBL3JHO59y8_PtS8YhuRTOhisrcmEn8uCXuSOdz7l58fdyW-V_gLENyX0nkO0fMBh62OHfcZlylR9t7N772-pHqmI


A search at he Delaware State Business Records reveals the following
record for the company:

File Number: 3702909 
Incorporation Date / Formation Date: 09/11/2003
Entity Name: CENTAURUS ASSOCIATES, INC. 
Entity Kind: CORPORATION Entity Type: GENERAL 
Residency: DOMESTIC State: DE 
    
REGISTERED AGENT INFORMATION 
    
Name: CENTAURUS ASSOCIATES, INC. 
Address: 110 W. 9TH STREET SUITE 460 
City: WILMINGTON County: NEW CASTLE 
State: DE Postal Code: 19801 
Phone: X 

?Additional Information is available for a fee. You can retrieve
Status for a fee of $10.00 or
more detailed information including current franchise tax assessment,
current filing history
and more for a fee of $20.00?

https://sos-res.state.de.us/tin/GINameSearch.jsp


The contact email address mentioned in the domain name check for
echipsol.com, has the following domain name ownership details:

Domain Name: COBIO.NET

Administrative Contact:
 WOLFBERG, AARON 
aaron.w@bonbon.net
 W.Agoura Rd. # 102-511
 Calabasas, CA 26500
 US
 458935

Source
http://www.whois.sc/cobio.net

There is also no contact information on the web site
http://www.cobio.net

The correct address appears to be 
26500 West Agoura Road Calabasas, CA 91302 suite 102-511
There are several ?suites? at this address, so it may also be a mail
box address. Use this search term to view the other  suites.
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%2226500+West+Agoura+Road+%22


I can find no US Trademark Registration for E-Chip Solutions
http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm

The Better Business Bureau has no record relating to the company. If
you wish to file a complaint you can obtain information via this web
page
http://www.bbb.org/complaint.asp

Your friend should immediately contact his credit card company and
inform them that he suspects the transaction and has it blocked. If he
does not do this, he may be liable for any future fraudulent
transactions conducted on the card (depends on the small print in his
credit card?s terms and conditions).


You can consider making a complaint at the Internet Fraud Complaint
Center or your local police.

?The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) is a partnership between
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White
Collar Crime Center (NW3C).
IFCC's mission is to address fraud committed over the Internet. For
victims of Internet fraud, IFCC provides a convenient and easy-to-use
reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or
civil violation.?
http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

Finally using these search terms you will see there are very few
references to the company on Google.

"E-Chip Solutions"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22E-Chip+Solutions%22
"echipsol.com"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22echipsol.com%22

While I have not given you a definitive answer as to whether it is a
fraud, I hope this will guide you as to the next action that could be
taken.

answerfinder

Search strategy
Known sites and search terms detailed in the answer.

Thank you - it turns out he was so worried coz he then went and put
his MAIN credit card in after it failed the other one, and that one
(with a big limit) also failed. I'll pass on the advice, and hope he
doesn't have to use it.

I have not found any useful details on E-Chip Solutions. However, I
find it interesting that their postal address is obviously not
mentioned anywhere on their website. In my humble opinion, a reputable
company would not have any reason to conceal their address...

Scriptor

Dear wolvies-ga,
Thank you for the tip. I hope things work out OK.
answerfinder-ga

I have several cards: one I use exclusively for Internet purposes. 

I've got on-line access to the Issuer (who seems very switched on
regarding Internet) and I check my account each morning after every
working day.

Another I use exclusively for domestic stuff. I also check this likewise.

A third I keep as a spare.

I try to avoid using any of these cards in the ATMs (Automated Theft
Machines), relying on a Bank Card that only accesses these things.

I have had the occasional problem but this separation gives me a
feeling of control.

I thought that I'd share this with you.

At first read this about is the company verified or not and reliable or not:
https://www.digicert.com/custsupport/sitesealpopup.php?order_num=0000100946&seal_key=2fb0541f6a199cd6&RND=48886b8d364d98a13689496411895261
Our company uses different credit card processors.
All companies uses own fraud control monitoring instead of eChip
Solution fraud monitoring systems and have number of filters (GeoIP
verification, number of online purchases on adult sites comparing to
regular sites purchases etc.)
Each statement shows phone number for contacts.
Our system has purchase verification system that allaws to verify if
suscriber is real or not.
If you have further questions about eChip Solutions system please use
support system http://support.echipsol.com or mail to
info@echipsol.com