Flooz.com was a dot-com venture, now defunct, based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

that went online in February 1999. It was promoted by comic actress

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...

in a series of television advertisements. Started by

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co-founder

Robert Levitan Robert Levitan (born April 22, 1961) is an American businessman best known for his multiple entrepreneurial activities in New York City's Silicon Alley, the cluster of web and technology businesses stretching from Manhattan's Flatiron District thr ...

, the company attempted to establish a

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

unique to

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merchants, somewhat similar in concept to airline frequent flyer programs or grocery store stamp books. The name "flooz" was based upon the Arabic word for money, فلوس, ''fuloos''. Users accumulated flooz credits either as a promotional bonus given away by some internet businesses or purchased directly from flooz.com which then could be redeemed for merchandise at a variety of participating online stores. Adoption of flooz by both merchants and customers proved limited, and it never established itself as a widely recognized

medium of exchange In economics, a medium of exchange is any item that is widely acceptable in exchange for goods and services. In modern economies, the most commonly used medium of exchange is currency. Most forms of money are categorised as mediums of exchange, i ...

, which hindered both its usefulness and appeal.

Use by crime syndicate

In 2001, Flooz.com was notified by the

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that a Russian-Filipino organized crime syndicate used $300,000 worth of Flooz and stolen credit card numbers as part of a

money-laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds into ...

scheme, in which stolen credit cards were used to purchase currency and then redeemed. Levitan has stated that fraudulent purchases accounted for 19% of consumer credit card transactions by mid-2001.

Closure

The company announced its closure on August 26, 2001, perceived as an early indicator of the growing dot-com bubble burst. Upon the company's closing, all unused flooz credits became worthless and nonrefundable. Over its short history, flooz.com reportedly exhausted from $35 million to $50 million in venture capital. The company's bankruptcy was cited as having approximately 325,000 creditors.

References

{{Dot-com Bubble Internet properties established in 1999 Defunct online companies of the United States Defunct websites online payments Digital currencies Dot-com bubble 1999 establishments in New York City

Use by crime syndicate

Closure

See also

References