New Name, Same Scam

In '07, I was 'invited' to join Madison's Who's Who, an alleged publication that listed premier professionals and executives for networking, etc.

And was a bonafide fraud (which I played with rather enjoyably over two posts in the blog's archives).

In '10 or early '11, I had another one contact me.  Same ploy, same game.  Once they get your bank account number or a credit card number, they milk it for all they can, while they can.

They didn't get mine, but one of their unsmooth operators (Margaret Reed, she called 'ersef) got my imitation of Larry the Cable Guy during a phone conversation that "didn't git 'er dun".

And now they're back...as Ashford Registry's Who's Who Of Whatever They Think They Can Sell To Whomever They Think They Can Sell It.

Here's their 'catchy' email:



It is, of course, completely full of crap.  'Cuz it might be free to apply...but it ain't free to get in or get a copy.  It's hundreds of dollars, and access by them to your bank or credit card account information.  And once they have that, they have enough.

And when you try to cancel and/or demand a refund, you'll receive treatment as described by two folks who posted their experiences with the Ashford crowd on Complaint Wire:

Lora

9 Mar 2011

These people are constantly calling and harrasing trying to get my credit card number for their alleged Who's Who listing. I have been contacted by several idividuals who I believe just change their names to try and confuse me to believe they're someone else. Their salesman John Braxton who I also believe to have an alias of John Waters was extremely rude and uncouth. When I spoke with their manager a woman named Sandra Gilmore she used profanity and hung the phone up on me. Please be aware of these dispicable individuals who's main goal was to obtain my credit card number to bleed a sick widow dry of what little finanaces she has left.

CoachBuz

3 May 2011

I believe that Cambridge Who's Who, Ashford Publishing Company, Premier Who's Who and American Registry are all in cahoots, defrauding and scamming left and right! They are all crooks, including Jackie Tufano, of Uniondale, NY! Tommy Huff, of Premier Who's Who got nasty with me on the phone when I refused to allow him to charge $599 to my credit card. It jes could be 'cause I told him to find two corn cobs, write Cambridge Who's Who and Ashford Publishing Company on them, respectively, and sit on them!!
I have reported them to Consumer Affairs.com. Someone needs to do something about these schemers, NOW!

I reckon you get the idea about Ashford Registry.

Well...I did two things with this email.  One, I 'responded' to it as a prospective dupe.  I'll leave out what I responded as for a potential later post ;-)   And the other...I rewrote the email, and dispatched it out to every scammer in my address book.

Here's the short version of my editing (a more out there version is in the works).  And their 'link to' thing was still active in the underlined parts, so I changed it to link back to my blog..nyuk:

Hi.

We're knowd in the industry as Ashcan's WTF Guide to Scammed Of The World! We represent everyone and anyone in the internet world who is not worth a sh**, but wants to be put in our book as someone who's not worth a sh**, and is proud of it!

Want to be a part of something that nobody reads, but costs you a lot to see your name in print in?

Contact us for more details on how you can be added to the list of thousands that Ashcan's WTF Guide To Scammed Of The World can lay claim to having hosed via email!  Contact us now, and in a short time, one of our scantily trained fauxfessionals will contact you with questions and flattery meant to make you think you are somebody, so's we can get you to pay hundreds...ah f**k...THOUSANDS of dollars...to be in our book that absolutely NOBODY READS!!!

You KNOW you wants to.  You KNOWS you gots to.  We ain't gonna ax you twice, homey.  We'll ax ya ovah and ovah and ovah agin! C'mawn, git 'er dun 2day!  Now!  Right now!  Our scantily-paid operators are standing by to line up your wallet in our crosshairs.  Oh f**k, I weren't not 'sposed ta say that thar, wuzn't I?  Disf**kingregard that last sentence now, y'hear?  Yeah, da wun I just dun in red, so's y'all knows nots ta ax about that!

Okay, let's git 'er dum!  Contact us so's we can contact you, and get this rip-off...aw f**k, dun it agin...wunst agin, ignore that sh** what's writ in red...

Just git aholdt a us soonest, so's we kin git ta work on yer wallet.  F**K!!!  IGNORE THAT!!!  F**k, ah's iz in so much troublez!

Developing h'yar...