Creason Family

Thanks so much for the information!
You have saved me from spending my time on the phone when they do call! Glad I found your posting before I receive the call.

I received the same junk fax in July, 2010. Not to be arrogant, but I happen to be in a few legitimate "Who's Who" publications. This does not appear to be one.

A few years ago, I got a letter notifying me that I was "chosen" to be in "Notable Americans of the Bicentennial Era" and asking if I would like to nominate someone else of similar, lofty stature. After thinking carefully about it, I nominated my dog. I didn't lie on the application, giving his actual parents and listing his profession as something like "Trusted Companion to Dr. William Reid."

In due time, a really official letter arrived, addressed to my dog. He had been accepted -- nay, found worthy -- as a Notable American of the Bicentennial Era.

I know it was a scam, but I just had to buy the book to prove that I had a very special dog.

Thanks for posting this.

I just received a call from Strathmore's Who's Who. I must warn everybody that this is a huge scam. I know, because I was a victim of this same scam twice before. The previous companies that ripped me off were The Global Directory of Who's Who, and Princeton Premier Who's Who. These companies do absolutely nothing for you, and they are very persistant with their sell. I asked how they got my information and they said I filled out a survey and asked for information. They quoted my name, address, workplace, and phone number. I never requested information, and after being duped twice will never fall for this again.

You may ask how I got fooled twice, but two different companies called me within days of each other, and they are such smooth talkers I thought they were the same company, because everything sounds the same..."I have been chosen", "I am a top professional", "You will get published in our prestigious directory", "You will get a plaque", "You will get a hardcover edition of the book". I gave my VISA number to both of them and the rest is history. I was able to get the money back from Princeton Premiere since they did not return calls from VISA, but Global still have my $900! A total idiot named Connor Walsh insulted me on the phone and said I know nothing of business and that this is how real business is done. He said I have no recourse and would not refund my money...It's been a year and I have never received a thing from this scam company.

thanks for posting this information.

I got their email and phone call too. I straight said that I am not comfortable by phone credit card transactions. Said thank you and hung up.

Thanks to this blog ... it saved my money and time.

My "Nomination email" came from a Gmail account! That is SOO laughable!! No legitimate company in the WORLD would send email to potential "clients" using a GMAIL account!!!!

So pathetic.

I do see a very fine use for Strathmore's service... Imagine a job interview that goes something like this....

I see on your resume here you say you're listed in Strathmore's Who's Who...

Why yes I am, I worked very hard to be included.

Thank you for pointing out you're a gullible moron that has no business on my payroll. My security staff will now show you the door....

Yes, I hang my head in shame as I was scammed.

Not once but twice I agreed to my listing in there Who's Who paid my fee's and was then invited to become the Profesional of the Year.

I didn't have time listen to the hard sell so asked for them to send me details via email but the saleman Scott Stone just kept on going even though I was in a car at the time with business partners. I felt uneasy with the way the call was left so I Strathmore when I returned to my hotel later that evening and left a voice message saying "That I was not interested in the Porfessional of the Year status.

But guess what......... They just kept on going, billed my card and taken the funds.

I have now reported this as a fraudulant transaction to my bank and the police here in the UK.

I also want to expose this compamy for what they are and take some form of legal action against them so if anyone can help or provide direction that would be just great.

Below is the saga I am going through.....still!!!!

Please read it from the bottom up and don't get involved with this company ever!!!!

I'm just glad I don't live closer as I may have been tempted to grab Mr Stone by the throat....... :-)

Dear Michael,

Once again, why would the 3-day cancellation deadline even matter to someone who claims they never agreed to anything in the first place and were fraudulently charged? Furthermore, I really don’t know how you expect anyone to believe your flimsy explanation. I’m referring, of course, to the preposterous story in which you suddenly decided to phone me in the wee hours of the morning, because you “knew [I’d] just go on doing what [I] wanted totally ignoring [your] request for the details to be emailed to [you].” The only reason you knew I’d proceed was because you agreed to the program and authorized the billing! It’s the same reason you called at 3 AM (New York time)… You were obviously suffering from buyer’s remorse and wanted to cancel simply by leaving a message in the middle of the night, rather than ringing at a proper hour when you know you’d have to face me and explain yourself. It’s a lot easier to lie to a machine than it is a human, right? The fundamental mistake you made was failing to admit that you simply changed your mind about the upgrade; if you had, I’d have gladly refunded your investment. Instead, you fabricated this entire story about returning to a hotel room at dawn with the sudden premonition that a NY businessman you’d spoken with over 18 hours earlier was ignoring your requests to e-mail information. Not only does this sound absolutely ridiculous, but you essentially called me a thief as well. That is what I did not appreciate, Michael, and that is precisely why I did not honor your cancellation request. “Fraudulent transaction” is really a circumstance more suited for the bank to handle, is it not?

Also, I really don’t appreciate the condescending remarks and personal attacks in your previous e-mail. Not only is it terribly unprofessional, but it’s also a window into how your mind works and how little self control you apparently possess. You seem to think ‘If I admit that I agreed to this transaction, I’ll never get my money back’, but you couldn’t be more wrong – it’s the complete opposite, as I mentioned above. By denying the fact that you initially agreed; by hurling obnoxious, childish insults at a man who is simply standing his ground and defending the TRUTH as it actually happened; by slandering and threatening to “expose” a well-known, legitimate company of 20 years for not just handing back your investment; by doing all these things and more you’ve effectively burned your bridges with us and talked yourself right out of any special treatment or recompense that might have come your way. Lastly, I don’t appreciate your “friends in high places” routine and the accompanying threats. Beyond that, you stated: “I am more then [sic] willing to take this issue all the way as a matter of principle now more then [sic] anything else due to your attitude through this whole incident.” Well, I feel exactly the same. See, from where I stand, you’re just a member who wants his money back and will say anything – no matter how insane and destructive – to accomplish this. And strangely enough, it’s my integrity you’re worried about.

Yours truly,

Scott Stone

Senior Director

Strathmore Directories

Westbury Division

26 Bond St.

Westbury, NY 11590

Phone: (516) 997-2525, x-102

Fax: (516) 997-8639

www.strathmore-ltd.com

www.swho.net

From: MICHAEL DROZARIO [mailto:mdrozario@btinternet.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2010 3:23 PM
To: Scott Stone
Subject: Re: update PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Dear Scott,

Oh dear oh dear......

Please tell me there is someone in your organisation more senior than you that I can contact...... and provide their contact details.

You really are away with the fairies..... close the deal at all costs take the money and run never mind what YOUR CLIENT requests.

You live in your own little make believe world were you think what you like and totally ignore any and every request.

Read the mails....... or should I call it evidence?

You rang me on the 5th of May 2010 I rang you on the 6th May and left a voice message telling you I wasn't interested. Now look at the date of your first email the 7th May.

Still within your 3 day deadline I might add.

I rang you in the early hours of the morning of the 6th because as i explained to you I was in company when you rang and that is why I asked you to mail me details. So when I returned to my hotel I rang you in the early hours of the morning because I knew you would just go on doing what YOU wanted totally ignoring my request for the details to be emailed to me.

But putting that first conversation to one side and even accepting that there was a miss-communication there is no doubt that my thoughts and rejection of the programme were clear 12 hours later.

Now try and think about this........ I know it must be very taxing for you to understand.

Whatever you claim went on during our first call you cannot claim that you didn't know that I was not willing to proceed by the 6th as your own email to me clearly points out......get it?

Do not push this Scott I am more then willing to take this issue all the way as a matter of principle now more then anything else due to your attitude through this whole incident. You are a disgrace, a liar and a man with no integrity.

I work with some very senior members of one of the biggest companies in the USA and am close enough to get all the support I need even through the courts if needs be.

Now while I understand that this years issue of Who's Who has been produced I am requesting that you remove me from all future publication I do not wish to be associated to you or your company.

If you have taken any funds from my bank I will be reporting it as a fraudulant transaction and contacting all the authorities required to expose you and Strathmore.

This is my last mail on this subject and I will now deal with this if you continue through legal means.

Regards

Michael D'Rozario.

PS: I have never received an electronic invoice at any time to date for the Professional Of the Year.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Scott Stone
To: MICHAEL DROZARIO
Sent: Thursday, 10 June, 2010 1:17:23
Subject: RE: update PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Dear Michael,

You know very well I’m referring to the e-mailed invoice I’d provided and not a hard copy. The former was sent later that first day; the latter takes several weeks and, as such, makes absolutely no sense in the context of this discussion. If you truly responded 12 hours later, as you claim to have done, it would have been the middle of the night for you. Did you call me at 4 or 5 AM? No, of course not. We both know it was more like 24 hours later – after you’d received the invoice – which makes all the difference in our highly personalized line of work. I really don’t want to continue battling you via e-mail, as I’m sure we both have far more interesting and important ways to spend our time, so I will honor your request and mark your file “DNC”, which means “Do not contact”. This means you will never receive another call or e-mail from anyone within our organization, yet you will retain all membership titles and honors (Lifetime Member, Professional of the Year). As promised, we will publish you every year and, perhaps when the dust settles from this unfortunate incident, you may begin to derive benefit from your investment. I hope that you will.

Sincerely,

Scott Stone

From: MICHAEL DROZARIO [mailto:mdrozario@btinternet.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 5:49 PM
To: Scott Stone
Subject: Re: update PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Dear Scott,

You are either a bare faced liar or have a VERY bad memory.

This is the first few lines of your email response to my voice mail to you 12 hours after you contacting me for the Professional Of The Year.....

From: Scott Stone
To: mdrozario@btinternet.com
Sent: Friday, 7 May, 2010 1:58:34
Subject: update

Dear Michael,

I was rather surprised when I heard your voicemail, because yesterday you’d authorized the Professional of the Year program and, naturally, I began work immediately. As I’m sure you recall, you had initially requested one week to think about it, review details and whatnot, but I explained that the next item to go out in the mail would be your welcome package, which would indeed reach you by next week and this new operation would be well underway by that point.

Look at the date and then have a rethink!

My position remains the same I want nothing to do with you or your company......let it go!

Regards

Michael D'Rozario

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Scott Stone
To: MICHAEL DROZARIO
Sent: Wednesday, 9 June, 2010 17:00:32
Subject: RE: update PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Michael,

You rang me 12 hours after receiving the invoice, not after our conversation itself; that’s precisely how you knew about our 3-day policy. Also, when I stated that you failed to stop the process I didn’t mean within our subsequent e-mailed correspondence, I meant during the conversation when it would’ve saved me the trouble of proceeding and finalizing everything. I feel I’ve made that painfully clear by now.

Scott Stone

From: MICHAEL DROZARIO [mailto:mdrozario@btinternet.com]
Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2010 4:47 PM
To: Scott Stone
Subject: Re: update PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Dear Scott,

I am now getting sick and tired of the continuing email argument about the professional of the year.

You are unbelievable!

I don’t care what you think, I told you I wanted an email giving me all the details of the programme before I made my decision but you chose to ignore me and just continued with you sales pitch.

I rang you less than 12 hours after our conversation and told you to stop because I felt you had ignored my request for the email details.

I have emailed you countless times telling you to stop how dare you now say that I have never told you to stop the process.

Even now you are still continuing with the process as if there’s no problem totally ignoring everything from the follow up phone call 12 hours after you first contacted me through all the emails that have been exchanged.

So this is the last time I spell this out for you.....

I AM NOT INTERESTED IN THE PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR PROGRAMME, ANY FUNDS TAKEN FROM MY BANK WILL BE TAKEN WITHOUT MY AUTHORITY AND WILL BE REPORTED AS A FRADULENT TRANSACTION I WILL REPORT IT TO BOTH THE POLICE HERE IN THE UK AND IN THE USA AND THE BANK.

If this is how you conduct your business I’m sorry I ever became associated with Strathmore’s Who’s Who.

Hard sell, grab the money at all costs and totally ignore your members request no matter how many times he tells you to stop!

In fact keep my lifetime subscription and remove me on your next print run. I’m happy for you to keep the money because I agreed to my listing but now I what nothing to do with you or your company.

Sincerely

Michael D'Rozario

PS. Read this email chain it clearly shows from the point I rang you back the next day you were told NOT to proceed no matter how unclear you may claim your initial sale call and instruction may have been there has never been a doubt that you were instructed NOT to proceed within 12hrs of our conversation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Scott Stone
To: MICHAEL DROZARIO
Sent: Wednesday, 26 May, 2010 2:53:42
Subject: RE: update PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Dear Michael,

Upon reading your most recent e-mail, I must say, I’m terribly sorry you feel this way. It was certainly never my intention to let things get so far out of hand, but I’m afraid you’re not seeing things from our point of view. Usually, when somebody is selected as Professional of the Year in their industry, they accept the included investment (which covers our annual expenses in terms of online privileges and the overall effort/expense required to maintain everything), because they recognize the inherent benefit and understand the exclusivity of the position. However, in the event that one chooses not to pursue this opportunity, it is their job to make it clear to the director (myself, in this case) that they will not proceed with the program. You and I both know very well that I didn’t ignore your request for program details in the form of an e-mail; I addressed it by explaining that we do not go back and forth at this level, due to the personalized nature of the program, the rate at which we work and, of course, the competitive nature and stringent screening process characteristic of this program. After explaining this, you simply did not ask me to e-mail the details again – I know this, because if you had, the course of our conversation would’ve taken a drastically different direction. Instead, I promised to have the welcome materials to you within 1-2 weeks and to have you up on the website within two days.

When a Professional of the Year candidate wishes not to accept the program, typically they’ll stop me to ensure that the process goes no further. At no point did you tell me I had no right to take funds from your account to cover the investment – not even when you confirmed the billing information on file or during the multiple mentions of the total investment and paid invoice. I would NEVER have finalized anything if you’d expressed your feelings at the time – we run an honest business here at Strathmore, whether you believe so or not. Incidentally, I’m sure you also recall when I stated “Don’t be alarmed when you receive your welcome package. The charcoal gray glass wall plaque is not included in that mailing; it will ship separately from our engraving facility and arrive one week later. The first mail piece will include a hard copy of your bio proof and the paid invoice, which you should save for your files.” If I’m not mistaken, your response was “Okay” – not exactly the reaction of a man who was expecting an e-mailed proposal. As I’ve explained several times before, you also allowed me to formally welcome you to Professional of the Year status, thanking me before we went our separate ways.

For weeks, I’ve been wondering how this could be happening. I’ve been asking myself ‘Did he think everything we discussed was being mentioned in a theoretical manner?’ … ‘Was he distracted by the company he was keeping at the time?’ … ‘Did he just go along with everything to be polite?’ I understand that on your end, you feel you’ve been cheated in some way, but from where I stand, I see a man who made a decision (perhaps in haste) and is now regretting it – plain and simple. Your insistent protest and mounting accusations are quite unfair not only to me, but to our company as a whole. We’ve been proudly profiling and connecting the top professionals in the world for 19.5 years and we pride ourselves on our business practices.

Sincerely,

Scott Stone

From: MICHAEL DROZARIO [mailto:mdrozario@btinternet.com]
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2010 5:15 AM
To: Scott Stone
Subject: Re: update PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Scott,

During your initial call I asked you to send me details and I would consider the proposal and get back to you, this is the element you ignored!

Because you did ignore my request I rang the next day because I felt uncomfortable that you would proceed, it was not to cancel anything because I hadn't given you the authority to proceed!

Then I emailed you, how many times do I need to tell you No! Stop! but you just kept on going.....

And I pointed out the 3 day clause because that was on the invoice/paperwork you sent to me to show you that I was again saying No and also within the time scale.

So I will make this very clear again YOU DO NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO TAKE ANY FUNDS FROM MY BANK ACCOUNT for the Professional of the year.

Like you I do not wish to continue to argue about this and am sorry I ever got involved with Strathmore Who's Who.

If this is the way you treat your members I'm sorry I ever became one!!!

Regards

Michael D'Rozario

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Scott Stone
To: MICHAEL DROZARIO
Sent: Thursday, 20 May, 2010 23:01:46
Subject: RE: update PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Michael,

I understand what you’re saying, but I have not ignored you at any point during this ordeal. I’ve responded to every single e-mail so far, unless there are ones of which I’m unaware... take a look at the chain of correspondence attached below. You contacted me the next day, because (in your own words) you “felt uneasy” with my presentation of the program and you wanted to “put a stop on the process” – you even e-mailed me “well within the 3 days” to ensure that we cancelled the program. The problem is that all of these aforementioned actions very clearly indicate a case of buyer’s remorse, not fraudulent transaction – and, in my experience, that is precisely how the bank would view it as well. You claim never to have authorized any of this, but if that were the case, then why would you have felt the need to cancel? What on earth would you have been cancelling? There can be no mistaking how our phone conversation ended; you and I both know very well that by the time I formally welcomed you to Professional of the Year status, the “e-mail me the details” portion of our conversation was well behind us. In fact, after explaining the parameters under which our company works and why it’s nearly impossible for us to go back and forth, you didn’t even mention the e-mail request again. I told you that the only e-mail I’d be sending was the copy of your biographical proof and that the rest of the materials (including the glass wall plaque) would be arriving via post within 1-2 weeks. If your reason for keeping quiet and agreeing to everything is truly because you felt I was content to carry on with my sales pitch, I must admit it’s the first time I’ve ever heard that in all my years in this chair. That’s tantamount to saying you agreed to invest nearly one thousand pounds just to be polite… it doesn’t make sense and I doubt anyone would believe it, least of all a financial institution.

You had countless opportunities to stop me over the course of our discussion, yet you didn’t; you allowed me to proceed with the “sales pitch”, as you put it, right up until the very end, answering affirmatively to everything I said, including the overall price – which I mentioned three times, including once when I told you the paid invoice would clearly reflect the full investment. I certainly don’t want to argue about this, Michael (mainly because this was supposed to be a good thing; a positive development that might help you), but I will say this: you’d have been better off admitting that you simply had a change of heart. Instead, you claim that I ignored your e-mails, yet this very message sits atop a week’s worth of correspondence dating back to the very beginning; anyone can clearly see this, including the bank or credit card company. More importantly, they’ll also see that you’ve completely contradicted yourself. It’s not right to slanderously state that this was simply an unauthorized, fraudulent transaction while plainly indicating elsewhere that you’ve been actively trying to cancel within the allotted time, because you were with company at the time and feel you were pressured. Buyer’s remorse is one thing and fraud is another, but you can’t have it both ways. If you had contacted me the next day and said “I thought about it, changed my mind and would like to cancel”, I’d have been more than accommodating , but you didn’t do that. You accused me of taking liberties and practicing business dishonestly, which I don’t appreciate.

Sincerely,

Scott Stone

From: MICHAEL DROZARIO [mailto:mdrozario@btinternet.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 5:27 PM
To: Scott Stone
Subject: Re: update PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Scott,

I will make this as simple as possible for you to understand.

I requested that you provide me with details of the programme via email before I made my decision if to proceed or not.

You seemed content in continuing with your sales pitch totally ignoring my request for information. I rang the next day because I felt uneasy with the way you just continued with your sales pitch and left you messages and even emailed you well within the 3 days you point out on your invoice for a refund but each time you have chosen to ignore my request.

So this is really very simple......

I did not at any stage give you or your company authority to debit my account with the fees for the "Professional of the Year" in fact I rang you the next day to put a stop on the process along with an email a message you chose to ignore again!

So if your company has taken funds for this programme I expect them to be returned in full or I will inform my bank that it was a unauthorised fraudulent transaction.

I do not wish to proceed with the "Professional Of The Year".

I hope that is clear enough for you and I am very disappointed with the way this has gone but I will not succumb to pressure selling.

Regards

Michael D'Rozario

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Scott Stone
To: MICHAEL DROZARIO
Sent: Thursday, 13 May, 2010 2:16:20
Subject: RE: update PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Michael,

I’ve reviewed your e-mail and I don’t quite know how to respond. Firstly, you may have been away from the office and in company, but that certainly didn’t stand in the way of your agreement to move forward with the program. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken the necessary steps; that is simply not the way we conduct our business. Upon confirmation of the correct address and billing information (regarding the investment, which I bottom-lined three separate times, as always, to be safe), you explained that you’d like to review the details for a week before committing to anything. I politely informed you that by next week, the entire program could be well in motion if everything was done upfront. Not only that, but I’d also have your profile up on the home page within a few days. I said I’d be more than pleased to send the copy of your biography and the new program parameters, but the commitment is always done upfront – with 60,000 members, what other way could we allow? For a second time, I promised to include a paid invoice for your records, along with your biographical proof, and you said that would be fine. Perhaps you were distracted by the company you were keeping at the time, but I have a hard time seeing how any of this could be taken more than one way… especially the bit about us working closely throughout the year and enjoying a lasting, successful business relationship with you as Professional of the Year in your field. I truly did go above and beyond to clarify everything, thereby leaving no room for error, and if that wasn’t enough, our conversation closed with me saying: “Congratulations again, Michael, and I’d like to formally welcome you to Professional of the Year status.” That’s a direct quote; I say this verbatim to every single new client. At that point, you thanked me and we said our goodbyes. Did I misinterpret all of this? Please help me understand.

Thank you

Scott Stone

From: MICHAEL DROZARIO [mailto:mdrozario@btinternet.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 3:04 PM
To: Scott Stone
Subject: Re: update

Scott,

I do not wish to proceed with the Professional of the Year program.

I was away and in company when you phoned and I asked you to forward me some details before I made my dession.

Regards

Michael D'Rozario

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Scott Stone
To: mdrozario@btinternet.com
Sent: Friday, 7 May, 2010 1:58:34
Subject: update

Dear Michael,

I was rather surprised when I heard your voicemail, because yesterday you’d authorized the Professional of the Year program and, naturally, I began work immediately. As I’m sure you recall, you had initially requested one week to think about it, review details and whatnot, but I explained that the next item to go out in the mail would be your welcome package, which would indeed reach you by next week and this new operation would be well underway by that point. Furthermore, I promised to have your new display page/profile up on our website within two days (admittedly, we do work quickly here). If you’ve had a change of heart, please rest assured that this is one of our absolute finest programs and the current success rate, in terms of networking and exposure, is unprecedented. To reiterate, you will be profiled globally in the Professional of the Year section of our home page, searchable through all major search engines (in most cases appearing as top result). You’ll be privy to all new member and company information released on a daily basis by using your ID & password, which I’ll be reissuing in the welcome package. Also, your individual profile page will serve as a personal website within our own, which you may link to your own, creating an interactive networking community between companies, clients and all others involved. To commemorate the event of your acceptance into this position, we are issuing our charcoal gray glass wall plaque, which is, of course, personalized and states that you’ve been selected as Professional of the Year in Engineering. Regarding how this came to be – just in case you missed any of this yesterday – our Associate Director, Susan McGrath, with whom you’d spoken in mid-March, submitted several excellent recommendations in your favor and, in many ways, championed you through the process based on the opportunity she’d predicted for you.

Strathmore Directories has accumulated an incredibly powerful database of professionals in the two decades since its inception. Personally, I’ve been on board for about half that time and I can honestly say I’ve never once witnessed a client who was not completely satisfied with the Professional of the Year program. In fact, they are usually overjoyed by their acceptance and the experience overall. Keep in mind, a mere 1% of our entire membership contingency is even considered for this position, let alone accepted (current acceptance rate is less than 0.5%). Obviously, it’s a very elite group and, as such, you’ll enjoy top priority in all aspects of membership and countless opportunities otherwise unavailable. I will be handling your account personally and, I assure you, you are in very capable hands. I have many exciting, progressive ideas for the future and all I ask in return is for a phone call every few months, simply to keep me updated as to your accomplishments. Literally everything else will be taken care of by our organization and if ever you are unhappy with the outcome, you may contact me. I hope I’ve reestablished the same confidence in the program you had yesterday, when I formally welcomed you to membership right before we parted company. I’ve seen the Professional of the Year position literally change lives for the better; perhaps that sounds a tad hyperbolic, but I assure you it’s true. In any event, I absolutely look forward to a lengthy, productive and powerful association.

Sincerely,

Scott Stone

Senior Director

Strathmore Directories

Westbury Division

26 Bond St.

Westbury, NY 11590

Phone: (516) 997-2525, x-102

Fax: (516) 997-8639

www.strathmore-ltd.com

www.swho.net

Got the exact same email..Thanks for sharing this..

Thanks for this blog! I just got the email a few minutes ago and thought "oh, this is nice - wonder how they found me?" Good thing I googled before I filled anything out! I wouldn't pay anything anyway, but at least it saves me some time.

Thanks for sharing, I was recently chosen to represent my profession as well and decided to check it out before clicking the link. If you look closely there are clues that this email is not what it appears to be:

-It is sent from a GMAIL account not from a company address
-The GMAIL company name, the subject line, and the company name under J.M. Blakely's signature is spelled incorrectly, "Strathmore Directories"; the company name is identified everwhere on the web site as "Strathmore's". In addition, not that "Directory" has replaced "Who's Who" in the title of the publication identified on the web site.
-There is a secondary address "1121 C Military Cutoff Road, #151, Wilmington, NC 28405 " at the very bottom of the email, probably for legal reasons. This address is also associated with the "International Association of Business Leaders" -same scam, different name.
-Incorrect grammar "We are please to inform you..."
-"Hardcover Edition"?

I just receive it today, watch out!!!
Dear XXXXXXX,

You were recently chosen to represent your profession in the 2010/2011 Strathmore's Directory Hardcover Edition Business Registry.

We are please to inform you that your candidacy was formally approved May 30th, 2010.

Stratmore's Directories selected you as a potential candidate based not only upon your current employment, but focusing as well on criteria from executive and professional directories, associations, and trade journals. Given your professional background, the Editorial Department believes your profile makes a fitting addition to our publication.

There is no fee nor obligation to be listed. As we are working off of secondary sources, we must receive verification from you that your profile is accurate. After receiving verification, we will validate your registry listing within 7 business days.

Once finalized, your listing will share prominent registry space with thousands of fellow accomplished individuals across the globe, each representing accomplishment within their own geographical area.

To verify your profile and accept the candidacy, please visit our online form.

-- link removed --

Our registration deadline for this year's candidates is June 30th, 2010. To ensure you are included, we must receive your verification on or before this date. On behalf of our Committee, I salute your achievement and welcome you to our association.

Sincerely,
J.M. Blakely
Vice President, Research Division

Strathmore Directories
26 Bond Street
Westbury, NY 11590
USA

The "Who's Who book" scam has been perpetrated for at least 50 years by various con artists. Before email, it was conducted via good old snail mail. Now with free email and basically free VOIP service they can try to take it to another level, the very tricky phone evaluation of your "worthiness" that is passed by roughly 100% of the persons tested. I would love to record a conversation with these people where you would give the WORST job history ever, but make a bunch of lame excuses about it, and see what they way. It would be hilarious to have them congratulate you for qualifying after an interview like that! I don't need their book, I am already a legend in my own mind and it didn't cost me a thing. Way to be vigilant people!

Thanks for the post!!! Very helpful info. (and I thought I was so special until Google search points me to your blog.)

Thanks for the article googled your link before i "signed up"

I worked for them last year for a few days. This organization is a complete scam and many of the people there use fake names. Just hang up the phone and don't give them your money.

The "Who's Who" just called me today and gave me the same crappy lines... so scripted! Then they started asking for money, that's when I knew our call was over......I said 'no' so many times he hung up on me.......... hope they don't use my info for anything else!