Thus, we cut off one of the two heads of the hydra! Just got the call myself well a voicemail anyway I think to offer me a job rather than to put me on the list. But, given that I am not a bottom feeder, I will not be seeking employment in their general direction. Thanks for the post-- informative and entertaining! I am looking at a Cambridge Letter that was sent to my wife, who just laughed when she read it!
However, my favorite part of the letter was the bottom tagline on the 'stationary' which stated "Cambridge Who's Who is proudly not associated or affiliated with any other Who's Who Publication or Organization. I got the exact same letter you did from those people, who are certainly a scam, and I am not a professional or an executive unless newpaper thrower fits into one of those catagories and I am only 25 plus I am NOT even working now I went back to school. I think they have some way of looking at peoples' tax filing or something because I do have to file my taxes like I run a business because I am a independant contractor and this could be why the think I am a professional.
Any advice on how to get my money back? Or is it too late??? Thanks for any advice. I am so glad I found your blog on Cambridge's Who Who. Of course no one returned my calls or responded to my letters. When I didn't hear from the company I filed a dispute with Amex which is where the charge was.
After they contacted the company all of a sudden they produced a document of a recording that said I had been informed I couldn't cancel the membership and Amex ruled in their favor. After reading the information on your blog regarding the number of complaints filed with the BBB, and you were right, they are in the process of upding information on this company, I was able to provide it to Amex and they are running their own investigation against this company.
They again have suspended the amount requested from Cambridge. I am also filing a complaint with the Attorney Generals Office. Thank you for taking the time to make others aware. Recognition of this kind is an honor shared by thousands of executive and professional women throughout America each year.
I sent back the card with my information and I got a phone call from Mr. Michael Collican Who and after a short question and answer period I was congratulated and told my biography was accepted. I tolled him I don't know anything about this company and he said that all the information is going to be send out to me and he asked for my credit card , after few hours after work I Googled this company and found out that I have been scamd.
More people like us need to step forward regardless of embarrassment or other concern for being initially taken, to put these folks in their place, so others will not be taken advantage of moving forward. Thank you, Sarah. I got a call from the Cambridge Who's Who today. It was the gift card that had me laughing.
I really thought I was being honored! Now that I've googled this, I see I made the right choice. Anyone who gets one of Cambridge's letters might want to watch Glengarry Glen Ross first if you haven't already seen it. Just a suggestion. First of all, I was just recently laid off from a job. This is unfortunate for a field such as writing where new, creative, insightful authors should be encouraged rather than become discouraged by having to go through minefields. I just got off the phone with a lady from the cambridge whos who.
I told her i had to think about the decision and she told me that I had to make the decision while she was on the phone with me. No calling back. Well I told her that if CWW was and organization that had as its goal to put together a list of accomplished professionals as they claim then they would be willing to wait so as to insure the itegrity of their list. She claimed that they had publishing deadlines to meet and that she had to know now. I asked if she were going to be making calls tomorrow and of course her answer was yes.
Well then you can wait untill tomorrow because obviously you will be adding names to the list then. She then restated that they are the fastest growing networking directory in the industry and they have , members. I asked to see an example of this directory so that I could get a preview of what I would be paying for.
From the sound of the callcenter buzz int the background and hard sell tactics it is no wonder why they are the fastest growing directory. I told her that i would be honored to be published in her free directory and got off the phone. Preditors like this should go to jail and receive negative Karma points. Here is a good trick, If you want to see a listing of the hundreds if not thousands of people who have fallen victim to this scam type this into the google search box.
Adding a link to the above: site:cambridgewhoswho. Thanks to all of you who've shared your experiences with Cambridge, Emerald, etc. Okay, so I'm an idiot and actually gave them my credit card information. This was before I checked them out on the web. Is there anyone that has actually received a refund? If so, how did you do it? Do I need to threaten legal action? What legal action can I take. I feel so stupid. I filled out the whole Cambridge Whos Who, thinking that they wanted to actually recognize me for my engineering accomplishments.
Once I received the call, it was very apparent that this was a money driven scam. The women was obviously reading from a book, with many catchy pre-packaged lines to make me feel like a big man Well, I could see right through it. She eventually went for the hard sell and I said that I wasnt interested.
Then she got pretty aggressive saying that it was my "last chance. The procedure was similar: several questions about how I became such an accomplished professional, my career goals etc. I asked for days to make decision, and was told of a lower rate 3-yr membership. And gave her my credit card information. I went online and googled the Who and realized that I was just scammed. I called the lady right back within one hour to cancel the membership, she told me she was not responsible to cancel it since everything was already in processing, only the financial department could take care of it.
And she did not have the contact information phone, email of the financial department. She said she would forward my request to the financial dept immediately and the financial dept would contact me within this business day… I was so mad at myself for being fooled. I called my citibank credit card company to block the charge from CWW, and was told that they could only dispute the charge after it shows up on my bill, so I will have to call the credit card company later for the charge.
What a day! Unfortunately, I am of the gullible variety of humans I had a gut feeling that it was a scam, but let the "wow you are great" spiel take over.. My husband then found this website - I am now going to attempt to get my money back. Wish me luck I am back here to update my story on June 26,am. I found the phone number in the invitation letter, called the number and left a message " I got your invitation letter and have some questions about the membership, please call me at Not after long a lady from the Cambridge Who's who called me back, very possible considering me as a potential member.
I told her I just joined the WHO in the morning and would like to cancel my membership because I need more time to research the institute before joining. She told me everything has been processed during the first call and a package is sending to me soon. I argued about the package, it's no way that the package already on the way within such a short period, and good service always include try and return policy. She said they had this one time deal no trial, no return because they have thousands of accomplished members to take care of and not enough personnel and time for cancellation.
She immediately told me I had to be a member to get in touch with other member. One good thing is that they do allow me to withdraw the membership but it is really an annoying experience. I wish Deanna good luck. The internet will be the small scale of it. I did a quick search but saw that they had a website so i dropped it. I joined the lifetime membership and was promised a book and all these other things.
I had again forgotten about it and then they called me again 2 weeks ago to verify my mailing address because they were getting ready to send out the book to me. They even repeated my credit card number back to me and were asking me for authorization to charge on that account. I still have the credit card receipt.
I said I have NO money i am broke living under a bridge. How scary is that. I also read in your blog that attorneys were calling the victims Because i will make this a VERY ugly and public case for them.
I am not afraid and refuse to allow those attorneys to try to intimidate me. I received a second letter today and again assumed it was some sort of solicitation. The issue that I have is that somehow this letter was sent to me under my new, married name which I just changed this month.
I just this week received my updated driver's license. How is it that they've come by this information so quickly? What access do they have to my personal information? Maybe one of you curious types out there would want to take some effort to further investigate their data collection practices.
Got one too-it's now in the trash! Another potential victim saved from these people- wonder what their next scheme will be if they never get busted??? I also received the invitation, decided to play with them.
I am a born skeptic and the more I am pushed the more my feet plant. Got the congrats call this morning wanting to know if it was a good time for me to answer a few further questions. I told them it depends on how long it'll take them to get to the money part.
Chris did not like that, told me to never mind, that she had already "made her decision". So is it a compliment to be rejected and unacceptable to a scammer? I suspect they avoid people who may be too much trouble and yes, it IS a scam. Their telephone number shows as "" in caller ID. I just got a call here at work from Cambridge Who's Who. I forgot that I ever filled out the form a few months ago. The woman had such a nice voice that would make anyone think it was real except for someone like myself that does not trust anyone.
I went through the steps about being published thinking all was cool, then she dropped the big bomb on me stating I had to pay money. Told her, I don't have any money to spend on something like this.
She tried every which way to get me to pay for a subscription, but I told her I was not going to give my credit card over the phone to anyone I don't know. I said send me something in the mail or e-mail and I would check it out. She was not happy. I told her that she does not need to publish my name now cause I won't give her any money.
The call ended. So happy to see other people had the same thing happen to them. I am mad that I even was on their list cause I am signed up to not get Junk Mail. Guess this one slipped through the cracks. I got one of those Madisons Who's Who. I don't know why cause I'm just a home maker. It gives me a giggle to think that people will do anything to get someones money. I laughed so hard I had an accident! I too recieved one of those letters. I filled it out and sent it in months ago, just got a call back about it today.
The questions she asked made me suspicious, and I told her I was driving and didn't have my credit card with me. So I said "fine" So I said it's ", She tried to call me back, but I didn't answer and she didn't leave a message Thanks for the blog I'm gonna try and cancel that order.. But they definitely soften you up with all the questions. I am terribly embarrassed about having to post this blog.
Last week I too was scammed by Cambridge Who's Who!!! I received a call about 2 years ago about being published in their book, and all of my "recongnition" and "accomplishments" as a professional.. I gave them my credit card for one hundred dollars or so, and they left me alone for a while. OH BOY!!!!!!!!
Blah, blah, blah. I was excited as I am a upcoming professional in my area, and throught this was a great experience to get my name out!!! Much to my dismay I was scammed for I was taken right down the same path the rest of these Bloggers have taken.
I am very embarrassed about it. I called back within 4 days or so to speak with Stefanie Taylors and she would not return my calls. A Robert Sullivan ext called to inform me that he had a "Taped conversation" of me agreeing to the amount being charged on my credit card. He was extremely rude, and told me that I was basically "out of luck". I preceeded to ask him if this was how CWW did routine business, and he did not want to hear my complaints.
I was at work, and I cut the converstaion short. I then called my Citi bank card to tell them of the situation. One of the account managers is currently working with me. I am waiting on pins and needles because I have better than excellent credit, however I do not plan on paying this bogus charge. I will just take a ding on my credit, close the account, and not have a CITI card account. I hope everyone reads this ahead of time.
I wish I had made an investigation ahead of time as well. But, who knew we would get scammed by what we thought was a legitimate business. Good luck to everyone with a claim or dispute with Cambridge Who's Who!! Hi everyone, I was caught completely unawares and I fell for the scam myself. I just came back from vacation and was woken up this morning by a rep from Cambridge Who's WHo.
She asked plenty of questions and when it came time for that sell, I fell for it. I talked and yesed her just to get off the darn phone.
I wish I did the research online first but at the very least they won't be able to charge me for the book. I called up my credit card company and hd them change my card number. I also had similar issues with my credit card. Once a charge goes into the approval stage, the best that you can do is to wait for it and then put it into dispute. The way I see it, while they have a recording of me saying go ahead and charge my card, it is a service we are paying for.
Service hasn't been rendered yet and I intend on making sure that it doesn't go through. I shouldn't have to pay for a service I haven't received. So, like others before me, wish me luck in getting through and getting a refund. I've gotten a number of reports of this particular intimidation tactic used by the Whos. I would guess that such high-pressure tactics would qualify as duress, and I believe that, depending on what state you're in, the use of duress makes a contract or agreement voidable by the person who is under duress.
At any rate, duress is something to mention to your credit card company when you're disputing the charge be sure also to give them the URL of this post , or to a lawyer if you seek legal counsel. Another sucker here from last week. I was told they only needed my card to know how to begin processing the application. I was under the impression that I wouldn't be charged until I received and looked over and signed my package. I have called my credit card company Bank of America and they told me to try to call them and cancel it first but that they would make a note on my account.
They then provided the dispute charge form online and told me to not accept the package when and if it comes and requires a signature. I could go on, but let's just see how far we get. Any updates on refunds people? I'll be sure to dispute it through my credit card company if Who's Who doesn't cancel for me. Anyone actually get Who's Who to cancel and refund the charges yet?
Thanks and good luck to the other who were suckered. I just received their letter about being specially chosen to be a part of their "Executive and Professional Women. I looked at their website and thought okay, not too bad.
I am so glad I also decided to do a Google search on them and found your blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You just saved me a lot of money and aggravation. Thank you for the "Duress" comment. I just happened to get my CITI bank dispute letter today, and sat down at my computer to write my letter.
I saw you post, and decided to add your website to my letter. I am so sorry for everyone that gets scammed by these people. Great website ladies!!! Keep up the good work! Thank you. I'm very curious; did Writer Beware become the target of any threats of legal action by these people? I'm sure this blog has been an excellent resource for a lot of people that could have been taken in by this scam.
I wonder if it's caught their attention yet. Laura, I may be jinxing myself by saying this If they're like most outfits that prey on writers, they only go after the people they know they can intimidate.
Thank you, thank you for blogging about this. I just got one of the "Professional Women" solicitations, and having been in my position for only three months, found it particularly fishy. Like any good cynic, I Googled them immediately, and yours was the first entry I saw that wasn't all glowing comments or from the group themselves.
SO glad for your explanation. You saved me a lot of time! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I knew this sounded too good to be true. It seemed fishy to me. Hats off to you for exposing them. Well I can be added to the list. Being duped a very long time ago for my poetry I know nothing is ever free. Suspecting something fishy, I started searching and found my suspicions valid. The main reason I became wary is I just recently started to tread the surface of free-lance writing.
So why would anyone want to reconize me for my accomplishments? How could I be accomplished, being new at the trade. There is no way I've made any real accomplishments, except with a couple of small publications, which I am thrilled about, but my goodness it is only a start. Thawwwwrrrrt to them, playing on peoples sensitive fragile emotions. Thank you very much for taking the time to research"Cambridge Who's Who. My intuition felt it wasn't legit. So I did a search and I had to understand who was Blogging or bragging!
Thank you again for your're eye opening article. Once again thanks I got one today also and new it was fishy heck coming from my past background they would definately not wont me lol. I think I might fill it out and when they call and they ask me what I do etc tell them I am a professional drug dealer and say heck I though you all got my name from the prison when I killed that guy for trying to rob someone hehe.
Hrmmm I think ill do it I love having fun with people like this. THanks again. I was disappointed, of course, that it's all a scam, but hey--so it goes! Amazing how quickly they lower the price of membership and start adding on crazy gifts when you balk Unfortunately I can't look to see if it's been posted, since I'm not a member. Any members wanna look and see? I think I used the name Jackson Howland last name might be incorrect , and put my position as professor, company as Harvard, and city as Boston, MA.
Now I feel better! I found a few other sites that complained about the group, but your site was especially helpful. Thanks for the great research and information! Thanks, Karin. I got an e-mail fromEmerald, claiming it was a follow on to an enquiry I made in April. I had to laugh. There are no "professional" people IN the town! The closest thing to a professional is the fry cook at one of the bars. None of these outfits deserve anyone's time and certainly not any money. I have a hard time fighting against these people.
The day i received the crapy package i returned everything in a heart beat, and called immediately the bank to cancel the sale. I just sent a letter to the bureau of better business and another one to the attorney general because i am really fed up with these people. I dunno where it will go, but i am ready to do not let them keeping scamming people like that.
I have just been invited to join emerald Who's Who. I am already listed in International Who's Who's for professionals. I do not know who referred me to them.
But What I do know that while I was researching business opportunities and ideas, it said do a Who's Who book. It is a good attempt to complile a list of professionals a nd join together to use joint resources, but I understand some of the people just want you to pay the money.
I hope one day to make a proper Who's Who for professional so that It can really benefit a wide spectrum of professionals around the world. Just received me phone call from Cambridge and I was accepted! And how much? It did sound professional, but I'm not in the habit of passing out car payments to just anyone, so I asked her to call back in an hour.
I Googled, found their site and just below that your post. Thank you very much! I can't wait to ask for the charitable rate, get it then hang up! I've been through the scam with Cambridge Who's Who and fell for it unfortunately due to the hard sell, and that fact I was at work and was trying to get the salesperson off the phone.
How did I get them to not charge my credit card? I left voice mail messages for anyone on their pohone directory, AND I threatened them that I would gladly report my experience to the State Atty's Office for New York to the actual division that handles these type of phone scams I can't remember the name of the dept, but found it when I looked up the State Atty's office. Also told them that I would be contacting the BBB as well. Boy, did I have a quick response from one of the "higher ups" at Cambridge informing me that they would cancel my order, and NOT charge my credit card!
I now have an email from Prestige Who's Who offering the same scam. Delete, delete, delete! Advice - just use the Name of the State's Atty who handles these scams, and they react verrry quickly!! I am one of the fortunate ones not to be hit with a solicitation letter from Cambridge et al.
However, I am in the process of looking for a new job and came across a job listing for Cambridge that seemed to fit within my skill set and salary requirements. But something about their ad made me nervous. Of course, after some Googling, I found the true story about the company. Thank goodness I hesitated about sending my resume out. I certainly don't want to work for an outfit such as this. Hi everyone, I received one of those wonderful who who's in the mail as well.
Completed it, mailed it and forgot about it after all it was free, right? Just a call a few months later- nice sales rep with a good voice- makes you feel important but then here comes the hard sell money!!
She insisted I give her my credit card number because this has to be done today, or I may miss an opportunity of a life time. If the first membership was to expensive she has the authority to give me a lesser membership less money. She only needed my authorization and she would wait until I found the credit card. I said okay, wait one moment. I guess she is still waiting!!!
I fell for this scam because when I was in high school I was selected for a legit who's who. When this came I immediately thought of that, which had been very helpful for me, and bought into it.
I did get the call and got talked into buying one of their memberships, but once I hung up I realized it was a little fishy so I looked them up.
Lo and behold I came to this site, saw it was a scam and called back my "Account Director" getting only a voicemail. I left a threatening voicemail basically saying that I had been scammed in the past hour and did not want any of their company's services. Maybe it was that they realized I work in litigation or maybe they just didn't want any trouble, but I got a call shortly thereafter from some guy saying he heard I had questions about my purchase.
I told him that I didn't want any of their services and he immediately agreed to cancel the purchase. These people are leeches and should be put in jail for what they do to innocent people. Thanks to all of you.
Good advice about not accepting the package. When I called back trying to cancel.. I told Am. Express about this. I just received an offer for the " Among Executive and Professional Women " edition. Does it count that not only am I actually male but they got my first and last name transposed?
Thanks for the great work! I fell for it this morning. Got the call at work, and within the hour, I knew I should have listened to my gut feeling. Also, I felt extremely stupid.
I called "my account director", only to receive a message that this number was not in service at this point. I then called the number listed on their stationery and was told I would receive a call later this afternoon or tomorrow.
Called back the account director, this time the number worked, and left a clear and precise message. In the meantime, I started doing more research, came upon this site and was armed with info State Attorney's Office, name, etc.
I was ready to call every extension tonight and leave a voice mail thanks, Anonymous! Lo and behold, just now, after official business hours, I received a call from a rep. He wanted to know what and why. I kept repeating "I simply changed my mind" as an easy start to each of his questions budgetary issue? Is it a budgetary issue? If it is, I might be able to help you After I was on hold for a couple of minutes, he said I would be credited.
My alarm bells did go off when I was not given time to think it over; made feel uninformed "Do you not KNOW who we are? Just got the F. S full of shit letter today. I think a a quick way to tell if it's real or not is to just look at the Gonzalez signature. If its pre-printed like they are , I'd be headed for the trash. If they don't have the time to sign themselves, it must not be that important.
That's how I feel anyway. I just received the letter and am thankful for a little curiosity and this blog. Just thinking that the best thing to do and maybe get you off the list is to put some heavy washers in the return envelope - make them pay for that return postage! Be curious! Thanks so much for your research, and to everyone for their posts. I was harassed this morning by the representative from Cambridge. I knew at that point, we had a scam! The representative indicated that they had over , members in their database I would sure hope that is incorrect information!
It would be fun to record the call and post it on a blog. I would be interested in their answer to the direct question "the letter said there was no charge". That would probably make the news. I received my letter in September and started receiving calls ever since.
They really did a great job of making me feel special. Here I am thinking WOW, someone wants me in their publication and I could use this as a networking tool. Unfortunately this morning I opened the letter and like most others was interested in being recognized. I typed in Cambridge in my Google bar to start my research and hit their site first and entered the online app information no credit card info. Then I went back and hit the other Google search links and ended up here and now of course I am upset that I fell for this scam.
Thanks for posting all of your comments. And by great, I mean incredibly sad. Try googling some of the business names.
Thank you!! I was 10 minutes away from a Cambridge Whos Who interview - at least now I will not waste my time! Another thank you for this information. I received my letter today. I was temped by the "free", but it goes right out with the trash after reading this.
I just got off the phone from a 20 minute "interview" with Emerald Who's Who Get info on here, now I'll be better aware I should have known that my work quality wouldn't get me nominated for anything.. Haha - You are right on! I actually sent the registry request with bogus info because it is "Postage Paid". I figure they deserved it. If everyone did that they'd pay out the nose and eventually give up the game.
Colleen - What a wonderful idea! I just got this prestigious invitation and I pity anyone who regards anything like this as their "single highest mark of achievement" sheesh and I was going to toss it already knowing it was a scam and googled it anyway, found this blog and just think your suggestion to send back BS information just so they pay the postage is inspired! I'm going to do that. Hi, I read your article and was really interesting. This summer I received a weird phonecall and I showed no real interest.
I immediately thought it was a scam but the woman offered me a real deal of a cheap trial. The real memberships were really expensive by the way. So I agreed and wanted to check out their website which appeared to suck.
I did some additional research about this firm and found other firms that were really similar: similar website logo's, used names. Only the addresses were different and such obvious stuff. After calling in a couple of times, I got every single time the same guy on the other end which was really odd. Furthermore I only required my last name to identify and you would think they would ask for your member ID.
After gathering more information about the servers hosting the website I found that one particular website I won't mention the name was created by a 'firm' which appeared to have created the website. Last update of that website was in and they had an online portfolio of other websites that appear o be scams as well.
For everyone else who has received offers from companies claiming they will list you in their database: check the company's BBB report. Believe me, all regular and honest firms will want to be listed in the BBB database so if the company is in there, you will know for sure it's not a scam. I received a letter last week and was suspicious as I am not in a "prestigious" position in my career. Thanks for the info - this letter went straight to the trash. Yeah, I'm in college and I don't even have a job and I got a letter about the Executives and Professionals "Honors Edition" version; what the hell - honors?
Is that supposed to make me want to buy it more? Though the editor-in-chief listed was M. Foster instead of Gonzalez. What a load of crap. Thanks so much for posting this! Very informative, and it makes me so angry that this kind of crap happens. I just got off the phone with these knuckleheads. I have to admit that I was taken in for a short while then as I was going through the "interview" it dawned on me that this was a scam. A quick Google search brought me to this page.
I listened for about another minute and then just ended the conversation. He was not happy when I told him that I would not make a decision until I had seen what they were publishing. Hi there! Thanks for your research! Just want to add to the anecdotes about Cambridge I have my talents, but I am neither an Executive nor a Professional. I am, in fact, a stay-at-home mom to 3 small children.
The last paying job I had was that of middle school English teacher in Ah well, as Bertie Wooster would say, "Into each life some rain must fall" and I regret I will have to decline the invitation of "M.
Foster, Editor and Chief" to join this august body. Thank you very much for the information. I just received one of these letters today and am thankful that I can avoid the inconveniences that some of the other bloggers experiences.
I am a professional who was invited to join CWW. After an extensive "interview", I foolishly gave my credit card and authorized them to sign me up. Immediately after getting off the phone, I googled and found this site. As soon as you realize this is a scam, call and ask your credit card co.
After contacting my credit card co. The response was similar to everyone's experience. About 15 minutes after I got off the phone with CWW, they called back and left me a message stating they will hold off on the application and then added that the charge to my card was declined Emerald Who's Who just contacted me via phone after I filled out an online form this weekend.
Thankfully I didn't provide any of my credit card or bank information. I just received a call from them and their representative was saying the exact things other people have been told.
That's when I hung up on them. Thank you so much for posting! I'm sure it will help others! I guess flattery does work these days! Man I feel like a fool! Good luck to everyone else out there, stay smart and do research before you give anyone you don't know your personal information. Gelly from Minneapolis. I was contacted by Cambridge Who's Who many times over the past few weeks.
When I finally gave the salesperson the time of day she took some information about my job and then went in for the kill. I immediately recognised it as a bad cover up for a scam and pointed that out to the lady. She assured me that thier company was legitamate and diveled on long enough for me to poke around the internet and find your site. When she was done spewing after seveal failed attempts to get her off the phone I informed her that I had already made a complaint to the BBB while on the phone with her.
I suggested that thier sales approach be shorter in the future, especially if I had enough time to do that! Thank you ladies! Those poor souls. I mean, really, "considered by many as the single highest mark of achievement"! Here's my suggestion So fill out one or two lines with fake info and stick it in a mailbox. Those postage costs will eventually add up for them I read every word searching for a cost or any signs of a scam, and found none.
Getting something -- unexpectedly -- for nothing was a little unnerving to me. Skeptical, I began to search the internet to ensure that this was a legitimate company and true honor.
I found this blog. Thank God for you and your research. You saved me from this terrible scam. Lord knows, I have enough stress in my life, and I don't need anymore!! Thanks again. This is a good blog. No thank you! Beware, they are very slick in the way they "lead you" to a sale.
I do not like the feeling I was left with - slimy! Take care out there and beware. Sympathies to all who fell for this. I guess sometimes the empirical method is the only way to learn something.
After getting these things for a few years in a row, a few months ago they sent me another application; so just for giggles and grins, I sent it in to see what would happen. I figured that, though the listing was said to be free, they'd try to sell me a copy of the book with my name in it.
When I got the call from them wanting to "interview" me, I told them they had to call me at 6am my time 9am theirs, in NYC , at home, because I didn't want to do an interview at work.
They ended up calling me a few more times at work ANYWAY, then a couple of times at home at the wrong time after I'd already left for work. Finally, about a week ago, they made the call at the right time. The interview, as many of you know, was pretty trivial educational background, why I wanted to be in their listing etc; they didn't even ask what I'd done that was so noteable that I should be in "Who's Who" , and finally they said "congratulations, we'll put you in" even though the reason I gave for "wanting" to be in was that they'd solicited ME, not the other way around.
Then they hit me with the money hook. Well, that of course got the Scottish Jew in me all riled up. So I asked them "well, what do you have for a free membership? I responded "well, perhaps you can't count. What do you have for zero dollars?
So I said that'd be fine, and they said they'd do that, and that was the end of the call; no cc info was ever exchanged. But it will be interesting to see if I get any more calls in the future. I DO wonder how much money they spent on all those long-distance calls across the country. Must be a pretty profitable business. I think that next, I'll submit my dad's name for candidacy.
One of his greatest joys is going to shops and being an old coot to them about something he'd bought with which he wasn't satisfied. I'll make sure Dad knows not to give them a cc number; but, being my father's son, I'm sure he'll know better Though I too sympathize with those who were caught up in this I also received the letter, but did not bite , I think calling this operation a scam is a little over-the-top.
It is no doubt true they are rife with high-pressure sales tactics, immediate credit-card charging, and much difficulty in getting refunds. But some folks WERE apparently successful in getting refunds, so it is not like they completely refuse to provide them. A "scam" implies illegal activity. They probably do exactly what they say they'll do: put your name in a listing and allow you to access it so you can "network".
They surely hype the listing WAY more than it deserves I think the only exclusivity to the listing is that it is reserved for people willing to spend all that money to get on it , but there's probably nothing illegal here. I think that as long as you don't give 'em your charge numbers, you can have fun with 'em if you want, as a couple of posters have done. In fact, I'm now a little sorry I don't still have the letter, so I can do so myself.
If you choose to do that though, just keep your wallet in your pocket or your purse closed. Um, no one is telling you to buy this stuff. They sell crap like any other business, and it's your own fault if you're such a dope that you buy into this. It's clearly a play into people's vanities, but it's not illegal! I must disagree They claim they will provide you with a service, they claim they have way more members then they actually do, they claim they select people on merit, accolades, and accomplishment, they claim it is free No one ever benefits, they have nowhere near as many active members as they say, they will list anyone with a CC , and it is far from free.
In addition, once you do pay, they seem to run your CC when ever their hearts desire. You pay for your vanities. And it's doubtful anyone's running your card "whenever their hearts desire.
You want scams? There are plenty of real scams the government should investigate. I worked for these guys in more of a support capacity.
Hate to break this to you, but it's not a scam. It's legal, there is no defrauding. If someone didn't want their package or were unhappy, their credit card was refunded. I'm sure there had to be some instances that were shady, but that's not new in any industry.
And you know what? I felt like I WAS doing a good deed working there. I did my best to go over the person's bio, fact-check it, read it for mistakes, etc. So, how is this a scam? It may be scammish, but what isn't, from the beauty and health industries to the book and music clubs--you think the phone companies don't hard sell and scam you into buying their packages--I could go on.
Sure, there's high-pressure selling tactics, is there an industry where there isn't? The point is that no one is twisting your arm to buy this, and if you do, you buy at your own risk.
Or, if you don't want it, you just get your name and info online and in the book for nothing. You know what, guys? No one tells you the straight dope, not the President, not the Pope and certainly not the businessman. People hate to hear the truth, but I worked there for 6 months.
They will tell people they are a different whos who on the phone. Charge people twice. Lie about recording convos. Threaten to ruin people's credit if they dispute. Sell to people overseas who do not fully understand english. Lie about if they charge you in dollars, euros, or pounds.
Finally they send you a paid invoice in 10 days saying you had 24 hours to cancel. You're obvisouly not telling the truth! I listened to these people for 3 months sorry, didn't make it to 6! In fact, the trainers made it painstakingly clear that nothing inappropriate had better take place or you're out! Now I don't know what the principals do with the money, but the chicanery ain't happening on the floor. BTW, dear, they do record phone convos--of the sales people and everyone else in the office.
Also a special thanks for going through it with all the same curiosity and actually publishing the answers and saving us the time It is so flattering and even though you know it is scam sometimes it is hard to resist! Thank you for posting the results of your experience with this company. I too was skeptical and I see that a pinch of skepticism is a good thing! Thanks so much for informing us all! Thanks for the info on this. I consider myself somewhat up and coming in the world and when I received the letter I was flattered, but somewhat skeptical.
Since I have had nothing to do with Cambridge or any of it's charities and what not. I guess there is no end to the ways people will think to get money out of you.
Thanks a bunch for your blog on this!! I received this letter from Cambridge Who's Who today. After reading it, I was quite skeptical because I am not a professional. I just graduated from college lol! I now know it is a scam. I am always skeptical about these things, because, as we all know, nothing in life is free. In addition, I've never heard of the book or the company, so I knew it was some kind of scam. This blog just confirms it.
I am glad I googled and found your blog. I was just about to toss this letter and thought I should look it up before I did. Thank-you :. I learned a lot from my experiences with Cambridge Who's Who such as Cambridge Who's Who gives you unlimited potential to network and market yourself. Do this right can really open up a lot of doors. I must admit that this is pretty interesting.
I received this letter and I thought Clearly, this is a major scam and my name was just picked from a list. Post a Comment. Tuesday, December 05, Who's Who? Who am I? Recognition of this kind is an honor shared by thousands of executive and professional women throughout America each year.
Inclusion is considered by many as the single highest mark of achievement. Upon final confirmation, you will be listed among thousands of accomplished women in the Cambridge Who's Who Registry. For accuracy and publication deadlines please return to us your application form within five business days from the receipt of this letter.
There is no cost to be included. Letter, October 25, It sat on my desk for several days and on a whim, I sent it back and did not think anything more about it. Until today. This afternoon I got a phone call from Cambridge Who's Who and after a short question and answer period I was congratulated and told my biography was accepted.
Great, but it was at that point the sales pitch commenced. I had no desire to make this decision spur of the moment and the longer I "waffled," the harder the sales push.
She moved from the highest price to the lowest telling me that she did not want me to miss out on this opportunity. As the conversation contionued, at one point I was asked, "Don't you know who we are?
I replied, "Yes, but I have no intention of making a purchase of this magnitude over the phone without any consideration. Naturally, I began my research on this company after lunch.
I started with my boss, who had never heard of them, and finished with a quick Google search. Findings ranged from a few happy consumers to seriously snarky reports of outright scam.
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