WOMC: Word of Mouth Connection Scam…
I keep getting these stupid scam/spam emails that say:
Someone has just begun to research your background via our website. This email has been automatically sent to you so as to make you aware that your background is being looked into. The popularity of our website is currently growing at a very rapid rate. If another person begins to research you in the future we will again inform you via email.
Then the Word-Of-Mouth email (sent by their Report Awareness System, aka Connection Awareness System) supplies a link to click on that sends you to a page that says that someone who knows you “very well” has, and is willing to share, information about you with others. To send an anonymous email to this nonexisting person to find out whatever the heck they are supposed to be saying about you, you must fork over a minimum of $19.97 for a one-year subscription to the WOM Connection, or $29.97 for a two-year subscription.
Please, DO NOT fall for this scam! It’s bûllšhìt!
Number Nine in the New York State Consumer Protection Board’s list of the Top Ten Internet headaches is scam websites. The CPB specifically mentions that “all types of scams are attempted on the Internet, including a relatively new website called Word-of-Mouth.org. This website, registered to a company in the Philippines, claims people can file gossip about someone they know using that person’s e-mail address to identify them. Now Word-of-Mouth is sending e-mail messages to try to get people to spend $19.97 to see the gossip that allegedly has been filed about them. CURE: Hit the delete button when you receive this e-mail.”
Some vital information:
- The womc.info domain is registered to Peter Kestler located in Davao City, The Phillipines.
- Other domains include word-of-mouth-connection.com, wordofmouthconnection.com, word-of-mouth.org, womc.net, and wordofmouthconnections.info. There are probably many more.
- Womc.info is hosted in Las Vegas by A+Hosting.
- Word-of-Mouth is listed on the well-known website that exposes frauds and scams, snopes.com. According to snopes, “nobody needs to pay $20 to find out nothing.”
- The WOMC site is “in compliance with all United States laws.” Yet the legal section of the website states that “WordofMouthConnection.com, however, is not covered by any of these laws.”
- The site’s “users are anonymous.” Yet “we cannot ensure that all of your private communications and other personally identifiable information will never be disclosed.”
- Word-of-Mouth claims that “there are no U.S. federal laws governing spam.” They also say that they do not send spam, although they “send an initial unsolicited email”, which they claim is not spam in that there is no commercial aspect. Apparently they are trying to convince you that offering subscriptions to “an online community” is not a commercial endeavor.
- The testimonials are most likely fake. “I searched for Word-of-Mouth Connections on our nanny and was reassured because I found no Word-of-Mouth Connections.” Or what about “I was aghast at the stories [my girlfriend's ex's] told me about her lying, unfaithfulness, and past drug and mental problems. As a result of their input I decided to break off the relationship. WordofMouthConnection.com saved me!” Puuuuhlease!
- The last sentence on their legal page cracks me up the most! WOMC claims that their spam email “is not bulk mail because it is directed at one specific individual.” That’s about as dumb as it gets! All the spam I get is obviously directed to one person, me. That’s why I get it. If it wasn’t directly to me, I wouldn’t get any spam at all!
Do not send $20! Do not click the link! Go directly to the delete button!
UPDATE: I received another one of these emails on 1/12 from womexch.org - RDL
UPDATE: I’ve received dozens more of these emails, most of which I deleted immediately. Now I’m looking at them a bit closer. I received one on 2/7. It was from 209.25.171.75 (peter.wominfo.info), a server hosted at Maxim Computer Systems in Fremont, CA. Next one on 2/8 was from 207.36.180.23 (support.wordofmouthreports.com and peter1.wordofmouthconnections.com), a server at CyberGate/ValueWeb in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Both directed potential visitors to a URL on s.wominfo.info (peter1.word-of-mouth-connection.com), hosted by A+Hosting/Premia Networks in Las Vegas, NV. This guy is sure spreading it around! Pun intended…
UPDATE: I got another one on 2/8! Sheesh! This one from 216.65.117.86 (support.wordofmouthconnections.net hosted by Maxim/HostCentric in Fremont) directing users to a page on womc.info (64.235.50.54, the same peter1.word-of-mouth-connection.com site hosted in Las Vegas listed above).
UPDATE: Another one on 2/16. From “WOMC SUPPORT” with email address notify.sys@wordofmouthreports.info, title is “Background research being performed on you.” Offending mail server is support.wordofmouthreports.info (207.36.180.112) hosted at CyberGate/ValueWeb in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Directs (again!) to womc.info (64.235.50.54, hosted in Las Vegas). The marketing pitch on this one was “Someone is looking for people who know you and have experiences and/or opinions to share about you via our website.”
This word of mouth loser has been around for ages. I’m blocking him at these domains:
Word-of-Mouth.Org 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Tue Aug 5 10:29:14 EDT 2003
wordofmouthconnection.com 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Wed Aug 20 08:13:53 EDT 2003
WORDOFMOUTHREPORTS.ORG 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Thu Aug 28 07:34:15 EDT 2003
WORDOFMOUTHCONNECTION.ORG 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Fri Sep 12 07:47:25 EDT 2003
word-of-mouthconnection.org 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Thu Sep 25 10:07:05 EDT 2003
wordofmouthconnection.net 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Sun Sep 28 01:29:44 EDT 2003
Word-of-Mouth-Connection.com 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Sun Sep 28 01:31:35 EDT 2003
Word-of-Mouth-Connection.net 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Sun Sep 28 01:31:45 EDT 2003
wordofmouthinfo.info 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Mon Dec 8 09:04:02 EST 2003
womc.info 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Mon Dec 8 09:04:06 EST 2003
wordofmouthconnection.info 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Tue Dec 23 10:50:12 EST 2003
womc.net 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Sun Sep 28 01:31:17 EDT 2003
womexch.info 550 SPAMMER Email refused since Wed Dec 31 09:37:01 EST 2003
I’ve had these scam artists send me email for a while as well. They keep changing their domain, their userids, etc., so efforts to block them prove to be an ongoing effort. Thanks for your list of domains….The one I got today was from peter.womexch.net (66.132.172.236)
This where mine came from
From: WOMC SUPPORT
Raw Source From awareness_support@wordofmouthconnection.net Wed Jan 21 10:59:49 2004
Return-Path: Received: from peter.wordofmouthconnection.net (66.132.144.86)
by mail19a.dulles19-verio.com (RS ver 1.0.88vs) with SMTP id 3-0428724138
for ; Wed, 21 Jan 2004 11:55:43 -0500 (EST)
Received: (qmail 20537 invoked by uid 48); 21 Jan 2004 13:49:34 -0000
Date: 21 Jan 2004 13:49:34 -0000 Message-ID:
To: olwen@creativebackup.com
Subject: A user is researching you at our website.
From: WOMC SUPPORT
X-Loop-Detect:1 Status:
I was not using my brain and paid the $19.95. About five minutes after paying them, I did a Google search. Then I saw all information alleging that this site was nothing but a scam. So, I wrote them back asking for a refund pointing them to eWeek article and the press release from the NY State Consumer Protection Board. They replied this site is not scam. Nothing about my refund. I wrote a few more times and then they wrote that they provided the service as promised and would not refund my money. Then I did a little research on California Law, which applies to any company selling over the Internet to customers in California. It states that before doing business they must have a return and refund policy and the street address where they conduct business. The disclosure must be made either on the website or via email. They do have a one sentence refund policy, but they do not state their address. So I sent them text of the law and demanded their address. They wrote back and told me they were going to refund my money. They did not provide me with their address. However, I think that the guy behind this site lives in Alameda County in California. On my Visa statement it reads WORDOFMOUTHCONNECT 510-499-6732. This is a Pacific Bell Mobile phone number out of Oakland: Main-Piedmont. I called the number, however it automatically takes you to voicemail. The message is a man’s voice; he says something like Hi, leave a message and I will get back to you. I also did a DBA search in Alameda County. I came a across a company Business Name Word of Mouth, Inc, Owner Word of Mouth, Inc., Date Filed 10/27/2003, document number 339495. I also came across the whois info for wordofmouthconnections.info. This is the current whois info:
Domain ID:D2767522-LRMS
Domain Name:WORDOFMOUTHCONNECTIONS.INFO
Created On:03-Aug-2003 02:36:37 UTC
Last Updated On:13-Dec-2003 06:58:56
UTC Expiration Date:03-Aug-2004 02:36:37
UTC Sponsoring Registrar:R139-LRMS
Status:ACTIVE Status:OK
Registrant ID:C3477158-LRMS
Registrant Name:PETER KESTLER
Registrant Organization:WORD-OF-MOUTH LLP
Registrant Street1:SIVERANO MIRABUENO
Registrant Street2:STO NINO VILLLAGE
Registrant Street3:UPPER PEIDAD, TORIL
Registrant City:DAVAO CITY
Registrant State/Province:DAVAO DEL NORTE
Registrant Postal Code:8000
Registrant Country:PH
Registrant Phone:+6.39185653118
Registrant Email:SUPPORT@WORDOFMOUTHCONNECTION.COM
Admin ID:C3477158-LRMS
Admin Name:PETER KESTLER
Admin Organization:WORD-OF-MOUTH LLP
Admin Street1:SIVERANO MIRABUENO
Admin Street2:STO NINO VILLLAGE
Admin Street3:UPPER PEIDAD, TORIL
Admin City:DAVAO CITY
Admin State/Province:DAVAO DEL NORTE
Admin Postal Code:8000
Admin Country:PH
Admin Phone:+6.39185653118
Admin Email:SUPPORT@WORDOFMOUTHCONNECTION.COM
Billing ID:C3477158-LRMS
Billing Name:PETER KESTLER
Billing Organization:WORD-OF-MOUTH LLP
Billing Street1:SIVERANO MIRABUENO
Billing Street2:STO NINO VILLLAGE
Billing Street3:UPPER PEIDAD, TORIL
Billing City:DAVAO CITY
Billing State/Province:DAVAO DEL NORTE
Billing Postal Code:8000
Billing Country:PH
Billing Phone:+6.39185653118
Billing Email:SUPPORT@WORDOFMOUTHCONNECTION.COM
Tech ID:C3477158-LRMS
Tech Name:PETER KESTLER
Tech Organization:WORD-OF-MOUTH LLP
Tech Street1:SIVERANO MIRABUENO
Tech Street2:STO NINO VILLLAGE
Tech Street3:UPPER PEIDAD, TORIL
Tech City:DAVAO CITY
Tech State/Province:DAVAO DEL NORTE
Tech Postal Code:8000
Tech Country:PH
Tech Phone:+6.39185653118
Tech Email:SUPPORT@WORDOFMOUTHCONNECTION.COM
Name Server:NS1.WOMC.NET
Name Server:NS2.WOMC.NET
However, using google I was able the locate the old whois information on this site.
Domain Name: WORD-OF-MOUTH-CONNECTION.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS, INC.
Whois Server: whois.opensrs.net
Referral
Name Server: NS1.WORDOFMOUTHREPORTS.COM
Name Server: NS2.WORDOFMOUTHREPORTS.COM
Status: ACTIVE
Updated Date: 25-aug-2003
Creation Date: 25-aug-2003
Expiration Date: 25-aug-2004
Domain ID:D2767522-LRMS
Domain Name:WORDOFMOUTHCONNECTIONS.INFO
Created On:03-Aug-2003 02:36:37 UTC
Last Updated On:31-Aug-2003 06:18:08 UTC
Expiration Date:03-Aug-2004 02:36:37 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:R139-LRMS
Status:ACTIVE Status:OK
Registrant ID:C3477157-LRMS
Registrant Name:KRISTIAN PADBORG
Registrant Organization:WORD-OF-MOUTH LLP
Registrant Street1:1231 40TH ST
Registrant Street2:SUITE 329
Registrant City:EMERYVILLE
Registrant State/Province:CA
Registrant Postal Code:94608
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.5103931276
Registrant Email:KPADBORG@ATTGLOBAL.NET
Admin ID:C3477158-LRMS
Admin Name:PETER KESTLER
Admin Organization:WORD-OF-MOUTH LLP
Admin Street1:SIVERANO MIRABUENO
Admin Street2:STO NINO VILLLAGE
Admin Street3:UPPER PEIDAD, TORIL
Admin City:DAVAO CITY
Admin State/Province:DAVAO DEL NORTE
Admin Postal Code:8000
Admin Country:PH
Admin Phone:+6.39185653118
Admin Email:WORD-OF-MOUTH.ORG@ATTGLOBAL.NET
Billing ID:C3477159-LRMS
Billing Name:PETER KESTLER
Billing Organization:WORD-OF-MOUTH LLP
Billing Street1:SIVERANO MIRABUENO
Billing Street2:STO NINO VILLLAGE
Billing Street3:UPPER PEIDAD, TORIL
Billing City:DAVAO CITY
Billing State/Province:DAVAO DEL NORTE
Billing Postal Code:8000
Billing Country:PH
Billing Phone:+6.39185653118
Billing Email:WORD-OF-MOUTH.ORG@ATTGLOBAL.NET
Tech ID:C3477160-LRMS
Tech Name:PETER KESTLER
Tech Organization:WORD-OF-MOUTH LLP
Tech Street1:SIVERANO MIRABUENO
Tech Street2:STO NINO VILLLAGE
Tech Street3:UPPER PEIDAD, TORIL
Tech City:DAVAO CITY
Tech State/Province:DAVAO DEL NORTE
Tech Postal Code:8000 Tech Country:PH
Tech Phone:+6.39185653118
Tech Email:WORD-OF-MOUTH.ORG@ATTGLOBAL.NET
Name Server:NS2.WORDOFMOUTHREPORTS.COM
Name Server:NS1.WORDOFMOUTHREPORTS.COM
Note the address name Kristian Padborg whose address in in Emeryville, CA, which happens to be located in Alameda County. So could this be the man behind the wordofmouth? So, in summary there is a business DBA Word of Mouth Inc. in Alameda County, CA. There is a wordofmouthconnection phone number 510-499-6732 again originating from Alameda County, CA. We have the following whois information. Kristian Padborg Word-of-Mouth LLP (Similar to Word of Mouth, Inc) 1231 40th St Suite 329 Emeryville, CA 94608 KPADBORG@ATTGLOBAL.NET Phone: 510-393-1276 (this is a Sprint PCS Mobile Number) Again Emeryville is located in Alameda County. I also have the following email address for Kristian: k.padborg@earthlink.net and have the following wordofmouth support email address: womc_support@earthlink.net. I also tried doing a search on Patent information for wordofmouthconnection.com did not have any luck. Maybe, someone else could try.
Thanks for the 411. My gut instinct was that this is a scam, but still, as a contractor I was concerned that someone could be spreading gossip about me. Lucky for me I found Richard’s Rambling’s. Max if you get your refund I’d like to know. Its a pretty good scam. Even though I was 90% sure (before finding this site) that it was playing me, I almost bit. Max is obviousely a pretty sharp guy and he fell for it (Sorry Max). I bet this guy is making a mint. Hopefully the new spam laws will shut him down. It sucks to have a conscience. There no doubt this is a lucritive venture if you dont have any scrupples. Thanks for the info.
I almost bit the first time I saw it, too. I got the first WOMC email at the time that I was being cyberstalked and cyberharassed by someone last year who spent all her free time posting my private information (including a series of hateful lies) all over the Internet. When I saw the WOMC, I almost assumed that it was another place she had spammed. Fortunately, I did my homework BEFORE signing up. - RDL
Just wanted to say thanks for posting this info on the web - it was the first thing I found regarding this scam and I’m glad I read your website so that I didn’t fall for it - keep up the great work!
Dont click on the link, whatever you do, if you do, they’ll keep spamming you about “background checks” or whatever. I hope he tries this on some california lawyer or something, that’d be great to see. Just dont click on the link or they’ll continue to spam you and they change their domain quite often so putting them on your block list is pretty ineffective.
WHOA, this website is getting alot of attention. FYI: It is well-known from over a year ago, that the mastermind behind this website is a man by the name of Richard Garfield out of the Philippines. I know this website from a while back and there was a private investigator who looked into this and posted his findings online. Apparently, Mr. Garfield is trying to hide his identity through the use of several aliases. By the way, I can’t say that I particularly like this website myself, but I cannot see any evidence that it is a scam as so many suggest here.
No evidence of a scam? Have you read this site and others? New York State Press Release, eWeek Article, Channel 5 Boston
Some other clues: Customer service number is a Pac Bell Cell Phone out of Alameda, California. WordofMouthConnection.com is in violation of California State law by not providing the address on their webiste or via email.