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.”
Hey I just wanted to say thank you to Richard??? (the owner of this website!) I received this email for the first time, and I was totally freaked out!!! Until I searched Google, and found your website! I sent a nasty comment to the website!!! Anyway Thanks!
Have you contacted your credit card company about a refund? You should be able to get the money back based on the site not posting their policies in writing along with the countless posts about the site being a scam. I would definately challenge it; most card companies don’t mind helping out the card holder.
A whie back I was also alerted that there was a connection to me listed (which I was very concerned about,and to a point still am since I had a major fallout with a few ex-roomates last year.) Of course, when I protested the monetary shakedown their response was only “people can do this” yada,yada…..now after reading all of this, I can feel better that I didn’t give a red dime to these scam artists…
This is an old scam- and still at it. They have changed their name, and look, slightly, but it’s the same çráp. I just looked for my e-mail address and there are 5 reports on me. O dear. The end of December- someone is “looking for information?” a few days later, someone writes in they have info on me. Then, a few days later, someone new is looking for info, and a few days later, somoen else is offering info? Who are these people? I don’t know? What kind of relationship do they have with me? Usually it’s “social” or they “decline to state”. Not one person says they are a friend, relative, fellow employee, etc. People- wake up- it’s all a lie, it’s all a ripoff. I have simply blocked this jerk from e-mailing me anything. So, tell him to take a hike, I will use my $20 to go see a movie.
Well this is all just about $20 too late for me. I guess I can feel better and that it was only $20, but I did try the test. (Make a connection to me, different email addy, etc) And lo and behold, never EVER got a message saying that someone was investigating me… Do you think the black hats that always hit micro$oft could hit these folks instead…
Update: A week after deleting my email account (Hey, it was just for the use of a job seek any way… I know I heard that thismight have supurred from a monster harvest) All of a sudden tonight, I think 3 days after removing the account, all of the connections are now gone. All of a sudden no one wants my information or to share information about me because that email is gone… *sigh* what ever shall I do!
Hi all, I just received one of these. Thanks for all the info! I knew it was a scam! I clicked on their ad as you suggested, not the link in my email. They have a spot to remove your email address, is that a good idea, or does it just get you more spam? I love the idea of clicking on their ad to MAKE THEM PAY! I have already done it a few times bringing up a new Explorer each time instead of click, back, click (I’ll try that too!)In fact it should be pretty easy to create an automated process using software that captures your mouse clicks… even if they check ip addresses you could incorporate an ipconfig/release and renew to change your ip address each time! Imagine if all the pìššëd off people created a little process to click their ad 1000’s of times each night while they slept!
Womc aka word of mouth connection and the various other names they use are a spam. I have recieved several of these emails from them. I went to their web site. When I did a search using a junkmail email address, there were several entries claiming to have information of an unspecified nature from people purporting to know me well. However when I did a search typing in my name there were no entries. How can this be someone who allegedly knows me well does not know my name but only a junkmail email address.
I did the same thing- my e-mail address is there, but not my name. By the way, I checked back recently- suddenly the 5 links from people who know me well are gone, today there is only one, and it’s dated yesterday (2/13/2004). Gee, I just seem to come and go from this website.
Richard, thanks very much. I’ve been doing internet date searching and for five minutes really thought I was being researched. Fortunately my brother told me he thought it was a scam. I did create a new email account and put in a thing myself to see what happens. Based on what I’ve seen here I won’t worry about it. Again THANKS!