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.”
Seems a very similar scam is in operation from a different (unrelated) company called “Share Your Experiences” at the following domains: shareyourexperiences.com shareyourexperiences.net shyex.com shyex.org shyex.net share-your-experiences.org (blank site, domain only seems to be used for outgoing emails) …and probably more variations of similar domain names, although only some of them seem to have “www” records set up for their domains, with a few just being straight “http://sh(whatever)” Interestingly enough, this site has a properly issued security certificate from RSA Data Security, which I guess just goes to show that even evil scammers can buy a “trustworthy” certificate. They encrypt all pages sent to you, thus furthering the idea that the site is “secure”. Sure it’s “secure” (as in nobody is going to read the data transmitted between the server and yourself en-route), but it’s the activities of the site’s owners that are most definitely not trustworthy. They’ve spammed me twice in the last day and somehow SpamAssassin didn’t kill their mails, which in my book is grounds for military action!! This company (although only one of their domains) is mentioned on the Snopes.com page.
We got a new one. support_dept@find-the-truth.org knud (adsl-68-124-55-149.dsl.irvnca.pacbell.net [68.124.55.149])
I received the following: From SUPPORT@SHAREYOUREXP.US Tue May 4 18:56:42 2004 Return-Path: Received: from xxxxx(xxxxx [xxxxx]) by xxxxx(8.12.9p2/8.12.9) with SMTP id i44NubYu057902 for ; Tue, 4 May 2004 18:56:42 -0500 (CDT) (envelope-from SUPPORT@SHAREYOUREXP.US) Received: from xxxxx([xxxxx]) by xxxxx(NAVGW 2.5.1.13) with SMTP id M2004050418595930294 for ; Tue, 04 May 2004 18:59:59 -0500 Received: from thunder (adsl-67-121-155-151.dsl.pltn13.pacbell.net [67.121.155.1 51]) by xxxxx(8.12.9/8.11.3) with ESMTP id i44NuQce061321 for ; Tue, 4 May 2004 18:56:36 -0500 (CDT) (envelope-from SUPPORT@SHAREYOUREXP.US) Received: from thunder ([127.0.0.1]) by thunder with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.0.2195. 6713); Tue, 4 May 2004 16:56:11 -0700 Date: Tue, 04 May 2004 16:56:11 -0800 From: SUPPORT@SHAREYOUREXP.US Subject: Somone is sharing experiences about you. To: xxxxx Message-ID: X-OriginalArrivalTime: 04 May 2004 23:56:11.0843 (UTC) FILETIME=[6096C130:01C432 33] Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 3087 ******This is not commercial email.****** Someone has just begun the process of sharing opinions and experiences about you via our website. This email message is not spam. If this email message was delivered to your spam or bulk email folder please not ify your ISP or spam filtering company regarding this mistake on their part. You may view the posting here: http://8.shyexp.com/exec/1.php?a=search&b=5&c=xxx%xxxxx If you prefer not to be notified by our website in the future when postings are mode about you, just add your email address to our Do Not Email List. Our website will never send email to an address that appears on our Do Not Email List. To add to Do Not Email List click here: http://3.shyex.com/exec/1.php?a=donotemail&b=xxxxx Sincerely, SYEC Support Department
Add BACKGROUNDRESEARCH.US to the list…Got this today: —- Return-Path: -SUPPORT@BACKGROUNDRESEARCH.US- Received: from phoenix (adsl-68-124-55-145.dsl.irvnca.pacbell.net [68.124.55.145]) by xxxxxxxx (xxx/xxx) with ESMTP id xxxxxxxx for -xx@xxxxx.xxxx-; Thu, 6 May 2004 17:4x:xx -0×00 (xDT) Received: from PHOENIX ([127.0.0.1]) by phoenix with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.0.2195.6713); Thu, 6 May 2004 14:4x:xx -0×00 Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 14:4x:xx -0×00 From: SUPPORT@BACKGROUNDRESEARCH.US Subject: Someone is investigating your background To: xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxxx Message-ID: -PHOENIX-deleted-@phoenix- X-OriginalArrivalTime: 06 May 2004 2x:4x:xx.xx (UTC) FILETIME=[blah:blah] THIS EMAIL IS AUTOMATED, BUT IT IS NOT SPAM. A user has just begun the process of researching your background via our website. This user is using our website to meet people who know you and have experiences and opinions to share about you. This email was automatically sent to you to make you aware of the fact that your background is being looked into. We are trying to build a community that fosters interaction between each and every individual possible. Our mission is to help connect people with one another, wherever they are, to share their experiences, give advice and provide information. To view the section of our website that references you use this link: http://d.wordexch.com/pass.php?a=search&b=5&c=xxxxxx%40xxxxx.xxxxx Our world is one of increasing internationalization, mobility of labor, immigration and upward mobility in the workforce. As a result, towns and neighborhoods where everyone knows each other are increasingly rare. It is increasingly less common for a person to work at the ame company for their entire life, or to even live in the same city or town. In life today we are exposed to and meet a greater variety of people, and with the advent of the Internet we can meet people far outside of our geographical area of residence. To add yourself to our Do Not Email List use this link. http://g.wordexch.biz/pass.php?a=donotemail&b=xxxxxx%40xxx.xxx WHY DO PEOPLE USE THIS SITE? Our website is an online community that connects people who share common contacts, and helps them start a conversation that can lead to better and more informed decisions. For example, if you are thinking about which mechanic to trust your car to, you can come to this site, submit a search on the mechanic or his business and see if anyone else has dealt with him in the past. What you’ll find will be either a positive or negative experience. Either way, you get a real sense of reassurance from being able to talk to someone who purchased his services in the past. Regards, WOM Support Department —- And the accompanying log entry: May 6 17:4x:xx xxxxxxxxxxx sendmail[5608]: -smtp id-: from=-SUPPORT@BACKGROUNDRESEARCH.US-, size=2462, class=0, nrcpts=1, msgid=-PHOENIX-deleted-@phoenix-, proto=ESMTP, daemon=MTA, relay=adsl-68-124-55-145.dsl.irvnca.pacbell.net [68.124.55.145]
and funny…the guy has a snazzy new web site design…gee, I wonder where he got that idea from…so, what’s up? I mean seriously, if anyone wanted to bother to do anything, what the hëll do we do? Irritate Pacbell? I don’t get it. It’s obviously a scam, it’s obviously illegal, hecka people know this, yet nothing is happening. What’s-his-face sent the letter before and it sounded like he got the run-around. But there should be some simple, easy way of shutting such a web site down…someone with more ‘net savvy, speak up, because I’m all for the rule of law prevailing. Also I believe dirty scumbags should go to prison.
sorry. that prior msg. was from me. I’m on a workstation at school right now.
how about someone filing a complaint with the government against this guy? I have gotten numerous messages from this character as well. when I tried the url http://www.BACKGROUNDRESEARCH.US in my browser, nothing came up. in any case, I wouldn’t give this character a nickel!
Hello everyone. We too had many problems with this loser. Not anymore - we filed litigation for spam email in an Iowa court. It’s now pending against: Andrew Feinberg 9805 DuPont Ave South, STE 400 Bloomington, MN 55431 USA Phone: (651)649-4404 You can do the same. Check the laws in your local area. Don’t let the madness continue!
I was so happy to have found this! I have been pìššëd off for weeks over the notification from w.o.m.r. and I have e-mailed just about every privacy and news organization in the states to scream that I have been violated. I never joined, just got pìššëd that a coffee clatch site like that could have existed. But I love all you guys for exposing it! I have never been so happy to hear that something is a scam in my life!
Thank you for the public service, I’ve been getting about 5 emails a day from this wretch of a human. I had a hunch the share your experiences site was a scam and this confirmed it.