STEWART-L Archives

From: "Dennis and Vickie Stewart" <>
Subject: Fw: Genealogy Scams Information
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 12:16:07 -0600

> >
> >| Greetings List Members,
> >| I have received these messages on several lists now, so I thought I
would
> >| pass the info along. Please protect yourself, read the entire message.
> >Forewarned is forearmed.
> >|
> >-Jannette
> >Listmaster, Chickasaw Co IA
> >Webmaster, Chickasaw Co IA
> >|
> >|
> >| Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 14:23:44 -0600
> >| > Subject: [[SEARS-L]] genealogy fraud
> >| > To:
> >| > Reply-to:
> >| >
> >| > I received this on my Sears list at rootsweb thought I would pass it
> on,
> >| >I have no knowledge of these people.
> >| > http://www.familydiscovery.com/
> >| >
> >| > It is a fraudulent site because a membership gives you links to our
> >| > free sites. You do not have to pay to get to any site in USGenWeb
> >| > Right here, there is no charge to get to all the counties in
USGenWeb.
> >| >
> >| > We are all hardworking volunteers to have genealogy information
> >| > free for researchers.
> >| >
> >| > I have found links to our Macoupin civil war rosters, censuses,
> >| > which we spent many hours of volunteer time now to have unknowing
> >| > researchers pay a membership to click on a link to view our work.
> >| > Macoupin County ILGenWeb volunteers have put over 1400 pages of
> >| > free information and continuing to work to get more pages up.
> >| >
> >| > If any person finds our complete work in their membership, please
> >| > notify me. Please pass this information onto any list. Let's try to
> >| > keep these ripoffs from making their pile of money from our
> >| > volunteer work.
> >| >
> >| > Please pass this onto any list you might be on. Hopefully, this
> >| > site will be removed soon if not sooner.
> >| >
> >| > Thanks for listening.
> >| >
> >| > Gloria
> >| > Steve Hill
> >| > Natchez, Ms.
> >| >
> >| >
> >| >
> >|
> >| This was sent to me by another genealogy researcher and I
> >| thought I'd pass along to in case any of you have been tempted
> >| to respond to, or do business with, any of the companies/web
> >| sites. Be sure to go down to the section "Specific Companies".
> >|
> >| Regards,
> >| SgtGeorge
> >| George W. Durman
> >| Listowner
> >|
> >| >There has been some email lately about scams.
> >| >
> >| >The following is excerpted from Eastman's Online Genealogy
> >| > Newsletter and is copyright 2001 by Richard W. Eastman. It is
> >| > re-published here with the permission of the author.
> >| >
> >| >Genealogy scams in general:
> >| >
> >| > Genealogical Web Site Watchdog (only for online scams) at:
> >| > http://www.ancestordetective.com/watchdog.htm
> >| >
> >| > The National Genealogical Society's Consumer Protection
> >| > Committee is quite active at keeping an eye on the various
> >| > scams, including both online and offline fraudsters. If you
> >| > have a question about a particular company's services, you can
> >| > contact the NGS Consumer Protection Committee via traditional
> >| > mail at: National Genealogical Society's Consumer Protection
> >| > Committee, at 4527 17th Street North, Arlington, VA 22207-
> >| > 2399. The committee also maintains Web pages at:
> >| > http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/comconsumer.htm and at:
> >| > http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/comconsumerpsst.htm. However,
> >| > those pages do not mention specific companies.
> >| >
> >| > Cyndi's List has a section for genealogy myths, hoaxes and
> >| > scams at: http://www.cyndislist.com/myths.htm
> >| >
> >| >
> >| >Specific companies:
> >| >
> >| >I have received e-mail about the following companies; all have
> >| >been mentioned as having questionable services. I have listed URLs
> >| >where you can obtain further information:
> >| >
> >| > Family Discovery.com - an online Web site that claims to have
> >| > "the Web's most versatile Award Winning collection of
> >| > genealogical databases." However, they don't mention the
> >| > "award" they received from the Better Business Bureau! The
> >| > Bureau says, "Based on BBB files, this company has an
> >| > unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered
> >| > complaint(s)." Family Discovery.com charges $59.99 for a one-
> >| > year subscription. Most of the same information is available
> >| > elsewhere on the Web at no charge. In fact, many of the links
> >| > on FamilyDiscovery.com simply take you to free Web sites. You
> >| > can obtain the same information at no cost by using one of the
> >| > free search engines. Details are available on the Genealogical
> >| > Web Site Watchdog site at:
> >| > http://www.ancestordetective.com/watchdog.htm#Warning. There
> >| > is an Anti-FamilyDiscovery.com newsletter at:
> >| > http://compuright.dyndns.org/familydiscovery/
> >| >
> >| > The xxx Family Yearbook - In this case, substitute your last
> >| > name for the "xxx." For instance, an advertisement sent to a
> >| > person named Smith would be advertising The Smith Family
> >| > Yearbook while someone named Clark would receive an
> >| > advertisement for The Clark Family Yearbook. These "yearbooks"
> >| > claim to have genealogy information. However, those who
> >| > purchase the "products" are usually disappointed. The
> >| > producing company has several business names; for example, you
> >| > can find them listed as Mountain West News Service or as the
> >| > Mountain Pacific News Service. They also may appear as an
> >| > organizational name, such as "The Smith Family Yearbook."
> >| > However, all these "companies" have the same address: 1181 S.
> >| > Parker Road, #105, Denver, CO 80231. The Better Business
> >| > Bureau lists the parent company as MORPHCORP. The News Herald
> >| > of Panama City, Florida has an article about these "products"
> >| > at: http://www.newsherald.com/articles/2000/04/16/tp041600.htm
> >| >
> >| > Family Tree House - I wrote about this company in the October
> >| > 31, 1998 edition of this newsletter. The company gives an
> >| > appearance of a Web site that offers genealogy services. In
> >| > fact, it does not appear to sell anything. However, the same
> >| > company advertises on another Web site with an offer to sell
> >| > personal information obtained from genealogists who visit the
> >| > Family Tree House site. You innocently enter personal
> >| > information about yourself on Family Tree House and then
> >| > operators of the site sell your personal information to bulk
> >| > mail companies. Information for sale includes name, address,
> >| > e-mail address and more. You can read that article at:
> >| > http://ancestordetective.com/watchdog.htm#sells
> >| >
> >| > The Historical Research Center (HRC) International, Inc. sells
> >| > "family histories" and coats of arms. Information about the
> >| > true value of these products can be found on the Genealogical
> >| > Web Site Watchdog site at:
> >| > http://www.ancestordetective.com/watchdog.htm#Coats. Keep
> >| > in mind that this company sells franchises. A few years ago
> >| > they were listed as one of the top 30 fastest growing
> >| > franchises in America. You may find their products being sold
> >| > by other companies who purchase franchises. One such company
> >| > is Names.com, but apparently there are many others as well.
> >| >
> >| > The International Hall of Names in Canada also sells "family
> >| > histories" and coats of arms. They are also mentioned on the
> >| > Genealogical Web Site Watchdog site at:
> >| > http://www.ancestordetective.com/watchdog.htm#Coats.
> >| >
> >| >I would caution anyone to be careful about "family coats of arms."
> >| >In fact, in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and most of western
> >| >Europe, there really is no such thing as a family coat of arms. In
> >| >those countries, arms have always been awarded to individuals, not
> >| >to families. Displaying a coat of arms that you are not authorized
> >| >to use is a form of identity theft, even if you do happen to have
> >| >the same last name as the original grantee. Any company offering
> >| >to sell you a copy of "your family's coat of arms" is selling a
> >| >bogus product.
> >| >
> >| >If you believe you have been the victim of a genealogy scam, you
> >| >can do something about it! If you purchased products or services
> >| >from the above companies or any others that you feel did not live
> >| >up to advertised claims, demand a refund! If your money is not
> >| >returned within 30 days or so from a U.S. company, submit a
> >| >complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Consumer
> >| >Protection at:
> >| >https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01. A few
> >| >letters of inquiry from the federal government will send a strong
> >| >message to the people who produce products or services of
> >| >questionable value. If a Canadian company is involved, you can
> >| >register a complaint at:
> >| >http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/ct01250e.html.
> >| >
> >| >You also might want to warn other genealogists and tell them of
> >| >your experiences. You can post a message to others in the "Scams
> >| >and Fraud" section of CompuServe's Genealogy Techniques Forum
> >| >message board. Go to:
> >|
>
>http://forums.compuserve.com/vlforums/default.asp?SRV=GenealogyForum&AREA=M
> sg
> >|
> >| s&SEC=15&loc=us&access=public
> >|
> >
>
>

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