Hi everyone, As before, this is a mass mailing to all the discussion groups I maintain and/or do a Sunday Morning Coffee for... This is an old subject with continually new twists. Most of you already know how I feel about Family Discovery ... and I'm here with the latest update... I have just received a genealogy bulletin from GenTruth, aka <FamilyDiscovery.com> saying: "25% of your Genealogy Membership Will Go Directly To The National Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross." If I'm receiving it, you will too ~ if you haven't already. EVERYONE BEWARE!!! I remind you all that GenTruth is a cover site for <FamilyDiscovery.com>. Now they are advertising a "one time access fee fund raising offer" of $49.99 with (supposedly) 25% of the fee being donated. They advertise that this is "Expiring Very Soon!" and that you should "Subscribe today" to "save over 50% off the regular $119.99 price." If so many of us weren't already aware of what they do, their patriotic flag and ribbon theme just might work. They haven't changed; they're still the same old story, I'm afraid. Please everyone, keep your checkbooks, wallets and credit cards put away. ***ARE YOU A NEWBIE?*** Here's the lowdown on these scam artists: To our newbies ~ Family Discovery is just what I said in the last sentence... rip-offs. This is becoming an old subject among those of us who have been doing online genealogy for a while, but you need to be made aware... Family Discovery links their pages to free Rootsweb <http://www.rootsweb.com> sites and archive pages, GenWeb sites, and privately owned sites ... sites on which all the information is already FREE! They are doing this without permission and are currently under investigation. Please, heed the warning. A new ad from them has begun to circulate that will tug at your heartstrings following the 11 September attack. This site is NOT to be trusted! While I'm at it, I'd better warn you of their newest, sister site... GenSeeker, in case another message is floating around that I'm not aware of yet. Though I haven't heard any more about it from anyone (yet), it's still a site owned by the same person(s) and building itself under the same premise as Family Discovery. I've been to their newest site and seen what they're up to. Instead of the "special rate" you're charged $20 more. However, when clicking on their "freesearch link," the unwary customer is taken to the familydiscovery.com site. GenSeeker describes itself as "the most comprehensive easy to use collection of online records ever compiled." Of course it is, if they link to every free website they can find! Save your money and do the search yourself! You DO NOT need to pay for a service that is already free if you know where to look. If you need assistance, send a message to the list and state in the top line of your message that you're a newbie needing help; you'll probably get more than you can handle! :) Gene Olson has refocused his Anti-Family Discovery Web Site and broadened its scope. It now includes any company that uses illegal or unethical business practices. You newbies to online genealogy would be wise to go to his site and read up on this company so you won't be ripped off. Click on the following link and you'll be taken directly to his site: <http://www.compuright.net/badbusiness/>. Gene's new email address is <gene_olson@compuright.net>. It appears another site has taken over where Gene Olson left off. This page <http://www.imagin.net/~tracers/familydiscovery.htm> has messages from quite a few people who have stepped forward to tell you of their dealings with Family Discovery. It would be in your best interests to check it out, if only for a quick scan. With us all trying to recover from a most traumatic experience, I find it appalling that Family Discovery would stoop so low at a time like this to continue their scam. Please everyone, check out the two sources I've given you here and protect yourselves. I hope this finds you all having a peaceful Sunday. Colleen