>Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 07:28:13 +0200 >To: OHLAWREN-L@rootsweb.com, KYGREENUP-L@rootsweb.com, GRAY-L@rootsweb.com, SANDERS-L@rootsweb.com >From: Karl Voiles <karl@starcom.co.ug> >Subject: Another scam > >Hi all, >My wife received an ad in the mail for what looks like another of those thinly disguised scams posing as a genealogy aid. This one is called "The New World Book of (insert your surname)". I had to read throught the literature three times to find all the hidden flaws, but what this piece of literary junk boils down to is a phonebook for people with your surname and a lot of generic information that you could find for free in your library or on the net. While they have a disclaimer that states that "no genealogical connection to your family or to your ancestry is implied or intended", I feel that it is clearly implied in the message and shamefully plays on the emotions of people who would like to know more about their familys but are not familiar enough with genealogy research to realize that a book like this will not help them. The cost of this thing is $39.95 ("A $20 dollar savings!"), which is a lot of Net time. > >Anyway, I sent them back a rather pointed letter in which I told them I would contact my list subscriptions to alert them to the scam, which I have now done. I would urge anyone else receiving this material to do the same. The funny part about the brochure was that they listed 17 countries they supposedly researched on my wife's last name--none of which were the ethnic origin of her name, which is solidly Polish. Cheers to all. Karl Voiles