I did not receive the email and would like to see it. Jan

Jan, here it is. Hopefully not scrambled as it was originally. By Lorraine I. Quillon Managing Editor, Family History Magazine Generally, we tend to be naively trusting until something happens to destroy that trust. Recent happenings in the world of genealogy have made us all considerably more cautious. Many enthusiastic researchers signed up for a conference that looked entirely legitimate. However, as the scheduled time approached, the conference was cancelled and would-be participants were having some difficulty retrieving their registration fees. Now, we're seeing another form of genealogy theft as researchers become increasingly keen on using the Internet. On Aug. 1, Elias Abodeely II, 22, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was arrested for allegedly perpetrating a whole series of scams aimed at genealogy buffs. He operated mostly under the heading of GenSeekers. But if you recognize genealogydevelopments.com, familydiscovery.com, genealogyfinders.net, genlocator.com, or genealogy-express.com, you may have been introduced to some of his other creations. His modus operandi is to establish a Web site and solicit subscriptions with the promise of a money-back guarantee. However, when people go the site, they discover that he has given them nothing more than links that are available at numerous free Internet sources. Messages requesting refunds are returned as undeliverable. Then the Web site itself quickly and quietly disappears from sight. According to the Aug. 2 The Gazette, an Iowa newspaper, investigators claim, "Abodeely masterminded a three-year genealogy scam that netted at least $14,000 and between 220 and 260 victims - a handful of them from overseas." Abodeely was arrested on suspicion of identity theft and three felonies - first-degree theft, money laundering and ongoing criminal conduct. The crimes are punishable by up to 47 years in prison, according to Gazette reporter Christoph Trappe. This is an unfortunate situation because it necessarily makes genealogists w ary of all such enterprises, even the legitimate ones. So just an ancient word of warning-caveat emptor! Robbery comes in many different forms. Do everything in your power to prevent loss of both resources and confidence. Check out a potential service as much as possible before investing significant sums of money. Consult more experienced researchers for advice about reliable services. Copyright 2003 Everton Family History Network. All Rights Reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Everton Publishers, Inc. P.O. Box 368, Logan, UT 84323-0368 Toll-free: 1-800-4GENEALOGY (1-800-443-6325) www.everton.com Claudia Schuman - Coordinator http://www.rootsweb.com/~mnhennep/ http://hennbios.tripod.com/index.htm http://fdlbios.tripod.com/index.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~mnscott/index.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 10:02 AM Subject: Re: [MNHENNEP] Fw: Genealogy Scam a Grim Reminder for Internet Enthusiasts > I did not receive the email and would like to see it. > > Jan > >