Probably don't need to warn any of you about this, but thought I'd post it, anyway, since the list seems to be quite slow lately. Jack Landers ----- Original Message ----- From: "Floyd and Bonnie Grant" <bgrant61@maine.maine.edu> To: <GRANT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2000 7:14 AM Subject: [GRANT-L] Rip-offs of the genealogy community continues > Subject: > Fw: [LANIER-L] Rip-offs of the genealogy community continues > Date: > Mon, 27 Mar 2000 19:33:26 -0500 > From: > "Eloise Walton" <ewalton@coastalnet.com> > To: > NCSCOTS-L@rootsweb.com > > > > Sure sounds like those generic genealogy books with addreses of all > those in > the US of that surname in the middle of the book. A good one to stay > away > from......... !!! > -----Original Message----- > From: Joe Sissom <dj@dfc.cc> > To: LANIER-L@rootsweb.com <LANIER-L@rootsweb.com> > Date: Monday, March 27, 2000 1:04 PM > Subject: [LANIER-L] Rip-offs of the genealogy community continues > > > >Good Morning, friends and cousins in the genealogy community! > > > >The response to the identification of the genealogy rip-off operation > >in Denver last week has been tremendous with a steady stream of requests > >for add'l info. > > > >The operation in Denver with a newly discovered "branch" in Utah is an > >incarnation of the identical scheme that Halbert's used. The same form > >letters, books and newsletters are being sold, and the same fake > >"Crests" and other products are being created "to exacting standards". > > > >The new incarnation has not yet been linked financially to Halbert´s or > >NUMA (Halbert parent), but the resemblance is so close, they could be > >joined at the hip, operating under dba's Mountain West News Service, > >Mountain Pacific News Service, and MORPHCORP. The Better Business Bureau > >reports that the company has joined the BBB in January 2000, opened in > >1985, and is rated as satisfactory. A complete history of Halbert's, > >courtesy of Jeff Scism (despite our surname homonyms, we ain't kin --- > >he hopes!) is available at > >http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~blksheep/shame/halberts.htm > > > >Volunteers interested in assisting in informing the genealogy community > >of this scam have come out of the woodwork. We would ask the recipients > >of this email the following: > >1) A sample of the Colorado flyer is at > >http://www.dfc.cc/CyberCousins/genfraud.jpg > >Print it and post in the genealogy section at your library with > >appropriate message and make announcements at your gensoc. > > > >2) After you have read it, as a researcher you realize the fraud that it > >is. Go to the Federal Trade Commissions website at > >https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm and file a complaint ONLINE. For > >a sample complaint and further detailed information to use, please go to > >http://www.dfc.cc/CyberCousins/complaint.txt > > > >3) Forward this to every list you are on. > > > >4) If you are a member of NGS (shane@ngsgenealogy.org) or FGS > >(fgs-office@fgs.org), contact those organizations and ask that they get > >members motivated. Gentech, Inc. (beau@connect.net) has a director and > >a well-known regular conference speaker in the Denver metro. I asked > >them to do some local research. No response to date. > > > >5) Contact every genealogy columnist whose work you read, both local and > >online such as Myra Gormley (myravg@prodigy.net} or Dick Eastman > >(ROOTS@compuserve.com) who was stalwart in early work on Halbert's, both > >of whom, as well as others, are on this list. No response to date. > > > >6} If you have rec'd a flyer yourself, please report the names and > >addresses to me. We need to know all the DBAs they are using. Then > >take it to the local post office and file a complaint. > > > >7) If you are in the Denver area, we need search of the court house > >records to determine any corporate connections. If we can make a > >corporate connection, I am fairly sure the restraints placed on > >Halbert's can be extended by the proper authorities. > > > >8) If you are a supplier (software, services, researcher) to the > >genealogy community, this type of scam effects you even more. > >Contribute to the effort. > > > >9)This is no small time scam. Halbert's is owned by a company named > >NUMA whih in turn is owned by CENDANT. Go to > >http://itjobs.cendant.com/cendant_co.html to find other Cendant > >companies. You will NOT be happy with how you have been doing business > >with folks like this --- I promise you. > > > >These scams are more likely to rip off folks less involved in genealogy > >than most recipients of this msg. Most of us will recognize it for what > >it is and trash it. That does not relieve us of the responsibility of > >making it more difficult for these and other parasites within our > >community to enjoy their ill-gotten gains. I have found far too many > >that "don't want to get involved", "Didn't happen on my watch." (to use > >an old Navy excuse), running from controversy and responsibility. Let > >us unite in eradicating those that are behind an obvious attempt to > >profit unethically from the popularity of genealogy. > > > >Joe Sissom > > > > >