Cambridge Who's Who: Who is Going to Rip You Off
Be Wary of Letters from Whos Who Publications Who Extract High Fees
First thing's first: I checked Google. Sure enough, the fourth, fifth, and sixth matches for "Cambridge Who's Who" were reports of a ripoff. After reading in a bit, I found stories of people getting these form letters inviting them to be included in Who's Who publications. Most of these claim "No Inclusion Fee", but after calling these companies you'll find out, after a lengthy process, that they will want anywhere from $100-$1000 just to include you in their database. (The fee is probably determined by what you tell them on the phone.) My particular letter specifically said "There is no cost to be included in the Registry."
The letter I received was signed by Jennifer A. Gonzalez.... actually, it was not even signed with a pen. It was simply a computer-generated copy of a signature that looks like "V G GR," nothing close to the "J A G" I would expect. One particular other article I found mentioned her directly: and even talked to her on the phone! How many times have you ever gotten the Editor in Chief to conduct long phone interviews for anything important? Probably never, even if you're famous.
The whole deal, however, does have one or two online proponents (although their identification is of course in question). A couple of people claimed to have gotten a number of calls from important people, helping them with social networking, because they're in such a registry. But another case seemed much more common: Solicitors will start to call you saying "I noticed your name in such and such a place, and would you like to donated to such and such charity?" So maybe if you have a spare $600 to advertise yourself, feel free to drop it in these guys' hands... or use it to buy yourself an advertisement in the newspaper (you'll get more readers).
Cambridge is not the only name out their doing this. Manchester Who's Who is another one. My suspicions is that one or two people run these operations from their basement, get as many saps as they can, and then mail out some cheap Who's Who registries just to the people in the registry. These will include the names of everyone who paid, and probably dozens more names to make it look more legitimate. My personal advice if you get one of these fancy looking letters: throw it away and don't waste your time.
Published by Ryan Kopf
Graduated from MCC with an Associate's Degree in 2008, currently studying computer science at the University of Iowa. Interests include writing, computer programming, web design, learning languages, and more... View profile
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- Fancy looking, computer generated, form letters get sent to successful (and sometimes not) people
- They first claim to have "no fees" until its just about time to put your name in
76 Comments
Post a CommentI got two calls from Cambridge who who. I don't know who they are or why they are calling me to register with them. I am not willing to part with any cash to join these fools. If they call me again I gon hurt somebody's feelings.
this is a jew organization so obviously it is a scam. I have talked to jew over there and they are the most Christ hating jews I have ever talked to. On top of that the attitude is basically to admit they are a scam and that they took your money and then laugh about it. These people are insane and it is no wonder they have roped losers like the Trumps and playboy models to do their bidding. This company is nothing but 360 degrees of garbage. Nick Frolos ironrod22000@yahoo.com 314-783-6278
Today I had a discussion with this company and found them to be courteous and accomodating. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised. If you find something you are unhappy about don't hesitate to contact them and seek resolution.
The way they got in touch with me was initially through an e-mail then I got a lengthy phone interview. They swore that my name would still be published (minimal information) even though I absolutely refused to pay. They then tried to reduce the cost to $100. I still refused to pay. But they swear my name would be in the directory? Who knows? But having been named to Who's Who during my undergraduate years, I know they do ask a lot of questions (usually through a form in the mail) and then give you options to order a directory or get any other type of memorabilia associated with the honor (such as a framed certificate). But at least my Who's Who in undergraduate school was indeed legitimate. The biggest difference is that my for my undergraduate Who's Who, I actually did receive a certificate and an announcement went to my school which recommended me. So apparently Cambridge Who's Who must be a scam because 1. no certificate in the mail, 2. no interview form, 3. asking for $100 just to
I, too, received a lengthy phone interview from the Cambridge Who's Who,(and ignored my daughter's waves to hang up, because she can smell a scam the minute she picks up the phone). I questioned why an author recently self-published would have the red carpet so soon rolled out and haven't heard from them since I refused to pay several hundred dollars for the honor.
I, too, received a lengthy phone interview from the Cambridge Who's Why,(and ignored my daughter's waves to hang up, because she can smell a scam the minute she picks up the phone). I questioned why an author recently self-published would have the red carpet so soon rolled out and haven't heard from them since I refused to pay several hundred dollars for the honor.
I received the letter too... It went into shredder. Saved myself from bunch of pain
I received a letter also and thought huum so I did respond w/little info and then they started calling about an interview I never responded & they finally caught me then TRIED to sell me a pkg deal,lol. I was basically hung up on b/c I didn't budge. Thought it was kinda funny though...
you gotta love google... information for the masses!!!
Thanks for the heads up! I wonder how many people get ripped off by these punks! I thought it was strange becasue there are a million william jones''s just in calif. how is it that I was the one? that's why I always say, a lot of these "businesse" are no better that crack dealers.