# What kind of scam is this? (American 'directory' to global professionals'
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 26, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419 "2010-04-26T17:17:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@wmfellows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmfellows)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/1 "2010-04-26T17:17:48Z")
Very queer message I got from this American firm that I can’t believe knows fuck all about me:
> [@](#):
>
> Greetings Candidate. It is my privilege to inform you of your selection to the 2010 Edition Who’s Who Among Executives and Professional. . This nomination is only bestowed upon a select few individuals who have displayed excellence in business, law, academia, medicine, and who have shown an entrepreneurial spirit. We would encourage you to click the link below and verify your contact information.
>
> The Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals was created in recent years in order to properly catalog and provide contact details for leading professionals around the globe. This listing is an attempt at a comprehensive directory of producers, movers, and shakers within their respective fields. By becoming a member, you gain access to an enormous wealth of networking information and peer contact information on over 350,000 members world-wide.
>
> There is no cost or obligation associated with a basic listing. By simply clicking here you can verify your contact information and set in motion the publication process.
>
> …
> Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals
> 30-01 Northern Blvd.
> LIC, NY 11101
emphasis added. I did not click on the link.
Select few of individuals who get mass mailings I suppose.
Curious really.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/2 "2010-04-26T17:23:32Z")
That predates the Internet. You can get a free listing – but note it says a “basic listing.” That will be pretty minimal and they will try to upsell you to get a deluxe listing (for a fee, of course). And they will urge you to buy a copy of the directory to show your friends. They, of course, charge you a ridiculously high amount (buy two!) for it.
This was a typical scam that takes many forms. There was the same sort of thing for poetry “anthologies,” for instance.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/3 "2010-04-26T17:24:01Z")
It’s all bullshit. They’ll print up your name with a bunch of other suckers then send you one with a bill. Happens all the time. They can be quite aggressive about getting that bill paid, too.
Dark underside of publishing, I suppose.
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### Author:  [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/4 "2010-04-26T17:24:57Z")
It’s just a directory, which they will then try to sell you for an exorbitant amount. Now that you’re _in_ it, you certainly will want to _own_ it, won’t you? So you can “gain access to an enormous wealth of networking information and peer contact information?”
They’re trying to get you to confirm your contact information so they can bomb you with solicitations to buy their directory. Here’s some more:
[http://fraudpreventionunit.org/2010/01/20/heritage-whos-who-among-executives-and-professionals/](http://fraudpreventionunit.org/2010/01/20/heritage-whos-who-among-executives-and-professionals/)
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### Author:  [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/5 "2010-04-26T17:47:01Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> That predates the Internet. You can get a free listing – but note it says a “basic listing.” That will be pretty minimal and they will try to upsell you to get a deluxe listing (for a fee, of course). And they will urge you to buy a copy of the directory to show your friends. They, of course, charge you a ridiculously high amount (buy two!) for it.
>
> This was a typical scam that takes many forms. There was the same sort of thing for poetry “anthologies,” for instance.
Yes, there is the “Who’s Who” among high school students, college students, \s, people who’s name starts with _x_, etc. As others have pointed out, the whole point is to get you to buy a copy of the book.
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### Author:  [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/6 "2010-04-26T18:42:37Z")
These are similar to the “poetry contest” scams. They’ll print any ol’ piece of drek you send them, and then sell the books for $50-$100 each. The publishers get free content, and sell copies to everyone who submits a poem. Some people get so excited about being a “published poet” that they’ll buy copies for friends and relatives.
I used to get hit up every year for the “Who’s Who in the Semiconductor Business” every year back in the 80s. As I recall, a friend of mine got his listing and ended up being charged over $200 for a copy of the book.
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### Author:  [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/7 "2010-04-26T19:01:52Z")
I get these at work. It’s a scam. It’s a directory of people who sent them money. That’s it.
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### Author:  [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/8 "2010-04-26T19:18:39Z")
Don’t assume that everyone listed in the book is a sucker. They might just be lifting listings from legitimate professional directories to bulk up their content. It’s when you fill out the form because you think it’s something prestigious, and worse, buy the book that you’re the victim.
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### Author:  [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/9 "2010-04-26T20:50:22Z")
> [@campp](#):
>
> I get these at work. It’s a scam. It’s a directory of people who sent them money. That’s it.
It would be pretty thin if that were true. They need listings (whatever the quality) to make the book big enough to sell to suckers. Those who send in their info help them even if they don’t buy a copy.
A long time ago Who’s Who was a legitimate book, but these aren’t.
**Jonathan Chance** , unless you don’t pay attention to the fine print, you won’t get sent a copy, since you are not obligated to pay for unsolicited material. Decades ago, when I was young and stupid, I sent in my info, and got nothing worse than junk mail. I wasn’t stupid enough to buy it. I’d guess they get most of their sales at the time of information submission, when the proud sucker wants a copy to show his or her parents/aunts/dogs. But it is possible they got slimier.
It is really no different from the “conference/journal” who accepts your paper sight unseen (before you even write it) to sell you a proceedings/issue.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/10 "2010-04-27T07:29:15Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#):
>
> It’s all bullshit. They’ll print up your name with a bunch of other suckers then send you one with a bill. Happens all the time. They can be quite aggressive about getting that bill paid, too.
>
> Dark underside of publishing, I suppose.
I’ve seen examples like this - the ‘bill’ is actually just an invitation to order something, but it’s composed so as to look exactly like a due invoice - I guess in a percentage of cases, some administrative slackness will get the thing rubber stamped and paid without anyone checking what it was for.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-scam-is-this-american-directory-to-global-professionals/537419/11 "2010-04-27T12:35:30Z")
A variation on this theme is the announcement that you’ve been named to a listing of “America’s Top \_\_\_\_” (whatever your profession is), and can get a handsome plaque detailing this honor for some sum of money.
I figure this is a scam for scamsters, who want to accumulate impressive-looking but meaningless honors for their office wall to impress potential marks.