Ok, so I get a call from a super legitimate sounding guy saying he's Mr. Lindsley from the Heritage Registry of Who's Who.
The Registry of Who's Who (according to him) is a professional catalog of honored professionals who have been nominated by one of their professional colleagues to be inducted into it.
He said I wasn't inducted yet but I had been nominated and he wanted to ask me a couple questions before I could be up for consideration.
I usually am very weary of things like this but this guy was good. He asked me some really poignant questions and by the end I was hoping he would choose me to be in their catalog or whatever.
After a really quick pause he said that I have been chosen to be in the Heritage Registry of Who's Who and basically I will be awesome forever.
This all sounded well and good and he even told me how proud my parents were going to be of me (wow, way to really pull at my heart strings).
So, when did I get that uneasy gut reaction that says, "wait, just one second..."?
After it took him all but .5 seconds to tell me that I had been inducted.
If this organization was so prestigious wouldn't it take just a tad bit longer to discuss who's going to be in their extra special registry?
Second, thing that really got me was he wanted to know if I wanted a plaque and the registry delivered to my house. I said yes, and then he said that I would have to pay for it. I asked him if I could do it online and he said it could only be done over the phone.
I never ever give my credit card info over the phone (and if you do make sure you ask the person on the other end if its a secure line) and I was put-off when he said I could only do it over the phone.
So, here's a summation of why I thought it was sketchy:
1) He immediately told me I was inducted, instead of making me wait a day, or an hour, or even a minute.
2) He wanted my credit card information and he wanted at that very moment on the phone.
I told him that I left my credit card at home and quickly googled, "Heritage Registry of Who's Who" and this is what I got.
Then a very sweet friend of mine gave me this which basically says that the Heritage Registry of Who's who is a huge rip-off.
The worst part about this is that the man made a point of saying, "I know that people are falling on hard times, but with this registry you can network with other accomplished professionals and really get your name recognized."
Considering he wanted ~$300 for the book, I'm totally offended that he would use tactics like that to try and make a buck.
But in his defense, America is falling on hard times and since there is virtually no social welfare system to support its citizens, people like Mr. Lindsley need to resort to tactics like the ones stated in order to survive.
Shame shame shame.
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