Tuesday 12 March 2013

Another opportunity or another scam?

One of my (business) email accounts has received a couple of unsolicited emails from the International Who’s Who Historical Society. They are always in the following format:

"Dear Mr. Sinha:

On behalf of International WHO'S WHO of Professionals, I am pleased to inform you that you have been nominated by one of your peers as a candidate for inclusion in the 2013 Anniversary Edition commemorating 85 Years of Publishing Excellence!  We congratulate you!  Nomination into WHO'S WHO is an honor in itself.  

International WHO'S WHO has over 20,000 members in 200 countries worldwide and has been publishing biographies since 1928.  It is the most elite professional network in the world.  Our members assist each other daily with business and career opportunities. 

It is in times like these that such a network is most valuable and we are seeing members help other members expand their businesses, find new positions, even relocate to another country.  

If selected into WHO'S WHO, you will be listed in the 2013 Edition of International WHO'S WHO of Professionals.  This is the definitive work on the world's leaders in commerce, economics, policy, and trade."

Well, I’ve no idea who this Mr. Sinah is, nor why people might wish to pay to have their biographical details added to a database controlled by this organisation, when LinkedIn, my own website and the mighty Google enable enough people to find me whenever they want me.

I wondered if the International Who’s Who Historical Society, with a prestigious address in Washington DC, has any connection with Who’s Who, which, published in the UK by A&C Black, really does have an excellent reputation as the place where authoritative biographies of eminent people appear.  

If any of my LinkedIn contacts have derived any value from membership of this organisation, then I would be delighted to know. Surely it can’t simply be another scam?

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