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SportsGuy
Staff
Joined: Aug 30, 2002
# Posts: 3600
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Posted: 2007-Nov-24 14:14
I just received the e-mail below. Apparently, my site, listed in the e-mail and highlighted, has won this award. I'm honored!
...except it's not my site they're talking about, and clicking the link leads to a directory listing (think folders/files, not links directory).
Now, part of the e-mail shows my username and password - which work. When I clicked on my profile link
Smells like spam to me unless anyone knows otherwise?
----------------------------------------------
Hi Duane Forrester,
We are proud to let you know that your company
www25.a2hosting.com/~seoorg/newsletter has been selected as a "Certified
SEO Company". Being SEO certified displays your credibility and
contribution in the field of search engine optimization.
The SEO certification is awarded free of cost to you based on your site
www25.a2hosting.com/~seoorg/newsletter quality and level of SEO services.
In the past, we have promoted and appreciated companies having excellent
search engine optimization skills.
To accept the certification and activate your profile login to:
http://www.seocertificates.org/ - this URL is live and works
Username: eZl6XPI8
Password: DktjapP15
Being SEO Certified helps you display "Certified SEO Company" logo on your
website and assures your clients that you truly understand Search Engine
Optimization and use it to the best of your abilities.
If you are unable to login then please email us at [their e-mail was here]
Regards,
seocertificates.org
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential to the
intended recipient and may be privileged. If you are not the intended
recipient, please notify the sender immediately. Whilst we have used
anti-virus software to alert us to the presence of computer viruses, we
cannot guarantee that this email and any files transmitted with it are free
from them.
Protect the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you need to
-----------------------------------------------------------
I've left the URL in here not to promote but to allow folks to know exactly which site thi sis, in case they are contacted by them, too.
best as I can tell, you login, they tell you you're "certified" for free - for 6 months, or you can buy the certification for about $1,000/year...
To be clear, I did not contact them in any way, the website they list is basically a dead end, and is not one of my sites. I'm calling this phishing/spam, though I'm sure they would argue it. They talk about "criteria" and "reviewing your site", but the site they have listed in my profile is a 4+ year old domain name I used to use, which is dead and has no site up on it, so clear my info is way out of date.
They also want me to:
Step 2 :
Please add logo on your web pages in order to complete the process. Displaying the logo on your website will authenticate the certification received by you.
So, yeah, heads up folks - they want YOU to promote them in exchange for an unknown certification of undetermined quality...and then pay for the certification in the future (if I read that correctly on their site).
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mj1256
Joined: Jun 05, 2006
# Posts: 918
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Posted: 2007-Nov-24 20:54
what a great business model
I've heard its easy to make a lot of money on the internet for very little work. now I know how 
thanks for sharing, I'm off to create my own certification program, backed by the same thing that backs the US dollar, and all the power vested in me, by me.
I think I'll charge 5k
[ Message was edited by: mj1256 11/24/2007 09:46 pm ]
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g1smd
Staff
Joined: Jul 28, 2002
# Posts: 10438
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Posted: 2007-Nov-24 23:46
A lot of SEOs got the same mail in the last few days.
Some of them also blogged about it:
http://www.seo-scoop.com/2007/11/24/how-to-totally-screw-up-an-email-campaign/
The username and password, if tracked, confirmed back to them, that your email address is active. Expect more spam soon.
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Quadrille
Joined: Nov 15, 2000
# Posts: 1064
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Posted: 2007-Nov-25 01:29
Google [Alza Management Institute] and all will be revealed.
This is just the latest in a long line of SEO related scams.
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reena3
Joined: Nov 23, 2007
# Posts: 12
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Posted: 2007-Nov-26 08:25
Thanks for sharing it with everyone. It is wrong but hats off to their technique.
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nhd4me
Joined: Oct 14, 2007
# Posts: 43
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Posted: 2007-Nov-27 04:16
I agree with reena3, and think as far as 'scams' go its pretty clever ... the only problem I can see is that they chose the wrong target market as most SEO's would see through this ... wouldn't they??
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SportsGuy
Staff
Joined: Aug 30, 2002
# Posts: 3600
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Posted: 2007-Nov-27 16:26
I got a redone version of the e-mail last night - this time without the bogus links in the text...LOL
nhd4me, the real problem is that every person in a basement with a $20 software bundle can claim to be an SEO/SEM. The real scary thing is that some actually believe that because they bought that software, they are an SEO/SEM - they think they now do the same thing as the pros do.
So, yeah, there are loads of folks who would sign up for this. Heck, once the logo is on your site, you could easily save the image or SnagIt, then dump the link and not pay for it after the 6 months is up - and STILL be able to show their logo there.
Taken one step further, many folks just make up their own logo with a realistic sounding name on it, and many, many, clients believe it means something. 
Sad...
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excell
Staff
Joined: Mar 19, 2001
# Posts: 14512
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Posted: 2007-Nov-28 16:00
hehhee. circus!
Gotta love it: "It also shows the company's commitment to the SEO Code of Ethics."
THE SEO Code of Ethics? um - where can I find that...Too much!
[ Message was edited by: excell 11/28/2007 08:19 am ]
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