Today I received what looked like an invoice for $37.50 from Internet Corporation Listing Service. Apparently, I had signed up for their search engine placement service. They had a customer number for me and everything. This was confusing, since I certainly would never use such a worthless service. After scanning the paper for a few moments I discover the disclaimer:
This is not a bill, invoice or statement of account due. You are under no obligation to make a payment, unless you accept this offer.
An obvious attempt at fraud. So, I decide to speak with someone at ICLS. No luck finding a phone number on their site. I try whois:
Administrative Contact:
Service, Internet Corporation Listing support@icls.net
2530 Berryessa Rd. #912
San Jose CA 95132
San Jose, CA 95132
US
905-948-0921Of course, it's a fax number. I Google them. It looks like they've been doing this for a while. And raising their prices, too. Demand must be up.
Then I ran across some good advice: Report them to the USPS and FBI.
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In my line of business, I see things like this every day. On our clients' accounts, there are monthly listings exactly like this, that the client is constantly filing dispute on. I'm surprised these companies don't go out of business not long after they're started. Somehow, though, they end up staying in business a lot longer than one might think. It's sad, really, that businesses feel they must make a profit by scamming others.
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