I spoke with a very friendly gentleman today about my posting in the Covington Who's Who directory. I will state first off that I do not know if this is indeed a scam or if it is not, I will just comment on what was offered to me and my feelings on the situation.
I was offered a place in the directory and had the feeling that it was free as I told the gentleman about myself and he told me the first part of what was offered with the directory. He was very polite and thought that everything I sad was wonderful. "Well said" was what I heard most often. Once we got into talking about plane tickets being sent to me, I knew there would be a fee for this service which is ok if it was legitimate. I was quoted just under $800 for the platinum lifetime membership and around $600 for the gold 5 year member ship. I told him that I wanted to do some research on the company and that's when I started getting some red flags. The first thing that should make you stop and think is the pressure tactic. I had to give my answer and pay the cost right then and there because they cannot just have a blank page. I can only assume that this book isn't going into print at the end of the day and my immediate response is not required. I do web development for a web site and I know that you can add a page at any time and it's not that difficult so that can't be a reason for the rush either. I was then offered a reduced fee membership for 5 years that they reserve for military discounts and such for $199. Most companies will ask you if you are in the military before quoting you a price if they give a military discount, not as a tactic to have you sign up immediately. I was next offered a two year membership for $99 so I could get my foot in the door and check them out.
I was also told that they do not bill until the next day and I would get his name and phone number so I could pay now but cancel before I was charged. With such a sence of urgency designed to make people act impulsively and the continual drop in price that felt as if they just wanted to get something from me, I chose to decline the member ship. This had all the classic signs of a scam but like I said, I honestly don't know if it is. Feel free to do as you wish but I think I made the right choice.