UPDATE: I have received information suggesting that the currently-existing company Sterling Who’s Who is different from the one prosecuted in 1995. I personally have no way of verifying whether any of the same individuals are or are not involved in the company, but my assumption that this was a continuous company was based on the continuity of name and specialty. If I was in error about this, I certainly do apologize. I do not think that this can be constituted defamation of character, since it is natural to assume continuity of some sort when there is a continuity of name and other features.
I want to warn readers of this blog about a scam (which unfortunately I fell for and will now have to struggle to resolve). An organization that calls itself Sterling Who’s Who contacted me saying I had been nominated for inclusion in their “Who’s Who”. Although it was clear from the start that this was going to be more of a networking than a genuine prestige-related list, I figured someone perhaps had given them my name, and figured it couldn’t hurt.
But it can, and does.
There is now a charge for more than $700 on my credit card – not the fee that was mentioned by their representative on the phone. Perhaps people in the business world can afford to pay that much for inclusion in a glorified phone book, but I certain can’t, but more importantly, I have no interest in doing so.
I should have checked them out more carefully. An organization by this name was prosecuted at least once before for collecting names and selling memberships in what was supposed to be a prestigious institution, but in fact those contacted were simply those whose names were found on readily-available mailing lists. Other people had picked up on the suspicious character of that organization and what it was offering. But it is easy not to find such information when a fairly large number of people list their membership with pride.
One thing is for sure – having a PhD doesn’t mean you won’t get duped. Hopefully others who are contacted will see this and think about it before going any further down the Sterling Who’s Who road.
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