This is a well organized, well scripted, professional scam run by very cold hearted people who target professionals trying to progress on their careers. Their fraudulent appeal is their exclusiveness and they use pressurized sales techniques to get people to agree to their fraudulent services.
It all started when I received a letter on April saying that I was being considered to be a member of their registry for executives and professionals. The letter said it was free of charge and I decided to check their website. It looked legit, so I decided to visit the link they send me and submit my application. The link said I would be getting a call for a phone interview. They do the interview to make people feel special and in need to impress them. A couple days later I received a call for the interview from this very professional woman and she started to ask me questions about what I do and such, it didn't seem like she was taking notes or anything. I think I could have said anything and she would have agreed to. After she was done with her questions, she told me I have reviewed your profile and you have been accepted. She started complimenting me and the she proceeded to ask me for my credit card. I was shock at first and told I was not aware of any fees and needed some time to think about it, she immediately said that she had this great deal due to my financial concerns. She said it was a one time opportunity for $400 for a 5 year membership and 1 free airplane companion ticket valued at $500. She kept insisted and I cracked under pressure and gave her my credit card information.
I had a sick feeling on my stomach that I was being fooled, so while I was still on the phone I did some online searches and I confirmed my doubts that it was a scam. I decided not to confront her because I felt that I was better off not letting them know that I knew about their scam. She kept trying to talk to me and I wanted to hang up but she would keep me on the phone asking me question and weirdly complimenting me. Immediately after I finally hanged up, I call my credit card company to try to block the transaction and I was told to call Cambridge who's who back and try to resolve the issue with them because the payment was pending and nothing could be done until it was posted.
I called back and I couldn't get anyone on the phone, I tried contacting their customer service several times and nothing. So I called one last time and went to the new members' section and surprise surprise I got someone of the phone immediately. This all happened within minutes after my interview was over. I asked to cancel my order and the person on the phone tried to persuade not to cancel and she finally told me that some one else in member support would give me a call.
They called me back and threatened me to play me recording of me accepting their services and she said she couldn't cancel the membership. Another thing that was odd was that every time I received a call it was an unknown number. What kind of legitimate business doesn't show the number they are calling from, won't accept a cancellation of a customer within minutes of the membership being submitted and will threatened a customer with voice recordings? If they are so exclusive, it would be my lost, not theirs.
Thru several calls, I kept my composure and just kept saying that I wanted to cancel and get a full refund. I didn't confront the associate named Trisha and kept repeating my desire.in the last phone conversation she offer to refund me half and have my membership reduced to 3 years, I said no and told her I would be filing a credit card dispute and immediately she got defensive and instantly she said that a credit card dispute was a waste of my time because at the end of the process I would be responsible for the full amount and she offered me the same resolution. I said no and eventually told her we would resolve this using the due process and I hanged up on her. Her answers seemed well rehearsed and she seemed like she has done that many times. She insulted my intelligence in every step making stupid analogies and making claims like We had 400,000 members, why would you leave? I reacted very stupidly in a pressurized situation but I'm not stupid and I can tell when I am being played.
They recently sent me a folder using signature required mail with a printed diploma (among other membership documents) that cost them 5 cents to print in order to justify their expense and claim they have provided services. That is garbage and I would be happy to return it to their address, if it is a real address that is.
My main argument boils down to this; they offer me a professional 5 year networking membership with access to exclusive executives and professional that would allow me to network, interact with established business contacts and potentially land better job opportunities. It is very clear they won't provide that service, their website is fraudulent and no serious business interactions will result from them. It is impossible for them to satisfy their claims. To this date I have not used their services and therefore I am entitled to a full refund. It has been less than a month since they signed me up, so they haven't lost anything.
My second claim is that the letter they send me a letter that clearly said there is no cost to be included in their registry. However after the interview they put pressure on me to sign up on the spot and told me that was my only chance to get in at that price and I foolishly accepted their terms thinking it was a legit service. That's a very clear example of their shadiness and questionable business practices.
My third claim is that they offer me a free companion airplane ticket valued at $500 dollars. I haven't received that, I haven't used it, again one more fraudulent claim. They would keep their services for 5 years; they would keep their airplane ticket, so if I want a refund they haven't lost anything.
I will be contacting NY state attorney General and Indiana as well. I will not let this lowlifes win and keep my money. I rather spend thousands of dollars getting my money back than let this female dog called "Trisha" get away with this.
You can do an online search on Google with the following Cambridge Who's Who scams and you will see the countless stories of this professional scam. I have attached some that I think reflect my experience very well.
Here are some links:
Http://usacomplaints.com/reports/0/281/RipOff0281272.htm
http://usacomplaints.com/reports/0/309/RipOff0309403.htm
http://accrispin. Blogspot.com/04/victoria-strauss-beware-whos-who.html
http://taiwantotexas. Blogspot.com/05/cambridge-whos-who-scam.html
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