njb,
Here's the information about the University Degree Program.
First, the Good News:
The company you are seeking is probably Harrington University in
London.
Now, the Bad News:
The company is a total scam. It's a "Diploma Mill", selling fake
degree certificates for around $600 - $3,000. Every few months, it
changes phone numbers. Its mailing address is a building in London
that contains a dry-cleaning shop. However, it is thought that this
operation is actually based in Romania.
People have been trying to put a stop to their spam for at least 4
years now, without any luck. The spam comes with false headers and
return addresses. The only real company-identifying information
contained in the spam is the phone number, usually an unlisted voice
mailbox number located in the U.S. with a message asking callers to
leave 2 numbers where they can be contacted. Unfortunately, the odds
that you will be able to put a stop to it are next to impossible.
The scam has been so successful at fleecing honest people of their
money, and providing fake degrees to the dishonest, that several
copy-cat operations have also sprung up in the U.S.
Read all about it:
http://www.sireview.com/articles/bsmaphd_sidebar.html
http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/dm0.html
http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/dm1.html
http://aoir.org/pipermail/air-l/2002-June/002006.html
http://apollo.iwt.uni-bielefeld.de/~ml_robot/Scifraud-2001/0090.html
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5207519%5e15318%5e%5enbv%5e15306,00.html
http://www.colleges.com/Umagazine/articles.taf?category=features&article=ezdegrees
http://web.archive.org/web/20010917234943/http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~gcaselton/spam/diploma.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19981203111603/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/980928/28dipl.htm
Note the the different phone numbers on these webpages, and the fact
that the websites consist of just this one page:
http://henryheston.com.cnchost.com/harrington.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20010110154600/http://henryheston.com/harrington.htm
The bottom line is, if you're trying to get rid of this spam, the best
bet is to use e-mail filters that screen for "University Degree
Program" and other phrases commonly found in these e-mails. As for the
ones that do get through the spam filter, just delete them all
immediately and get on with your life.
Search Strategy
"University Degree Program"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22University+Degree+Program%22&btnG=Google+Search
spam "University Degree program"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=spam+%22University+Degree+program%22&btnG=Google+Search
"harrington university" london
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22harrington+university%22+london&btnG=Google+Search
I regret that I could not provide you with better news. However,
knowing that attempts to stop this spam are futile, you can avoid
wasting any more time, energy, or money on trying to hunt them down
and get them to stop.
Before Rating my Answer, if you have questions, please post a Request
for Clarification, and I will be glad to see what I can do for you.
Best wishes!
aceresearcher |
Request for Answer Clarification by
njb-ga
on
18 Nov 2002 14:09 PST
Very helpful & prompt answer, & I will so rate it. However, first one
"clarification": You correctly surmised that I was having a spam
problem, but what I am trying to stop is their usage of my E-mail
address as the return address for their spam. I am getting dozens if
not hundreds of responses from E-mail servers that my "message" was
"non-deliverable", etc.
Any thoughts on how I can, if not prevent my E-mail address being
misused this way, at least stop receiving these various "non-delivery"
notifications?
Thanks,
NJB
|
Clarification of Answer by
aceresearcher-ga
on
18 Nov 2002 15:12 PST
Miscellaneous,
ACK!!! Being made their "patsy" is much, much worse than having to
deal with their crappy spam. I do have a couple of suggestions, but I
want to gather as many helpful ideas as I can for you. Hang on...
aceresearcher
|
Clarification of Answer by
aceresearcher-ga
on
18 Nov 2002 20:58 PST
njb,
Are they using just your e-mail address, or are they using the domain
name for your website?
aceresearcher
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
njb-ga
on
19 Nov 2002 13:12 PST
Just my RoadRunner E-Mail address, as I don't have my own website.
|
Clarification of Answer by
aceresearcher-ga
on
19 Nov 2002 14:36 PST
njb, here are some recommendations for damage control:
#1:
If you haven’t already, contact your ISP/e-mail provider(s)
IMMEDIATELY. Let them know what's been happening, so they don't cancel
your service and blacklist you if they start getting complaints from
the spam victim.
#2
A Drastic move, but may be necessary: Obtain a fresh, new e-mail
address. As your last act in the e-mail account under the old name,
send a message to everyone with whom you wish to maintain contact,
telling them your new e-mail address, and asking them to delete your
old address and add the new one to their Address Book / Contacts List,
so that messages from you at the new address don’t get bounced or just
thrown away. "cc" yourself on this message at your new e-mail address,
so that you can hopefully just set up a whole new Contacts list there
in one fell swoop. If the functionality is available, set up e-mail
filters to cut down on the spam you receive. Delete any junk mail that
comes to this address. Do NOT bother trying to "unsubscribe" from any
of it; this frequently just confirms the validity of your address and
can lead to having your address placed on a list that gets sold to
thousands of spammers.
#3
Avoid using your new e-mail address to post to Usenet groups and other
web forums. If you wish to post on these sites, obtain a "throwaway"
address at a site such as http://www.hotmail.com or
http://mail.yahoo.com , and use that address to make your postings. Be
sure to login in at least twice a month and delete any junk mail, to
avoid having your "throwaway" mailbox terminated due to inactivity.
#4
If you are in the U.S., contact your Federal and State legislators
urging them to pass laws to prevent spamming and punish spammers.
How to find your US Senators:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
How to find your US Representatives:
http://clerk.house.gov/members
How to find your State Legislators:
http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/State_and_Tribal.shtml
If you live in another country, I urge you to contact your
governmental representatives as well.
Again, before Rating my Answer, if you have questions, please post a
Request
for Clarification, and I will be glad to see what I can do for you.
Best wishes!
aceresearcher
|
