Scammers will never cease trying to give the Search Engine Optimization industry a bad name. One of my clients received a ‘bill’ from an SEO firm called Domain Listing Services claiming annual website submission services. The charges are $185 for 5 years.
How many unfortunate people have been defrauded from scams like this? Domain Listing Services may as well be a Nigerian 419 scam. I love how a service line item claims ‘Optimized title and meta tags’. How can this be done without website ftp access?
Here are some tips to spot frauds:
- Legitimate companies always use a personal email address, not a free service from hotmail.com
- A real SEO firm will have its own domain name
- Professional SEO’s have references, reports and certifications
- Search engine submission is not a service that will help you. Only editing page content and acquiring links will get you better placement.
SEO Email Solicitation Below:
From: Domain Services [mailto:]
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2018 3:25 PM
To: Client
Subject: Domain Notification: This is your Final Notice of Domain Listing
Importance: High
DOMAIN LISTING SERVICES
8171 Yonge St. Suite# 149
Thornhill, ON L3T 2C6
Canada
FINAL NOTICE
(Please make necessary changes)
ATT: client
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT
client
123 main st
san francisco – ca 90130 – us,
,
www.site.com
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES:
Premium Package
ANNUAL WEBSITE SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION
FROM January 1,2018 THRU AUGUST 1,2018
OR
FROM January 1,2018 THRU AUGUST 1,2018
TOTAL
$295.00
$185.00
SUBSCRIPTION INCLUDES:
* Custom keyword research
* Optimized title and meta tags
* Submission to 900 search engines and directories
* safe follow-up re-submissions every 3 months
* Helpful professional support
THIS IS NOT A BILL. This is a solicitation. You are under no obligation to pay the amount(s) stated unless you accept this offer.
Domain Name
www.sites.com Amount
Requested Reply
January 14th,2018
THIS NOTICE IS A SOLICITATION AND A RECEIPT OF PAYMENT WILL CONFIRM YOUR ANNUAL SUBMISSION
*100% SATISFACTION IS GUARANTEED OR YOUR MONEY BACK
Please select the number of years you would like to signup for
[ ] 10 Years ………. $295 (Best Value, Most Recommended!)
[ ] 5 Years ………. $185
If you have other domains you may list them below (please send a separate check for each domain and write your domain name on the memo section of the check)
Other domain(s) __________________ , __________________ , __________________
Total $ _______
Signature
Date
Payment by Check or Money Order
Print and mail a copy of this order form along with a check or money order to the address listed below:
Domain Listing Services
8171 Yonge St. Suite# 149
Thornhill, ON L3T 2C6
Canada
Please do not forget to include a copy of this order form with your payment!
www.site.com
By accepting this offer, you agree not to hold DLC liable for any part. Note that THIS IS NOT A BILL. This is a solicitation.
You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated unless you accept this offer. The information in this letter contains confidential and/or legally privileged information from the notification processing department of the Domain Listing Services Inc.
This information is intended only for the use of the individual(s) named above. Email if you do not want to receive further updates from DLC.
If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents for this letter is strictly prohibited.
- 100% satisfaction guaranteed, you may request a refund within 30 days if your are not satisfied with our services.
15 Responses
Hey nice Post keep it Up
We were hit by this SEO scam, it was not fun to deal with corporate.
I came from Google and need to know about these SEO scams.
Hey there, thanks for info about false domain name billing. Really helpd me !
Hey friends thank you for this domain warning!
I was searching about this issue everywhere, I was really curious about this SEO scam…Really big thanks.
Normally I just silently read posts on blogs, but your article about email scams is very important and must be shared.
couldnt agree more, I received one of these in the mail and laughed my a** off!
Although i dont usual like to comment about SEO gone bad, sometimes i know i should. This is one of those times, I can’t stand sub par search engine optimization.
I find this SEO site has consistently provided great info, and the Matt Cutts video is very helpful.
Is there a way to become a content writer for the site?
Well written and interesting. I really liked your google blog post as well.
Can you provide more information on this? Or can I PM you about this…Thanks
Articles also play some part in internet marketing. As articles are read by visitors there are more chances for visitors coming to the sites. Articles should be relevant to the theme of the site.
Presumably, after the client signed up they would then grant FTP access to these guys.
Not that I think that that would be a good idea.
As for myself, I’d be more inclined to ban their IP from every form of access.
However:
In at least two places they clearly state that this is not a bill. Moreover, if someone should actually ‘pay’ the ‘bill’ anyways, they would then be enrolled for up to 10 years of service.
I don’t like the format of the letter … I think it’s pretty snarky … but anybody who writes a check for $2-300 without actually reading the ‘bill’ deserves whatever comes next. Or not.
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