http://206.106.174.250/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=1385

John, same thing happened at the Peter Krasilovsky's Kelsey Group blog. (see link above) But he thinks it is a smear campaign . . . who knows.

Funny thing about google, I bet Google get 2x more "type in" traffic than the next highest website. Its nice to be at the top of the food chain (or click stream chain).

BTW its a common eBay phishing scam for scammer to email random people (using eBay's member communication template) and claim that they are about to file a negative feedback. With out thinking, the person recieving the template will click "reply to member" in the email and get sent to a scammer site. The ohishing site will look like the eBay site and since the person is eager to defend his feedback, he will quickly enter his username and password without checking the URL. After that, the phisher would try to use the username and password he harvested to get money through the person's paypal account (hoping that the username/password/email is the same)

• Posted by: will
• September 27, 2006 7:41 PM

Hi John:

We address the issues in some of the comments on your blog below. What’s more interesting than our little company’s issue is what you point out about search in your post. The pile on effect is really interesting. It is also interesting how were able to get an enormous amount of feedback from people so quickly because of the open communication on the web.

We are looking to help merchants and search allowed us to know we had an issue quickly so we could work it. It really does provide a lot of value to a small company like us. Of course, some of it as has been pointed out by others might be the classic web echo, but regardless it is interesting. The content below can be found on our site with links at the URL above.

MerchantCircle is focused on delivering services to enable local businesses to find more clients. As part of this service, we provide a web page for each merchant as well as tools that merchants can use to get the word out about their business (blogs, coupons, newsletters). The free MerchantCircle service is (as the name indicates) free and is being used by over 50,000 merchants currently.

Merchants can receive ratings and/or reviews on their MerchantCircle listing. In the past, some merchants have raised concerns about not finding out their listing was available and more importantly that a consumer had posted information on that listing. We have been experimenting with many different methods of informing merchants when their listing changes. For example, when a listing is claimed, we notify the merchant via multiple methods to confirm identity. Some of these methods involve pro-actively contacting merchants who may not visit the site regularly or are unaware of the listing. These efforts have been made to try and manage a merchant concern.

As you can imagine, this required some investment and some effort. In fact, for a while the entire team of 9 personally contacted local merchants. Anyone who was worked with lots of users can probably guess that this approach does not work when rapid growth occurs. Some of the experiments seem to be having unintended consequences and had some execution issues. We are working to address those issues while continuing to deliver value to merchants.

In addition to our efforts to keep you informed, our system allows users to invite local merchants to join their network, or MerchantCircle. The growth in merchants has resulted in a large number of invites on the system over the past few weeks as merchants figure out that adding to their network will increase the ability of local customers to find their listing. We have received some concerns about this and are working to improve the situation.

Merchants have complete control over their information on MerchantCircle. If anyone would like their listing to be removed from MerchantCircle please email remove@merchantcircle.com and include your business name and phone # and we will remove your listing from the site and your contact information from our system within the day.

If you would like to use MerchantCircle to help grow your business, we look forward to working with you to continue to improve our ability to bring you local customers.

Ben

• Posted by: Ben
• September 27, 2006 8:32 PM

Hmmmm... Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't seem that Ben's advertisement above doesn't address the fact that he used a war-dialer to spread false information hoping to build interest in his "service".

• Posted by: Brian Combs
• September 28, 2006 3:16 PM

Fast-forward 4 months... things must be slow at merchantcircle.com...
we got the prerecorded call today saying we got googled and we received a positive rating.

There are, of course, no such ratings at merchantcircle.com.

I'm not against networking businesses, and I'm aware that MerchantCircle will remove listings upon request. Nonetheless, unsolicited pre-recorded phone calls containing false/mis-leading information isn't the way to grow a business nor build a positive reputation.

I echo Brian's comment posted above.

• Posted by: NewHorizon
• January 16, 2007 2:17 PM

Why does the sudden influx of comments make it a smear campaign? The whole point would be that there is a negative backlash of people who got phone spammed all around the same time (automation!) and who then googled the company to find out more about it and stumbled across your blog(going to a third-party source to check legitimacy and not "rewarding" a potential spammer by increasing traffic to their site). In what way is this company a LEGITIMATE business? I personally will mention their tactics to as many people as I can - as an example of how not to do it...

• Posted by: Julia
• January 23, 2007 10:50 AM

After being harassed several times in 2 days by Merchant Circle's robot phone calls to my home phone that is on the Federal Do Not Call List, leaving messages about the supposed ratings that a Google user left about my business (which of course are fake), I've had it. Plus finding their fake blog purporting to be my business on Merchant Circle, which I didn't write. And their generated Google search result supposedly for my business that says "Get a coupon for (my business name)" that deceptively tricks people into logging into Merchant Circle, only to find a phone listing suggesting the surfer call the business to get a coupon (that doesn't really exit) I've had it. I just filed an FTC complaint for Merchant Circle's deceptive practices. Tomorrow I'm driving to the state capitol to talk to the my attorney general's office. Someone has to stop this maddness. No wonder Merchant Circle's Google ranking and web traffic have gone up incredibly in a month. They are tricking both business owners and Google searchers into driving their web page views to the moon. Worse, Google is supplying ads to these folks. If I were Google, I'd drop Merchant Circle quickly before they are fined. Hopefully, Google has more morals than Merchant Circle, who seems intent on angering everyone with their tricky marketing schemes.

• Posted by: Jonathan
• January 25, 2007 5:32 PM

I received a call last night after working hours from Merchant Circle with a recorded message saying that a customer left negative feedback. This is impossible because we do not yet have customers. So I “googled” and sure enough, though Merchant Circle may be a legitimate business and have a good idea, there methods do not look very ethical. So I checked the site to see what was really on there about us. NOTHING! Not a single rating or anything, just the company name (which is incorrect) , address, and phone number; nothing one could not get out of the yellow pages. Spamming my voice mail to try and get my business. Sorry, I do not work with businesses like that.

• Posted by: Allan
• March 6, 2007 6:07 AM

Merchant Circle just tried to scam me for the first time today. I did not fall for it and quickly found the many blogs exposing Merchant Circle for the scum that they are. Don't waste your time responding to Merchant Circle. Do take the time to add your comments and continue to expose Merchant Circle for the riff-raff that they are!

• Posted by: Steve
• March 6, 2007 2:26 PM

As with others who have posted, I just received my first solicitation from MerchantCircle, informing me of "negative opinions" from customers. This was sent to a number on the "no call" list. I can't believe anyone would sign up after being on the receiving end of such an inept marketing approach.

Mark

• Posted by: Mark Selleck
• March 7, 2007 11:32 AM

Thank You for having a blog exposing Merchants Circle.

I believe I just received an unsolisited prerecorded phone call that was a lame attempt to get my company to sign up for there services. They stated that my company R&D; Communications had been given bad customer satisfaction reviews and I could see them by going to merchantscircle.com. Once on their site you have to sign up to see your review.

I don't take kindly to punks that resort to misinformation, intemidation or extortion. If they think they can be successful over the phone they have a poor business plan. Those tactics work much better up close and personal. They should have some of their fellow gang members stop by Elburn, Illinois and see if the can scare me into joining up. I'll be waiting.

• Posted by: Fred Gaebler
• March 8, 2007 2:56 PM

Today I got a phone call from these guys, I got nervous and called the toll free number right back, the name merchants circle didn't even come up in the recorded message. This is a crime and the website should be shut down, there is a much better way to make money then to scam people.

• Posted by: dan
• March 12, 2007 7:08 PM

I wish to thank whoever is responsable for this site which has informed me of the background of Merchant Circle as I too have received an automated call from them stating that someone had posted a positive listing for my business. I have received similar notices of Angies List and they have actively solicited me to join their organization. Although I believe Angies List to be ligitimate I am courious as to why the company has been so percistant in soliciting.

• Posted by: don sterling
• June 6, 2007 12:40 PM

Well, Merchant Circle is at it again! They just robot-called me & left a message about a favorable review & that I need to "leave" my # in the blue box if I want to see it!

I don't care if it is favorable or unfavorable -- I just don't need these calls wasting my business's time. I'll be contacting the attorney general in my state tomorrow to file a "Do Not Call" complaint.

• Posted by: DJ
• June 13, 2007 2:18 PM

Yes, the scam is back and this time with more tricks.
We also received an automated call but stating they were Google and our website has been rated and that we should go to merchantcircle.com to see the review.
I didn't find any reviews at all, but actually they did create a page with all my business information and my phone numbers without my permission.
I have noticed some talk on active rain about them, it seems they are targeting heavily on real estate companies.
Anyway, I think Google should be aware that they are sending automated calls stating they are Google. As far as I know, Google doesn’t own Merchant Circle, correct me If am wrong.
I can imagine the amount of small businesses are falling into this scam and signing up for the premium service which is paid.

• Posted by: Harris
• June 25, 2007 8:58 PM

I am in the military, and our military phones are getting this spam.

they will see justice soon enough

• Posted by: ryanC
• July 18, 2007 11:11 AM

I am from a church and got essentially the same message: "somebody googled your business and left a rating, to see the rating go to our site merchantcircle.com and enter your phone number in the blue box to see the rating"

THERE IS NO BLUE BOX ON merchantcircle.com

I found this site and merchantcircle.com by searching from yahoo.com.
The phone thing sounded like a scam, and I agree with everyone above, someone needs to shut them down, send them to jail for a year or 5 years, just for being misleading.
Go Military man, get the Feds to go after them.
And BTW, we are a church, not a business! Go figure!

• Posted by: Dwight
• July 20, 2007 12:50 PM

I have been hit today with these unethical marketing tactics! Could someone post a list of "where to complain" links. Lets beat them at their own game.

• Posted by: Terry
• July 23, 2007 6:05 PM

Their web site claims they are a "silicon Valley" company, so it would probably be most effective for California residents/businesses to contact the state Attorney General about this outfit, assuming they really are located there. Their domain is registered through Network Solutions, and the only info in their registrations points to Network Solutions, which I believe is a violation of their rules. Anyway, here's the whois data on merchantcircle.com :

Registrant:
WYBS, Inc.
ATTN: MERCHANTCIRCLE.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA. 20172-0447

Domain Name: MERCHANTCIRCLE.COM

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
WYBS, Inc. cj6yu5fc6ju@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
ATTN: MERCHANTCIRCLE.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
570-708-8780

The only new tidbit of info is this "WYBS, Inc." part. I looked that up and found this on a venture capital blog from last August:

Wybs Inc., a Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Internet commerce startup, has raised $4.1 million in Series A funding, according to a regulatory filing. Participants included BA Venture Partners, Rustic Canyon Ventures and Steamboat Ventures.

Edgar shows this in an SEC filing :
Sharon L. Wienbar .... Ms. Wienbar also serves on the boards of
directors of Bellamax, Inc., Biz360, Inc., FaceTime Communications, Inc., Reply! Inc. and WYBS, Inc. (doing business as MerchantCircle).

Certainly looks like a slimy bunch!

Jon

• Posted by: Jon Elson
• July 24, 2007 7:40 PM

We received a recorded phone solicitation today (7/27/07) despite our number being on the donotcall list. Made complaint with FTC. Interesting that no phone numbers are listed on their website and their domain registration has been made private. I guess they don’t want to be bombarded with the same crap they are delivering to us.

I thought we had a name for someone who makes you pay to avoid them doing something that hurts you. Requiring me to respond, research, make complaint, and then fill out their removal form is stealing my valuable time. I guess it’s more than one word: thief, blackmailer, terrorist — you pick. Nice business model, guys. Hey, MerchantCircle — how is your reputation?

• Posted by: Jeff
• July 27, 2007 5:13 PM

They called me today (July 31st, 2007) for the first time with a "positive review". Still sounded way too fishy so I did some checking before I went to the site. It's all crap. I just registered on the Do-Not-Call list right now, hopefully they just go away.

• Posted by: Mike
• July 31, 2007 11:20 AM

Another victim of MerchantCircle's spam here. When is the FTC going to shut these dirtbag's down? I'm going to start hitting small business forums to warn people about this.

• Posted by: Aaron
• August 4, 2007 7:36 AM

Yeah, My 800 # got called from Merchantcircle on Friday, 8-3-07. They didn't say the review that came through Google was negative or positive. I checked out the site and it reminds me of kudzu.com, our local site powered by cox communications, a hugh cable company. Kudzu.com got us to sign up by offering the listing free for the rest of the year and they did it the old fashion way, they simply mailed out about 100,000 slick looking post cards with the offer to local businesses. We did sign up & it has worked out well for us so far. I think small businesses should look for something like this on a local level. Screw Merchantcircle and the way they solicite, then hide when the backlash comes. Google must be getting something from Merchantcircle. They don't need to be connected to bad pub.

• Posted by: jerryk
• August 5, 2007 5:26 PM

I received the automated call this afternoon 8.7.07. I checked out this site but was still curious as to what they were doing, of course i did not find a review but interestingly enough i found a blog entry that we never wrote. I would request to be removed from the listing but can only imagine the spam i would get if they have my email address after hearing and seeing their inethical conduct first hand. Somebody please shut them down! I will be writing the FTC as well. It is amazing that after all the different blogs i have seen complaining about their tactics, complaints made etc that this is allowed to continue.

• Posted by: patti
• August 7, 2007 10:04 PM

Got a call today from merchantcircle.com. I am really glad that you have this information so quickly available. Thanks for the infromation.

• Posted by: Jenny
• August 8, 2007 8:14 PM

this is just another profiling for money-make.
line up - you are not better than anyone you have criticized.

• Posted by: lappalie
• August 11, 2007 8:37 AM

They are nothing but scammers, plain and simple. I get calls from these jerks all the time

• Posted by: Greg Gebhardt
• September 14, 2007 3:25 AM

My husband owns a small landscape/maintenance company and received a pre-recorded call today saying he had received "a negative review" on Merchantscircle and of course went all rubbery knee'd. I immiediately found your site and thank God for it. Put him right at ease and has made him even more aware of the criminals that exist in cyber world. Thank you, Thank you!

Robin Kelly

• Posted by: Robin Kelly
• October 4, 2007 4:11 PM

I receievd strange call and yes it has made us upset. but then I also figured that it had to be a ploy because 98% of our customers are not fully happy. But you cannot win them all

• Posted by: kari
• October 4, 2007 5:15 PM

I just filed my FTC complaint! Let's see how they like their
"unfavorable review". Try it yourself at: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup

• Posted by: William Grover
• October 5, 2007 7:15 AM