Who’s who
Is a Ph-D degree enough to make you worthy of a bio in the Marquis Who’s who in the World?
I was planing to type a message about my (failed) 2009 resolutions and those I want to really follow for 2010 but it will have to wait until tomorrow because of the strange e-mail I just received. I first took it for a spam but my curiosity got the best of me and I made few internet search that lead to believe that… well, I really don’t know in fact. Here is the e-mail of which I only removed the code and the link attached to “biographical data”.
“Dear DR. LARUELLE,
It is my pleasure to inform you that you are being considered for inclusion in the upcoming 2011 Edition of Who’s Who in the World, which is scheduled for publication in November 2010.
>From the publisher of Who’s Who in America since 1899, Who’s Who in the World is relied upon by business leaders, journalists, academics, and other professionals for its accuracy and currency of information. Distributed globally, it is found in the collections of many of the world’s leading libraries and corporations.
As the Marquis Who’s Who editors begin assembling the 2011 Edition of this historic publication, the original Who’s Who in the World continues to be recognized internationally as the premier biographical data source of notable living individuals from every significant field of endeavor.
To be considered for inclusion as a biographee in this prestigious publication, you need only provide the requested information by completing the Biographical Data Form by February 15, 2010.
The information you provide will be evaluated according to the selection standards Marquis Who’s Who has developed over 110 years as the world’s premier biographical publisher. If you are selected for inclusion in the new 2011 Edition, we will contact you prior to the book’s publication in November.
Inclusion in Who’s Who in the World offers…
- More than just a personal achievement; being honored in a Marquis Who’s Who publication offers prospective business contacts an authoritative, full representation of your credentials and accomplishments.
- A historical archive of your achievements, recorded for generations to refer to time and again.
- Exclusive offers that are available only to members of the Marquis Who’s Who family.
I congratulate you on the achievements that have brought your name to the attention of our editorial committee. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Fred Marks
Editor-in-Chief
P.S. Inclusion of your biography in Who’s Who in the World, of course, carries neither cost nor obligation to you of any kind. Our goal with each new edition is to have full representation of noteworthy and accomplished men and women across all fields and industries.
Please Note: If you are prompted to enter a V.I.P. Code when accessing our online data form, please enter the following: XXXXXXXXX.
To contact the Marquis Who’s Who Editorial Department with comments and/or questions, please send an e-mail to world@marquiswhoswho.com.
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Marquis Who’s Who
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908-673-1000
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Copyright (C) 2010. Marquis Who’s Who LLC. All rights reserved.”
I definitely thought it was a hoax at first because the world would be in desperate need of globally influential individual if they have to knock on my door. But, some internet searches taught me that several people got the same e-mail and most of us recently got a Ph-D. I also noticed that people got the same e-mail last year and discussed it on their blogs only to come to the conclusion that the e-mail was legit. It seems that Marquis is hoping that many of the people contacted will accepted and then spend 500$ (no less) to get a copy of the book and brag about the line and half about themselves in front of their friends and family. Besides, Wikipedia mentions more than a million bibliographies in the global data base of Marquis. So, could this e-mail be legit and sent to most people who obtained a Ph-D in any significant university in the world? I really don’t know and I have no idea if I will even reply to this message but if any of you has any thought or already got a similar e-mail, I’d gladly hear your opinion.
EDIT (May 21st): I noticed an increasing number of people ending up on this page of my website after google searches on “Who’s who”. So, I assume many of you got the same mail and wonder if it’s a scam or not. Well, it is not! I filled the forms they sent me and answered a few extra questions. All they asked me was anyway already somewhere on the web so I don’t have a particular privacy concern and I got a few days ago a letter telling me I should review one last time my bio for the 2011 edition of the Who’s who in the world. As I suspected, there was in the same envelope a special offer to get that book with a discount. Still, the price is close the 400 USD… Talking to friend and colleagues, it also appears a very large number of people have been contacted this year. They pretty much have a data bank that gathers hundreds of thousands of profiles. If you have (or are preparing) a Ph-D in a decently ranked university, you already have good chances to be contacted (and that alone makes quite a lot of people). I suppose they can sell their data bank to companies or such which, again, I don’t mine because all that is in my Who’s who’s bio is also on this website as well as several academic web pages. I hope this small update can prove useful to some and, if you have a couple of minutes to spare, feel free to browse this website a little and, say, listen to my music. 
Comment by Marine P
Hey,
Congrats Dr ! I don’t know if this email is true but I have not received it when I completed my PhD and I was also in a significant university. So can’t really help. But also, who cares about fish ???
But a colleague of mine has received several mails (by post) from the Who’s Who so I don’t know. I don’t know if he’s already in it but he completed his PhD ~3-4 years ago. So maybe…
But really can’t help !
Cheers
Comment by admin
That’s funny actually because I thought about you when I got this e-mail. I had the feeling, considering the place where you got your Ph-D, that you likely received this message as well… Maybe people don’t care about fishes indeed. -_-
Anyway, several of my colleagues from Utrecht got that message and I think it is legit but not very important. Browsing on the website of Who’s Who, you can see that they sell their numerical data base of profiles with more than a million entries to companies and such. Having that kind of info with, among other things, the bio of an extended number of young scientists in fields that may be relevant for industry probably has some kind of value. They probably scan though websites of universities for engineers and Ph-D graduates in chemistry, informatics, economics etc… and contact them like that. This would also coincide with what I read on other blogs.
I think my curiosity will definitely get the best of me and I will reply and answer their questions as long as I am not asked for money. Anyway, my CV is public (on this site and elsewhere) so they may well print in on the moon, I don’t really care. ^^
Comment by Draven
The fact that your last name is included in the message could mean that the message is legit. In many of the dishonest attempts to people’s money included in emails, the name of the person is very rarely mentioned. But it is the only one thing that makes me think it is an honest proposal because several other things look strange to me.
First of all, the photo you included above your message. If it is the exact same as the one you received, I find it strange because the quality is very poor and the year on the cover is 2007. What is the point of showing you a 3-year-old cover to invite you to be in the 2011 edition ? To me, the only aim of this picture is to lure you by making you think you are dealing with the real editors of the book.
Secondly, the fact that they tell you in their first message that you won’t have anything to pay sounds to me like they want you to feel comfortable with their proposal. This is very common with dishonest attempts at your money. And of course, they give you little time (less than a month) to answer. How strange…
I also tend to think that such a prestigious company would not contact people only by email. Maybe you’ll think that I’m going too far but I also think that such a company should be able to send someone to meet you for real before considering to include you in their book. I think you should ask for such a meeting if you want to go on with them.
And even if they don’t ask you any money for now, be really careful when you fill in their form not to commit yourself to buy one of their expensive books someday in the future. For now, I think that it is what they are trying to do. I hope I’m wrong.
Some links I have found about similar emails :
http://www.hoaxbuster.com/hoaxteam/forum_contributions.php?idForum=3152&idMess=46287
http://alertes-arnaques.blogspot.com/2009/07/jai-ete-considere-your-inclusion-to.html
Comment by tiggerdan
As your grand mother used to say, the world has seen stranger things that never happened… (I always liked that one.)
In your shoes, my curiosity would get the better of me too, with the exact same caveat: so long as they don’t ask for money.
I’d think it a real hoot if you ended up in Who’s Who!
Who’s Who?, anyway? Well, I am I, for one.
Comment by admin
Maybe I should have mentioned that, the picture was not sent with the e-mail, I just added a picture I found on the internet to have something to “illustrate” my post. For the rest, I decided to reply and I’ll see what it is by myself. I agree though that it is strange that they put so much emphasis on the “you don’t have to pay” part but time will tell anyway. ^^
Comment by John
It is legitimate to the extent that they do what they say. Marquis is “the” Who’s Who book. On the other hand they follow up with not just “cheap” offers on the book, but plaques and scrolls and all sorts that testify that you’re recorded in the book (at much cheaper prices than the actual book).
Comment by Imran Ahmad Dar
With Due All Respect,
I have ready all this! I am totally confused if you are right. And I donot think they are cheaters.I also got an email as a nominee for the comming 2011 Edition.
I have completed my PhD yet, but i am having some great international publications.
I got an email which read as:
Dear I. DAR,
This is a final reminder that you are being considered for inclusion in Who’s Who in the World, 28th Edition (2011).
From the publisher of Who’s Who in America since 1899, Who’s Who in the World is relied upon by business leaders, journalists, academics, and other professionals for its accuracy and currency of information. It continues to be recognized as the world’s premier biographical reference source, and is found in the collections of many of the world’s leading libraries and corporations.
To be considered for inclusion as a listee in this prestigious publication, you need only complete our Biographical Data Form by June 21, 2010.
If you are selected for the new 2011 Edition, we will contact you prior to the book’s release in November 2010.
I congratulate you on the achievements that have brought your name to the attention of our editorial committee. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Fred Marks
Editor-in-Chief ;
After that i got second email as:
You have successfully submitted your data as of 6/17/2010 06:27:10:067.
If you pass the first round of screening you will receive notification
via email to add more information for us to further review your
biography.
Regards,
Lauren Tong
Content Editor
Marquis Who’s Who LLC.
890 Mountain Ave
New Providence, NJ 07974
908-673-1179 (main fax)
Another email As;
Good Morning,
You passed the first round of screening as of 6/18/2010 09:05:50:49.
Please expect an notification from us within the next month to
add/change any information about yourself.
Regards,
Lauren Tong
Content Editor
Marquis Who’s Who LLC.
890 Mountain Ave
New Providence, NJ 07974
908-673-1179 (main fax)
In this connection, i donot beleive that they are cheaters.
With Regards,
Imran
Editor:
IJHS
Comment by admin
I am now convinced that the messages are legit and that the who’s who is just broadening its database. I also think they have every right to sell the book to the people they just included. It’s their business and I have no problem with that.
I understand, though, that people can be doubtful at first, just the way I was myself.
Comment by Imran Ahmad Dar
I am a Research Scholar