misleading advertising

[mahmoud316]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

Hi
I want to email some people that I have never met and tell them "your coworker (or your nephew) told me you are looking for someone to redesign your website. I can do this for you, here is my phone number, let me know if you are interested"

I am hoping some people will fall for this and give me some jobs.

Now before you go off on me and start saying how this is unethical, I don't believe it is. It is called being a smart businessman and finding ways to make money. I believe this is more ethical than that guy in girls gone wild making money from women's boobs.

Anyway, my question is, can I get in trouble for this? are there any laws that i would be violating?

 

[Cali408nia]

In what other ways is it misleading other than you don't actually know their cousin or coworker? Do you actually design web sites and do a good job and not rip people off?

I doubt it's illegal, it's just dumb. I flag messages like that as spam. If you put "I know your cousin [insert name], he told me you need help" etc, then I may believe you actually know him, but if not, I would treat it as spam. Besides, if they call you, how are you going to explain your situation if they question how you know the person? You won't even get past the phone call and I doubt you'll land any legitimate business that way. Be more creative.

 

[swalsh411]

Yea. Lying to your potential customers right off the bat. That will set things off to a good start for sure.

Have you ever considering getting new clients by offering a superior customer experience and then getting actual referrals and references? You know, the way ethical businesses operate.

 

[mahmoud316]

In what other ways is it misleading other than you don't actually know their cousin or coworker? Do you actually design web sites and do a good job and not rip people off?

yes, I do. I just thought someone may trust me more if someone they know refers me vs. me being a random stranger.
I just thought maybe it is fraud or something.

 

[sandyclaus]

yes, I do. I just thought someone may trust me more if someone they know refers me vs. me being a random stranger.
I just thought maybe it is fraud or something.

And just how much do you think they will trust you after they found out you lied about being referred by their cousin or co-worker?

I know that I would hesitate to do business with someone who lied to me before I was even their customer. You can also definitely forget about any repeat business or references, either.

Isn't the whole basis of doing business with someone getting them to trust that you are the one they need to perform that service for them? While you may "trick" those few people into it in the first place, I would be telling my cousin, brother, co-workers, friends, and anyone I knew about the guy who conned me into it by saying they knew them. Pretty soon, enough of your potential customer base might just dry up, and that certainly wouldn't be good for your business prospects, eh?

 

[HighwayMan]

I just thought maybe it is fraud or something.

No, it's just spam. It violates the terms of service for every ISP I know of.

So if your ISP gets complaints about you or sees what you're doing by monitoring your outbound email behavior then you'll lose your account and probably forfeit any money you paid for your service.

I don't know anyone personally who does business with spammers, no matter how good the deal seems.

 

[dave33]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

Hi
I want to email some people that I have never met and tell them "your coworker (or your nephew) told me you are looking for someone to redesign your website. I can do this for you, here is my phone number, let me know if you are interested"

I am hoping some people will fall for this and give me some jobs.

Now before you go off on me and start saying how this is unethical, I don't believe it is. It is called being a smart businessman and finding ways to make money. I believe this is more ethical than that guy in girls gone wild making money from women's boobs.

Anyway, my question is, can I get in trouble for this? are there any laws that i would be violating?

I do not believe you would get in any legal trouble. There is always a slim chance, there is alwaqys a way to interpret a law to serve whatever need the state wants. That being said, you should be fine. goodluck.