
Ask HN: A widely used marketing company is scamming startups. What to do? - gk1
There&#x27;s a company that promises startups to find them people who express interest some topic or product and fit some firmographic or demographic criteria. They sell these sales leads at $50-100 each with contracts starting at $10,000 minimum.<p>I discovered that they&#x27;re acquiring these leads in a very different way than they represent to their customers. Rather than finding people who will opt-in to hearing from the startup (in exchange for some content), they acquire&#x2F;create&#x2F;search a list of non-opted-in contacts and then cold call them just to verify their info. Once the info is verified, they pass that lead to the startup. Essentially they&#x27;re taking contact information--which could be bought for $1-2--making a cold call to verify basic info, then selling that contact information to the startup for $50-100 and letting them believe that the person submitted their own information and wants to hear from the startup.<p>They don&#x27;t tell the startup how they&#x27;re <i>really</i> acquiring the leads. I only found out after many demands for evidence (and finally getting phone recordings of the cold calls) and following up with the leads myself to ask them what happened.<p>Three of my clients have already been misled by this company, until I directed them to end the contract. My concern is there are many other startups being scammed like this. How can I help them avoid or escape this scam without putting myself in legal jeopardy?
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kull
Review on google and other review sites ?

