Could You Imagine the Black Eye?
Could you imagine if this was for an email ESP or agency? What would the implications be to such a company. I think it would shut them down 100%. Every client under the sun would think twice about using them, trusting them with data, and even the impact on online ISP reputation would be cripling.
Now InfoUSA does own some ESPs and does do email list rental as well, so I am interested to see if clients tie this bad news back to those businesses.
From Mediapost:
IN ANOTHER PROUD MOMENT FOR the direct mail industry, The New York Times this week expended 2,858 words on how infoUSA sold personal information to criminals who used the data to swindle senior citizens.
A company official deftly defended selling lists to those classified as Elderly Opportunity Seekers (3.3 million older people “looking for ways to make money”), Suffering Seniors (4.7 million people with cancer or Alzheimer’s disease) and Oldies but Goodies (500,000 gamblers over 55 years old described as: “These people are gullible. They want to believe that their luck can change”) by saying “My people aren’t investigators, they’re marketers, and it’s unfair to expect them to know everything about who is buying from us and every database that is listed on our Web site.”
Thanks to The Email Wars for this great article.