Credible

There was an email in my inbox this afternoon from the National Association for Professional Women. I have never heard of this organization, but I can tell you based on the name alone it immediately sounded as credible to me as The Human Fund. So before I even opened the email I decided to Google it. (Seriously, what did we all do before Google?)

Well you know how Google has the auto complete feature where it can guess what you're typing before you finish typing it? Google's auto complete displayed the following: "National Association of Professional Women scam." Yup, that's about what I thought.

I clicked on a couple of the links. Each site contained stories of women who paid to be in this fake organization, where charged sometimes 100 times the amount they were told the membership fee was and then after countless fruitless phone calls waited and waited and waited for the refunds they were promised. Apparently their promises of "free registration," "national conferences," "certificates of recognition" and "global corporate partnerships" were enough. And yes all these things were listed as perks in their email. Notice how it's all incredibly vague. I mean sure I'd like "to be considered for inclusion with the (association's) 'distinguished women' of 2009/2010." But I just don't know what it is they think makes me distinguished. In this case, I have a feeling "distinguished" and "financially gullible" are one in the same.

Needless to say I will be not be joining the National Assocaition for Professional Women (or NAPW) any time soon.This savvy professional woman is a little too smart for them. Also, any one else think "professional woman" kind of makes it sound like it's an organization for hookers?