EDITORIAL: An American Named ‘Daisy’: What Data Network Affiliates And Narc That Car Can Learn From Andy Bowdoin And AdSurfDaily — And The High Potential For Backlash
AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin's threats to sue critics backfired, exposing the company to even more scrutiny.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Repping for Data Network Affiliates or Narc That Car, two companies in the business of recording license-plate data? Here are some things you might want to consider . . .
UPDATED 2:21 P.M. ET (March 5, U.S.A.) Data Network Affiliates (DNA) and Narc That Car (NTC) both say they are soliciting members to record the license-plate numbers of cars for entry in a database. Both are multilevel-marketing (MLM) companies. Both have become the subject of scrutiny by web critics who have raised issues of propriety, safety, legality and privacy.
Both companies should thank their lucky stars that the criticism, so far, largely has been contained to the web.
Last week, Dean Blechman, the chief executive officer of DNA, came out firing against the critics. Painting with a brush that was almost unimaginably wide, Blechman suggested the company is monitoring “everyone that’s a distraction out there and anyone that’s printing stuff on the Internet or anywhere†and perhaps preparing to sue. (Emphasis added.)
Yes, a company whose members say is in the business of establishing a database so customers can monitor cars as they move from Walmart to a “doctor’s office” to other locations (including churches) now says it is monitoring “everyone” and “anyone” who poses a “distraction.”
“I’ll tell you one thing,†Blechman warned in an audio recording posted on DNA’s website, which lists an address in the Cayman Islands. “They better be very, very careful of what they write . . . [b]ecause I have every intention of policing and pursuing every legal ramification . . . against anybody that’s reporting any information inaccurate to try to tear down what I’m trying to build here.†(Emphasis added.)
So, a company with a domain that uses a Cayman Islands address and does not say where its corporate offices are located — and a company that does not have a working Contact Form on its website and, according to members, is in the business of recording license-plate numbers in the United States in the parking lots of retailers such as Walmart and Target, supermarkets, churches and doctors’ offices — is sending a clear message to critics.
Blechman’s remarks also might have the effect of chilling DNA affiliates. Some are apt to interpret his comments as a warning that they’d best raise no questions about the company if they’re writing about it in Blog posts or in emails sent to prospects. Customers of DNA and Narc That Car are ill-served by sponsors who might be inclined to write reviews that are anything less than flattering because such reviews might upset management of the companies.
DNA’s own pitchmen have identified Walmart, Target, supermarket parking lots, parking lots at churches and doctors’ offices and “anywhere” cars are parked in a group as the sources of license-plate numbers.
One of the pitchmen who introduced Blechman in the recording in which Blechman warned critics was the same pitchman who told listeners in a previous call that the company envisioned an America in which DNA members would record the plate number of a hypothetical “red corvette” parked at Walmart, and then record the plate number again an hour later at a “doctor’s office” — and then record it again three hours later when it was parked elsewhere.
Blechman said nothing about the pitchman’s comments in the recording in which he threatened critics. Nor did he address a DNA video promotion by the company’s top affiliate that suggested DNA members should behave “inconspicuously” while snapping photographs of “cars” and plate numbers at Walmart on their iPhones, Blackberrys and notepad computers.
Whether affiliates need the permission of retailers, patrons, clergy, worshipers, physicians, patients or any party is left to the imagination. How the company can prevent abuses also is left to the imagination.
Instead of addressing the criticism, Dean Blechman turned his focus on the critics, thus creating the appearance that the company has no problem with its members taking photos of cars and license plates at Walmart, at places of worship and at doctors’ offices.
Until Blechman speaks on these issues publicly in a news conference or addresses them in an official news release available to the media and DNA members, it is not unreasonable for Americans to believe that, if they are seeking the private counsel of clergy, their license-plate number may be recorded while they’re inside their place of worship pouring out their souls — and the number will be entered in a database used to track the movement of vehicles.
And it’s not unreasonable for Americans to believe their plate number will be recorded while they’re inside the office of their physician, surgeon, psychiatrist, psychologist, attorney or other professional.
What’s more, it’s not unreasonable for Americans to believe their plate number will be recorded wherever they do their shopping or reading, including retail outlets large and small, libraries and shops that sell adult videos and magazines.
Blechman needs to speak to these issues before the MLM program launches March 1. And he needs to make it plain whether he approves of the practice of writing down plate numbers (or recording them on video) where Americans shop, worship, receive medical and legal advice and spend their casual time.
How does DNA plan to guard against invasions of privacy? How can it prevent database customers from abusing data it provides?
DNA’s own pitchman offered up the possibility that the company wanted to create records of the movement of automobiles and offer that information for sale to database customers. If this is so — and if you don’t want anyone to know you’re seeking the counsel of clergy, a medical professional or a legal professional — you should know that DNA appears to be building a database that will record various sightings of your license plate.
If you owe money to a finance company and are having money problems, the repo man very well might learn you are seeking the counsel of your clergyman or even your therapist. The repo man will get the addresses. He will know if your car was parked at the office of a psychologist or a heart surgeon, a rabbi or a priest, the public library or the adult bookstore, the City Hall building or the casino, the curb in front of your house or the curb in front of friend’s house.
If your name is Daisy, if you’ve recently had heart-bypass surgery and fell into clinical depression and are having trouble paying your bills because you aren’t healthy enough to return to work or you’ve been laid off, the repo man might be able to tell his client:
“Hey, Daisy’s car was parked in a surgeon’s parking lot. Then it was spotted in her shrink’s parking lot. Then it moved to a credit counselor’s parking lot. Then she visited her daughter. Then she visited the Catholic parish down the street from her house.
“You won’t believe where the next sighting was. The Salvation Army soup kitchen! Daisy is broke — and she’s a nutcase to boot!”
And what if the availability of the info is not limited to the repo man or finance companies? The United States could become a country of paid snoopers who recruit other paid snoopers.
Blechman’s response was to threaten to sue critics. One of the pitchmen who introduced Blechman said the company had recruited 37,000 members in just a few weeks. The database product is not yet available, but the manpower to populate it is — and members by the thousands are being urged to write down plate numbers.
Some members already have a supply on hand: NTC launched before DNA, which Blechman described as his “unbelievable vision.” From appearances, it looks as though NTC had the vision first — and DNA now is in position to benefit from plate numbers submitted by NTC members.
Leading with an elbow normally is frowned upon in business and often leads to even more intense scrutiny. Ask AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin, who announced that the company had amassed a giant money pot to punish critics.
Here, according to federal court filings, is what Bowdoin told ASD members at a company rally in Miami on July 12, 2008:
“These people that are making these slanderous remarks, they are going to continue these slanderous remarks in a court of law defending about a 30 to 40 million dollar slander lawsuit. Now, we’re ready to do battle with anybody. We have a legal fund set up. Right now we have about $750,000 in that legal fund. So we’re ready to get everything started and get the ball rolling.” (Emphasis added.)
Yes, Andy Bowdoin publicly threatened to sue critics. He, too, painted with a wide brush, saying his warning applied to “anybody.”
Less than a month later, the U.S. Secret Service raided ASD. Prosecutors said the company was operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme and engaging in wire fraud and money-laundering.
Bowdoin’s lack of PR skills later contributed to other nightmares for members. Bowdoin, for example, described the Secret Service seizure of his assets as an attack by “Satan.” And he compared the government’s actions to the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
He later said his fight against the government was inspired by a former Miss America.
The concerns about the propriety, privacy, safety and legality of both DNA and NTC are real. The BBB of Dallas and the district attorney of Henderson County, Texas, have opened inquiries into NTC.
Because DNA is competing in the same arena as NTC, it is not unreasonable to ask the same sort of questions.
Dean Blechman is a longtime businessman. He could learn a few things from the PR mistakes of Andy Bowdoin, one of which was to attack the critics before addressing the issues and making the company’s operations crystal clear and transparent to thousands of affiliates and members of the public.
Video cameras? Cell phone cameras? Notepad computers? Pens and pads?
Professional complexes? Walmart? Target? Adult bookstores? Libraries? Church parking lots? Doctors’ offices?
For the repo man and who else?
Multi Level Marketing ????
NarcThatCar and Data Network Affiliates are to M.L.M. what AdSurf Daily was to advertising.
Hi LRM,
You’ll recall, of course, that ASD also described itself as an MLM.
And you’ll also recall that members who gave their information to ASD started getting sales pitches from other companies and that the database seems to have been transferred to an upstart surf known as “Paperless Access,” which caused a new flap among ASD members who valued their privacy.
Even Surf’s Up members complained about privacy invasions — until the threads were deleted.
Very first reference I saw to Narc That Car was on the old Golden Panda forum, which suggests ASD/Golden Panda members are selling Narc That Car.
They’re also selling DNA by using a “pay-it-forward” strategy:
http://goldenpandaadzone.ning.com/forum/topics/update-dna-now-41000-members
DNA hasn’t even launched yet. According to the “pay-it-forward” poster at the old Golden Panda forum, DNA now has 41,000 members. It’s easy to believe that 41,000 people have registered for a program that positions itself as “free” in promos, so DNA — which did not exist online prior to Jan. 21 and uses a Cayman Islands address — now has the personal information of 41,000 people.
And it seeks to put those 41,000 people to work recording license-plate numbers at places such as retail stores, churches and doctors’ offices and has at least two major promoters who suggest the numbers should be recorded “inconspicuously.”
One of those two also says it doesn’t really matter what people think if members happened to be observed recording plate numbers at Walmart.
When the same DNA rep was repping for Narc That Car, he said he recorded 100 plate numbers at Walmart and would give some away to prospects eager to receive $55 for doing nothing.
In any event, none of these things helps the image of MLM.
Patrick
Patrick. I believe you might be wrong about ASD thinking that it was a MLM company. Andy would tell people that we were not an MLM because we only had two levels. If we had more levels then we would have to follow the laws of the MlM. the first “finding of fact” by the court system stated that ASD was an internet MLM company, and Andy would tell people that the court was wrong. I know that in the beginning of ASD before it got rocketing. One of the big playas offered a comp plan that would pay a 1% override on his whole downline not just the first two levels, and Andy told him if he did the comp plan like that he would be considered a MLM company.
The small spherical person has a point.
No, they (and ASD) claim to be MLM companies but they are obvious pyramid schemes.
The huffing & puffing about legal action is just the typical pyramid/ponzi operator nonsense. It helps to distract from any awkward questions that are being raised – what is the value of the “product”? Is Phil Piccollo involved (again)? Where does the money come from? Who are the “clients”? There are plenty of questions that need to deflected away.
Hi just sick of it,
MLM attorney Gerald Nehra, an expert witness for ASD, defined ASD’s business model as a “business model [that is] a legitimate multilevel direct selling business model.”
SOURCE: Document 7-5, paragraph 7 of Nehra’s formal opinion, filed Aug. 18, 2008 by ASD.
I get your point, though. Andy Bowdoin himself said this only weeks earlier, on July 12, 2008, according to court filings:
“Our people are making tremendous profits with two-levels – which takes us out of being a network marketing company.”
SOURCE: Government Exhibit 5, filed Aug. 5, 2008.
As a side note, the government exhibit also quoted Bowdoin as saying:
“And Don mentioned a national firm, an attorney firm that he was talking about who has experience in bringing the hammer down on people that need it,
and we’re given him the authority with the go ahead.”
So, Bowdoin — who said his company was not a network-marketing company and later hired Nehra, who said it was, was trying to chill critics with threats of lawsuits.
I do not believe Bowdoin was referring to Nehra when he talked about “bringing the hammer down on people that need it.”
Personally, I viewed Bowdoin’s comment as the comment of a thug. I doubt I’m alone in reading it that way.
Patrick
I’m not defending that SOB Andy, at all. I want Andy in jail, I want the forum Mods in jail, I want all the big playas that moved from ASD to AVG in jail and I want it NOW!!!! And you can take all of these promoters of these two BS companies with them!!!
How these people can move from one scam to another just blows my mind, and that is why I’m “just sick of it”!!!
So help me, reading this insanity makes me think Orwell missed 1984 by a few years.
Perhaps these folks might be able to help:
http://www.jdl.org/index.php/forums
in their Threats and Adversaries forum. Sadly to say, these folks have a long and heartbreaking history with their activities being “tracked” in Europe not so many years ago. They might just have a thing or two to say knowing their places of worship would be fair game for data gathering about the members whereabouts and movements. All drama aside, owing to the political unrest in other parts of the world, this truly could spell a death sentence for someone.
I believe the absolute lack of checks and balances in the way data is handled, and at least in the case of NTC, can be accessed by virtually anyone that wants to join a “sponsor” and plunk down the money is a massive red flag for all of us.
Jerry
Over on scam.com, Jah was nice enough to point out that we don’t know where all the cash flow with Narc comes from in order to pay the reps. Here is some of his quote:
“As I was stating you are attempting to account for cash flow as if you know where all the cash comes from that NTC is making. You, nor am I, part of NTC’s internal operations as to all the ways they make money, and can make money with the data.”
Could “data” mean the reps personal information and social security numbers? They have stated that they do send out 1099’s which means a SS# is required to sign up. I’m sure the sale of this info could bring in plenty of cashola to keep those checks a coming.
Again, I would like to thank Jah, Ajamu Kafele, Cashman for calling this to our attention.
Looks like on February 19, 2010 Narc Technologies Inc out of Texas has terminated and merged out with National Automotive Records Center Inc. in Nevada. That’s all I know at this point.
BTW, Narc Technologies was formed in July 2008.
The owner of the building where narcthatcar is operating @ 1111 Empire Central Place Dallas is registered to Moose Ranch LLC. I asked if there was a name and the Corporations contact of Texas told me Norman Pearah.
A quick google search provided this but still looking:
STATE of Louisiana
v.
Norman PEARAA a/k/a Norman Pearah.
No. 80-KA-2902.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Sept. 8, 1981.
Norman Pearaa was charged by information with three counts of violation of the “endless chain statute,” R.S. 51:361, 362 and 371, by conducting “a system of merchandising slots on a pyramid board by means of an endless chain without having first obtained a permit in writing from the Louisiana Securities Commission.” Defendant filed a motion to quash, based on a number of grounds, which was denied. Thereafter, defendant withdrew his plea of not guilty, and entered a plea of guilty to counts two and three of the information, reserving his right to appeal the adverse ruling on his motion to quash. Count one was dismissed for lack of venue. After sentence was imposed, defendant appealed.
Correction on spelling:
National Automotive Record Centre
http://nvsos.gov/sosentitysearch/CorpDetails.aspx?lx8nvq=1zb6O8GpsVeBy9QHeIeBFQ%253d%253d&nt7=0
The former Narc Technologies of Texas is now the “National Automotive Record Centre Inc” in Nevada is using a registered agent service. The Officer, William Forester, is using a business address in Utah which happens to be a virtual office with a mailbox.
Sounds like those ‘google profits’ scams.
Just want to “officially” go on the record of being a “distraction” of Dean Blechman, DNA, and Narc That Car. I have had plenty of opportunities to shed some light on many caught up in the Narc That Car scam…uh…I mean…”opportunity”.
Everything about both of these deals screams scam, and I am more than willing to debate anyone that talks to me about these two companies. Logic, reasoning, and law are good medicine for those caught up in the get-rich-quick schemes of DNA and Narc That Car.
So…Mr. Blechman…please put me down on your “monitoring” list. As a network marketing professional I will continue to blow holes in your “opportunity” every time the conversation comes up.
It looks like this is a sophisticated scam. Everything is not as it appears…
Some people may try to collect data and send it in without any fees. However, many more may be gullible enough to pay the apparently 97$ one time and 30$ monthly fees to send in data electronically.
Before anyone signs up, they need to answer the following questions:
Where will the money come from to pay out?
(Their data base will not be worth much until it is complete. Do they actually have buyers for the data now?)
Why would anyone want to get the license plate numbers, write them down, and send them in for only 2.00 per month?
Does anyone actually want a data base that has license plate numbers taken at random?
Who will input all of the data on their end that is written down manually and sent in?
How long will it take to get all of the license plates in the US?
(It may only take several months. How will anyone be paid after they have all of the license plates? Why would they want anyone to continue to get license plates they already have? Why would they want a high percentage of duplicate plate numbers?)
Why would they want license plate numbers that could have mistakes or are completely made up?
Why do they not give any sources for most of their claims?
Why would they want everyone to start at the same time? (If the data is actually valuable, why would they not want it at anytime?)
Why would they test a Beta system with many people collecting data and then delete all of the data?
Their website says “If DNA help save ONE MORE CHILD it’s worth it?”
How will this save lives? (They seem to be taking advantage of people’s emotions – many people will sign up for a noble cause).
Their website states: “We can also help to find Missing Persons. Often there are rewards offered to help find a missing person and we can be part of the solution.”
Who do you think would get the rewards?
How valuable are license numbers taken at random (with general addresses) going to be?
Don’t you think there is already a data base with all of the license plate numbers in it?
Is it possible that the license plate collection is actually a diversion?
What will they do with everyone’s e-mail addresses after they sign up? (This data base may actually be worth a lot! They would have a substantial number of e-mail addresses of gullible people who want something for nothing. They are prime candidates for other schemes and sales techniques.)
Their webpage says: “Contact Data Network Affiliates Information is coming soon!”
Why can’t you contact them?
Their privacy policy says: Data Network Affiliates Privacy Policy
“All information collected during registration is for internal use only by Data Network Affiliates
and its partner companies. We do not sell or transfer member account information.”
Who are their partner companies? How will they use the data? Can their member companies sell the information?
Will they “Rent” or “Lease” your personal information that they collected?
Their own propaganda tells us that “The data collection business: did over $14 Billion in revenue last year; A 12 point record on an individual is worth up to $35.00 and a 7 point record on a business is worth up to $10.00.”
How many points of data are they collecting on you when you sign up???!!!
Their website also says: “The bottom line: The right information will pay for itself. ‘A good mailing list can produce a couple of millions of dollars in sales all by itself,’ says Jim Workman, CEO of BFW Advertising Inc., a Boca Raton, Fla., ad agency that builds and refines list databases for clients. A highly targeted list that produces sales ‘is a corporate asset that’s worth its weight in gold.'”
What do you think they are actually trying to get?
Do not be deceived!
Beware of false profits!
Beware of false prophets!
DNA is like any other company. When they start up, everybody wants to criticize. Go back in history and read what critics said about companies when they first started up, and are now mega giants. The biggest reason why DNA is having the plates recorded, is not to go after minor issues as mentioned above, but to establish a pattern so as to present the data to more than 100 major well known affiliate financial backers, who can use the information as a bases for their advertising. Over 14 billion dollars were generated last year on data alone. The other reason, is to hopefully find car thiefs,rent a car thiefs,kidnappers,child molestors. (Save lives) There is no system out there, not even Amber Alert, that will do what DNA will do.If you have not spent time calling attorney generals,MLM attorneys,and going over this company with a fine tooth comb, like I did, then you will be one of those who later will admit, you misjudged this company based on ignorance or many facts you were unaware of. Pretend that you are on a jury, and if you find DNA guilty of pulling of a scam, causing potential heartache for the average person just trying to survive, than they will get the death penalty, you would extend you research beyond reading what the critics say,and look at what the legal experts are saying.
I’m pretty sure there aren’t any real ‘legal experts’ looking into this ponzi yet. But, by all means, present your case to the FTC for investigation.
Quick note: 2:21 update today corrects county name in story above to Henderson.