It isn't often that I single out an organization for something as harmless as harvesting email addresses & spamming with complete disregard, but this time I'm making an exception. I awoke to an email this morning from a small firm out of Toronto called NextTree. The company is operated by Jason Matheson (Founder of NextTree) and Christopher Hebert (Co-founder of NextTree), both of which have past experience at Netfirms as Marketing Director & Marketing Manager, respectively. After a few short moments I realized that not only had they spammed me (inadvertently, in attempt to contact one of our clients) but several other clients as well.
What made this particularly interesting is that the email address NextTree spammed one of my clients through was my own, completely unrelated to this particular site entirely & never having been associated with it. The greeting read 'Dear David', as though it were addressed to me but it referenced another website and client in the subject line entirely. Completely baffled by this, I immediately set out to figure out how NextTree would have confused myself and one of my clients. I dug through older whois records, left no stone unturned on google and still came up with not a single link associating my own completely unassociated email address with this particular client.
With still no luck in figuring out where they obtained the contact, I'm left wondering if Jason Matheston is possibly using old Netfirms whois database data to do the web web design related spamming. I did happen to take a few moments to call Jason but beyond stating that he couldn't disclose where he obtained the contact details, he didn't have much else to say. I suppose what's truly disheartening about it all is how someone with previous experience at companies like Netfirms (as large as they are) and even including a positions titled 'Marketing Director' and 'Marketing Manager' really need to sink as low as spamming my clients. Boo, can't you guys come up with something better?
Here's a copy of the email that I received below, along with Jason Matheson's contact details, he seems to be a massive fan of unsolicited email so I'm sure he wouldn't mind receiving some from you, all of your friends and that persistent Nigerian prince who wants to adopt you as his red-headed stepchild.
Dear David,
Have you ever wondered why some websites perform better than others? (Spamvertising, maybe? Or Ci4l1s!)
Some websites were designed by NextTree!
NextTree is a full-service web development company with a passion for spamming, creating highly usable, results driven websites. We'll make your business look better and perform better than the competition. We'll make your business shine.
Visit http://www.nexttree.ca/website/ to discover how we can help you launch a brand new website or put a fresh face on an old one. (Lipstick on a pig? You guys should move to Alaska and watch the Russians with Sarah Palin.)
NextTree can you give your website a professional edge!
Sincerely,
The NextTreeWeb Design TeamSpammers
($10 off your next design if you can guess which cereal box we got our website out of!)
http://www.nexttree.ca/website/
--
NextTree is a registered trademark of NextTree Inc.
2-112 Petra Way Whitby ON Canada.
We are 100% Canadian eh?!
Luckily they're 100% Canadian, since spamming is illegal in the United States & CANSPAM is a $50,000 fine per unsolicited message.
Also luckily, our server infrastructure also resides in Chicago.
A few of Jason's email addresses, say hi:
mathesonj@mtonic.net
jmatheson@room100.net
jasonmatheson@HOME.COM
Sat, 15 May 2010, 23:11
Hello, I had Next Tree make me a website 3 years ago, they did a great website. The only thing was they took from other websites they made incorrperated into mine. When I had my website up and running for a few years my domain expired.. No way of contacting Jason. then findally I did get ahold of Jayson, buy this time my domanin name was taken by another cleaning company in the same city I live in. I made a copy burnt it. When I put the CD in my computer to see what I have, I got a nasy virus. The virus shut down my computer, now that computer is in the junk yard. I did get my moneys worth from Next Tree, I would of loved to stay there for many more years.
Anyways there's always more websites out there. It's hard to find a good honest website person out there, the one I have now, rips me off. Over charges and thinks I don't know how much they are adding on my credit card. Everyone out there don't give your credit card to anyone ON-line....
Jay, Canada.
Tue, 23 February 2010, 00:06
3 Months later... and still spamming us. Apparently ignoring them isn't going to deter them from their campaign of spam.
Fri, 13 November 2009, 23:05
As I've stated before, I still think they got it from Netfirms -- both of the guys running it are ex-netfirms members.
Wed, 11 November 2009, 04:02
Yup. 100% trolling through CIRA's database to obtain email addresses. I have been spammed from them several times to an email address that I used for registering via CIRA, and have sincer changed, but I still have mail forwarded by.
In my case, they obviously are using an older CIRA whois dump, as my email has since changed... but still, it doesn't make it right. I have never used their "services", and with tactics like this, it merely guarantees that I never will.
Would be nice to see CIRA inquire about where they got their dump from... and the Privacy Comm. as well.
Tue, 3 November 2009, 18:49
I agree that they are probably scraping CIRA. I got a mail at an address I only use for registering domains at regarding .ca domain that I barely use at all. I don't have any accounts with netfirms and never have been their client.
I have never heard of NextTree and they are spamming me. End of story.
Thu, 10 September 2009, 02:27
This nexttree company is spamming - plain and simple. Unethical for sure. Complain to their ISP or Host and all the related spam complaint sites.
They are scraping data from the CIRA whois database not from Netfirms. I have received a couple of e-mails from domains registered at other registrars.
Tue, 8 September 2009, 20:06
Thanks for posting this. I have just received quite a few emails from them and was wondering where they picked up my details from. Since I have a bunch of sites hosted with netfirms I guess that explains that.
I really find it quite disheartening to see web design firms using spam to drum up business.