Appearing in the news is something to celebrate, usually. But one company, “That’s Great News,” is taking advantage. The company, which claims to be a news company and operates out of Wallingford, Connecticut, is a predator. It watches various news sites across the country and targets those being covered, sending out misleading marketing emails and illegally using trademarks to make money from those who do not know any better. It is pure copyright infringement.
The tactic is quite simple: scare people into making a purchase. While there are no downright threats, the copy will include lines like, “Let me just inform you that it’s almost time to remove your article from our system.” Then, they will attempt to make a sale to “permanently preserve” the article featuring the person on a plaque.
While “That’s Great News” has no power to take down articles at these publications, it alludes to it in the email, even saying the article is available as if they helped push it live. Only, they don’t. At least at most publications, only editors have the power to post or remove articles, and unless they are acting in bad faith, they would never remove posted content in such a manner.
To make matters worse, when they send these emails, they link to a copy of the plaque in question, which contains the article from the news outlet and the outlet logo. Just to be clear, they have no right to use the logos. Unfortunately, they have been doing this for a long time, and nobody has managed to put a stop to it.
In fact, there are dozens of negative reviews online, with duped customers discussing the poor quality of the product, as well as claiming to have received false charges on their cards after giving “That’s Great News” their credit card information.
Even those who do not make a purchase are not left alone. The company is known to harass people with a stream of emails trying to get them to make a purchase. And for those not looking to make a purchase but instead trying to make a return or get more information, they are unhelpful, according to online reviews.
If you or someone you know hears from “That’s Great News” or a company like it without having first expressed interest, approach with caution. There is a good chance that the news company or organization on the plaque has no idea what is going on, and the result might be costly and difficult to take back.
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