Calling all Sharks ! Calling all Sharks !
Schererville Indiana is the most Spammed Town in America !
There are over 30 signs per mile awaiting to be harvested !
Share in the Bounty !
Too Much for just 1 Shark to keep up with.

I'd love to see some photos from this infestation. Can you post some to give us west coasters an idea of how bad it is?

Hey, good idea. If you can get some nice photos, we can put them on the CAUSS website.

DenverShark

I'll Get my Camera. There are 15 Signs with in 200 feet of each Welcome to Schererville Sign as on enters town. Every intersection has minimal 8 signs. Every Metal Pole and Signal box is Stickered. Hands Down Schererville Indiana town motto needs to be changed from "Crossroads of America" to SPAM SIGN Capital of America"

What is the population of Schererville? Perhaps the neighborhood crime watch groups would become involved in removing signs? Or, will the local newspaper become involved with an article? Just wondering. Never give up.

Hey, have you considered stickers? CAUSS does not formally promote stickers, but I know that they have really worked in some areas. Send me a private message to discuss in more detail.

DenverShark

Smasher, you have to attack the source, especially if you're outnumbered.

I've been going it pretty much alone in my part of Connecticut, and have found that you need to call the spammers and tell them you're going to take down the signs as fast as they put them up.

Then you have to DO it.

I won't lie to you; this is not easy. But you have to follow through on your promise, and after a while (it took about three months here) the serial spammers will realize that they're wasting money and stay away from your town.

Then you just have the new idiots to deal with, which is a lot easier.

If you get angry enough, you CAN make a difference by yourself. There are signs spammers who continue to hit other parts of New England, but they leave the six towns I regularly "patrol" strictly alone.

One person CAN make a difference. As our friend billvansic says, "never give up."

Redstone

>I've been going it pretty much alone in my part of
>Connecticut, and have found that you need to call the
>spammers and tell them you're going to take down the
>signs as fast as they put them up.

I agree. I have never stickered or left a carcass. I merely tried to get the spam as soon as it appeared. That kept me busy, and it didn't seem to have an effect. Then I started calling the spammers. After a couple of months, there was a reduction and a couple of months later there was almost none. There is one spammer who continues to test the waters with a few signs occasionally, but that is easy to handle.

Sounds like a good approach.

An advantage to stickers is that they draw in other sharks. That is really helpful when there are lots of spammers and few sharks.

DenverShark

Not only will the stickers draw in added sharks, they will also draw attention to the politicos. When that happens other things begin to happen.

Hard rule - When the street spam disappear, so do the stickers.

GreatWhite-BH (GW)
Texas Chapter - CAUSS

GW

Another advantage of stickers: The spammers see a removed sign as a location ready for a new sign. They see a stickered sign as an active advertisement against them. They have to drive around regularly removing stickered signs before they're seen and that doubles or triples their work. If the sticker is designed to be embarrassing enough, most of them will quickly give up.

Smasher, you should understand that even though I did not mention stickers in my advice, I know that they HAVE worked for other people who were seriously outnumbered.

I don't use them, but ONLY because I don't have to. Your situation seems to call for them, so I'd recommend you give them a try.

Redstone

Thanks for all of the comments, support, and advice. I have contacted the crime watch group, local newspaper, Town dept of Public Works, Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts, You Name it. No responses ! I have a lot of work to do to rid Schererville of the tremendous amount of spam. I just feel so all alone, & really need help.
Thanks Again for everyone's comments.

>I just feel so all alone, & really need help.
>Thanks Again for everyone's comments.>

Get you a hand full and place them in a heavily spammed out area. You don't have to go overboard. It won't take long to bring in some badly needed help.

Leave the sticked signs up for a few days and then go back and take then down. People do and will take notice.

Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire, especially if you're working by yourself.

Good luck,


GreatWhite-BH (GW)
Texas Chapter - CAUSS

GW

Hey, SignSmasher:

You're not alone! You just don't know it. Sticker a bunch of signs and you'll have sharks joing up right and left! I've seen it happen!

(Check your personal message inbox).

DenverShark

THANK YOU, THANK YOU ! There is a Schererville Shark out there !
Good Job ! Keep up the good work ! Somebody has been sharking besides the over-fed over-worked Smasher. I needed the help!

Cool! Did stickering help?

They seem to be going away out here in the country too. The only real pita has been the signs with the phone number ending in 3619. That SOB uses the BIG signs with the orange plasticap nails.

I've seen these from East Chicago all the way out to where I live in Hebron. Hobart was really plagued with them but the city removed them promptly. I've been at war with this idiot for over a month now. I've had to tear down and deface dozens before he/she got a clue. First they were all the white with black lettering Loose Weight Now signs. Then they went to the same sign but home made with magic marker. Then came the large yellow Work At Home Signs with the same number. I painted out the number on the one sign near my house and a few days later the moron plasters a yellow sign right over it. Razor knifed that number out on my way to work...it never saw the light of day. That's the one and only sign still in my area, I leave it hanging there as a warning.

Is there any way that you can get a digital photo of these signs and email them to newbie?
If so, please document the date and time in addition to the exact location in the city or town.

If these are Herbalife signs, which they sound like, then we can forward the complaints directly to Herbalife and actions will be taken.

Simply removing the signs will likely not have any effect since they've gone to the Marks-A-Lot type signs. A stiff fine and reprimand from Herbalife will have a lasting effect if not eliminate the problem altogether.


GreatWhite-BH (GW)
Texas Chapter - CAUSS

GW

Simply removing the signs will likely not have any effect since they've gone to the Marks-A-Lot type signs.
>
Don't be so sure about this - at least one of the sign printers advertised a model that LOOKED like it was hand-written with a Magic Marker. These signs are likely printed, not hand-done.

Redstone