Hello, I'm new and just found this site. Im please to find others that hate these signs. It started for me about a year ago when someone was placing wooden signs around the RTP area advertising services. I tore them out and they got replaced a few days later! I've been keeping up with this guy continuing to take them. I had collected 12 at one time but they work good for fires. He's spread out from RTP some but I havent seen any lately. I think he's getting more random with planting them since I will take them. I also take down the plastic signs as well. I note the website address on signs and get contact information from WWW.SAMSPADE.ORG and usually send an email to the domain owner telling them of the scam and that I take their signs. no replies yet. The domains are all owned by local people which is to be expected. I've noticed the sites are all but identical to others, even including the wording! I remove and destroy the signs since leaving just a part of it bothers me. I have though of painting SCAM on the signs to warn others too. I'm getting bolder about taking the signs during the day now because I believe it's the right thing to do. I use a wooden mop pole to knock signs down with or I use the wooden signs I take to knock others down when I have it. For tie wrap ones, I just twist until they break. One cold night I whacked a plastic sign with a wooden sign I took and it sounded like a gun when the sign cracked in half! I'd love to hear from others that tear down signs in my area. you can send email to a throwaway account on aol. thistime@aol.com

Welcome to CAUSS, and thanks for helping keep America clean.

Check into the North Carolina forum; there's at least one active shark in your state, and we've found that communication and cooperation helps a lot in a given area.

And don't be shy about ripping down signs during the day. Just go to your State website (www.state.nc.us) and search for the law that makes them illegal (I'm sure there is one).

Print and carry a copy of this in case any police officers stop to talk to you and are unaware that the signs are illegal. sharking during the day also inspires passersby to rip some signs themselves; a lot of people are unaware that it's OK to do so.

Have fun.

Redstone

>Hello, I'm new and just found this site. Im please to
>find others that hate these signs. It started for me
>about a year ago when someone was placing wooden signs
>around the RTP area advertising services. I tore them out
>and they got replaced a few days later! I've been
>keeping up with this guy continuing to take them. I
>had collected 12 at one time but they work good
>for fires. He's spread out from RTP some but I
>havent seen any lately. I think he's getting more random
>with planting them since I will take them.

Welcome aboard! The key to effectively keeping the signs down is to have multiple people covering different areas, so that when these people put up their trash, someone somewhere will see it soon. In big metro areas, its tough for one person to keep track of the entire area- although I do get around, I might not go through some areas often enough to insure that these signs stay up only the bare minimum of time.

What is the name/url of this particular sign?

> I also take down the plastic signs as well. I note the
>website address on signs and get contact information from WWW.SAMSPADE.ORG
>and usually send an email to the domain owner telling
>them of the scam and that I take their signs.
>no replies yet. The domains are all owned by local
>people which is to be expected.

I think that the domain owners know full well whats going on-- in many cases, I think its the same people as the ones putting out the signs. I've tried going the next step- trace the website to their upstream service providers, and letting them know that the website is part of a scheme involving illegal activity. So far, I haven't had good enough results from that to justify the effort. But, what I have done, when the WHOIS lookup points directly to a person's name and address in the local area, is to print out the info, and take it, along with a sample sign, to the local police department and/or zoning department in towns that still have that sign hanging somewhere. That has resulted in some personal attention. Also, since they're soliciting communication with these signs, I leave messages on their 800-number- use a payphone, which not only can't be traced, but costs them an extra 30 cents per call.

I've noticed the sites
>are all but identical to
>others, even including the wording!

They're all part of the same work-at-home scam. The only "customers" here are the suckers who respond to the ads to start their own "business"- and that webpage is the "product".

>I remove and destroy the signs since leaving just a
>part of it bothers me.

Me too- I favor complete and total removal. And, time/traffic permitting, I also take a few of the more dangerous nails and other junk on the poles.

>I have though of painting SCAM on the signs to
>warn others too. I'm getting bolder about taking the signs
>during the day now because I believe it's the right
>thing to do.

My experience with police has indicated that as long as you're not blocking traffic, you can do it with total impunity. I do it now in broad daylight, in front of rows of cars, with everyone watching. I've done it with police watching.

Also see my mesasge on the NC forum.

>>Hello, I'm new and just found this site. Im please to
>>find others that hate these signs. It started for me
>>about a year ago when someone was placing wooden signs
>>around the RTP area advertising services. I tore them out
>>and they got replaced a few days later! I've been
>>keeping up with this guy continuing to take them. I
>>had collected 12 at one time but they work good
>>for fires. He's spread out from RTP some but I
>>havent seen any lately. I think he's getting more random
>>with planting them since I will take them.
>
>Welcome aboard! The key to
>effectively keeping the signs down
>is to have multiple people
>covering different areas, so that
>when these people put up
>their trash, someone somewhere will
>see it soon. In
>big metro areas, its tough
>for one person to keep
>track of the entire area-
>although I do get around,
>I might not go through
>some areas often enough to
>insure that these signs stay
>up only the bare minimum
>of time.
>
>What is the name/url of this
>particular sign?
>
The one I particularly hate says EASY MONEY HOTLINE 919.319.8810.
Reverse lookup doesnt work for that number. For some reason, I hate that one more than anything. Probably because he keeps putting them out and won't stop. If anyone sees these, LMK and I will personally go and get them. they are painted wood which means time and money goes into making them. good for fires like i said. It's good that it takes the spammers time and money to put em up and only takes us seconds to bring them down.

>The one I particularly hate says EASY MONEY HOTLINE 919.319.8810.
>Reverse lookup doesnt work for that number.

Reverse-lookups and 800 directories rarely locate these numbers. I think thats probably on purpose.

> For some reason, I hate that one more than anything. Probably >because he keeps putting them out and won't
>stop. If anyone sees these, LMK and I will personally
>go and get them. they are painted wood which means
>time and money goes into making them. good for fires
>like i said. It's good that it takes the spammers
>time and money to put em up and only takes
>us seconds to bring them down.

Is this the one I'm thinking of, that uses two phillips-head screws to attach a white-painted board to the stick? If so, I've seen (and taken down) two others- one on Hwy 64 near Zebulon, and another at the Hitching Post bar on US401. Both of these had local numbers. If its the same, this spammer is using *very* dispersed signs, it must be a fair amount of effort to construct them.