<p>Hello all:</p>
<p>It looks like the National Honor Roll is at it again. Please see the item I posted in 2004. Here is the URL: <a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?6/92736%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?6/92736</a></p>
<p>For your convenience, I am reprinting my post:</p>
<p>By Lkirkla (Lkirkla) on Monday, November 01, 2004 - 08:41 pm: Edit </p>
<p>Greetings all: </p>
<p>Let me share with you what I know about the National Honor Roll. The National Honor Roll is a scam organization. They are targeting high school students all across the nation. Last year my daughter received notification. Don't be fooled. Their letterhead is fancy, and they even claim to be located at a prestigious Pennsylvania Avenue address in Washington, DC. The address they use is 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue. However, that is the address for Mail Boxes Etc. If you have any doubts, go to the Mail Boxes, Etc. web site at <a href="http://www.mbe.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.mbe.com/</a> and click on the icon "locate a store globally." The icon is in the upper right hand corner of their web page. I contacted the Mail Boxes, Etc. store in Washington, DC. Here is the full address and telephone number: 2020 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20006-1811 - USA, phone (202) 457-8166. I know for a fact that they rent out a mailbox to National Honor Roll. I have the advantage of working in Washington, DC, so it is easy for me to follow up on a false Washington, DC address. The Mail Boxes, Etc. store is located about 3 blocks from the Farragut West metro stop. This is one of the metro stops that is close to the White House. National Honor Roll claims to be in Suite 8000. There isn't a Suite number at 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue. The number 8000 stands for the mailbox number for National Honor Roll. A courier picks up mail from this mailbox. It could be a different courier every day. </p>
<p>The phone number for "National Honor Roll" is (202)737-0715. It re-routes callers to a New York
telephone number. The address in New York is 300
Merrick Road, Suite 206, Lynbrook, NY 11563. The phone number is 516-593-0555. This is the same address for Student Marketing Group. The state of New York filed a petition against Student Marketing Group on July 8, 2002. Please see the .pdf file at <a href="http://ww.epic.org/privacy/student/smgpetition.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://ww.epic.org/privacy/student/smgpetition.pdf</a> </p>
<p>Student Marketing Group collects information on students and sells lists. Unsuspecting teachers pass out information to students. The students do not know their personal information is being fed back to National Honor Roll and Student Marketing Group. You see, the teachers are also being sucked into this scam. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that National Honor Roll is a vanity press. A vanity press means anyone can publish anything for a fee. Colleges throw away stuff sent to them from the National Honor Roll because it is considered unsolicited junk. They claim your name and profile can be published free in the book, but why would you want them to do this? You do not want to have your personal information on the streets. Call them right away and have your name taken off their list. And while you are at it, ask them why they are scamming the American people. </p>
<p>I encourage all to file a mail fraud complaint against the National Honor Roll. Postal Inspectors base mail fraud investigations on the number, substance and pattern of complaints received from the public. Here is the URL to the Postal Inspector's web page <a href="https://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/welcome.htm%5B/url%5D">https://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/welcome.htm</a> In the lower left-hand portion of the screen is the link to 'File a Mail Fraud Complaint' </p>
<p>So, how do they get students' personal information? Well, they share the same office and survey information with Student Marketing Group in Lynbrook, New York. But, there is a third element involved in this scheme. Student Marketing Group gets their information from Educational Research Center of America, Inc., otherwise known as ERCA. ERCA is the organization that sends the surveys to teachers all across America. Teachers pass these surveys out to their students. Of course, students think these are "safe" surveys because the teachers are passing them out. Teachers collect the surveys and place them in postage-paid envelopes. They mail them back to 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 7799, Washington, DC 20006. Hmmmmmmmmmmm! Does this address sound familiar? Yes! It is the same address as National Honor Roll at Mail Boxes, Etc. on the George Washington University campus. In this case, the 7799 is not a room. It is ERCA's mailbox number. ERCA claims their phone number is (202) 393-7799. The (202) is a Washington, DC area code. E-mail address is <a href="mailto:info@studentresearch.org">info@studentresearch.org</a> I haven't tried the phone number or the e-mail, but I can guess that the phone number re-routes callers to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Please see the Federal Trade Commission report involving Student Marketing Group and Educational Research Center of America at <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/01/ercaconsent.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/01/ercaconsent.htm</a>
Happy reading! By the way, National Honor Roll claims they give away scholarships. Does anyone know if these scholarships exist? Who receives these scholarships? Does Lynn Romeo, the publisher of National Honor Roll, give these scholarships to her nieces? nephews? herself? Please advise. </p>
<p>The people in Lynbrook, New York will tell you that their Headquarters is in Washington, DC. If you ask them anything about the "Headquarters" they will tell you, "well, it is really our processing center." I have talked with Jane, Wendy and Linda in the Lynbrook, NY office. They are all very evasive about the organization. They won't tell you anything about the courier who they hire to pick up the mail. When they get tired of you asking legitimate quesitons, they will transfer you to the voice mail of Lynn Romeo. Of course, Lynn Romeo doesn't return your calls. </p>
<p>Let's stop these people. </p>
<p>Every educator, librarian, parent, congressman,
journalist and anybody else who cares about the safety of our nation's children should be concerned. Please forward this information to everyone you know. </p>
<p>Want to learn more? Please visit the Better Business Bureau web site at <a href="http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?compid=W8000570&national=Y%5B/url%5D">http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?compid=W8000570&national=Y</a> to see the Better Business Bureau Report. </p>
<p>By Lkirkla (Lkirkla) on Monday, November 01, 2004 - 08:47 pm: Edit </p>
<p>Greetings all: </p>
<p>Please excuse by typo in reference to the Student Marketing Group petition. Here is the correct URL: <a href="http://www.epic.org/privacy/student/smgpetition.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.epic.org/privacy/student/smgpetition.pdf</a> </p>
<p>Hope this opens your eyes to this scam organization.</p>
<p>-Kirk</p>