December 26, 2009 11:50 PM
My Gene Profile - marketing scam
I actually couldn't believe it when these people contacted me in November to see if I would be interested in joining their marketing scheme directed at parents: a genetic test which would - at considerable cost - lay out on paper the talents and aptitudes of their children based on DNA samples.
At first I thought it was some kind of hoax - like website for The Godsend Institute, which promised hope to parents who'd lost children by offering to clone a replica for them - then turned out to be a promotion for a clunker movie.
.
All I could think of when I saw this was how ridiculously deterministic it was. And what kind of parents would it appeal to? Would people shell out this kind of money? And how disappointed would they be with a child who did not live up to the DNA report?
They've sent me a couple follow-ups, promising big bucks if I can bring in some clients:
Did you receive an exclusive invitation email which I sent to you previously?I came across your website the other day & I am very impressed by it. So I decided to contact you.
I am from My Gene Profile, specializing in DNA & Genetic Test for Parenting/Child Grooming industry.
This is the world's fastest growing industry which is highly praised by our President, Barack Obama.
You can watch the video where Barack Obama commenting on this industry here >>
http://www.mygeneprofile.com/vip
This is from the website:
Make Biggest Commission Paycheck by Riding On World's Fastest Growing Industry: DNA & Genetic Market!Dear Friends,
HERE'S WHY I'M SHARING THIS WITH YOU:
The parenting & children development is a WHITE HOT industry. According to official statistic, customers are willing to spend Hundreds of Thousands dollar to groom their children. Now I am offering a scientific way to identify a child's Inborn Talent with extremely low investment. A technology resulted from the greatest human achievement in modern science - Human Genome Project.
Initial Offer:
Inborn Talent Genetic Test: $1397
Your Commission: $200 per sale
(When parents sign up for 5 Inborn Talent Genetic Test for the whole family in a single order, you are getting $200 x 5,
which is $1000 commission per transaction)1st Upsell:
Professional Test Report Consultation: $297
Your Additional Commission: Extra $40 per sale2nd Upsell:
Disease Susceptibility Genetic Test: $1897
Your Additional Commission: Extra $200 per sale
(When parents sign up for 5 Disease Susceptibility Genetic Test for the whole family in a single order, you are getting $200 x 5,
which is ADDITIONAL $1000 commission per transaction)Read it all here.
So, no, it's not a joke - at least to the people who've cooked up this scheme. They really want to sell parents these DNA reports.
From Scienceblogs: My Gene Profile: the lamest genetic testing scam on the internet?
Posted in Complaint Department | Permalink
