WOT - Web of Terror

This article has been edited to fit my evolving understanding of the WOT scam.

Ostensibly WOT has a good purpose, and looks very respectable on the surface. However, in practice they are nothing more than a digital extortion racket. Wot's trolls attack a sites reputation with lies and slander, sending the owner on an stressful, time consuming, expensive quest to validate their site.

I am posting this here, because initially when I wrote WOT they directed me to their forum. The forum is a place where obnoxious, accusatory trolls attack your personal dignity, slander your character, and belittle your efforts to express the truth. Whatever I posted there kept getting deleted by their staff, so they simply wasted my time with aggravating nonsense.

After complaining repeatedly about lies and slander posted against this network, I was banned. This is typical of WOT, and this same experience is reported by thousands of others.

Google WOT SCAM and you will find plenty of evidence for their slanderous, libel, unconscionable defamation of legitimate sites. For example:

https://www.facebook.com/Anti.W0T

http://complaintwire.org/complaint/d6wBAAAAAAA/wot-web-of-trust_

http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/Web-of-Trust.aspx

One of Indie Gospel's members, initially supported WOT financially, and trusted their rating system. They ended up having one of their own sites attacked. It was a Christian site with all text, and no links, but it was maligned as advertising and linking to bad sites. The slanderous attack had no basis in reality, and did not even attempt to look plausible. The same baseless accusation was made against an orphanage we host, which also did not have any ads on it.

This same site owner (a trusted member here), told me WOT was attacking our network. Sure enough, I checked and every single one of our sites was red lighted. They were scaring people away from us who might have otherwise been saved. This is totally unacceptable, infuriating, malicious, and evil.

I've worked too hard, for too long, with absolute integrity, to let such a thing stand, and I am quite frankly physically and emotionally ill over this.

Indie Gospel Artists is a non-profit Christian social network. We spread the Gospel through music, promote worthy charities, and provide free Christian resources. We do good work all around the world.

We have a screening process which keeps out most would be spammers/scammers. We have admins who police the network, and we have a staff that can rectify any problems pointed out to us. I often punch 16 hour days with no pay (in fact with out of pocket costs) to run this Ministry, so you can imagine my distress at having it maligned.

If a valid problem was detected, pointed out, and we failed to act then and only then would there be grounds for WOT to trash us, or attempt to destroy the trust of our members and visitors. Instead they red lighted us based on lies and slander from biased WOT members.

WOT portrays itself as having a good purpose, but in practice is damaging legitimate sites, and even heroically good clean Christian websites. Why don't they target the hackers and pedophiles instead, and leave the good sites alone? That's easy to answer, there would be no money in that! Wot sells safety seals for over $700 a year.

I initially asked our members to go to WOT to rate us and leave comments. I appreciate the ones who have, but new member ratings are not worth anything in their system. So the members of Indie Gospel Artists who actually use and know this network, who have insider knowledge, and actual experience with the sites agenda and activities are not counted. HOW CONVENIENT.

Not only that, having our members join their system exposes them to the fraud, and feeds the beast. It's another facet of the scam which keeps perpetuating it.

I spent a full month jumping through WOT's hoops and trying to get their staff to delete lies and slander from their members SuperHero58 and Shazza. All of our sites except 2 went from red to green, but instead of banning those two WOT power members, they banned me instead for protesting their malicious, slanderous lies.

WOT has stepped on the wrong toes this time. Coming against this network and it's members, is coming against the Saints of God. It will not be tolerated Psalm 105:15 Do not touch my anointed ones...

I am in the process of gathering evidence and recruiting those who have been unfairly attacked and abused by WOT members. When the time is right, a lawsuit will proceed. WOT is breaking laws protecting against slander and defamation of character. They are ruining legitimate businesses and destroying peoples livelihoods, not to mention damaging Ministries and even orphanages.

Please contact me, if you wish to become involved in this lawsuit and put an end to WOT's tyranny. Our contact details are on our certified online business card at http://indiegospel.info, or simply e-mail below.

Ken Rich
Network Creator
Indie Gospel Artists
indie.gospel@gmail.com

Tags: WOT, criminal, hackers, liable, persecution, ratings, trust

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Comment by James Banfield's Top 20 Songs on May 29, 2012 at 10:03am: check

Creator Comment by Ken Rich on May 29, 2012 at 9:49am: You might as well James, it's just a waste of time to try and reason with them. I tried and failed.

The only thing that will stop them is some type of big class action lawsuit. Checking around, it's easy to find many people and businesses with the same idea, but it needs to be organized by a legal expert.

So far, we don't have a legal advisor on staff. However, I have no doubt God will provide who and what we need when the time is right. Probably in a way (like usual), that I didn't see coming, and would not have thought likely (or perhaps even possible) - lol.

Comment by James Banfield's Top 20 Songs on May 29, 2012 at 9:34am: I terminated my link with them... closed my account

Creator Comment by Ken Rich on May 29, 2012 at 8:47am

I complained about the lies and slander so they banned me and left the slanderers free to attack with impunity.

For instance, this (below) is now posted against the Owendo orphange owendo.org which doesn't have even one single solitary ad on it - let alone point for click ads or paid referrals.

They actually use blatant lies to scare people away from donating to an orphanage, and they don't care if the children starve. WOT is sick and evil.

SuperHero58 05/18/2012
Ethical issues

Unethical activities that manipulates traffic by buying "customers ". redirect links
"250 points for every solo ad click "

"$.25 for every paid referral "
Are among the many FALSE promotion of sites or downgrading sites in the net = "

Comment by Zack Martin on May 29, 2012 at 5:24am: I never joined them & I'm sorry Indie & God's Media Army did. We will make our reputation be our deeds & works for the Lord. When God is for us who can be against us. I have failed Him, but He has NEVER failed me. I am giving this to him & trusting Him for the answer. God bless you Brother.

Comment by James Banfield's Top 20 Songs on May 29, 2012 at 4:34am: people have tried and spent lot of money and got nowhere because they are based out of Finland. So they just go around and destroy sites .. you know they say its fun to destroy one's life's work... oh what a joy it is to do that kind of stuff..you know/? besidesd they are of satan and I am not really in the mood to put up with them right now.. I withdrew from their organization... I hope that rest of their membership sees the light... oh well

Comment by Zack Martin on May 29, 2012 at 4:01am: WOW James, can WOT be reported for this? It seems they are attacking Christian sights.

Comment by James Banfield's Top 20 Songs on May 29, 2012 at 3:25am: Let me explain something to you all ... two years ago we had a rash of sites that were up and up only to find out that they had virus' embedded into the stuff that was on their site. Good sites. Then I heard abot WOT from a christian outfit... they said that they have a rating system that warns you of that stuff. So I joined. Two Years ago. so for a year and half every time I got one of those "WOT WARNING Signs.. I would not go there.. no matter what it was. And some were Christian sites too! Now If they targeted Christians to sign up so that they could build a reptutation of "cleaning house" it looked like they were doing that. But then trouble happened. A Freind of mine got rated.. then his site showed a symbol that said his site was good... so ok... then Ken got hit.. and I told him... I wrote some bad stuff against them for what they were doing. I did not reate them in any favorable light. two weeks after they hit Ken they hit me.

My site was built by me, using regular OpenOffice html. .using simple text some tables and a couple of pictures. .. nothing fancy.. no ads of any kind for any other business, ministry or whatever. There was so much trouble from links that I just eliminated them all about 5 years ago. and made the site plain and simple.

So when I got the WOT Warning on my site, I Knew then, it was something other than not having a clean site. Then I happen to read about their Symbol program, they would issue you a symbol that says you are a clean site according to their judgement. For a price. And that they had a few different levels of symbols that we could purchase.. It was the ol' Shake down Mob tactics. NO, actually it is nothing more than Extortion. You buy their little ID sticker that says you are clean and they wont bother you and leave you alone. The Old Protection Rackett... So What we have here is a website that goes after Christian websites and others to entice them to join so that they wont have any problems with hackers, or trolls or Warnings against their sites...

Then they got them... and when they ready .. up come the Warning Signs and no one can see the site legitimately... thereby damaging reputations, Trust, and years of maintaining a good clean website on your own (In this case 10 years). only to have it put on the chopping block of "someone's opinion" that you aint to be trusted.. A Christian Website? That knows what Trust is all about. Come on, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is a pure attack on Christians by these trolls, and ... here is the kicker.. They, by their management of WOT not doing anything about these two trolls, endorse what they are doing THAT is a crime even in the laws of this country! It's called Collusion, Fraud, and Extortion.

Creator Comment by Ken Rich on May 17, 2012 at 6:37pm

The Owendo orphanage http://owendo.org has been attacked, and is losing it's reputation due to lies and slander from the same WOT members who attacked all of our sites.

This destroys all trust or credibility in the WOT system. It's been weeks into our contact with WOT, and after many complaints registered with their staff, these members are still spreading lies, slander, innuendo, insinuations, and demonstrating malicious intent.

A number of unsavory comments by them were removed, but the members were not banned and their inflammatory lies and slander continue (just in a less obtuse way - to avoid deletion).

The most grievous example is how they are using insinuations to attack our Owendo site for orphans and widows. Needy people may actually go hungry or go without medical treatment.

The Owendo site was deep red (like all of our sites when undefended) then went to the highest green (and was eligible for a safety seal) when I discovered WOT and defended the sites.

However, Owendo is now yellow after the malicious innuendo of the attackers was posted and they rated it down. People who rely on WOT will now be afraid to donate if they land on the Owendo site, and orphans may suffer.

Examples:

SuperHero58 05/12/2012 Ethical issues

Hidden registrar = Links to untrusted sites

-------------------

Ken Rich (Site Owner) 05/14/2012

The hidden registrar comment is simply a bald faced lie - anyone can go to the Whois database and verify our registration for themselves - the link is to the left of this (Wot Scorecard) page.

What links to untrusted sites? What sites? Untrusted by whom?

To undermine trust, and kill support for an organization that feeds widows and orphans is not only unethical, it is just plain evil. Where is the Christian love in that? "

----------------------------------------------------------------

shazza 05/11/2012 Ethical issues

'Charity' website registered to a marketer "

---------------------------

Ken Rich (Site Owner) 05/14/2012

First of all, I do not own this website and it is not registered to me, except as the admin - tech support.

Check the Whois database, the registered owner is a CBO in Uganda that has the backing of 3 levels of government and the Church.

Second of all, I am not a marketeer, I am a Network Creator. Please stop trying to misconstrue my identity - you are being dishonest and you know it.

My admin built this website for them as a donation of his time. I host it for them, as an ongoing donation of my money.

I manage the technical aspects for them, as a further donation of my time because they are technically inept, and based in rural Uganda. The owner of the site doesn't even own a computer or have Internet access. He has to go to a cyber cafe 24 km away just to get his e-mails.

Instead of using lies to attack widows and orphans, why don't you try helping them instead? What you are doing, is not just unethical, it's evil, if not illegal.

SuperHero58 05/18/2012
Ethical issues

Unethical activities that manipulates traffic by buying "customers ". redirect links
"250 points for every solo ad click "

"$.25 for every paid referral "
Are among the many FALSE promotion of sites or downgrading sites in the net = "

This is one I can't even respond to since it was added after I was banned. It is a outrageous bald faced lie. It doesn't even try to sound reasonable, as the things this person are accusing the site of, do not exist on the site in any way, shape, or form, as anyone can see for themselves. It is lies and slander directed against a registered CBO that feeds orphans and widows. It's totally repugnant, evil, and vicious.

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Interestingly enough, this site below is loaded with complaints against WOT from various site owners, and the question Web of Terror or Web of Trust has a definitive answer.

http://complaintwire.org/complaint/d6wBAAAAAAA/wot-web-of-trust/2#p...

Also, this is a Rip-Off Report Website which exposes Wot as a Scam.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/WOT-Services.aspx