EEVBlog2: Peter Popoff Religious Mailbag Scam - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 05:32:28 pm
content: I noticed this in my subscriptions:Pretty amusing rantI'd advise seeing the full video that was a reaction to this kind of crap:It's pretty hilarious.

author: gnavigator1007
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 05:58:13 pm
content: That was amazing! I ended up checking out ourladyofperpetualexemption.com too

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 06:33:23 pm
content: Mailing done by a bulk mailer, using a second set of mail assemblers "Work from home, earn $$$ for only a few minutes a day", who spend the entire day simply collating the printed mailers and stuffing envelopes. Paid around 3c per filled envelope. Then the filled envelopes are sent using a bulk mailer, so the actual price paid for postage is likely less than the franked amount.As to the personalisation, you will find the non black text is preprinted, with a lot of the boilerplate print as well, only the sections with a personalised part will be laser printed. Then the full sheet of paper is split on the perforations ( so you can print the entire thing in a large commercial laser, likely using a continuous sheet of prepunched and roll printed paper) and stuffed into the envelopes.The return address is the local associate who gets the mail, and then fills in the results for the second round of mailing. Then they will do it again with a more directed approach so as to get a small donation out of you ( then a larger one of course, gotta pay for the drop office and the local guys) to pay for this operation.As to how they got your address, it was done with a web crawler looking for physical addresses off websites and social media.

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 07:07:14 pm
content: Those USA Postmarks are just as legit as the personalised handwriting within. Surprised you would be fooled by that, Dave. No way would Popoff blow all that filthy lucre on genuine mailings when he can just pop off loads of mail using the local postal services bulk junk mail options. (Sadly Royal Mail in the UK is doing this shit now it is privatised).Co-incidentally I was amazed to see the huckster alive and well on my dear old mums TV just last night. She likes to watch The Horror Channel and was complaining to me about this rubbish that was on instead of the usual gore and slasher flicks she loves to watch at bedtime. Sure enough, a true horror was on with what seemed an hour long infomercial, Peter Popoff himself!

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 07:11:14 pm
content: Video 1: Weirdest mailbag everVideo 2: You should really register eevblog as a church

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 07:12:10 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on June 01, 2016, 06:33:23 pmActually no, I phoned up during the infomercial and gave Daves addressWhat a minute... The infomercial was last night! How did Popoff know in advance that I was going to recommend Dave?Maybe he is omniscient after all? Or can at least time travel?That's it. I bet he has enough money for a Delorean. He got my call last night, set the date back a few weeks and mailed Dave personally. I knew it. Randi is the fraud, not Popoff!

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 08:32:58 pm
content: There is an Irish charlatan called Tony Quinn who is much more on Dave's wavelength. He has been on the go in one form or another for the last 40 years. He does not peddle religion, but instead focuses on health and fitness, roughly following the Scientology system. His most devoted followers run his chain of gyms and health food shops etc. The type which sell protein products, AKA Industrial waste by-products from breweries. But if you don't have the money for one of his franchises you visit him for a seminar on his Caribbean Island for 20K. You can read what he has to say for himself here:http://www.tonyquinn.com/and the Irish cult tracking website has a large section dedicated to him:https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/archive/tony-quinn-educo/

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 09:29:20 pm
content: Love the style of all that blue ink, etc. Really good design.(And I want my own fleeces...!)Edit: You can sign up for your own Peter Popoff crap on this page:http://peterpopoff.org/prayer-request-form/

author: imidis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2016, 08:26:13 pm
content: I'm not sure why... My wife doesn't enjoy your normal blog videos, but she did enjoy this one.

author: philh
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 02, 2016, 10:50:01 pm
content: I think this video sums it all up

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 03, 2016, 12:12:12 am
content: Quote from: Macbeth on June 01, 2016, 07:07:14 pmSo you are saying he's faking the postmark from Pitney Bowes?Got any evidence he didn't pay $2.13 to post it?Pitney Bowes is exactly the mass mailing you'd use to do a bulk mailing like this, and if it is them (i.e not fake) then it's a safe bet that postmark is genuine and likely what it cost him.QuoteNo evidence at all it was posted locally. All evidence to the contrary.

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2016, 10:29:57 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 03, 2016, 12:12:12 amI owe you an apology Dave. I'm so used to crap junkmail with fake postmarks and the same personalised contents that I just assumed the postmark was fake pretending to be USPS.I've only ever associated Pitney Bowes with scams like ebays GSP. It turns out they actually have genuine international postage franking, something I naively thought was for the "proper" post offices like United States Postal Service (not UPS).The frank would appear to be type M9 fromhttps://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/International_Postage_Meter_Stamp_Catalog/United_States_of_America,_Part_2Well I've learned something new!Also, I really don't think Popoff would risk all that money on purely random mass mailing fishing expeditions. Clearly you are on one of the "premium" mailing lists these scammers sell to each other as additional income streams. The ones that herbalist, homeopathic, religious, voodoo, or astrological peddlers will sell on.Worse yet are those that have scammed an OAP out of their life savings, but notice they still have the old family home that is up for grabs... I bet they sell those addresses on to the likes of Popoff for a very pretty penny.(I never listed you on Popoffs list by the way - I did that with the Audiophool directory instead)

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2016, 10:53:11 pm
content: Quote from: philh on June 02, 2016, 10:50:01 pmIndeed, but the original and best was a piss take of "Most Haunted" with (my local) charlatan Derek Acorah, and the ex Blue Peter BBC childrens show presenter Yvette Fielding. This is from the early days of youtube.Most FartedThat really used to get proper ROFL belly laughs back in the day!

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 08, 2016, 12:48:57 am
content: Wow, they occupy two floors in Darling Park?! Rent there is far from cheap! They must have many suckers.