How to Avoid B2B List Scams

B2B List Scams - Don't Get Ripped Off

As the point person for list development and procurement at TSL, I often get forwarded emails with questions about the potential reliability of various list sources.  I encourage the TSL team and our clients to ask themselves a few simple questions when they receive these unsolicited communications. 

1. Does the company in question have a website?
2. Is the email address the same as any company URL that might be listed?
3. Does the company have a social media feed?
4. Do they have a physical location?
5. Do they have a Better Business Bureau Rating?
6. Does their phone number come up with any SPAM/Scam results in search?
7. Can you find the sales person at that company on LinkedIn?

Usually the answer to all of these questions is “no.”  I encourage our clients to be wary of unsolicited emails that elicit an answer of “no” to any of the above questions, let alone all of them. 

Personally, I don’t do business with list vendors who don’t have social media feeds that allow their clients to give feedback on products and services. Legitimate list brokers will have real addresses with actual physical offices, legitimate looking websites, and employees that you can find on LinkedIn. 

A couple of great resources for finding out more about these scams are the Spamhaus ROSKO (Register Of Known Spam Operations) and even better B2BBL’s Scam and Spam Domain list.

These unsolicited emails are the Nigerian 419 Scam of B2B Marketing.  Make sure to always run a spot check on any list vendors you come across before you get burned.   

Have you been burned before by a SCAM B2B list provider?  Let us know about it in the comments so that we can share information on these scam sites with the community.  Have a question about a vendor that you’re looking into?  Reach out to us and we’ll take a look at them.