I was just watching MSNBC, and saw a very well done and scary ad about Y2K. Lots of shots of lights going out, planes being lost, no water, no phones, no banking. At the end was a message to call 1-800-REDALERT.

Did anyone else see this ad, and does anyone know who is behind this? I am assuming for the moment that it is an effort to make money from the impending crisis. However, it is a heads up to all of us to work harder at getting all our chores done before the panic se

-- Jackie Joy (jacquej@netsync.net), December 02, 1998

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Well Jackie? Did you call the number?

-- Roberta Blackard (roblackard@juno.com), December 02, 1998.

Yup. Took several tries before I got through the busy signal. The operator wanted my name for someone to call me back. At that point I hung up. Not gonna give my name to some voice when I don't know who is behind the organization. Just a tad paranoid, I gu

-- Jackie Joy (jacquej@netsync.net), December 02, 1998.

Fascinating--- probably, like you said, they want to sell something, OR, somebody has commissioned some statistical sampling to see how sensitive Americans are to Y2K. At any rate, you're right, here comes the panic. Hopefully at Christmas, 50 millions new GIs will be discussing preparation with their immediate and extended families.

I can't wait to know the details of this development! Good catch, Jacque!

-- Lisa (wow@huh.com), December 02, 1998.

This is probably of no real interest, but I am worried about scam artists trying to fleece the sheeple... after my husband came home, we dialed the number again... the phone is answered by some outfit called "goodday enterprises", (said real fast, so you have to ask them to repeat it), and they say that they need your name and phone#...

When you ask if they are selling something, they say that they are just taking calls for a company and someone will get back to you. As I said, I'm a suspicious sort, and decided that something seemed odd.

Think I should call the Feds and have the white crime folks check thi

-- Jackie Joy (jacquej@netsync.net), December 02, 1998.

You'll get a quicker response from your local phone company, Bell South isn't it? Describe the situation to the customer service rep.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), December 02, 1998.

It would be wise to beware "800" numbers if you do not know who you are calling and have concerns about "whoever" having your telephone number. Hanging up or refusing to give your number may not be enough. Even if you pay for "Caller ID" services you are not safe. Neither Selective nor Complete Call Blocking will stop your number from being delivered on a toll-free 800 or 888 call. Those calls are exempt from blocking in all 50 states--thus your number is delivered to any 800 or 888 call where the called party subscribes to the 800/888 number delivery service (known as "ANI" which I believe stands for Automatic Number Identification). The same holds true for 900/976 calls.

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), December 02, 1998.

But what are they selling? Why are they spending money on TV spots? Whatever they're doing, they either underestimated the response (which would be presumably why the answering service is their backup) or their "operators standing by" are pretending to be an answering service employees.

At any rate, we can count this enterprise as being a sheep-shaker, which is a good thing.

But what really gets me is shouldn't we expect the panic-control groups (govt, banks, etc) to demand that they cease & desist?

Is there any way I could get advertising salespeople at MSNBC to profile this company, you think?

-- Lisa (nomail@work.com), December 03, 1998.

This'll be the next trend I suppose using y2k fear to sell something, like bags of rice, cans of beans....

-- Richard Dale (rdale@figroup.co.uk), December 03, 1998.

Well, came back from an appointment, turned on MSNBC at 12:24 PM today (Thursday, 11/04) and saw the same ad. At the very end today I heard a statement that one should call for info on attending a "seminar"...

Strange...

Is it possible that we have more to fear from fear-mongers than from Y2K itself? Just wonderin

-- Jackie Joy (jacquej@netsync.net), December 03, 1998.

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