It has recently come to our attention that somebody is communicating using our name without our permission and without our knowledge.
PLEASE NOTE: The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is located in Alexandria, VA. Our phone numbers are prefixed by the (703) area code. Our email addresses end in @curemeso.org. We DO NOT ever use any generic email address such as gmail or yahoo. If you have received communications from the Foundation that don’t fit these criteria, please contact us immediately at [email protected] or by calling (703) 879-3822.
Recently, we were contacted by an organization who claimed to have received an email from us. Specifically, they claimed the email was from Beth Posocco, the Meso Foundation’s communications associate. However, Beth never sent such an email.
The e-mail in question was sent from sender “Beth Posocco” at the e-mail address [email protected]. The e-mail read as follows:
[Name Redacted],
While recently collecting research and support information for my step-father’s mesothelioma diagnosis, I came across your website. Under the “Related Organizations” Resource Links page you link to two 3rd party mesothelioma websites.
Well, I visited these links shortly after seeing your recommendation and was APPALLED to learn they were sponsored by a law firm. What’s worse is that I did not realize this until AFTER filling out a form offering a free EBook and being bombarded with phone calls and emails pressuring me into legal meetings to pursue an asbestos claim.
I truly hope the inclusion of these victim chasing resources on your website was an oversight and only hope my email protects others from being deceived by these types of lead generation fronts. Please do consider removing these websites from your resource area considering their misalignment with your core value of integrity.
Best,
Beth
It is unclear who is using Beth’s name to send such e-mails, but we believe they are trying to misrepresent the Meso Foundation to fulfil their own agenda. Online, mesothelioma is a competitive keyword. Countless law firms are seeking to represent mesothelioma patients and they often purchase referrals from websites that appear to be nonprofit organizations helping patients. In reality, these websites are not charities but for-profit companies that make millions of dollars from such patient referrals to law firms. To be successful, they must compete for web traffic, so in an attempt to rise to the top of Google’s search engine results, they are actively working to undermine other similar websites.
But this time, instead of using their own name to do so, which would risk their good standing with law firms that purchase referrals from them, they are instead using the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation – the only charity, non-profit organization working on behalf of patients to develop effective treatments against mesothelioma and end the senseless suffering of families affected by this cancer. (Charity Navigator and other third-party charity evaluators have consistently given the Meso Foundation top grades.)
This last incident follows a similar one that occurred a few months ago when somebody made calls to law firms while misrepresenting themselves as a Meso Foundation employee based in the New York office of the Meso Foundation. Please remember that the Meso Foundation does not have any offices in New York, or anywhere else other than Alexandria, Virginia. Our office address is 1317 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.
As a non-profit that relies solely on donations to accomplish our mission, we are incredibly disappointed and disheartened by these tactics.
