Potential scam

Wow!!! I would NEVER give out my SS to anyone that I didn't know. Thanks for letting people know what has been going on.. Cathy:)

I was contacted by Brian at Maxwell Productions via e-mail to aid me in my search for my birth parents. I was leary from the get go and asked to speak to someone directly, no one called. I then got another e-mail asking me to fill out an application and some one would get back to me. I did just that, but was very careful not to give my address or home #. THANK GOODNESS... Brian contacted me and began to ask me several question, telling me that I had more information than most did, which is BS, cause I have nothing. He also asked me to fax my birth certificate and send- via e-mail- a picture of myself, when I mentioned that I did not have a way to do so, he asked if someone at work had a scanner, saying that it had to be digital. He did talk in terms that would only be understood by someone who is affected by adoption and searching. He "asked" someone a question I had, but I heard no one in the background and the "person" was on just about to leave a voicemail for someone, then Brian changed the subject. Long story short, I work for a credit card processing company and have learned to be leary of anything that contacts you via e-mail. I asked one of our "P.I.'s" to pull up any information on Maxwell Production. NOTHING, nothing but numerous e-mail account under different domains. Every number you call goes straight to voicemail, even better, they are not land lines. No website, no record of business, no record of even being at the address they gave. With a copy of my birth certificate and a picture of me, THESE PEOPLE COULD STEEL MY IDENTITY, THEY CAN OBTAIN A SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, A DRIVERS LICENSE, THEY COULD WORK UNDER MY INFORMATION AND I WOULD HAVE NO IDEAD UNTIL TAX TIME. This is a warning... I am sick to my stomache that someone like this would take advantage of people who are just looking for some help.

I got this in my e-mail (below) a couple of weeks ago and did not trust it from the get go. I was gonna contact the BBB of diferent states but I found this forum instead and got my answer. Everyone needs to be very careful and be on the look out for people like these scums. God Bless Everyone!! Kim Maxwell Productions is currently in the initial stages of putting together a reunion show. Maxwell Productions is a TV production company known for producing shows such as LA DETECTIVES, PERFECT CRIME, PAROLE BOARD and HYPE AND GLORY to name a few, which have aired on Networks such as A&E, DISCOVERY, MSNBC and THE HISTORY CHANNEL. We were able to seek out your email address through an online adoption registry. We are eagerly seeking those searching for their lost loved ones. If you are an adoptee searching for your birth family or a birth parent who gave a child up for adoption or youre searching for your sibling and would like to reunite, our TV show may help at NO COST to you! Producers are looking for individuals who are willing to share their personal stories. Please feel free to respond to us via email or you can call us toll free @ [EDITED] Please feel free to contact us with any questions! Best of luck in your journey! Warmest regards, Maxwell Productions

Though claims have been made to myself otherwise... the website for maxwell productions has only been purchased within the past few weeks. RECOMMENDATION TO MAXWELL PRODUCTIONS--- if you would like your production company to work, don't be a skip tracer too. Stick to producing. Work with a reputable, established company with an already existing foundation of trust and have THEM do the locating... make sure to plug them a lot during your series to make it worth their while. Otherwise, no one should be giving you their personal info. If you are a real company with good intentions, you should heed this advise!

I must be paranoid... I won't even give out my phone number to the people at Toys'R'Us!!!

My father, who is searching for his adopted twin sister's, was contaced by Maxwell Productions. I looked into them. They seem legitimate. Of course you should always be careful of giving out too much information about yourself, but they are simply trying to create a new reality tv show. If anyone out there knows anything about Reality TV or talk shows, you know it's hard to find the lead stories. My brother did this for a long time with several talk shows and I also have a friend in Production for 20/20. The production company hires people to seek out and screen for the show they are considering. if they find the right people, they go forward. This could mean, they are looking for certain types of people. Attractive, successful, married with their own children or who knows. All I know is that they request the personal info to do a background check on you to be sure you are someone they want on their show. Anyway, we are sending them our info. I'll keep you informed and updated. They have produced several other shows on tv.

Sounds suspicious to me, but even if it were a "legitimate" reality TV show, I wouldn't want to participate. As the previous poster pointed out, they're looking for "types" to fit their format. IMO that rules out honest stories of real people.

jstrober- If you don't mind me asking... where and what did you find on this company... I work for a company that does background checks on businesses and people. I had the three people who are awesome at doing this and have been doing this their entire life look into them and could not find anything... And the previous shows they mention... on Discover, A & E and History... Couldn't find a record of those either... Just wondering what u came up with?

Hello, Sorry it took a while to get back to you. As I mentioned before, I have friends and family in the entertainment business. Both actors and in production. Several of them have heard of the company. I asked Danny at Maxwell Productions for their website. He was happy to give it to me. By the way, they did not ask us for Social Security numbers or any personal information other than our story about the missing family members we are in search of. They have been rather understanding and cooperative. We hope they will find my family. Just so everyone knows, they are creating a reality tv show based on reuniting families with adopted family members. The premier show, which they are working on now, is concentrating on special circumstances envolving twins. I have twin aunts that were adopted and we have been loking for them for several years. Please feel free to reply with more questions. I would be happy to help.

stacy...im paranoid too.....lol..i never give out any info. i remember buying a fish at a peco and they wanted my phone number...i said "no, no reason why you should call me" she looked at me with horror, and said "we wont call, its just for our records"....i said "records?...records for what? that i bought a 1.99 goldfish?"...... she said, "its just our policy sir"..... i said "well, its my policy that i dont give out my number" so i took my baggy of water, and said "c'mon nimo, were out of here!!!" so yea, im with you.....im paranoid also. dadfor2

#1, if I were to feel that I wished to be reunited on TV (which I do not) I would be the one who did the "SEEKING" of the company and program. #2, I do not appreciate anyone or any company SEEKING me out or my email address off an online adoption registry, that is not what I am here for and to me it sounds like a bogus scam, I am convinced it is and no one will convince me otherwise. K

I was just reading this thread, and I don't trust it either. If I were making a show like that, I would post to the group, asking for volunteers, and stating the types of people I was looking for. (IE - twins...) I wouldn't harvest a bunch of email addresses blind and THEN begin weeding with cold emails. Just my 2 cents. Mary

They have contacted me and I really believed it was legit but now I'm worried. Now like the other person said they have not asked for my SS# but they did ask for my b certificate. I have talked to someone personally (Nina) and she seems great. Always eager to help or answer any questions that I have. She also urges me to feel free to call her or just check in at any time on the situation. I guess I could be just too trusting but I didn't feel threatened by the situation. The main thing I was really worried about was how unpersonal it would be if I did meet my bfamily on TV. If any more facts come up keep me informed cause although I ain't got nothing I don't like to get screwed!! Especially not in a situation where I have so many mixed emotions and fears already. I'll definatly keep my eyes open from now on!! Thanks, Courtney:cool:

Ok it's like this. I just talked to the lady from Maxwell Productions who has been over my case. Since speaking to her my doubts are removed. They are legit - they have to be. It's like this not once have they asked for my mother's maiden name(amom), for a SS#, or any other personal info about me. The only questions have been what info do I have on my bfamily(which isn't much and my life now is in no way connected). If by chance they were trying to scam people or steal identity or something like that, they would have ran away from me from jump street!!!!! I'm on the verge of bankrupt and I don't own nothing and I even have a (small) criminal record!!!! So what could they possibly gain from me?? My rep has stayed in contact with me by phone and by e-mail for any ?'s that I might have. Dealing with them has actually been on a personal level. And like I said they have absolutly NOTHING to gain by dealing with me!!!!! It hasn't cost me a dime to do this and that's really all I can say. This is only my point of view and if anyone has something else that I need to know please tell me. But as for now this is where I stand on this situation.:cool: Later, Courtney

One question ~ If they are so legit, then surely they have filming, wrap and air dates. Has anyone been informed of any of these dates? Seems they have been criusing the adopton forum for several months now. My ex is a production accountant for some of the major production companies. He laughed at the way this outfit is doing "business"...soliciting individuals on an internet adoption site. If they are truly legit, a very small ad in a syndicated newspaper would bring in more stories than they could ever use. Sounds more like the "Blair Witch Project" to me. ~Deb