Scamming Scammers And The Scams They Love

by
LinkedInCopyPrint

I had a client reach out toward the beginning of 2020 in a bit of a panic saying they were being targeted for a website accessibility lawsuit and word “leaked” from the plaintiff’s legal firm that local businesses could avoid getting caught up in the lawsuit if they used a particular accessibility compliance widget.

After reviewing the widget provider’s documentation, it was clear they knew the plugin wouldn’t bring a user’s site into compliance. They mentioned all of their plugin based solutions were only a “guide” but full compliance would require an organization to pay that business five figures for a “comprehensive solution review.”

As it turns out, this client wasn’t the only one trying to get scammed. UsableNet published a report at the end of 2020 highlighting reasons behind the sharp uptick in website accessibility lawsuits. sure enough, this exact scam is on their list. According to their research, using these empty promise solutions are one of the fastest growing reasons for getting targeted by a compliance lawsuit.

I published an article about this at ArtsHacker yesterday that takes a deeper dive into the report.

Even More Reasons Web Accessibility Should Be On Your Radar

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

View all posts by Drew McManus | Website

LinkedInCopyPrint

Related Posts