My interest started with this post in the usenet group alt.home.repair. It was written as a customer testimonial, but reeked of shill. A quick look at the headers and a google search confirmed that the post came from Purdy's public relations/marketing firm. Thinking it might be the work of a misguided low-level employee, I sent off a note to the public relations/marketing firm in question, M Force/  Brown & Martin with a cc: to Purdy.

Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 17:43:34 -0500
From: Mike Paulsen <mpaulsen@charter.net>
To: mark@mforce.ws
CC: leslie@mforce.ws, info@purdycorp.com
Subject: Spam from your corporate servers advertising Purdy brushes.

This was their response:

Received: from smtp201.iad.emailsrvr.com ([207.97.245.201])
 by aarpub11.charter.net with ESMTP
 id <20080529131358.HPNG1596.aarpub11.charter.net@smtp201.iad.emailsrvr.com>
 for <mpaulsen@charter.net>; Thu, 29 May 2008 09:13:58 -0400
Received: from relay10.relay.iad.mlsrvr.com (localhost [127.0.0.1])
	by relay10.relay.iad.mlsrvr.com (SMTP Server) with ESMTP id 31CA61B55D9
	for <mpaulsen@charter.net>; Thu, 29 May 2008 09:13:57 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from mforce.ws (webmail9.r5.iad.mlsrvr.com [192.168.1.102])
	by relay10.relay.iad.mlsrvr.com (SMTP Server) with ESMTP id 2DA471B55B4
	for <mpaulsen@charter.net>; Thu, 29 May 2008 09:13:57 -0400 (EDT)
Received: by noteworthy.rackspace.com
 (Authenticated sender: leslie@mforce.ws, from: leslie@mforce.ws) 
 with HTTP; Thu, 29 May 2008 09:13:57 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 09:13:57 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: RE: Spam from your corporate servers advertising Purdy brushes.
From: leslie@mforce.ws
To: "Mike Paulsen" <mpaulsen@charter.net>
Reply-To: leslie@mforce.ws

I can't tell if she's addressing me or Mark Koehneke, President of M Force. Feeling her response was inadequate, I pressed my case.

Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 23:59:00 -0500
From: Mike Paulsen <mpaulsen@charterinternet.com>
Reply-To: mpaulsen@charterinternet.com
To: leslie@mforce.ws, info@purdycorp.com, usenet@norlight.net, 
 abuse@mpiwifi.com
CC: mark@mforce.ws
Subject: Re: Spam from your corporate servers advertising Purdy brushes.


leslie@mforce.ws wrote:
> Mark,
> 
> We'll just remove this group from our list. 

Leslie,

If I understand correctly, you are Leslie Bonk, APR, a Senior Vice President at
M Force/ Brown & Martin and are fully aware that your company is engaged in
a shill marketing campaign on behalf of your client, Purdy Inc., which involves
spamming usenet newsgroups, online message boards, and blog comment areas
with fake customer testimonials promoting Purdy paint brushes and other Purdy
products. 
Furthermore, your response indicates your intent to refrain from spamming a
single usenet group (alt.home.repair) while you continue your deceptive shill
campaign on the rest of your target list.

You are identified on Purdy's website as a media contact for their corporation.
It is clear that you are acting as their agent.
http://purdycorp.com/about_us/media/


The employee posting the shill spam messages identifies herself as Heather. I assume
this person is Heather Goeden, a Brown and Martin Account Executive.

http://bmpr.com/staff.asp

You may be acting in violation of the California's Business & Professions Code § 17200,
which prohibits "unfair or fraudulent business act[s] or practice[s] and unfair, deceptive,
untrue or misleading advertising".
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=17001-18000&file=17200-17210


You appear to be acting in violation of your ISP's AUP, and I'm requesting that they take
appropriate action.

(http://www.norlight.com/policy/acceptable_use.html)

Norlight, please note that the usenet spam samples originated from
66.84.149.2 (mail.bmpr.com), which is on your network.


Purdy, Inc.: M Force/ Brown & Martin is acting as your agent and is conducting
this shill spamming campaign on your behalf. You appear to be in violation of
California's Business & Professions Code § 17200. You appear to be in violation
of your ISP's Terms of Service 
(http://mpiwifi.com/?p=aup) and I'm asking them to take appropriate action.


Mpiwifi: Please note that the spamvertised site, www.purdycorp.com (216.166.140.31),
is on your network.


Here are samples of this shill spamming campaign. Archived copies are available upon request.

===========

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.home.repair/msg/3086ac20071e5498?dmode=source

Path: 
g2news1.google.com!postnews.google.com!e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail
From: heat...@mforce.ws
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair
Subject: Free Painting DVD
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:36:36 -0800 (PST)
Organization: http://groups.google.com
Lines: 17
Message-ID: 
<f0c2615f-b303-41cc-8d4d-48074d26ffe9@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.84.149.2
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Trace: posting.google.com 1198787796 11739 127.0.0.1 (27 Dec 2007 
20:36:36 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com
NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:36:36 +0000 (UTC)
Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com
Injection-Info: e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com; posting-host=66.84.149.2;
	posting-account=pSfCSAoAAAAIDEobyhiGKyb_1_tADHLH
User-Agent: G2/1.0
X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; 
.NET CLR
	1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.30; BMPR;
	BMPR),gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe)

If you plan to paint, you need to send for this FREE DVD from Purdy. I
learned so much from it! For instance, did you know you shouldn't
wipe your brush against the side of the paint can? Just tap it
against sides or you lose too much paint...and painting takes much
longer.

Also, some paint brushes allow you to "cut in" or paint straight along
the edges of trim and baseboards without using tape. You need to use
an angular trim paint brush designed for the purpose.

Plus, if you have been worried about using a roller to paint walls and
large surfaces, this DVD will show you how. It's not difficult and you
can be done in no time compared to using a paint brush.

To get the FREE DVD, go to the Purdy web site at <a
href="www.purdycorp.com/bl">www.purdycorp.com/bl</a>, go to the
Contact Us page, click on the link for a free DVD.

==============


Path: 
be14.lga!hwmnpeer02.lga!hw-filter.lga!hwmnpeer01.lga!hwmnpeer01.ams!news.highwinds-media.com!feed-C.news.volia.net!volia.net!news2.volia.net!feed-A.news.volia.net!postnews.google.com!z66g2000hsc.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail
From: heather@mforce.ws
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair
Subject: A Great Paint Brush!!!
Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 12:55:37 -0700 (PDT)
Organization: http://groups.google.com
Lines: 10
Message-ID: 
<a131c88b-0ac1-4893-90bf-ca168d087f40@z66g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.84.149.2
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
X-Trace: posting.google.com 1212004538 9097 127.0.0.1 (28 May 2008 
19:55:38 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com
NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 19:55:38 +0000 (UTC)
Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com
Injection-Info: z66g2000hsc.googlegroups.com; posting-host=66.84.149.2;
	posting-account=pSfCSAoAAAAIDEobyhiGKyb_1_tADHLH
User-Agent: G2/1.0
X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; 
.NET CLR
	1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.30; BMPR;
	BMPR),gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe)
Xref: Hurricane-Charley alt.home.repair:482578
X-Received-Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 12:55:39 MST (be14.lga)

I just used Purdy=92s Chinex=AE brushes to paint my kitchen and I can=92t
believe how great it looks.

The paint went on the walls smooth, it covered great and clean up was
super easy.

I found out more about the Chinex=AE brushes on the Purdy website at
http://www.purdycorp.com/catalog/series/detail/15/.

You can find out where to buy Purdy products there as well.


================

http://advice.thisoldhouse.com/showthread.php?t=5924
TOH Discussions > PAINTING & FINISHING
heather_paint
Junior Member

Thumbs up A Great Paint Brush!
I just used Purdy’s Chinex® brushes to paint my kitchen and I can’t 
believe how great it looks!!!
The paint went on the walls smooth, it covered great and clean up was 
super easy.
I found out more about the Chinex® brushes on the Purdy website at 
www.purdycorp.com/catalog/series/detail/15/.
You can find out where to buy Purdy products there as well.
Last edited by heather_paint : 05-22-2008 at 12:34 PM.

==============

http://advice.thisoldhouse.com/showthread.php?t=5925
TOH Discussions > TOOLS & PRODUCTS
heather_paint
Junior Member

Thumbs up A Great Paint Brush!
I just used Purdy’s Chinex® brushes to paint my kitchen and I can’t 
believe how great it looks.
The paint went on the walls smooth, it covered great and clean up was 
super easy.
I found out more about the Chinex® brushes on the Purdy website at 
www.purdycorp.com/catalog/series/detail/15/.
You can find out where to buy Purdy products there as well.

==============

http://boards.hgtv.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4434079532/m/8711064763?r=8711064763#8711064763

heather_paint
Posted May 22, 2008 01:19 PM
I just used Purdy’s Chinex® brushes to paint my kitchen and I can’t 
believe how great it looks.
The paint went on the walls smooth, it covered great and clean up was 
super easy.
I found out more about the Chinex® brushes on the Purdy website at 
www.purdycorp.com/catalog/series/detail/15/.
You can find out where to buy Purdy products there as well.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: heather_paint, May 22, 
2008 01:19 PM

==============

http://boards.hgtv.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4774011632/m/9501046743?r=9501046743#9501046743

heather_paint

	Posted Dec 27, 2007 03:48 PM
If you plan to paint, you need to send for this FREE DVD from Purdy. I 
learned so much from it! For instance, did you know you shouldn’t wipe 
your brush against the side of the paint can? Just tap it against sides 
or you lose too much paint…and painting takes much longer.

Also, some paint brushes allow you to “cut in” or paint straight along 
the edges of trim and baseboards without using tape. You need to use an 
angular trim paint brush designed for the purpose.

Plus, if you have been worried about using a roller to paint walls and 
large surfaces, this DVD will show you how. It’s not difficult and you 
can be done in no time compared to using a paint brush.

To get the FREE DVD, go to the Purdy web site at www.purdycorp.com/bl, 
go to the Contact Us page, click on the link for a free DVD.

==============

Blog comment spam:

http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/20071116/paint-colors-techniques/

Response to “Paint colors & techniques”


1 heather_paint Dec 28th, 2007 at 16:22 UTC

 If you plan to paint, you need to send for this FREE DVD from 
Purdy. I learned so much from it! For instance, did you know you 
shouldn’t wipe your brush against the side of the paint can? Just tap it 
against sides or you lose too much paint…and painting takes much longer.

 Also, some paint brushes allow you to “cut in” or paint straight 
along the edges of trim and baseboards without using tape. You need to 
use an angular trim paint brush designed for the purpose.

 Plus, if you have been worried about using a roller to paint 
walls and large surfaces, this DVD will show you how. It’s not difficult 
and you can be done in no time compared to using a paint brush.

 To get the FREE DVD, go to the Purdy web site at 
www.purdycorp.com/bl, go to the Contact Us page, click on the link for a 
free DVD.

===============

http://buildbetterbungalow.blogspot.com/2007/12/ahpainting-finished.html

 If you plan to paint, you need to send for this FREE DVD from 
Purdy. I learned so much from it! For instance, did you know you 
shouldn’t wipe your brush against the side of the paint can? Just tap it 
against sides or you lose too much paint…and painting takes much longer.

 Also, some paint brushes allow you to “cut in” or paint straight 
along the edges of trim and baseboards without using tape. You need to 
use an angular trim paint brush designed for the purpose.

 Plus, if you have been worried about using a roller to paint walls 
and large surfaces, this DVD will show you how. It’s not difficult and 
you can be done in no time compared to using a paint brush.

 To get the FREE DVD, go to the Purdy web site at 
www.purdycorp.com/bl, go to the Contact Us page, click on the link for a 
free DVD.
 December 28, 2007 10:18 AM


===================
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/maintenance/Free-Painting-DVD-277478-.htm

Free Painting DVD 	heather 	12-27-2007

Posted by on December 27, 2007, 3:36 pm
If you plan to paint, you need to send for this FREE DVD from Purdy. I
learned so much from it! For instance, did you know you shouldn't
wipe your brush against the side of the paint can? Just tap it
against sides or you lose too much paint...and painting takes much
longer.

Also, some paint brushes allow you to "cut in" or paint straight along
the edges of trim and baseboards without using tape. You need to use
an angular trim paint brush designed for the purpose.

Plus, if you have been worried about using a roller to paint walls and
large surfaces, this DVD will show you how. It's not difficult and you
can be done in no time compared to using a paint brush.

To get the FREE DVD, go to the Purdy web site at <a
href="www.purdycorp.com/bl">www.purdycorp.com/bl</a>, go to the
Contact Us page, click on the link for a free DVD.


==============

> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Paulsen <mpaulsen@charter.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 6:43pm
> To: mark@mforce.ws
> Cc: leslie@mforce.ws, info@purdycorp.com
> Subject: Spam from your corporate servers advertising Purdy brushes.
> 
> Mark,
> 
> You have an employee (apparently heather@mforce.ws) spamming usenet with 
> advertisements for your customer, Purdy.
> 
> Latest example is included below. Previous example is archived here:
> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.home.repair/msg/3086ac20071e5498?dmode=source
> 
> 
> - Mike
> 
> Path: 
> be14.lga!hwmnpeer02.lga!hw-filter.lga!hwmnpeer01.lga!hwmnpeer01.ams!news.highwinds-media.com!feed-C.news.volia.net!volia.net!news2.volia.net!feed-A.news.volia.net!postnews.google.com!z66g2000hsc.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail
> From: heather@mforce.ws
> Newsgroups: alt.home.repair
> Subject: A Great Paint Brush!!!
> Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 12:55:37 -0700 (PDT)
> Organization: http://groups.google.com
> Lines: 10
> Message-ID: 
> <a131c88b-0ac1-4893-90bf-ca168d087f40@z66g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>
> NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.84.149.2
> Mime-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
> X-Trace: posting.google.com 1212004538 9097 127.0.0.1 (28 May 2008 
> 19:55:38 GMT)
> X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com
> NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 19:55:38 +0000 (UTC)
> Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com
> Injection-Info: z66g2000hsc.googlegroups.com; posting-host=66.84.149.2;
> 	posting-account=pSfCSAoAAAAIDEobyhiGKyb_1_tADHLH
> User-Agent: G2/1.0
> X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; 
> .NET CLR
> 	1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.30; BMPR;
> 	BMPR),gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe)
> Xref: Hurricane-Charley alt.home.repair:482578
> X-Received-Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 12:55:39 MST (be14.lga)
> 
> I just used Purdy=92s Chinex=AE brushes to paint my kitchen and I can=92t
> believe how great it looks.
> 
> The paint went on the walls smooth, it covered great and clean up was
> super easy.
> 
> I found out more about the Chinex=AE brushes on the Purdy website at
> http://www.purdycorp.com/catalog/series/detail/15/.
> 
> You can find out where to buy Purdy products there as well.
> 
> 

And she replied:

Return-Path: <leslie@mforce.ws>
Received: from smtp191.iad.emailsrvr.com ([207.97.245.191])
          by aarpub05.charter.net with ESMTP
          id <20080530130544.ZORE2568.aarpub05.charter.net@smtp191.iad.emailsrvr.com>
          for <mpaulsen@charter.net>; Fri, 30 May 2008 09:05:44 -0400
Received: from relay9.relay.iad.mlsrvr.com (localhost [127.0.0.1])
    by relay9.relay.iad.mlsrvr.com (SMTP Server) with ESMTP id 56A991B4195
    for <mpaulsen@charter.net>; Fri, 30 May 2008 09:05:44 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from mforce.ws (webmail21.webmail.iad.mlsrvr.com [192.168.1.18])
    by relay9.relay.iad.mlsrvr.com (SMTP Server) with ESMTP id 4AC011B411B
    for <mpaulsen@charter.net>; Fri, 30 May 2008 09:05:44 -0400 (EDT)
Received: by noteworthy.rackspace.com
    (Authenticated sender: leslie@mforce.ws, from: leslie@mforce.ws) 
    with HTTP; Fri, 30 May 2008 09:05:44 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 09:05:44 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Refrain from Activities
From: leslie@mforce.ws
To: mpaulsen@charter.net
Reply-To: leslie@mforce.ws


Mark,


We will refrain from all activities regarding Purdy. 

Leslie Bonk
M Force, Inc.


Well, that only lasted three months.
On September 2, 2008, they started right back up with the spam campaign:

alt.home.repair newsgroup
Path: g2news1.google.com!postnews.google.com!z72g2000hsb.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail
From: heather_pa...@yahoo.com
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair
Subject: New Cageless Roller Frame
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2008 08:55:03 -0700 (PDT)
Organization: http://groups.google.com
Lines: 12
Message-ID: <dc684bdc-ecd2-4a20-a689-df62a1019bfa@z72g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.83.85.226
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
X-Trace: posting.google.com 1220370903 12565 127.0.0.1 (2 Sep 2008 15:55:03 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com
NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2008 15:55:03 +0000 (UTC)
Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com
Injection-Info: z72g2000hsb.googlegroups.com; posting-host=209.83.85.226; 
	posting-account=pSfCSAoAAAAIDEobyhiGKyb_1_tADHLH
User-Agent: G2/1.0
X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 
	1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.30; BMPR; 
	BMPR),gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe)

I just used Purdy=92s Cageless Roller Frame to paint my guest bedroom. I
wanted to paint the walls and ceiling different colors and the
Cageless Roller Frame made it so easy!

This frame allows you to swap out roller-cover frames on the fly, so
that you can quickly and easily move from one painting project to the
next.

I found out more about the frames on the Purdy website at
http://www.purdycorp.com/catalog/frames/detail/16.

You can find out where to buy Purdy products there as well.
Note: posting-host=209.83.85.226 = mail.bmpr.com = M Force / Brown and Martin.
$ whois -h whois.arin.net 209.83.85.226
Norlight Telecommunications NORLIGHT-CIDR3 (NET-209-83-0-0-1)
                                  209.83.0.0 - 209.83.127.255
Brown And Martin NLG-BRM-85-224 (NET-209-83-85-224-1)
                                  209.83.85.224 - 209.83.85.239
This Old House message boards  (10/01/2008 Note: TOH moderators have removed the spam)
Board: TOOLS & PRODUCTS  Today, 09:35 AM
New Cageless Roller Frame
Posted By heather_paint
New Cageless Roller Frame

I just used Purdy’s Cageless Roller Frame to paint my guest bedroom.
I wanted to paint the walls and ceiling different colors and the
Cageless Roller Frame made it so easy!

This frame allows you...
Another This Old House post (10/01/2008 Note: TOH moderators have removed the spam)
Board: PAINTING & FINISHING  Today, 09:33 AM

New Cageless Roller Frame

Posted By heather_paint

New Cageless Roller Frame


I just used Purdy’s Cageless Roller Frame to paint my guest bedroom. I
wanted to paint the walls and ceiling different colors and the Cageless
Roller Frame made it so easy!


This frame allows you...
HGTV forums
heather_paint
Posted Sep 02, 2008 11:15 AM
I just used Purdy’s Cageless Roller Frame to paint my guest bedroom.
I wanted to paint the walls and ceiling different colors and the
Cageless Roller Frame made it so easy!

This frame allows you to swap out roller-cover frames on the fly,
so that you can quickly and easily move from one painting project to the next.

I found out more about the frames on the Purdy website at
http://www.purdycorp.com/catalog/frames/detail/16.

You can find out where to buy Purdy products there as well.

homeconstructionimprovement.com message board
paintin08  // 9/02/2008
I'd suggest adding Purdy’s Cageless Roller Frame.

This frame
allows you to swap out roller-cover frames on the fly, so that you can
quickly and easily move from one painting project to the next.

I found out more about the frames on the Purdy website at
http://www.purdycorp.com/catalog/frames/detail/16.

You can find out where to buy Purdy products there as well.
I sent another abuse report and included Sherwin Williams, Purdy's parent company.
No replies received as of 10/15/2008. 
Date: Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:08:43 -0500
From: Mike Paulsen <mpaulsen@charterinternet.com>
To: info@purdycorp.com, abuse@norlight.net, abuse@yahoo.com, 
 postmaster@sherwin.com
Subject: More spam from M Force, Brown and Martin, on behalf of  Purdy (purdycorp.com)

Purdy: Your marketing company has restarted the unethical
and misleading shill marketing campaign which they promised
to stop when caught back in  May, 2008.

Norlight: The usenet spam is being injected from 209.83.85.226.
(see sample below) Their previous spam was reported to you as well.

Yahoo: the spammer is using heather_paint@yahoo.com as a dropbox.

Sherwin-Williams: It appears that both Purdy and M Force / Brown and
Martin's  conduct runs counter to your Business Ethics Policy, as
described here:
http://www2.sherwin-williams.com/investorrelations/Corporate_Governance/Business_Ethics_Policy/business_ethics_policy.html

For a detailed history of their spamming, see:
http://www.ownrecognizance.com/purdy.html

New spam samples:
[Remainder of abuse report snipped]

Update: July 15, 2009. I see that M Force has written an article on customer testimonials. 

How You Can Generate Testimonials
While most businesses understand the power of testimonials, they don’t always know the best way to acquire them. Here’s an idea that works on a number of levels.

Oddly enough, it doesn't go on to say that you should just have your employees post on the internet pretending to be satisfied customers.

Home