Internet Corporation Listing Service
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The Internet Corporation Listing Service is a company that solicits website owners using the US Postal Service. They present the website owner with what looks like a bill or invoice[1] and attempt to get them to pay between $35 to $95 dollars for submitting their website to 14 major search engines. This information is delivered by the ICLS via email though it is freely available online.
Website owners are found by an automatic searching of the WHOIS database and are sent automatically generated letters. While the solicitation does say that it is a solicitation and not a bill, it instructs the reader to "please remit payment on or before DATE". Due to this and other various characteristics, the offer presents the appearance of an invoice for services already rendered, and is thus misinterpreted by some as a bill and has convinced hundreds[citation needed] of website owners to pay because they thought that their website would be shut down if they did not.
This company's mail solicitations present the disclaimer:
This is not an invoice. This is a solicitation. You are under no obligation to make any payments on account of this offer unless you accept this offer.
--- PLEASE PAY THIS AMOUNT --->
The company's website, www.icls.net, is listed to Michelle Doyle in San Jose, California (registration record reads "ICLS, 2530 Berryessa Rd. #912, San Jose, CA 95132" - a postal drop box) but has post office boxes in Chicago, New York and has various payments sent to offices in the Netherlands and Zaire. This practice is currently under investigation by the US Postal Inspection Service.[citation needed] To further add to this as of 1/09/08 - their home address is now listed as in the Bahamas.
