I got a call from a gal named Amanda claiming to be from the law office of Nelson, Watson, and Associates.  She stated that she had some important information that she needed to go over with me, and to call her back as soon as possible.

There is no Caribbean Cruise Lines!  There is Royal Caribbean Cruise LInes.  Be careful!

I received the Cong. Tom Cole call as well. They're trying to award the Dem. owner of my company an award. They're all whole web sites related to this scam they're running so beware. They use other phone numbers as well. All 888, 866, 800, 877 numbers. The guy that called me said his name was Robert, but I could never catch his last name because he mumbled past it too quickly each time. He probably didn't want his name associated with this mess.

Tom Cole: what a moron, sending meaningless faxed certificates to businessmen outside of Oklahoma.  I'm calling the OKC TV stations.

Same thing with me.  I received a call on my answering machine.  This one was from Brenda Robertson, representing Senator Tom Cole.  Wanted to award me the "Certificate of Merit" for being a business leader in New Mexico.

I am a California based small business owner and I got the same message on my answer machine.

Yup, yup, got the same call. On my answering machine. Caller ID was blocked, but she left the number in her message. Not a recording; she called me by name ("Mr. Fox"). Said she was Theresa Lusk of Congressman Tom Cole's office in Washington, and he's on the Republican National Congressional Committee, and they want to award me, for my role as a business leader in California, their "highest honor," the Congressional Order of Merit.  I am a self-employed entrepreneur, but I'm no "business leader."

Tom Cole is a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma.  He is the chairman of RNCC, which is a Section 527 political fund-raising group.  The Congressional Order of Merit is just something they made up.

There is no mention of these calls being a hoax on Cole's website, and people around the country have been receiving this call for at least a year.  So it must really be from him.

If you call back, they will tell you how you can, as a business leader, help stop the Democrats from ruining small business by joining the RNCC and donating.  Or they ask you to help sponsor an ad in the Wall Street Journal about your "honor," to the tune of $500.

So, don't bother calling back.

I just got a call from that number too. Told me he was from Congresman Tome Cole office in washington and they wanted to award me the medal of merit for my doing business in Florida...lol...what a scam...

Some lady named "Brenda Cole" called my wife.  Her report

he was from Cole Business or something and wanted to award you for excellence in business or some jive. she wanted to know your fax number here.

Sounded like some sort of solicitation to me