GENEALOGY: Don't Be Duped

There are unscrupulous people in every profession and genealogy is no exception. I have previously noted the phony coats of arms and crests. Even worse than this was a New York native named Gustave Anjou (1863-1942).
He was responsible for creating well over 100 false, phony, fake, forged, fabricated family trees. He charged thousands of dollars for these lies. Unfortunately these incorrect family histories have been copied and passed around by unsuspecting people and the information keeps on floating around in an unchecked cycle.
Any information you find from another tree must be used only as a guide to search for the actual documents to support the information. Don't spread the false facts. Check and double check for yourself. Think of a computer virus. You wouldn't knowingly spread one of those would you.
There is a list of known files he was connected to but even if your tree is not there you still have to find proper sources for your tree before you let it grow. Remember...your ancestors are counting on you.