yup...it'a called phishing. They are fishing to hook in suckers like me and you. I joined about 4 yrs ago when I got the same emails you are describing. I was also looking to reconnect to a lost friend so thought it was a good deal. Looks like we were told the same lie. They also mentioned my maiden name and my married name with my real middle initial, then said oops, I was looking for my adopted daughter. WTF?? No one out there shares my exact 5 names as me. (I have 2 middle names as well). I didn't find my friend thru them either, as they too wanted more $$ for information, that i later found out was wrong anyways. I did find my friend, but only after finding his mom, and talking to her. Best of luck to you!