This is so disappointing. Do you have any solution to suggest about pool operators? It seems a good clue to add pool operators to that sentence in the OP.
It is, isn't it. I wish I had a solution but I don't. Unfortunately pools aren't allowed to advertise in ANN threads anymore, so there's really no way to know other than to check the source code for specific values. If they're missing, then you can only assume that the pools listed in the ANN post has some inside dealing with the coin dev; they couldn't bring their pool online otherwise.
I added your post to the OP, so other people express their suspicious experience with pools here.