After 291 posts and almost three years, it’s time for me to move on. I’ve Tried That will keep doing its good work in Steve’s capable hands, but I’m retiring to spend more time with my family.

Just kidding. I decided to launch a Rebate Processing program and you all can have first dibs on signing up.

No, that’s not true either. I am thinking about starting another blog, though, in a different niche. Some guy is offering free blog installations and I might take him up on that.

So anyway, this isn’t really “goodbye” because I’ll still read the posts and maybe hang around in the comments a bit. You just won’t have to hear from me on the front page anymore.

To all of our regular readers, thanks for your attention and for putting trust in us. I sincerely wish you the best in your online endeavors.

I had just left Dillard’s and was headed back to Victoria’s Secret to pick up my wife. No, really. That’s where she was. But before you get any big ideas about what she was shopping for, think of this: my daughter was with her. So yeah. I guarantee they weren’t shopping for Valentine’s Day gifts for me. (At least I hope not, because…the horror!)

All I wanted to do was get from point A to point B. Shopping for shoes in the mall was bad enough. I kind of prefer Target where all the shoes are right smack in the middle of the store, and there are only six varieties so I don’t get confused. So I’m walking with my new shoes minding my own business when this slick (read: young, cute) sales girl smiled at me and said, “May I?”

I had to stop. I mean, she smiled at me. Cute young girls haven’t smiled at me since pre-marriage days. Excluding my four-year-old. She’s cute and young, but it’s not the same, you know?

So I stopped (that was my first mistake) and let this girl tut-tut over my dry hands. There was no question about it: they were dry. And such a shame, too, good looking guy like me, she says. Next thing I know, she’s buffing my thumbnail with some kind of buffer thingy. I don’t know what it was. It was blue. And it left my thumbnail shiny.

Meanwhile, she learned that I am a writer, that I am married and have children, that I had just bought shoes, that I was at the mall for dinner with my wife and daughter, and that I had not yet bought her a Valentine’s day present.

I mean I’m so not a chatty person. That’s more than my coworkers know about me! I swear, if she had asked me for my social security number and my deepest hopes and dreams, I would have given them to her.

See, the thing is, I’m not even sure how it really happened. One minute we were just friends and the next I was a customer and had spent $40 I didn’t plan to spend on stuff my wife already has sitting on the dresser. Cuticle oil (WTF?) and some kind of lotion. She might have called it “butter” or something. Oh yeah, and salt from the Dead Sea. For scrubbing into your skin. To make it soft.

It was just so fast. And she seemed so sincere and I thought she really liked me and I believed her when she said that the softness on my hands would last for a week and the shine on my nail would last for three. I mean, why would she lie? We bonded, I tell you!

So what do you think? Are there any parallels? Discuss.

We could continue to shame and scold Internet sharketers who use fake testimonials, but that’s too easy. And the practice certainly isn’t new. Fake testimonials are as old as print media.

Instead, let’s see what we can learn from the practice. The fact that businesses are willing to pay professional writers to invent fake people with fake experience with a product or service emphasizes this important message: testimonials work.

Why Testimonials Work

Testimonials work because they show that regular schmoes just like you have bought or tried product x and like it or have been successful with it.

They help establish credibility because more people than just the seller or creator of a product are willing to vouch for the product.

They help move you from being a reader to being a buyer because you see that other buyers are happy.

The problem, of course, is that both quality marketers and Internet sharketers understand the power of testimonials. So both high-quality sites and scammy sites use them.

Can You Spot Fake Testimonials?

I think so. In my experience, fake testimonials are shorter than genuine ones. It’s hard to explain, but the fake ones just have a canned feel to them that you can come to recognize when you’ve read a lot of them. Maybe the best explanation is that the fake ones feel like sales copy.

For example, contrast the testimonials on the Free Grants site you’re looking at to the genuine ones at the sites listed below. How do we know they’re genuine? Because we know the people who created the products in question. We trust them. We even know some of the people who are giving the testimonials.

Genuine Testimonials at NicheBlitzkrieg.com
Check out one of our favorite affiliate marketing training programs, Niche Blitzkrieg. Scroll down Michael’s sales page and you’ll see about half a dozen testimonials. Notice the full names? That’s unusual for testimonials and is one way to test their authenticity. You’ll even see a testimonial from Paul Schlegel of WorkAtHomeTruth.com, one of the voices we must trust in the Internet marketing industry.

Genuine Testimonials at Blog Mastermind
This is another of our highly recommended programs. It is high quality training on how to make money from a blog. Scroll down the page and look through Yaro’s testimonials. Again, full names, including some of the biggest names in the professional blogosphere.

Genuine Testimonials at Wealthy Affiliate. Wealthy Affiliate is a comprehensive program for affiliate marketing training. Click on the link, then click the Testimonials tab and read some of the testimonials. No full names here, but we know they’re genuine.

So next time you’re researching a program, take a close look at the testimonials. Yes, they might be fake, so compare them to these genuine ones and see if they have the same feel of authenticity. It’s not a foolproof method, but it’s something to consider.

This site is actually a blog describing the program.It is really enticing.I would love to try it but wanted to know if it was a scam or not. Could you please check this out? It is by a school teacher who supposedly does a program that makes 100,000 a yr. Check out his blog he explains it all. I tried to check it out on Google but found nothing as it really doesn’t have a name for the program. Thanks
[Editorial comment by Joe: First red flag. If, after reading a page that allegedly "explains it all," you don't know the name of the program or what it would have you doing, score -10 against the program.]

We get a lot of these requests every week. I thought this one would be a good one to look at more closely, not because it’s particularly scammy or unique (it’s neither), but because it’s a good illustration of the onion nature of Internet sharketing. It’s all about the layers. Learning to peel them back is an important skill.

Let’s start from where Tricia stands and work backward.
Layer 1
She reads the page and then thinks, “Hmmm…I’m still a little unsure. I wonder what the I’ve Tried That guys know about this?” and she fires off an email wanting to know if ivanblogsecrets.com is a scam or a legitimate product.

It’s no wonder Tricia’s Google search turned up empty. Ivanblogsecrets.com is not a program or product, so naturally you wouldn’t find any reviews of it. It is actually just a sales page (designed to look like a blog) for a product that is (at least) one layer removed from Ivan. Meaning “Ivan” didn’t develop the product he’s promoting. He probably didn’t even use it because “Ivan” isn’t what normal people would call a real person. He is a composite person made up of loose facts and a lot of marketing embellishment.

Layer 2: The Affiliate Sharketer Layer
“Ivan” is just one school teacher of many school teachers who are now making loads of cash from the system the page is promoting.

How is this possible? Is it a miracle made only for school teachers? Can you be next??

No and no. The reason there are so many school teachers making big money with this program is that the “life story” or description or whatever you want to call it (I call it “sales copy”) is a canned part of a sales campaign that many different marketers are using.

Here are two close copies of “Ivan’s” page:

http://factoidz.com/robert-allens-system-worked-for-me-how-i-did-it/

http://make-money-scams.com/

That means that if I want to sell the same product, I might be able to use Ivan’s text, and just change the names around. Rewrite the sentences a little. Hey, it’s working, so why should I write something from scratch? I’m not really trying to help people just like you…I’m trying to earn more commissions by selling a product.

Layer 3: What The “School Teachers” Are Selling
If you follow enough links on “Ivan’s” blog or the other pages I mentioned, you’ll get to Robert Allen’s Multiple Streams of Income course, which, for $59.95, will teach you how to, well, develop multiple streams of income.

So the program Tricia should be researching is Robert Allen Multiple Streams of Income. Google that with the word “scam” and you’ll get a lot to chew on. (If you search without the word “scam,” you’ll see all the Ivan-like pages that are promoting the product.)

Robert Allen’s Multiple Streams of Income: Quick Impressions

This post is not intended to give a thorough review of the program. If you are considering buying the program, you will want to do some additional research. I’m just going to give some quick first impressions here.

The Good Side
The guarantee looks pretty solid. You pay your money, try out his techniques for a year, and then get your money back if you’re not satisfied. I didn’t see any complaints from people who were not able to get refunds.

The Bad Side
After reading parts of several sales pages, I still only have a very vague of what the course will teach me to do.

Also, there’s this, from “Ivan’s” “blog”:

How it works in a nutshell
Have you ever wondered what those sponsored links are on the side of Google, whenever you do a search for something, anything. Well people are getting paid to post them. They don’t have to build a website, they don’t need to sell anything, they don’t need to pick up the phone and talk to anyone. Post those links and then instantly get paid when someone clicks on them. And not only Google, but Facebook, Myspace, Yahoo are all looking for a bunch of people to do that for them.

So that was what I did. I had all the help and support I need from Robert Allen team that guided me through the whole process. It was amazing. Not just an 800 number, but they would actually call you instead to help you set up the whole process. Wow, that was easy. And that was exactly what we needed.

That really pushes the limits of truthiness. I don’t know of any programs, Google or otherwise, that pay you just for posting links. You get paid when people click on your links (pennies per click) and when they buy things after clicking your links. The chances of your links getting enough clicks to make you $6,000 per month are very, very slim.

Bottom line? If you have $60 to spare and would like to check it out, I think you’re safe to do so. If those are your last $60 and it’s this or groceries, buy groceries.

What Is a Virtual Juror?

Several sites are advertising a “virtual juror” job, which allegedly pays up to $10 hour. The sites include virtualjuror.com, ejury.com, onlinejury.com, and a couple of others.

These sites claim that attorneys will pay you to review cases, or parts of their cases, so that they can sort of “test drive” their case on people that might be like people that will be on real juries. You review the case under consideration and then answer questions about it in an online format. The site that gave you the case pays you via PayPal.

The Truth

Like many online opportunities, this one has a grain of truth to it. There is at least one site that appears to have a legitimate business model: ejury.com. It costs you nothing to sign up, the terms and conditions are easy to find and clearly stated, and it is as clear as possible about what exactly you will be doing. Even more important, it is clear about your income potential:

“For each verdict rendered, eJurors are paid $5 – $10 depending on the length of the case. The amount to be paid will be shown at the top of each case. You certainly won’t get rich serving as an eJuror, but just one case a week would probably pay for your Internet access.”

The problem with the concept and with ejury.com is that your chances of getting a case are very slim. Few number of cases divided by a large number in the jury pool means don’t count on this to pay your cable bill.

The Dark Side

You knew there was a dark side, didn’t you? This post is credited to alert reader, Erik, who read about ejury.com and went to do some research about the virtual juror concept.

What did he find? A Web site that charges you $97 for access to a list of companies that are paying for such work. This site is virtualjuror.com, and I recommend you stay away. What do you get for your $97?

Within 48 hours [business days only] of Paypals confirmation to Virtual Juror of your payment, you will receive special links that will take you where you will start the application process. Again, there is nothing else to pay for. Should you provide excellent service we believe you will be chosen time and again to review many cases. [Emphasis mine]

No Terms and Conditions and a clearly stated “no refunds” policy. You see, the list of links is an electronic product so they can’t offer refunds.

I won’t be paying the $97 to find out, but I would bet that ejury.com is on the list. In fact, here’s a challenge to you, VirtualJuror.com Internet sharketer dude: pay me $97, show me your list, and if ejury.com isn’t on it, I’ll publish an “I Was Wrong” post. (Oh, and since a blog post is an electronic product, the $97 is non-refundable.)

Stay Away from VirtualJuror.com

So yeah, Erik was right. He said he knows that any site that wants you to pay for a job isn’t legitimate. Virtualjuror.com is not offering you a job. It’s trying to sell you information that is not worth much and freely available elsewhere.

I don’t think virtualjuror.com is setting out to deceive anyone. In fact, it even states in fine print at the bottom of the page:

The websites we send you too have no fees and can be found by anyone, but we save you the hours of research and provide these specials links to you for a one time administration fee.

I have no problem with that: there is value in compiling information and presenting it in a convenient format for people. But $97 is too much for a list of companies that offer such small income potential.

If you have been reading this little blog for very long, you have seen us write about Eddy Salomon, our comrade in arms over at Work at Home No Scams. Eddy has been fighting the good fight by exposing scammers and posting scam-free work-at-home job leads for longer than we have. He does excellent work. For example, his Work at Home Guide is indispensable if you want genuine jobs.

Well, it turns out Eddy is Haitian-American and has a lot of family members in Haiti. I’ll let him speak for himself:

I share this with you because you may think the situation in Haiti is far removed from you. But now you know it’s not. The person that has helped you avoid scams and find various legitimate ways of working at home for the past several years is Haitian. The stranger that has taken time to answer your comments and share encouragement with you is Haitian. The person that has brought a smile to your face or caused you to laugh out loud is Haitian.

So if you feel that any of these things are worth anything, I’m asking that you do me a favor. Please try to help some people that you may not know but need your help desperaterly. I know times our rough here in the states but if you can find it in your hearts to make any type of donations to organizations that are assisting in the Haiti Earthquake Relief, your buddy here would really appreciate it.

I get softer as I get older. Haiti is far removed from me geographically and usually far from my thoughts. But knowing that this disaster touches someone I have learned from and trust brings it a little closer. I hope you’ll join me in donating today to any of the organizations listed in Eddy’s post.

Then say a prayer for Eddy and his “extended brethren.”

We all know that some scammers are not too bright, right? I mean, most of them can’t even proofread their own lying emails. The misspellings and incorrect grammar make anyone with a brain cell engaged think, “Waaaaaaait a minute! This guy wants my bonk accont information? Something’s not right here…”

But sending a fake check to the POLICE? You’ve gotta be kidding me…

Richland police could use another $4,000, but the department wasn’t tempted by the cashier’s check it received Friday in the mail from the country of Benin. [Comment by Joe: I'd never heard of it, either. It's a country that borders Nigeria in west Africa.]

Officer Erica Tungesvik (TUNG’-gus-vik) says officers immediately recognized it as a bogus attempt to learn bank account information if the check were deposited.

Seriously, how does that happen if you’re a scammer? “Dude, I just got gold contact info for some dumbass named Richland Police. I’ll bet you my oldest daughter that this one pays out!”

What did the cops do? Filed a report, naturally. Sadly, that’s probably as far as it will go.

This company is totally a scam, and unfortunately I completely fell for it in a desperate time of need. I purchased the premium package for $60.00. After I purchased the packaged which was 300 assignments and then 100 assignments it stated that you could not cash out until all of the assignments were completed. I did a little research and didn’t find anything really out there.

Little did I know, it was because the company was brand new, so not enough time had elapsed for all the complaints to come in. I contacted them via email and they indicated I could request payment twice. I spent hours upon hours completing the 300 assignments and then requested payment. They indicated that it would take 6 to 8 weeks because they would have to submit each assignment to each company whose website you reviewed.

I then decided to do some research again and that is when I started hearing of the stories and the “infamous” letter that you would receive that basically states that you did not do the assignments properly and the companies refused to pay. I also checked them out with the Better Business Bureau and not only did they receive an F rating, but it also stated that if you gave them money you should contact your local authorities.

In any event, after I sent an email to them inquiring about whether or not I was going to get paid or get this “infamous” letter, I, of course, received that “infamous” letter within the hour. I am so mad, I could spit nails! I have been bantering back and forth with them. Visit my blog, as I have posted my emails to them and their responses back to me. I have yet to receive a response to my last reply.

I will not rest until this company goes out of business and stops scamming people. Not only do they take your money, but you end up wasting your precious time. My blog is tlondon.blog.com. Another great site to check places out is ptcinvestigations.

I feel so foolish that in my moment of desperation I failed to notice the obvious signs that should have raised red flags for me. I guess I just so wanted to believe that there was in fact at least one legitimate company out there that you could work for and make decent money. So far, however, that hasn’t been the case.

So please people, don’t fall for it. Don’t be enticed by their little “scam free” seal, as anyone can purchase that seal for $39.95. Don’t become another statistic of yet another person who put their faith in a company that is only out to hurt and scam you. These people are downright criminal. I wish there was a way that these sites could be policed in some fashion so they can stop getting rich by being criminals. It is just so frustrating.

Billmelater.com rides to the rescue, proving that no gimmick is so full of thorns that people won’t jump on the chance to buy now and pay later (and pay, and pay, and pay).

What is Billmelater.com?

“Bill Me Later” is a Web-based service offered by increasing numbers of retailers desperate to reach out to more customers (such as Toys R Us and GNC Live Well). Even if those customers don’t have any money. What’s wrong with this picture?

If you are at one such retailer’s Web site wanting to buy something, but you don’t have a debit or credit card and you think you still need to buy something, you can get it through Bill Me Later. Turn in your name, address, and part of your social security number and you get get a loan to make that purchase.

Pay back the loan during the grace period, which ranges from a few days to a couple of months, and you’re done. It was a free loan. But pay it back after the grace period ends and you’ll pay high interest and late fees. One man’s $20 purchase ended up costing him $40. Yeah, that’s not a lot of green, but look at it this way: that’s 100% interest!

Stand Up to Loan Shark Practices

If you’re pissed that your bank raised your credit card rates to 28%, and you should be, why do business with a company that charges 100%? Yeah, I know: You’ll pay it off during the grace period, and then it’s free. But how do you think BillMeLater can afford interest free loans? Yours is free because many more schlubs don’t pay it off and end up getting hosed. Suit yourself, but I choose not to be a part of that system. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I think if you can’t afford something, meaning you don’t have the money in your pocket or in your account, you shouldn’t be buying it. It’s a lesson I learned the hard way.

Have you been dinged by high interest and fees? Scroll down to share your experience in the comments. Nothing dries up the slime under rocks like sunlight.

Tell Your Story in the Lawsuit

If you feel you have been treated unfairly by Bill Me Later and want to hit back, contact this law firm and tell them your story. You might be able to get some satisfaction. (Read the news about the suit here.)

Steve and I have used these words and their variations in at least 300 posts, and an unknown number of times in comments. As much as I dislike the words, I must admit that they do a lot of work.

When you need an economical way to say, “It’s a program that promises things it can’t possibly deliver and it misleads readers with false statements and clever marketing strategies,” well, scam just says it in a tidy way that few other words can.

Alas, what is a blogger to do? We must use the tools we’re given, even when those tools are worn out and dull.

That’s why I was so glad to read Gail’s comment on yesterday’s post, in which he describes his bad experience with Push Traffic. She gave me a clever term I’d never heard before that I can use instead of scam. Here is the golden nugget:

The wheels are turning and it won’t be long before Raygoza and associates find themselves in very deep water, which is where Internet Sharketers belong!

Isn’t that awesome?! Internet sharketers! It calls to mind “sheisters” and also, of course, sharks. Predatory, sneaky, armed to the teeth (so to speak), feeding on the weak, the slow, and the injured. A little bit of action drips blood into the water and sets off a feeding frenzy (see items 5 (a) and 6 in my post about Terms and Conditions).

Sharketers. Oh, yeah. I’m going to get a lot of mileage out of this word.