The FTC writes…

The 2010 FTC complaint alleged that two individuals and five related companies deceptively claimed that their Acai Pure supplement would cause rapid and substantial weight loss, and that their Colotox colon cleanser would prevent colon cancer. Also, despite claiming to offer a “free” trial for a nominal fee and full refunds upon request, the defendants allegedly repeatedly made unauthorized charges to consumers’ bank accounts, and made it all but impossible to avoid paying full price for the products, typically $39.95 to $59.95.

The FTC charged that the defendants violated the Federal Trade Commission Act, as well as the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and its implementing language, Regulation E.
At the request of the FTC in August 2010, a federal court halted the allegedly illegal conduct of the Central Coast Nutraceuticals defendants, imposed an asset freeze, and appointed a receiver to oversee the corporate defendants.

The settlement order against the defendants includes an $80 million judgment, which represents the total amount of consumer injury caused by their scheme. The monetary judgment will be suspended when the FTC receives assets worth approximately $1.5 million from the defendants.

The settlement order requires defendant Graham D. Gibson to pay the FTC the balance of his investment account; transfer to the FTC $500,000 after mortgaging his home in Phoenix, Arizona, or transfer the property to a court-appointed liquidator if he cannot obtain the mortgage; and divest himself of his interest in a Hawaii vacation property. It also requires the court-appointed receiver to transfer to the FTC the estimated $600,000 that will remain in the accounts of Central Coast Nutraceuticals and the affiliated corporate defendants after their outstanding expenses are paid. If it is later determined that the financial information the defendants provided was false, the full amount of the judgment will become due.

In addition to banning the defendants from selling any products or services with a negative option feature, the settlement also prohibits them from:

• making deceptive statements that there is no cost for a trial purchase; that all consumers who request full refunds will get them; that celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray endorse their products; that consumer testimonials reflect typical consumer experiences; about the total amount consumers will pay; or about any other material fact regarding any goods or services sold by the defendants;
• failing to make adequate disclosures about the material terms and conditions of any offer;
• charging consumers’ credit cards, or debiting their bank accounts without their consent;
• making any claim that a product can diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent any disease, including cancer, unless the claim is approved by the Food and Drug Administration;
• making any claim that a product can cause weight loss, unless the claim is supported by two well-controlled human clinical studies;
• making claims about the health benefits of any supplement, food, or drug without competent and reliable scientific evidence, and misrepresenting any tests or studies;
• making deceptive or false statements or failing to disclose material facts, to a payment processor or financial institution; and
• violating the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E.

Click here for the full press release.

Why This is Important

Acai weight loss products. Ways to make money from home.

It’s hard to see the connection there, but one does exist. It exists in the way both programs have been advertised and how they handle their billing practices. You’ve no doubt seen the ads on either Facebook, a NEWS website, or just about any other popular site out there. The ads go something like this:

“Local stay at home mom discovers secret to weight loss/white teeth/working from home/curing cancer/time travel! It’s the secret THEY don’t want you know about! Access the secret for free!”

They’re all the same. It’s a mom that discovered a “trick” to one of the world’s biggest problems and decided to sell that information to you for cheap. The only real trick, however, remains hidden within the billing practices of the company. There is no instant cure, but there are negative option billing terms that could cost you hundreds of dollars if you’re not careful. (If you want to learn more, I covered negative option billing with my Loral Langemeier post last week.)

Back to why this is important for us. There are a great number of work at home scams that are operating similar billing agreements to Central Coast Nutraceuticals. The work at home scams aren’t as bad because they’re not making outrageous health claims, but they’re still practicing unfair billing practices.

The fact that the FTC has stepped in, halted operations and fined the company $1.5 million dollars gives me hope for two reasons. 1. That other sites will stop practicing these unfair methods of billing out of fear and 2. the FTC will continue to prosecute other companies and assist consumers in getting their money back.

Central Coast Nutraceuticals is just a drop in the bucket. Here’s to hoping the FTC continues to prosecute. You can do your part to help by filing a Complain with the FTC by clicking here. If you’ve fallen victim to one of these scams, let them know!

Despite Beacon Construction’s best efforts to look legitimate, it only took me a few moments to spot the scam. These guys pulled out all the stops. They have a professional looking website, lots of information available, and even links to a BBB profile. Unfortunately, the “job” they’re offering is still a scam.

Special note: This is NOT the same company as the Beacon Construction Group (BCG) found at beaconconstructiongroup.com. BCG is a legitimate company.

The Beacon Construction and BeaconUSco.com Scam

Here is the email currently being sent out…

Hello,

Our Company is delighted to offer you a position of a Subsidiary
Manager. We are all excited about the potential that you carry to our
company. We plan to set up a small subsidiary company in your area and
that is why we are looking for Managers.

Our company is a mid-size company based out of North Palm Beach, FL.
Beacon Construction is a State Certified General Contractor (#CGC
1512140), State Certified Roofing Contractor (#CCC 1328234), Building
Inspection, Mold Testing, Remediation and Consulting Company. Our
mission is to provide every client with an experience of honesty,
quality, integrity, excellence, attention to detail, on time
scheduling and guaranteed workmanship all at an affordable price. Our
knowledge and experience is not local, but global.
Our website is: http://www.beaconusco.com

You will be organized as an exempt executive-level W-2 employee. Your
initial compensation package includes a monthly salary of $4500 and
commission on top of it, full medical and dental coverage through our
company’s employee benefit plan.

Description of the position:

* Manage business (a business will be created for you at our expense)
* Organization of payoffs straight from clients to employees by
bank wires and money transfer systems (a business bank account will be
set up with our assistance)
* Performing administration work
* Ordering materials and supplies
* Advertising the company in local newspapers and magazines (at our expense)
* Scheduling payments and meeting the deadlines as per invoices

This is NOT a francise and you do NOT have to pay anything to work with us.
You’ll need to find an office for rent and undergo a 2-week probation period.
The training period lasts for 1 month with our Project Manager who
arrives to train you.

Please, complete the form on our website if you are interested in this
managerial position:

http://www.beaconusco.com/r.php?i=3

If you meet all of our minimum qualifications, you can expect a
response from us within 48 hours of my receipt of your registration
(except for Saturdays and Sundays).

Thank you again for your interest and I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Stacey Friedman

Stacey Friedman | Manager | Beacon Construction |
Ph: 561-459-3790 | Fax: 800-520-6078 | s.friedman at beaconus-mail.com

Evidence This is a Scam

All of the evidence you need is right in the job description. There’s one single line that stands out that immediately points this out as a scam:

* Organization of payoffs straight from clients to employees by bank wires and money transfer systems (a business bank account will be set up with our assistance)

Any company that requires you to handle their money, and either accept or send money via wire transfer, is 100% always a scam. Real companies DO NOT hire random people to accept payments on their behalf. No company is going to be okay with a stranger receiving large sums of money that is owed to them.

This is a payment processing scam. Participating in it will cost you thousands of dollars and may even cause you to lose your identity or get in trouble with the authorities.

If that’s not enough, the domain name “BeaconUSco.com” was registered just 9 days ago on November 21st. By a guy named “Robert Haise” and it was registered to this address: “59 Avenu. New York, NY” Yes, that is the EXACT information used to register the domain name. The website itself is actually hosted in the Ukraine.

Finally, the text posted at BeaconUSco.com was stolen word for word from a number of other construction websites. It seems they overlooked quite a few things.

The Bottom Line

DO NOT work for Beacon Construction and BeaconUSco.com.

Click here for more information on how the scam works.

Follow this one simple rule: NEVER accept a job that requires you to handle someone else’s money. If an “employer” want you to receive a check and forward the money elsewhere, it is 100% guaranteed to be a scam. Every. Single. Time.

The scammer lets the person on the phone know they are eligible for a few thousand dollars in government grants and will deposit that money into a bank account immediately. After they hand over their personal information of course…

Government Grant Telemarketing Scams

The FTC writes…

“Because you pay your income taxes on time, you have been awarded a $12,500 government grant! To get your free grant, simply give us your checking account information, and we will deposit the grant into your bank account!”

You may receive a message like this, where the caller claims to be from a government agency or some other organization with an official sounding name. Or you may see an ad that claims you will qualify to receive a “free grant” to pay for education costs, home repairs, home business expenses, or bills. In any case, the claim is the same: your application for a grant is guaranteed to be accepted, and you’ll never have to pay the money back.

Offers of “money for nothing” grants usually are scams, whether you hear about them on the phone or see them in your local paper, a national magazine, or a slick looking website.

The scam is rather simple, but it’s effective. Scammers are calling people and informing them that the victim is eligible for a free government grant to help with education costs, mortgages, home repairs or just bills in general. The scammer will then tell you that they need your banking information in order to directly deposit the grant money into your account.

Reports are going around that scammers are saying they need credit card information to process a “transaction fee” that is completely reversible once the grant money is deposited. This is all a scam to get as much personal information out of you as quickly as possible. Do not fall for it!

Information on real government grants can be found here: Grants.gov but like it says on their website, they do no offer personal financial assistance.

How to Avoid Grant Scams

The FTC has the following advice…

1. Don’t pay any money for a “free” government grant. If you have to pay money to claim a “free” government grant, it isn’t really free. The names of agencies and foundations that award grants are available for free at any public library or on the Internet. The only official access point for all federal grant-making agencies is www.grants.gov.
2. Check the correct names of government agencies. Just because the caller says they’re from the “Federal Grants Administration” doesn’t mean that they are. There is no such government agency. Check your telephone directory.
3. Take your time. There’s no rush. Scammers pressure people to divulge their bank account information so that they can steal the money in the account. Always keep your bank account information to yourself. Don’t share it unless you are familiar with the company and know why the information is necessary.
4. Eliminate telemarketing calls you don’t want by registering your number on the National Do Not Call Registry.

The biggest pressure tactic to be on the lookout for is number three. Don’t let a scammer bully you into thinking you’re going to lose out on a lot of free money if you don’t sign up RIGHT NOW. They want you to make a quick, irrational decision and before you have a chance to process what just happened, they’re running off with all of your personal information.

It’s more than sickening to hear that the people who need help the most are the ones being targeted by scammers. Stay educated and question everything that seems out of place to protect yourself.

Recommended Links:
‘Free Government Grants’: Don’t Take Them For Grant-ed
Mortgage Payments Sending You Reeling? Here’s What to Do
Grants.gov

It makes you wonder what these scammers could accomplish if they focused their efforts on real work instead of deceiving people.

Advertising in Motion, LLC. is a Scam.

Here is the job offer email that is going around…

Good afternoon,

This is Eva Melkova. I’m writing you to tell you more about our Company and the available post of the Customer manager with our Company. This position is related with the customer service, but I want to tell you first of all, that if you don’t have experience in it, that’s not a problem! You will have a free training, and so it doesn’t play a role.

Our HR department has fully reviewed your information on the yahoo portal and decided to offer you the position of Customer manager. In this message I will explain you what exactly necessary from you to take this post and how to do it. First of all let us introduce our company to you.

Advertising In Motion, LLC is the global business company which is a recognized leader with deep industry, business, and technology experience. We appeared not so long ago on business market but we already have a notable and big clientele all over the world.

International Marketing Agency started its business in a little town with an attempt to let people know more about consulting and help them in making their business modern. Through the years the staff and the competency of the company was growing. We manage to evoke a positive response to the service we provide. We help companies drive true organic growth – revenue and profit increase from continuing operations. Nowadays we have a lot of clients all over the world and they still recommend us to the people they know. Our Company got a lot of awards taking part in world-famous contests. We are proud that today we are a top agency which can offer different kinds of service all over the world. We are also glad that we have an opportunity to give a job to such specialists as you are.

With the help of opportunities we possess, we plan to carry out our activity through the regional Customer Manager. Basically, we need a person to coordinate the delivery of services to the customer. The main duties are: receive and cash bank checks from and to our clients and partners from all over the world, using bank systems.

Due to the world crisis and a cut in company expenditure we decided not to open a new office in your region, but to hire an official representative of our company. That’s why the representative will carry out all the financial and other dealerships according to international law.

We need you as a Customer Manager to control the payment of our customers from your state, made with the bank checks ONLY. The required skills of yours are team work, basic knowledge of MS Office, accuracy. Your general duty is to accept checks from our clients and partners. For that you should give the correct address where those checks will be received by you as an official representative of our company. Actually, your main duties are:

1. Receive cheques addressed to your name as an official representative
2. Get the cheque and cash it in a bank where you have an account (it is not necessary to establish a new account, your existent account is enough)
3. For cashing the check you will have to wait from 2 hours to several days (depends on a bank). This period is called clearing.
4. After the check is cashed and you get the money you will need to contact our manager
5. Follow the instructions from senior manager

Concerning you salary, it depends on the work you do – from $3,000 to $5,000 a month. Your income will be 5 of cashing checks. For example: You cashed several checks totaling $50,000, which means your income will be $2500.

If you have read, understood and accepted all the information written above, you need:

1. to fill in and sign the employee’s Application Form, Employment Agreement
carefully and correctly.

2. You may send a copy of of your signed Employment Agreement and
Employment Application two ways:
-To my Fax: +12062024163
OR
-scan and send a copy to my e-mail

IMPORTANT: If you are interested in this position and are ready to begin work, you must send me a signed Application Form and Employment Agreement as soon as possible. If I do not get these documents for three days, your nomination will be rejected.

You can easily find additional information on our website.
www.advertisinginmotionllc.org

Right now we are at the very start of the process.
I am here to help you with any question you may have while reading the information.

Best regards,
Eva Melkova
Advertising In Motion, LLC
Fax: 206-202-4163
Tel: 206-222-2293( 8:00-12:00 CST )

Known Contact Information
Advertising in Motion, LLC.
www.advertisinginmotionllc.org
1010 E. SILVER SPRINGS BLVD SUITE I
OCALA, FL 34470 US
Fax: 206-202-4163
Tel: 206-222-2293
Eva Melkova

There is NO such thing as a check or payment processor.

Any job that requires you to receive checks or payments will always be 100% a scam. With a check cashing scam, you’re asked to receive a check, deposit it into your bank account, and forward most of the amount overseas while keeping a portion of it for yourself as a “payment.” The checks you receive are either fake or stolen and it’s only a matter of time before they bounce.

Unfortunately, most banks don’t spot the fake checks and will allow you to deposit them. Federal law requires banks to immediately grant you access to the funds even though they haven’t cleared. This allows you to complete your “job” and send the portion required overseas.

The fake check you deposited WILL eventually bounce. It can take weeks, or even months but that check will bounce. Unfortunately for you, you’ve already wired the money overseas and there is no hope of recovering that money. This leaves YOU responsible for repaying the cost of the check.

Follow this one simple rule: NEVER accept a job that requires you to handle someone else’s money. If an “employer” want you to receive a check and forward the money elsewhere, it is 100% guaranteed to be a scam. Every. Single. Time.

Do Not Work for Eva Melkova or Advertising in Motion

I know Advertising in Motion has a legitimate looking website, but rest assured, it’s absolutely a scam and doing work for them will cost you thousands of dollars and can get you in trouble with local law enforcement or even the FBI.

Take a step back and think about this logically for a second. This “company” is trust you, some random individual from the Internet, to receive payments, cash them in your bank account, and wire the money overseas. Nothing about that sounds legitimate. Why would a major international company be outsourcing it’s payment processing to some random person in the middle of the US? That’s not how companies operate.

If you have any additional information or emails to share regarding this company, please leave a comment below!

The Fake Ticket Scam

Scammers are spoofing emails from the New York State Police and are “issuing” tickets via email. It should be immediately obvious that police departments don’t email speeding tickets, but people have been falling for it and the IC3 and the New York State Police have both issued warnings regarding the scam.

This scam isn’t directed to initially get money out of you, but rather to gain access to your computer and likely use the information on it to steal your identity, bank account information, etc.

The IC3 writes…

TRAFFIC TICKET SPAM

The IC3 has received over 70 complaints since July 2011 reporting fraudulent e-mails claiming the recipient had been issued a traffic ticket. The spam, which spoofed a nyc.gov e-mail address, claimed to be from the New York State Police (NYSP). Complainants, throughout the U.S. and internationally, reported that the e-mail indicated a traffic ticket had been issued against them as a result of a moving violation. None of the complainants reported any monetary loss. The e-mail, as noted in the sample below, instructed them to print the ticket and mail it to a town court in Chatam Hall to plead.

Subject: Uniform traffic ticket
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles
UNIFORM TRAFFIC TICKET
POLICE AGENCY
NEW YORK STATE POLICE
Local Police Code
THE PERSON DESCRIBED ABOVE IS CHARGED AS FOLLOWS
Time
7:25 AMDate of Offense
07/05/2011IN VIOLATION OF
NYS V AND T LAW
Description of Violation
SPEED OVER 55 ZONE
TO PLEAD, PRINT OUT THE ENCLOSED TICKET AND SEND IT TO TOWN COURT, CHATAM HALL., PO BOX 117

You can read the New York State Police’s press releases on the issue here: Hoax Email Alert.

The easiest way to defend yourself against this one is to just use common sense and don’t open any attachments from people you don’t know

The Kelley Blue Book Scam

ONLINE VEHICLE SCAM USING KELLEY BLUE BOOK’S NAME
The IC3 has received complaints reporting fraudsters for misrepresenting themselves as Kelley Blue Book (KBB) agents to swindle victims out of thousands of dollars in online vehicle purchases. Upon finding a vehicle and making an inquiry to the seller, the complainant was told that the transaction must go through KBB’s escrow-based buyer-protection plan to protect both of them. The fraudster claimed that the protection plan would hold the buyer’s money for a five-day period while they could receive and inspect the vehicle.

The fraudster then sent the complainant a link, which was purportedly to the KBB website, providing details of the process. Some complainants reported that the fraudster sent pictures of the vehicle as well. Once the purchase was agreed upon, the fraudster sent the complainant an official-looking e-mail, purportedly from KBB, instructing them to wire the payment to a KBB agent.

Upon contacting the actual KBB company, complainants were advised that it was a scam and that KBB does not offer an escrow-based buyer-protection plan. Recent articles have been posted on the KBB website warning consumers of this particular scam.

Kelley Blue Book has taken the time to warn its users of this scam. You can read their press release and tips on how to avoid being scammed with car sales in general at their page Protecting Yourself From Online Fraud.

I said it a few days ago and I’ll say it again. Do NOT wire money to someone you do not personally know. NEVER wire money to someone you haven’t physically met in person. Once the money you wired gets picked up, there’s no chance at recovering it.

Stay safe out there and as always, do not hesitate to ask my advice. Leave a comment below if you’ve run into either scam or have seen variations on these scams.

Never wire money or send money via Western Union or Money Gram to someone you do not know.

Scammers use money transfer services because you’re essentially just mailing cash quickly across the world. It’s near impossible to trace and you can forget about recovering it. Once you transfer your money away, it’s as good as gone.

But this can all be avoided if you only transfer money to people you know. It’s really that easy. If someone you don’t know or haven’t met in person is telling you to wire them money, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a scam.

Protect Yourself

Once you send the money and it gets picked up, consider it gone. It’s never coming back, especially if you wired the money overseas. Imagine dropping a $100 bill in Times Square and going back 12 hours later. You’re equally likely to get that money back.

That’s why you need to stick to wiring money to people you personally know. Don’t wire money to someone outside your friends or family. This includes…

• Potential employers who insist it’s part of your job
• Sellers on sites like craigslist
• An online love interest who asks for money or a favor
• Advertisers who put up vacation rentals

I’ve actually seen scammers take it one step further and try and impersonate a person you might know. I once received an email from my brother’s email address and it said he was in Spain on a business trip and he was mugged and desperately needed me to wire him money. Unfortunately for the scammer, my brother happened to be about 10 feet away from me when I read the email. They’ll go to any lengths to get money out of you.

The Most Common Money Wiring Scam

The most common scam I cover here at I’ve Tried That are fake check cashing jobs. With a check cashing scam, you’re asked to receive a check, deposit it into your bank account, and forward most of the amount overseas while keeping a portion of it for yourself as a “payment.” The checks you receive are either fake or stolen and it’s only a matter of time before they bounce.

Unfortunately, most banks don’t spot the fake checks and will allow you to deposit them. Federal law requires banks to immediately grant you access to the funds even though they haven’t cleared. This allows you to complete your “job” and send the portion required overseas.

The fake check you deposited WILL eventually bounce. It can take weeks, or even months but that check will bounce. Unfortunately for you, you’ve already wired the money overseas and there is no hope of recovering that money. This leaves YOU responsible for repaying the cost of the check.

Follow this one simple rule: NEVER accept a job that requires you to handle someone else’s money. If an “employer” want you to receive a check and forward the money elsewhere, it is 100% guaranteed to be a scam. Every. Single. Time.

Alternative Money Wiring Scams

Scammers in countries like Nigeria do this full-time. It’s like a job to them and they’ll go to great lengths and come up with amazing, emotional stories to get you to send them money. Here are some of the more common scams…

• Overpayment Scams – This one creeps up on Craigslist a lot. The scammer will agree to purchase an item you posted online, and will send a check, but accidentally make it out for more than you agreed upon. The scammer will then ask you to wire back the difference. The original check will bounce and you’ll be out an item, the money for the item, and the money you wired away.
• Relationship Scams – Online dating is becoming increasingly popular and naturally scammers are taking advantage of this. They’ll spend MONTHS building up a relationship with a victim and then one day leave on a trip an encounter a problem when away. He or she will desperately plead with you for help and ask you to wire money with promises to pay you back once the scammer is back home. Don’t fall for it.
• Mystery Shopper Scams – Mystery shopping scammers are following the same formula as check cashing employment scammers. They’ll send you a check for a few thousand dollars, and tell you to cash the check, keep a portion of the money for yourself as “payment,” spend a portion of the money at a store, and then send the rest of the money back along with your evaluations of the bank, the store you shopped at, and the company you used to send the money back. It’s all a scam of course. The original check will bounce and you will have to pay back the thousands of dollars you spent.
• Online Purchase Scams – Just don’t pay for an item via money transfer. Easy as pie. Stick with credit cards and reputable businesses.
• Property Rental Scams – Scammers have been putting up fake listings for apartments or vacation rentals at amazing prices. They will promise to hold it for you for a deposit or for rent and will tell you to wire money to owner. Do not do this! There is no rental and you will lose all that money.

If you’ve seen a variation on this scam, leave a comment below! You can help protect others from losing thousands of dollars. So speak up!

Please SHARE this page with anyone who thinks they’ve found a dream job that requires them to wire money. If a job wants you to wire money through Western Union or Money Gram, it is always 100% a scam. Do not accept a position where you handle a company’s money. Only wire money to people you PERSONALLY know and you’ll avoid all of these scams.

Stay safe out there.

Let’s take a look around, shall we?

Is the Six Figure Program at SixFigureKit.com a Scam?

It’s a program put together by two guys named Dave Clabeaux and Ben Moskel. These guys have been advertising very heavily lately. The very first thing they claim is that they make $1.2 million dollars per year and sometimes make $22,000 in a single day. These are seriously the very first claims they make.

Ben learned how to make all this money online after he found out that a coworker of his was making $10,000 a month with just one simple website. They talked and his coworker gave him her “one simple trick” and after just a few hours of work was able to start making $300/day following his coworkers system. Two years later he quit his job and now wants to sell you this secret for just $27.

Man does this one stink.

Let’s ask two rather obvious questions:

1. Ben starts his story about how miserable his job was and how he hated his boss. Yet he has a coworker that makes over $120,000 per year from one website and yet the coworker still works at his company. Why wouldn’t she quit?

2. Ben was able to start making over $300/day (again that’s a six-figure yearly salary) but still worked at a job he hated for 2 more years? Why wouldn’t HE quit?

Ben goes on to talk about how the Six Figure Program at SixFigureKit.com isn’t a get rich quick scheme and it’s only for motivated people. He then backs up this statement by showing checks reaching well into the five figures that he received by doing relatively no work. Of course, any identifying information is blacked out meaning these checks could have been issued to just about anyone.

There’s not much left on the sales page after that. A few questionable testimonials, some more pictures of money, and then a sign up box. I did wander over to the FAQ section and found these two gems tucked in there…

How Long Before I Start Making Money?
The Six-Figure-Program shows you exactly what to do to immediately start making money. If you follow the instructions you can realistically receive your first commission check within about 7-10 days.

I See a lot of “Get Rich Quick” Schemes – is your Product like them?
We are not a scam! There are a great number of people who will sell you the latest “get rich quick scheme.” These people will tell you that you can get rich by selling garbage on E-Bay or Investing in real estate with no money down. Those programs are all the same: they promise you the moon, but never deliver a thing. Most of these programs tell you that you will get rich, but never actually tell you what you will actually be doing!

God, can you smell that from where you’re sitting? Damn is it pungent. There’s absolutely no way you’ll be receiving checks 7-10 days after you join. That is not even remotely realistic. Do you know how much work it takes to start an affiliate marketing business? I also love how they think making $300/day within just a few days isn’t considered get rich quick. I really wish I could join their fantasy world.

Should You Join SixFigureKit.com?

I think we both know the answer to that.

I had every intention to actually sign up and review the information they sold. I entered a unique name and email address specifically for this program. It was a requirement to view the order page. I didn’t sign up right away, but they did capture some of my personal information.

Within a few MINUTES, I found two emails tucked away in my spam folder. One was advertising personal online coaching from a company called Prosper and another was a link to my first “home job kit.” This link took me to a fake news website and advertised fake work at home jobs. These sites are exact replicas of the fake news sites being shut down by the FTC.

The mere fact that these two guys are peddling these scams is enough of a reason for me NOT to give them my credit card information. I absoltuely will not be taking a look inside this one. Instead, I’ll turned to some real reviews by real people who have actually signed up for the program.

I wasn’t surprised to find that mostly every one who signed up had a complaint to file. The most common complaints are…

1. The information you receive for $27 is very basic affiliate marketing information found free anywhere on the web.
2. You’re just going to be continually sold products.
3. Support is very hard to get a hold of and often rude at times.
4. It’s all just a ploy to get you signed up for more products.
5. It’s very hard to get a refund.

Not ONCE did I read a positive report where someone was able to earn any money follow their system, let alone in the “realistic 7-10 days” claim made by these guys.

Let’s get one thing straight though. Internet/Affiliate Marketing DOES work. It’s not easy, especially when you’re just starting out. You cannot decide to start an Internet Marketing business and realistically expect to start making thousands of dollars per day.

Please do not buy into the hype.

If you’ve had any experiences with SixFigureKit.com, please leave a comment/review below.

The scam is being run by two guys named “Kyler Parker” and “Anthony Love.”

Avoid Tripod Inc.

From: “kyler parker”
Subject: Job Description

TRIPOD INC. is a well established Accounting, Resourcing and Evaluating Firm, One of our Business is to provide exceptional Customer Service Evaluation. Our company is solely responsible for hiring survey agents and recommending them to our Clients. The clients are companies that have a wide network of businesses across America, most of our clients have retail outlet in major cities across America. What your job (Survey Agent’s Position) entails is to conduct surveys at any of our client’s retail outlet assigned to you. You will be patronizing their business and conducting a survey at the same time at the Company expense, which mostly is in regards to the customer relationship their staffs offer.

We will therefore like to offer you the Job position as a Survey Agent to conduct customer service surveys in your area.

Your Job will involve you providing feedback to us about the customer experience at any client’s locations. Companies use this survey for many reasons. During a typical survey session, you will make observations at a specific store/office, restaurant, or other type of location, while acting like an average customer.

A typical survey report will include

1) How long it took you to get services.
2) Smartness of the attendant
3) Customer service professionalism

Most companies employ our expertise when people give complaints about their services, or when they feel there are needs for them to improve their customer service. Your Identity would be kept confidential as a safety measure. You will receive $300 on each survey you conduct at any time for any of our clients, and with the number of clients we currently work with, you could be conducting as much as 5-10 surveys weekly, which will earn you between $1,500-$3,000 weekly.

Our clients include:

McDonalds , Starbucks , Dunkin’ Donuts , Washington Mutual , ACME Check Cashing , Chase Financial
Walmart , MoneyGram America , Victoria’s Secret , Dell America , Western Union America , FTD Florists

No commitment is involved, no startup fees, no paperworks, and you would have flexible working hours.
If you are interested, email me your full name, address and a Valid cell phone number, so that we can add your mailing address to our Regional database.

First name.
Last name.
Address ….(No P.O Box)
City State Zip Code
Cell phone Only.

Once we receive this information and confirm your interest, we will introduce you to our clients immediately.

A swift acknowledgment of this email will be appreciated.

Warm Regards,
Anthony Love

A response gets you this next email…

From: “kyler parker”
Date: August 24, 2011 7:15:38 PM MDT
To: tamaram200@yahoo.com
Subject: Congratulations

We received your email and we have added you to our contacts list, which we sent out to our clients to inform them that we have recently hired you and also let them know that you would be available to conduct surveys at their offices/stores around you.

The Good News is that we heard back from MONEY-GRAM America Inc,They are our largest client and they stated that they would like to proceed immediately with you. This means that you will be conducting surveys at MONEY-GRAM agents around you, but we will need your confirmation first before you can start working for them. They want to hire you to conduct surveys at their outlets in your area and when we forwarded your resume with your details, they were satisfied with it and want to go on with you, now can you work with MONEY-GRAM, conduct surveys at their agent outlets in your area?? This is a very interesting offer, You will get $300 on each survey you conduct and you can conduct as much as 5-10 surveys every week, and the timing for each survey is about 20-30 minutes, so i guess this is a good job for you.

Email me back and let me know if you will like to go ahead with this job. I will also alert you when another client is interested, But this is a BIG offer.

Do get back to me soon and make sure you check your email always

Anthony Love

Additional Contact Information:

http://tripodinc.4mg.com/
232 Cherry Street
Denver CO 80220
1-720-213-4652
1-720-336-0214

As always, avoid any job that asks you to send and receive money. It is always, guaranteed to be a scam. Click here for more information on how this scam works.

Beware of the Angela Johnson & Caribbean Pools Scam

This is the application email that’s being sent out…

From: Angela Johnson
Subject: RE: CareerBuilder Job Application : Subsidiary Company Manager Re:

Hello,

Our Company is delighted to offer you a position of a Subsidiary
Manager. We are all excited about the potential that you carry to our
company. We plan to set up a small subsidiary company in your area and
that is why we are looking for Managers.

Our company is a mid-size company based out of Merritt Island, FL. We
have been selected by Pool & Spa News as a top 50 builder in the
Nation! We have built thousands of incredible pools in Brevard and
Indian River County and in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Las
Vegas. Our mission is to provide every client with an experience of
honesty, quality, integrity, excellence, attention to detail, on time
scheduling and guaranteed workmanship all at an affordable price. Our
knowledge and experience is not local, but global. The members of our
team come all from different states and countries, US, South America,
Europe and Asia, but we all work together.
Our website is: http://caribbean-pools.com

You will be organized as an exempt executive-level W-2 employee. Your
initial compensation package includes a monthly salary of $4500
payable biweekly, full medical and dental coverage through our
company’s employee benefit plan. At the beginning you will have to
undergo the 2-week probation period, that will be covered by us by
$1800.

Description of the position:

* Manage business (our subsidiary company will be created for you
at our own expense)
* Organization of payoffs straight from clients to employees by
bank wires and money transfer systems (a business bank account is set
up with our assistance)
* Performing administration work
* Ordering construction materials
* Advertising the company
* Scheduling payments and meeting the deadlines as per invoices

The first step is to complete the form on our website:

http://caribbean-pools.com/r.php?i=3

If you meet all of our minimum qualifications, you can expect a phone
call from me within 48 hours of my receipt of your registration
(except for Saturday and Sunday).

Thank you again for your interest and I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Angela Johnson

Angela Johnson | Manager | Caribbean Pools & Spas of Brevard |
Ph: 407-477-4085 | Fax: 800-520-6078 | manager@caribbean-pools.com |
arts3d@hotmail.com

[Author's Note: If you have any follow-up emails sent by this scammer, PLEASE post them below.]

I know this may look like a legitimate well-paying job, but this is absolutely 100% a scam. The clue lies within this line: * Organization of payoffs straight from clients to employees by bank wires and money transfer systems (a business bank account is set up with our assistance)

No company needs a random person to handle their payments/employee checks. They will send you fake checks and they’ll tell you to deposit them into the bank account you recently setup. Trust me, the check is guaranteed to be fake and it WILL eventually bounce. However, banks are required by law to make the funds you deposit immediately available to you even if the check hasn’t yet cleared.

The scammer is then going to ask you to take the money in your account, and send it off overseas to a “client” or “employee” via Western Union or Moneygram. Since you have access to the funds, this won’t be a problem. Unfortunately, the check WILL bounce. It may bounce in a few days, or it could be a few weeks or even months, but I absolutely guarantee you that the check will bounce. This means you just sent away a few thousand dollars to a scammer via a method that isn’t traceable and the money YOU will be 100% responsible for paying that money back to the bank. The scammer will be long gone at this point.

Never, ever, ever accept any type of position that requires you to handle someone else’s money.

These types of “jobs” are ALWAYS scams.

The scam is being run by a guy using the name Ronald Trescott. I have no doubts that it’s a fake name. Read this post and my commentary afterwards to see how you can protect yourself from similar scams.

Do NOT Work for Logistics Support Systems, LSSWeb.info, and Ronald Trescott!

Company Contact Information:
Logistics Support Systems
humanresources@lssweb.info
Ronald Trescott, Ph.D. “Human Resources”
(347) 732-1094
humanresources@lssweb.info

First Email: (after I applied to be an Administrative Assistant – note the email says Research Assistant)

From: Logistics Support Systems
Subject: Re: CareerBuilder Job Application :CB023905 (Selected!)

lssweb.info

Kindly remember to REPLY this email notification to officially accept the position

Hello There,

You’ve been selected for the Research Assistant position in the on-going 2011 LSS Research-Exercises on Business Enterprises nationwide. This position could easily be managed as Part-Time employment and the hours are very flexible.

Your Income

This position guarantees $100/hr for a start and could increase to about $120/hr subject to review of performance and commitment at the end of the month. You’re expected to put in just about 6-10 hrs a week. Hours are totally flexible. Weekly Bonuses for speed and detailed efficiency will also apply.

Also note: That this position is subject to another Upgrade Review within 3 months and you’ll be elevated to a Level 3 Research Assistant with a $200/hr income if successful.

Outdoor Research Description

To conduct a series of short Research / Evaluation outdoor exercises (all-expenses-paid where necessary) on selected business locations within your immediate neighborhood.

Research exercises will basically involve:

Making Quick visits to Business locations in your region
Noting Human Traffic / Clientele traffic levels
Describing Customer Service presence and Efficiency
Judging Security Consciousness and Awareness level
Describing general Staffs level of Professionalism

Accepting the Opening:

To accept this opening, simply re-confirm your Physical Address to enable completion of your enrollment by filling the form below:

Full Name:
Physical Address & Zip code:
Mobile No:………..(For sms Updates)
A response to this notification with the info requested above is required to officially accept the position.
After we receive your response and complete your enrollment, you will be sent another notification confirming your enrollment.

Ronald Trescott, Ph.D.
Human Resources
Logistics Support System
(347) 732-1094

Second Email:

That’s Brilliant. Your enrollment has been successfully completed.

Your Starter-Pack has been approved for dispatch and should get delivered to your Physical Address via USPS with Delivery Confirmation within the next 2-3 business days.

Your Starter-Pack will contain a note with clearly written-out Step-by-Step instructions to guide you to completing your Primary Research Exercise.

You will be entitled to an operational bonus as soon as you complete your Primary Research Exercise.

Your commitment to the Program is anticipated.

Welcome Aboard.

Human Resources
Logistics Support Systems

Third email:

From: Logistics Support Systems
Subject: Re: CareerBuilder Opening: CB023905 (Starter-pack)

Hi There,
We’ve just re-confirmed from the United States Postal Service (USPS) that the package with your Starter-Pack should get delivered any minute or within the next business day.

Kindly remember that your Starter-Pack will contain a note with clearly written-out Step-by-Step instructions to guide you to completing your Primary Research Exercise.

Please Note: You are entitled to an operational bonus as soon as you complete your Primary Research Exercise.
For this reason, it is very important you keep on the lookout for the mailman and notify us via E-mail as soon as your Starter-pack is delivered to you. This will facilitate the approval and speedy release of your bonuses.

Your commitment is anticipated.

Human Resources
Logistics Support Systems
Humanresources@lssweb.info

After receiving this last email, I did receive a letter in the mail from them with two checks at $1480 each.

The instructions said I needed to email them to let them know I received them so they could release the hold that is on the checks. (I have not done this). really, you can put holds on checks? I intend to call the bank noted on the check and see if the account really exists and the monies are there.

The instructions further stated that after I deposited the checks, I was to go to KFC (the company name on the checks was KFC and underneath it says TEM-KIL Co. Inc. in Nacogdoches, TX) and buy a meal there and observe the crew and note if they were friendly, etc.

Then I was to go to Walmart and get 2 moneypak cards for $1100 each, on two separate occasions then send them the Moneypak numbers from the back of the card… hmmm… I can smell this part of the scam. I give them the numbers and they somehow take those numbers and remove the money from the cards rendering them useless. I’ll pass, thanks.

I have not done anything they’ve instructed. The checks are still sitting on my table with the letter. What agency should I report them to?

Our reader is absolutely right. The money that was deposited on the Moneypak cards will be removed by the scammer and the original checks that were deposited WILL bounce. It’s only a matter of time. Trust me on this. The money will be taken out of your bank account, the scammer will have already taken all of the money from the Moneypak cards, and you’ll be responsible to repay ALL of the lost money.

Never accept any position that has you sending and receiving money. They are ALWAYS scams and often they are illegal and can land you in trouble with the police or even the FBI. You don’t want to get caught up in these kinds of scams. Rip up the fake checks and breathe a heavy sigh of relief because you just saved yourself a few thousand dollars.

Click here for a list of agencies that accept scam reports. As always, feel free to ask me whether or not a program or job is a scam. I’ll be more than happy to share my opinions.

Stay safe out there.