| 1. Are you in a rush to make a lot of money? |
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| It takes time and effort to build a successful online business. Lazy people may want to wait until they are ready to commit themselves to hard work before giving internet marketing a go. |
| 2. Get-Rich-Quick Schemes do not work. |
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| 3. Too good to be true? |
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| Then that’s just what it is “too good to be true.” |
| 4. No refund policy. |
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| Do not, I repeat do not purchase anything that does not have a refund policy. |
| 5. Watch out for scammers. |
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| Most internet marketers are super friendly people willing and ready to lend a helping hand. It’s the way it should be. We were all newbie marketers at one time and we like to help. A great place to hangout for newbie marketers are internet marketing forums. With that being said, all it takes is one charming unethical marketer to leave a bad taste in your mouth. Watch out for the warning signs as mentioned above. |
Scammer Horror Story
While hanging out in a forum which will remain nameless, I and many others witnessed 15 people being taken for $500. each. This offer was from a supposedly trusted member of that forum. It was a new gimmick that he had invented and no one else knew anything about it. He had supposedly tested his gimmick which earned him $5,000. in commissions the first week.
Out of the goodness of his heart he wanted to share the wealth with the first 15 members of the forum willing to purchase his gimmick for $500. each. Not to worry, he boasted, this money would be made back in a flash. He wouldn’t divulge any details because of course it was a “secret” gimmick. Details would come forth as soon as the purchases were made, and there was an absolute “NO REFUND” policy. It’s OK he announced since his gimmick was a guaranteed money maker as long as his his instructions were followed.
The warning signs were all over the place and I strongly felt that I must post a warning. My post just said to watch out for offers which sounded too good to be true, and with a no refund policy to boot. Needless to say, my post was not well received since there is a protocol not to step on another marketer’s deals. Frankly I didn’t care what he thought, this was an obvious scam and I felt the need to clear my conscience by warning others.
This offer was from marketer who had paraded himself for a couple of years as a trusted member of the forum. In fact he was thought of as a valuable and helpful marketer from newbie and experienced marketers alike.
A special forum was created for the members who bought the gimmick. The regular forum was very quiet for a couple of weeks. We all kept our ears to the wall waiting to hear news or leaks about the gimmick. Were these people actually filling their pockets with thousands of dollars? We couldn’t wait to hear.
After two weeks the “flaming” posts started with claims of being “scammed.” His defense was to accuse someone of spilling the beans. This brings me to another point. Let’s say that a black hat marketer does come up with a new gimmick. As soon as he sells it, someone who bought it will turn right around and sell it as his secret for let’s say $100. Within a few hours a whole lot of people will be aware of this gimmick which means no more big bucks for the few.
What was the gimmick in question? A little background first. On some forums, members gain points for posting. The better the post the most points to be gained. If a post is really good then another forum member can tag it as “worthy” and the member who wrote the post gains additional points. Although most members post to gain points, they can also buy points. Once enough points have been amassed, members trade their points for various rewards, for instance a free domain name.
Anyway, the gimmick was this. Join these various forums, buy points, choose an incentive program, visit the merchant site and sign up as a visitor so that when the “thank you” email was received from the merchant, a word in the email would be chosen such as the 4th word for the purpose of verification.
The next step was to write a small post or send private messages to forum members telling them that if they signed up to a particular program such as filling out a survey, or signing up to receive car insurance or university quotes, they would be given anywhere from 20 to 50 points for fulfilling the task. To confirm that they had actually signed up they would have to verify the 4th word or whatever word the marketer had chosen before the points were given. Thus, the marketer makes money each time a forum members signs up to a service that they care nothing about.
This is the scam that took 15 marketers for $500. each. Can you imagine paying $500. for that crap. Unfortunately, they learned a hard lesson. The member who sold this unethical scheme got flamed publicly for days, but he didn’t care, that’s how he ended up making $7,500. within a week.
Stay away from blackhat marketers and their unethical schemes. I guarantee that you’ll sleep a lot better at night and be able to face yourself in the mirror.
