Work at Home Institute (WAHI) has been online since 2013 and makes a very bold claim: By following this program, you can quit your job and make a “sizable income” from home.
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What exactly are you doing to make this sizable income?
From unemployed single mother to millionaire
First, you get to read about the rags-to-riches story of Bobbie Robinson, a single mother who worked “really hard” and got laid off. Luckily, her daughter pushed her to not give up, and “soon after the nightmare began, I discovered the internet.”
Following along with Bobbie’s story, we learn that she eventually met a man who worked from home. This man told her how he managed to work part-time yet make a comfortable living. Bobbie applied to whatever site this man was working for, and just three months later, “I now had an easy work at home job that required 4 hours or less per day.” Best of all, “I make millions per year…I am able to buy what I want, take long vacations, and give my daughter the life she always deserved…”
What is this amazing work at home job that makes Bobbie millions per year for part-time work?
The ‘big secret’ is link posting.
Apparently, big companies don’t have the resources to hire additional employees to post online links for them, so they contract the work out.
How does link posting make money for you? Here’s how WAHI explains it:
- You log into your WAHI account and copy the link codes that are supplied to you.
- You go to an area of your WAHI account where “customer records” are added and where you can post your copied links.
- You fill out a “few simple details” and post your links.
- You go see how much money you’re earning from your links.
WAHI’s sales page then shows you what a “typical account” would earn in a week:
As yet more “proof,” the WAHI sales page showcases Patricia Feeney, another work at home mother. WAHI also claims that this program has received national media attention.
However, when you listen to the minute long report, you hear nothing regarding the WAHI program. The video is also heavily edited and just introduces the generic concept of working from home.
Likewise, the WAHI tries to make it appear that it’s been the subject of major news networks such as these:
This is a common tactic used by many work-at-home opportunity sites to make you think that they are legit. However, the sites that actually have been featured on the news include an actual link or story to that news network. Within the WAHI sales page, you can’t click on the news network sites and have no way of verifying what exactly was reported.
So, why else am I skeptical of WAHI’s claims?
The customer photos are fake.
WAHI showcases photos of customers along the right hand side of the sales page, along with their glowing testimonials. Some examples include these customers:
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However, when you do a Google image search of these individuals, you quickly learn that they are all stock photos.
The program availability is fake.
The WAHI sales page does what a lot of scam programs do when convincing you sign up- it creates fake program availability for your geographic area. Somehow, regardless of where you live or even if you input a fake zip code into the form, there are always just 3 positions left in your area:
These 3 positions never go down to zero, no matter how many times you refresh this page.
I should add that another programmed feature of this program is its instant price markdown when you try to leave the sales page. The program drops from $97 to $77, and then $47. This happens no matter how many times you leave the page or return to it.
Bobbie Robinson is fake.
The spokesperson for this program is portrayed on the sales page as a 20-something woman lying in front of her laptop. However, when you perform an image search on her, you learn that she also goes by the name of Michelle Withrow of Work at Home University and Stay at Home Revenue, among other work-at-home scams.
Oh, and the actual photo of Bobbie/Michelle? It’s actually a stock photo.
Link posting isn’t exactly how affiliates make money.
WAHI tries to convince you that you can make lots of money by posting a few links a day and collecting huge referral commissions when people click on and buy products via those links. While link posting is one way that affiliate marketers earn money, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. True affiliate marketing involves creating websites and filling them with valuable content, emailing subscribers, blogging, creating informational products, publishing product reviews, etc.
True affiliate marketing can make money, but it won’t happen just by posting links, like Bobbie claims.
WAHI offers no real people who back up their claims.
The WAHI contact area is a generic 877 phone number that leads to an outsourced customer service line. You have no way of contacting the actual creators of this program and, as already mentioned, the spokesperson herself is fake. Should you run into any challenges along the way with the WAHI program, you are out on your own.
The WAHI program offers very generic information on who might even be around to help you. Supposedly, after you sign up for the program, you are matched with an “Internet expert.” But why would you need an Internet expert and not someone proficient in affiliate marketing?
Also, you supposedly gain access to a WAHI members area called Startup Freedom Club. There is no mention of how many members are in this club and if any of the program’s creators help answer questions, etc. A club made up of members is fairly useless if all those members also have no idea how to get started and make money through affiliate marketing.
The Bottom Line
Our team has done hundreds of reviews over the past 10 years here at I’ve Tried That. When we review programs, we focus on looking at the three core components that are needed to build a successful business online:
- The online presence you create: What presence is the program helping you build? Typically you are given a website, store front, or blog.
- The training you’re being taught: What do you do once you have that presence and are you given step-by-step instructions on what to build?
- The support you’re being offered: How well will the product creator assist you in building your business and is there a community to turn to for discussion?
If you want to truly succeed online, you need a combination of those 3 things.
Work at Home Institute does not hit any of the three. You aren’t building a meaningful presence, the training is deceitful & will never work, and there is absolutely no support or customer service being offered. This is nothing more than an attempt to grab as much money from you as possible.
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I got sucked in for 47$ but within in the same 10 min i cancelled got my refund and all is good except this so called internet expert is still texting me to tell me how much she can help me. Every time I text back with check out the bookkeeping dept. Im not a member that was 6 months ago and they are still contacting me so i think im going to pretend that i am with them to see what happens. I will report back.
They have changed their marketing to WAHPROGRAM and the ‘rich beyond dreams’ mom now goes by the name “Robin”. I’m a skeptic, glad I did some research before investing.
So is there any way i can cancel it? Ive signed up already. Yea i paid the $97. But im wanting to option out. Do i have to cancel my debit card as well?
I’m glad to have found this site. To late for the $97 setup,however I’m in the final call with the 2018 looking for thier next successful work at home person. I think I am not going to answer my phone today when they call me back. To bad if and when they call I somehow could be the person that could catch them in the act.
I almost bought this also. I clicked on the terms and conditions and found a name (Bobbie Robinson)and decided to Google it and landed on your site. Thank God that I did or I would have lost $97. Thank You so much for your site.
I am so glad I decided to look this up on google, the website for the program was actually on my college website as a recommendation for working, since it was from the college site I thought wow this may actually be real, that would be amazing and help me out incredibly, but before I signed up I talked to my parents, ran it by my girlfriend, and she wanted me to because we could’ve used that kind of cash, but in the end I googled it and thank god I did, I got my hopes up for nothing
thanks for warning
Sincerely,
Jeremy
You’re very welcome Jeremy. It’s a shame that these advertisements are allowed to run on legitimate websites. This particular scam is being advertised heavily around the web on popular news sites and people view that as an endorsement. It’s not. I’m glad I was able to help.
The clock is still ticking on the 11 minutes they give you to sign up. so I used that time to google this program instead — my suspicions were confirmed by the article and the comments on this site. Every aspect says SCAM. I knew they interjected those satisfied user videos and the sound quality was so bad you couldn’t really understand what they said. Also, the drawn out back story of poor Bobbie and the three positions remaining to put on the “pressure” was another giveaway. The best part was after I put my New York zip code in I was told how lucky I am to have a position available in Houston, Texas! C’mon — the old Nigerians internet scams were more sophisticated. With a few tweaks and higher production values they’d get a lot more folks signing up to lose their money. Thank goodness they’re scam amateurs. I still don’t understand why CNN, NBC etc don’t sue them for using their logos and making false claims to boost their legitimacy. That’s actually what got me interested. At least all I wasted was time.
I am amazed that they are still allowed to display those logos. If you look again, they do some tricky wording. “Work at Home Opportunities As Seen On:” could be legally argued that they are simply saying those news networks have featured work at home programs in the past. It’s clever BS in the end.
Well I wasn’t as smart as the rest of you. I’ve been out of work for a while now due to the market and came across wahprogram.com. I was just so desperate to find a way to keep my family afloat! I not only sent them $97 to sign up I sent them another $98 or so for the “VIP” membership, AKA pretty close to my last $. After one day of watching countless videos with very little real in depth detail, I had some questions. After countless emails and phone calls I’ve yet to hear a word! Even though I got duped, I truly hope I can help the next person thinking of doing this just like you guys have helped me. I can’t thank you guys enough!
Sincerely,
Trent
You can argue the charges on your credit card or with your bank Trent. Don’t let them have your hard earned money.
check ripoffreports.com, bbb and google. these are sites to check before purchasing any work at home scams or any other businesses. get their address and send a letter for a refund, if no response send a complaint to your state’s attorney general office, consumer fraud with the copy of the letter you sent to the company and if you get any response from them. some states such as nys will follow up, unfortunately i had a sad experience with the lazy state of north carolina. totally useless.
You can usually dispute the charges with your bank or credit card as well. Definitely get in contact with a customer service rep if you lost money to this scam.
I had checked out the web site and since I am a programmer I looked at the sites source code. Source code is the code that helps create the web page. One of the things i noticed that told me straight up that the so called comments were false is that the comments were actually built in the html code not pulled from a database or sever but actually hard coded in to the page. This means that the programmer or designer built the comments part of the page in html with the comments. If they are willing to lie about comments that were never actually written then they are willing to lie about anything else just to get you on board.
A lot of these scams try and Geolocate you and claim “there are only X positions left!” to try and scare you into thinking it is going to run it. It would be no surprise that the comments are fake as well.
I almost signed up as well till I contacted bbb! If it sounds to good to be true it probably isn’t…. Always listen to what your Mom told you. ?
True words to live by Robin! If someone is promising you the world with little or no work, run far, far away.
Thank God, my husband said before you do that would you Google their reviews?
I’m glad you took the time to research Kim! Otherwise you would have lost quite a bit of money.
My initial tip off was when I had to put my email address in and then I got a response that there’s 3 openings in my area. How did an email account provide a locale of where I reside?!!!!!
These guys can see your general location in the world and then list your current city directly on their page. It’s an underhanded tactic to try and scare you into thinking the number of “open positions” will run out. It’s a scam tactic through and through.
Thank you so much for posting this review. I landed on their sales video after accidentally clicking a link on ehow.com and almost signed up. Luckily for me, my bank blocked the transaction, thus saving me from being scammed. It’s crazy how you’ll believe anything when you need to make money. I’m gonna stick to affiliate marketing the right way and avoid these get rich quick schemes once and for all.
Thanks,
Diana
Affiliate marketing is definitely the way to go. It’s not a get rich quick scheme by any means, but if you put the time and effort in, you can build a business that generates a residual income for you for years to come. My top recommended training program teaches you exactly how to do just that.
thanks for the Info I really can’t afford a bad business choice.
You’re very welcome Kim. I know the feeling and that’s exactly why I started this website.
I was on the last step when I decided to do some research before I committed. Boy! Am I glad I did and found you. Thanks for saving me the $77.00 !
Whew! It would have been a MINIMUM of $77. They would have continue to sell bogus crap to you for years to come.
I have only been out $77.00 but at 62 on a fixed income and raising two of my grandchildren it was a sacrifice to become a member of this WAHPROGRAM. I am on disability due to a black widow spider bite 11 years ago. My check for a month is less than $700.00 I feel like such a fool. Wish that I had found you sooner.
request a refund in writing. if no response send a complaint letter to your states attorney general’s office, consumer fraud. some states are too lazy to do their job and follow up on you complaint, such as north carolina. also in the future do research before sending any money to these work at home scams.
Williams is right. Do no just give them your money. Contact your bank or credit card and fight to get it back.
I was almost hooked on but thank God my Husband wasn’t a believer. Now my only one question is those that have went as far as to quit their jobs; has anyone sued yet?
Respectfully,
Thanks for saving me
I haven’t heard of any lawsuits against them. Often times, these scams are run out of countries that leave us with no legal recourse. I’m glad I was able to help save you from them though.