Beware of These Mystery Shopping Fake Check Scams

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Even though it’s been a while since my car wrap scam posting of 2013, I see that fake check scammers are still going strong.

Yesterday was a “red letter” day for me; I received not one, not two, but three fake checks in my mail box.

Fake check scam #1: Mystery Shoppers Agent

The first fake check scam involves mystery shopping through the company website Mystery Shoppers Agent.

mystery shoppers agent2

At first, I wasn’t sure if this company was also a scam or just caught up in the cross hairs of the scammers’ ploys. You see, when it comes to fake checks, scammers don’t hesitate to “plug” legitimate businesses into the mix. Completely legitimate banks and retailers will appear to be sending cashier’s checks, and USPS or FedEx envelopes will feature actual return addresses.

In the case of Mystery Shoppers Agent, however, the stench of scam was almost immediately apparent. Aside from the site’s broken English, it states that it offers a “Minimum amount for each assignment is $600 USD, payable by check.” Also, on its application page, you find the following statement: “We would like to inform you that you will be handle two assignment per week and the minimum payment for the each assignment will be $600 which make it $1200 every week.”

I’ve been a mystery shopper since 2010; several of my friends have been mystery shoppers for 10+ years now. No one in my immediate group has ever heard of assignments paying $600.

Also, for high-paying assignments of $60 or more, mystery shop assignments came with pages upon pages of instructions. However, read the letter I received and posted below for an assignment that supposedly pays $300:

IMG_3689 (2)

For this “assignment,” you are requesting wire transfers to two individuals living in the Philippines. You are then generating a report about the “customer service professionalism.” No directions are provided on how to generate this report.

But it gets even better- I received not one such letter from Mystery Shoppers Agent, but two! In one day, I found the exact same letters addressed to me and sitting in two identical 2-Day Priority Mail USPS envelopes. Along with those two identical letters were these two identical $3,775 checks:

IMG_3686

The same day, I also received the following email from Jo.DanieLS@Kash.info. His questions and my replies are posted below.

> Subject: First Task
> From: Jo.DanieLS@Kash.info
>
> First task is to be delivered to your address today or Tuesday at the latest and your assignment info and instructions would come in the mail along with your salary,please kindly follow the instructions that came in the mail along with your Paycheck…Did you recieve the payment yet?please reply back…thanks

On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 4:23 PM, Halina Zakowicz wrote:
Yes I did.

From: jonathan.daniels1950@gmail.com
did you made the deposit yet and when would u send the funds?

On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 4:26 PM, Halina Zakowicz wrote:
I deposited the funds this afternoon.

From: jonathan.daniels1950@gmail.com
when would u send the funds?

On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 4:38 PM, Halina Zakowicz wrote:
I’m going to do it later this week. Probably Friday.

From: jonathan.daniels1950@gmail.com
why friday?the check would clear tomorrow…so you should send the funds tomorrow please…also,i have been calling you and you didnt pick your calls

What I found interesting was that never during our email interchange did “Jonathan” ask about the actual review that I was hired to complete. No, it was all about sending the money ASAP.

Two days later, Jonathan was texting me about the money. I’ve copied our conversation below and highlighted my answers in green:

Have you completed the assignment. Please reply now

Yes

Can I have the details for the assignment the ref no for each name

Hello Why did you stop replying

The first number 65189544

I got the first number. I hope you sent the funds to the new details I sent to your email please ?

I called moneygram. It says the first number is invalid

Sorry about that. Let me check

And why are you not picking up your calls? And what’s the ref no for the second one What’s goingon

Ok, I need to check with moneygram again about those numbers.

You are a liar. Why are you lieing ?

You can’t even pick your calls. You didn’t even send the second number. This is bad of you

Please check this link

Which link

Tinyurl.com/p77xuoy

Stupid woman

I’ve also filed this scam with the FTC

I should add that the phone number of this California-based operation is (657) 529-0008. If the “business” is based in California, why are the checks originating from Arkansas? And also, why are the USPS envelopes coming from New York & Company at 2655 Richmond Ave., #1070, NY, NY 10314?

mystery shoppers agent

Fake check scam #2: Walmart Money Transfer

The other fake check scam came to me courtesy of “Joshua Baumfeld” of Secret Shopper. The email that I first received from this Joshua went as follows:

Dear Secret shopper ,

This is an update on Your first secret Shopper assignment which has been mailed and will be delivered  today or latest tomorrow  via USPS.Your secret shopper assignment will be done at any nearest Walmart store close to you,which will include shopping and testing other services available at Walmart.

Instructions on how to proceed and email your first assignment report has  been included along in the packet.

Kindly notify and verify that you have received this email,and also notify via email as soon as you have received the assignment.

Regards,

Joshua Baumfeld
Head of Recruitment.

About a week later, I received an official-looking 2-Day Priority Mail USPS envelope containing a letter and a $1,680 cashiers check.

Joshua wanted me to deposit this check and then make a “Walmart to Walmart Money Transfer.” I was also supposed to report on such details as “smartness of the attendant(s),” “reaction of personnel under pressure,” and “rudeness and agents inefficiency to customers.”

There are many obvious red flags in this letter, including poor English, sketchy directions and a payment of $200 before I even do my job. Another point of concern is the state (Grenada) and city (Mississippi) names being reversed. Meanwhile, the address on the envelope states that the correspondence is originating from Joshua Baumfeld, 7072 Wnchester (typo included) Rd., Memphis, TN 38125.

Finally, Walmart has stated that it doesn’t engage in any Secret Shopper services.

The entire contents of my letter and check are provided below.

IMG_3693

IMG_3691

What is the point of these fake check scams?

When you receive a fake check from scammers, the point is to have you deposit that money into your bank account- and then withdraw or wire most of it to the scammers (or their associates). The deposit and withdrawal must be completed within 1-2 days or ASAP.

By doing so, you and your bank won’t catch onto the fact that the check is actually fake and will bounce in roughly 3 days.

By the time your deposited check bounces, the scammers will be long gone, as will your withdrawn or wired funds.

If you don’t yet believe me, please click on the following list of complaints from duped secret shoppers.

The lesson to be (hopefully not) learned here: Don’t fall for these fake check scams.

Bonus: Halina’s fake check collage

I just wanted to show off my assembled collage of fake checks to all our I’ve Tried That readers. In total, I’ve received $21,835 now in fake check money. Woo! Also notice that some of these checks are made out to my cohort Hugh G. Rection. I’m sure my mail carrier was highly amused.

IMG_3696

 

Is Paid2Save App the Business Opportunity It Claims to Be?

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Recently, I received the following email in my inbox from a person praising the Paid2Save app:

You recently filled out a request to be matched with a business opportunity and I am THRILLED to be able to share this information with you!!  You have come across an INCREDIBLE opportunity at the RIGHT time!!

Paid2Save is an incredible, innovative Mobile Technology Company.  There are fascinating things happening as we speak!  This is a HUGE opportunity to make money on your own terms and this is a ground floor opportunity!

I’m always leery of companies or associates advertising massive “opportunities,” complete with lots of exclamation points. So, I decided to dig further into the Paid2Save business opportunity.

What is Paid2Save?

Paid2Save is both the name of a company and a mobile app that has existed since 2012. The company is based in California and is owned by David Hart of Hart 2 Hart Marketing. The app is a downloadable piece of software that customers use to get discounts to local merchants. As such, the app works akin to the business structures of LivingSocial and Groupon.

p2s

Unlike LivingSocial and Groupon, however, Paid2Save has a grand total of one employee, which might be David Hart himself or Linda Hart (data derived from Hoover’s).

Where does the rest of the workforce originate from?

Welcome to the world of MLM

Paid2Save operates via a referral structure of brand associates who work to recruit new merchants as well as app users. In order to become a brand associate, you purchase either the Business Starter Pack for $199.90 or the Business Builders Pack for $399.90.

Both of these plans provide you with an Ultimate Club Membership, enabling you to qualify for discounts at local merchants like dentists, restaurants, movie theaters, etc. You also obtain one or more DreamShares, which is like timeshare ownership.

You also qualify to earn income via retail sales and recruitment of new members. In fact, if you fail to recruit others into the program, you will no longer receive bonus and residual income.

p2save

This means you’ll soon be bugging local businesses and your family and friends to download the Paid2Save app or sign up for its different membership plans.

These plans cost $14.95, $29.95, or $49.95 per month for the Travel, Premier or Ultimate Club subscriptions, respectively. There is also a one-time $9.95 application fee.

As you sign up new members, you will start to build what’s known as your “downline.” This downline will kick up some of their member subscription commissions to you once they recruit their own new members. You will then rise up in the ranks of the organization and earn a new title (e.g., Brand Partner, Brand Supervisor) plus additional bonuses and commissions.

Is the Paid2Save app worth it?

While I’m not a big fan of MLM-style businesses, my bigger hesitation with Paid2Save is the product itself and how it can realistically make money for the company and its brand associates.

Paid2Save is not a real product.

Companies make revenues on actual products, not access to discounts from third-party vendors. This is one big reason why Groupon has struggled for years to make actual revenue and maintain solvency.

Sure, the app does make money via merchant transactions- 10% of each merchant transaction is paid back to Paid2Save. But a merchant will typically run a promotional discount once or twice a year, not constantly. Also, many merchants will cancel their plans after they’ve promoted their business and/or found the app to be unprofitable.

Paid2Save faces stiff competition.

LivingSocial and Groupon are free to use for customers and it’s only the merchants who must pay for the services. Many online discount and daily deal sites are free to use. It’s going to be difficult to convince frugal shoppers to pay up to $50/month for discounts that they could otherwise find for free, even if those discounts are really good.

Paid2Save has MLM competitors.

Even in the world of MLM, the Paid2Save app is not alone. Similarly styled apps like FlexCom, Lyoness and BeepXtra also operate by recruiting members and offering access to discounts as their product. ZeekRewards is yet another such MLM-based app, which is now undergoing litigation for being an illegal Ponzi and pyramid scheme.

You must pay for a membership.

As you move up the Paid2Save ranks to brand manager, you must also pay for an Ultimate Club subscription. That’s a business cost of almost $50/month just for being able to recruit new associates and collect a portion of their commissions.

The deals just aren’t that good.

After I downloaded the Paid2Save app and checked out its deals, I saw the usual merchant discounts that I would also find via Ebates, TopCashBack, etc. For example, I found online deals for 1.2% cash back from 1-800-BASKETS and 4% cash back from 1-800-FLORALS.

In the local deals area, I found a Pay $20, Get $30 Worth of Food/Beverage deal at a golf center and a free evaluation offer at a chiropractic center. These are the same kinds of deals that I see in my mailbox circular.

The Paid2Save Bottom Line

The Paid2Save app might be a worthwhile app to have at your disposal when you are shopping or out on the town. However, because customers must pay to use this app’s bigger benefits (through paid Club subscription plans), there is going to be limited product interest even if the discounts are good.

My recommendation is to keep clear of this business opportunity and look elsewhere.

How to Avoid Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing Scams

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If you live long enough, you’ll probably receive a letter from the National Library of Poetry telling  you how your poem has been given an “Editor’s Choice” award, and now all you need to do is send money to see it in print. In fact, the National Library of Poetry even has a poem written in its honor and published in the National Library of Poetry:

The Scam

By Edwin James Howard

I was taken by a scam
You know the sort
Write a poem
You might win big bucks
I entered away
A poem dear to my heart
I’m a semi-finalist
Dollar signs in my eyes.
But then comes the line
Pay us to see it in print
We’ll give you a deal
Pay us some more to tell your life.
I love a good scam
I wish it was me
That thought of this first
Have people pay to write poetry.

In the past, it was easy to spot vanity presses and avoid them for the publishing scams that they were. Today, thanks to the digital publishing revolution, the dividing line between legitimate and scam publishers is harder to draw. Furthermore, even for those authors using traditional publishers and literary agents, scams abound. How can you protect yourself and your hard-earned cash from being taken?

Understand how self-publishing works

If you choose to self-publish, you will likely work with a self-publisher that will provide you with a set of services including formatting, cover design, copyright registration, distributor listing, etc. in exchange for a set fee. This self-publisher will also print your materials for you using either an in-house or (more than likely) outsourced printer.

The cost of printing is fairly even across the board with most self-publishers- or at least it should be- because most self-publishing companies use the print-on-demand company Lightning Source as their outsourced printer. Click here to find out more about expected printing prices using Lightning Source. If a self-publisher wants to charge you substantially more than what the typical printing cost would be using a printer like Lightning Source, that exorbitant fee should immediately raise a red flag with you.

Understand how much publishing really costs

Self-publishers may also charge a premium for such things as purchasing ISBNs or a copyright, when in fact you can buy these items yourself for a much lower fee. Granted, a self-publisher needs to make a profit somewhere; however, profits are typically derived from book sales (through royalties) and not by gouging the author on publishing products. When publishing companies derive the majority of their profits from the authors and not book buyers, they become knows as vanity presses (and get sued). Click here to learn more about protecting yourself from self-publishing scams.

Some self-publishers that have been flagged as vanity presses because of their high printing charges include Arbor Books, AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Llumina Press, WinePress Publishing and Xlibris. Interestingly, AuthorHouse, iUniverse and Xlibris are all owned by Author Solutions, which was sued in April of 2013 for selling poor quality products, not reporting actual book sales (and thus, royalties) and up-selling unnecessary services to authors. Click here to read the entirety of the Author Solutions lawsuit.

Understand how traditional publishing works

Many authors choose traditional publishing houses like Random House or Penguin because these outlets appear more “legit” in the literary world. The main advantage with big-time publishers is that they have both the marketing budget and sales force to actively work with distributors in promoting new books. Of course, the caveat to this statement is that most of the marketing budget and sales force are dedicated to promoting books written by celebrities or already famous authors, not you. In fact, if you as the newbie author don’t already have some kind of following for your book, it’s doubtful that your book sales will be the result of publisher efforts.

The other, though highly debatable, advantage with traditional publishers is that you don’t pay for the actual publishing of your book. Instead, you sign a contract where you give your publisher certain rights to your book and, in exchange, receive an advance and royalties from its sale.

If you use a traditional publisher, read your contract carefully and hopefully with an attorney proficient in literary agreements. Look out for clauses that state “in perpetuity,” as these items often strip you of the rights to your own book for the remainder of your lifetime- and then some.

Understand the publishing middlemen

Because it’s become even more challenging to pitch a book directly to traditional publishers, literary agents are often called upon as the middlemen between authors and publishers. Literary agents are often former publishing house editors who chose to become promotional agents for aspiring authors. Literary agents must also be pitched to and, should they decide to take on that aspiring author, deal directly with the publishing houses to promote her book.

Unfortunately, just like some publishers, there are many unscrupulous literary agents who prefer to make money off the author rather than the book. Some literary agents charge a reading fee for looking over a manuscript (which may or may not even get read). For example, the “literary agency” Kissane Communications, which is based in South Barrington, Ill, once took a newbie author for a ride by charging a $150 reading fee for her novel, which was then read only until about page 20 and then probably discarded. I know this because this newbie author was me, way back in 1992 and before the age of scam-busting websites like I’ve Tried That.

A reputable literary agent does not charge a reading fee- nor any fee, for that matter- because a literary agent works to make an eventual commission on your book sales. To find a reputable literary agent, start with the Association of Authors’ Representatives website for a listing of agents. Then, follow up on specific agents by checking out their websites and which authors they’ve worked with in the past. Don’t be afraid to contact those authors to obtain a thorough review of the agent in question. And finally, should you decide to work with a particular agent, always have an attorney check over the contract you eventually sign.

Understand the new “traditional publisher” publishing scam

If you don’t want to give a literary agent a slice of your earnings or if you already know someone in the traditional publishing business, then you may wish to pitch traditional publishers directly. Be aware, however, that traditional publishers are taking huge financial losses to their business models thanks to self-publishers. As a result, many well-known and even respected traditional publishing houses have made deals with self-publishers/vanity presses in order to profit from newbie author ignorance.

Remember Author Solutions, the self-publisher that owns a suite of vanity presses like AuthorHouse and iUniverse? As of 2012, this company is actually a subsidiary of Penguin Group- yeah, the same Penguin that probably published your high school textbooks. And it’s doubtful that Penguin will clean up this vanity press because guess who now sits on the Penguin Board of Directors? Yep, none other than AS CEO Kevin Weiss. And the story doesn’t end there; this year, Penguin joined forces with Random House, another big-time publisher.

If you think Simon & Schuster is better, think again: Last year, S&S announced that it was launching the vanity press Archway Publishing. It turns out that Archway Publishing is a subsidiary of…wait for it…Author Solutions. Other big publishing names are also getting down and dirty: Writer’s Digest has launched Abbott Press, Hay House now has Balboa Press, and Thomas Nelson has WestBow. Even the bodice-ripper Harlequin has gotten in bed with vanity publishing. And guess what else? All these vanity publishers are subsidiaries of…I feel like I’m repeating myself…Author Solutions.

Why am I calling these new publishing imprints scams?

Let’s say a traditional publisher, say S&S, receives a query letter from a newbie author and declines to publish his book. However, instead of taking the loss of potential author income for what it is, S&S can now tell the author that their new imprint, Archway Publishing, will be more than happy to publish his book. To the newbie author, it sounds like S&S is saying yes to the book- after all, Archway is a part of S&S, right?

What the author doesn’t realize is that the S&S name will never be printed on any part of his book. S&S will also never have a hand in marketing or selling that book. Instead, those tasks will fall on, in essence, Author Solutions. Given its recent lawsuit, how much of a vested interest do you think AS will have in actually trying to sell an unknown author’s book?

The Publishing End Game

Publishing is a business and, like all businesses, is prone to corruption and scams. You as the author need to exercise due diligence when dealing with publishers by any name and affiliation. Too many newbie authors become so enamored with the idea of finally being published that they don’t do their homework on who their publisher/literary agent really is. Don’t become another publisher/literary agent statistic.

 

I’ve Tried That Investigates: Partner with Paul

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We’ve receive a couple of requests to review Partner with Paul and find out exactly what happens when you partner up with Paul. It shouldn’t surprise you when I say the results are less than thrilling.

The Claims

The following quotes have been pulled directly from Paul’s website.

What I’m offering is a realistic plan that can help you make an extra $500 to $5,000 a month, right now, and then we’ll go from there depending on what you want to do.
…
What I’m hoping though is that once you get a little taste of making money online you’ll want to take things to the next level, and maybe even work from home full-time.
…
If you do I’ll personally work with you one-on-one, coach you, and share with you the custom tools I use to make 5- and even 6-figures a MONTH from just a single online business.

But don’t worry, making money online is easy when you know how …

  • You DON’T need to be an Internet expert or “computer geek”
  • You DON’T need to have any prior marketing or business experience
  • You DON’T need a lot of free time – even a few hours a week is enough to start
  • You DON’T need to mess with the hassles of a “real” business – this is EASY

Even if you get “weeded out”, you’ll still make $500+ a month

P.S. My friend Mike made $862.50 in his first month, $1298.32 in his second month, and is on track to make about $1,500 a month from here on out working just 3-4 hours a week. This has literally changed his life, and he’s really excited about making even more money online.

Disclaimer: This is not a “get rich quick” scheme. You will have to work to make money. While the average person can easily make $500 to $5,000 a month online, making any amount of money requires specialized knowledge and the appropriate effort.

Let’s review our scam checklist, shall we?

  • Anonymous online figure claiming to make millions of dollars online… check.
  • Screenshots that “prove” these earnings… check.
  • Claims that ANYONE can make an upper-class income in their spare time… check.
  • Absolutely no mention of what you’ll be doing to make money… check.
  • A countdown timer claiming entrance to the program is going to expire… check.

Once again we have a website from an anonymous figure claiming he makes more money than you do online and you’re a sucker for waiting this long to not send him money.

The Truth

Remember that company that was widely popular in the late 90’s that sold pills that may or may not have caused you to lose weight and either get hepatitis or die? Yes, Herbalife. Well, now for only $39.95 you too can receive a useless pack of marketing materials that show you how to become a multi-level marketer and waste more time and money than you can afford.

Click here to learn more about online scams and how to protect yourself.

The Proof

I got an email from him (Paul) and it he seems to be upfront and honest.

Seems to be yes!
BUT if he were TRULY ‘upfront and honest’ he would tell you right off the bat that this is HERBALIFE!!

Herbalife may be a good company, but it has definitely suffered from typical MLM associated problems, at least as far as IMAGE is concerned!
That’s why most MLM’s won’t even tell you their name until they feel they have your complete attention.

I got involved though, as far as getting the ‘work at home starter kit’ because, he offered to pay for the shipping. AND, he promised I’d be earning money within TWO WEEKS of receiving the ‘the work at home starter kit’.

Apparently he did pay for shipping.
I got the $9.95 shipping cost refunded to my PAYPAL account.

I see no way in hell that one can make a DIME with that ‘work at home starter kit’ though!
He also offers some free memberships in online opps that are supposed to make money for you.
Since you won’t make any money doing surveys or working an online dollar store either, you will have to pay to ship that ‘work at home starter kit’ BACK to where it came from – and where it BELONGS!

That’s the whole of the story basically but for details:

The $9.95 ‘work at home starter kit’ is no more than an advertisement package:
A 12 page booklet with one CD and one DVD in the inner folds.
The ENTIRE DVD is a presentation on the value of a home based business v. working for someone else.
(Does anyone already looking to do a home business really need this kind of reminder?
Seems like a waste of a DVD to me!)

The CD is an audio collection of success statements of those who got involved with OBS (online business systems – but really HERBALIFE).

The 12 page booklet partially describes this ‘opportunity’ in every way, except to tell you that it’s HERBALIFE!
And, you won’t find the word HERBALIFE mentioned in the DVD, CD, or booklet!
AMAZIN’!!

This 12 page booklet and CD/DVD will ‘cost’ you $39.95 if you don’t return it in a ‘resaleable condition’.

But I fail to see where a 12 page document (hardly even a booklet) and two discs are worth $39.95 in the first place!
I also fail to see where this is a ANY kind of ‘work at home starter kit’ either.
I know I can’t start work at home using this kit!

‘Paul’ said that within 2 weeks they will ask you for $39.95 but ‘you will have earned way more by that time’.
I guess this is supposed to refer to the programs he offers in conjunction with the ‘partner with paul’ package:
SURVEY SCOUT
FREE ONLINE DOLLAR STORE
And some other program so equally useless, I am not even going to go through the trouble of trying to re-locate the name of.

You will finally find out you are previewing HERBALIFE when your ‘coach’ gives you the call.
My coach was polite and informative and also mentioned that ‘they’ weren’t taking a hard line on the return of the $39.95 ‘package’ as to deadline or condition – just be reasonable.
That’s good.
BUT THAT PACKAGE STILL AIN’T WORTH $39.95!!!

Doing HERBALIFE requires scheduling phone calls so I would reject their offer on that basis alone – which could have saved EVERYONE involved in this both time AND money, if they had simply told me that beforehand (I will have to pay to mail this package-thing back after all!).

I believe my coach was making money with HERBALIFE but, once I heard the name HERBALIFE associated with OBS – after doing some ‘googling’, I was turned off and hoping that I would discover something different when I received my package.

FINALLY,
Mr. ‘Upfront and Honest’ says that the offer expires on ‘midnight or sooner’ of whatever day you click on to partnerwithpaul.com.

And apparently, this ‘offer’ hasn’t ‘expired’ yet!

I followed a link in a ‘Manifestation Meditation’ newsletter from Justin Blake at newsletter@jbvirtualnews.com promoting a home-business via Partnerwithpaul.com. This website showed a video of ‘Paul’ w/ a ‘fuzzed-out’ face, (red-flag #1) and blacked out last name (red-flag #2). He was promoting a home-business that he ‘developed’ and wanted to share it with those interested in having a business also. He talked about ‘trust’…ha, ha! You were asked to fill out a form and he would send you a DVD explaining his business. I rec’d a DVD/booklet w/ a letter from someone claiming to be my Personal Coach, Kristy Borrowe. I was charged $9.95 for S&H (which I agreed to & paid w/a cc). Got it yesterday. I wasted almost 1.5 hrs. of my time reading/viewing a DVD that was all about HERBALIFE and was hosted by an Herbalife distributor(s) called Emiko and Doran Andry, trying to recruit. This Andry guy was convincing at first, but I became very suspicious when he would reveal the name of the business or company & claims to have made $1million in one month during his career. I didn’t want a DVD about an MLM..that is NOT what I believed I was going to be receiving.

If I had known that, I NEVER, EVER would have followed-through. This absolutely constitutes deceitful, and unlawful business practices on the behalf of everyone involved in this transaction: Justin Blake, Paul (whatever his last name is), Kristy Borrowe, the Herbalife Corporation and its distributors, Doran and Emiko Andry.

For any of these individuals to admits to being innocent of this knowledge is flat-out WRONG. If you have to stoop this low to get people to ‘buy into’ the business, your trust & your MLM goes out the door. Shame on you!

York2007
Daly city, California
U.S.A.

There it is.

Don’t partner with Paul.

How Does Partner with Paul Compare?

I’ve Tried That has been reviewing products since 2007. In that time, there’s one program that stands above the rest. It’s free to get started, has no ridiculous hidden charges, and will help you build a sustainable income from home.

Let’s see how Partner With Paul compares…

Need Money and Have a Rugrat? Consider Starting Your Own Daycare

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According to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, parents in the United States pay an average of $11,666 per year for daycare. Nationally, daycare prices range from $300 to $1,564 per month, and can even be as high as $2,000 per month in expensive cities like Boston or San Francisco.

Cost alone is why many parents choose to start their own daycare at home. However, you need not be a parent in order to start a daycare; at-home daycare can also be a lucrative business.

How to Start Your at-Home Daycare

  1. Find out your state requirements.

Daycare licensing regulations vary greatly state-to-state, so don’t assume that what’s OK in one state is OK in another. The biggest difference between states has to do with required caregiver licensing as a function of the number of children in your care (that are not your own). In some states like South Dakota, you can care for as many of 12 children without needing a license, while in states like Texas, you must have a license to care for even one child.

  1. Get registered.

Even if you don’t need to be licensed in your state for the number of children in your care, all states do require that you at least register as a family daycare provider. Luckily, most state registration forms are easy to fill out and require not much more than your name and insurance company information. Speaking of which…

  1. Get insured.

Kids are prone to fall, get injured and generally get into trouble. Protect yourself, your business and your assets by buying daycare insurance early on. Most major insurance carriers offer daycare insurance, which is really just a form of business liability insurance.

  1. Get incorporated.

Along the lines of protecting yourself, you should become incorporated as an LLC to protect your personal assets from being seized in the event of a lawsuit. If you operate your at-home daycare as a DBA (doing business as) or sole proprietorship only, you risk losing your home and other personal assets to a court judgment made against you. By having an LLC in place, you only risk losing your business.

  1. Perform necessary home improvements/adjustments.

For a variety of reasons, you should childproof your home. Install gates in areas leading to stairs, cover all electrical outlets, and lock your firearms. You should also keep a fire extinguisher in your kitchen. If you have a backyard, it will probably need to be completely fenced in and safeguarded from physical dangers like a swimming pool and/or fire pit.

  1. Get CPR and first aid trained.

Despite your best intentions and preparations, kids are prone to choking on things as well as cutting and/or injuring themselves. To prevent a possible tragedy, you should get trained in lifesaving techniques like CPR and first aid.

  1. Prepare for a site inspection.

If you opt to become licensed, the state’s department of health will pay you a visit at your established daycare facility to make sure your environment is up to code with state safety and cleanliness requirements. Some states will periodically inspect your home even if you are only registered and not licensed.

Common inspection points are listed on your specific state’s inspection application, such as this one offered by the State of Connecticut. Keep in mind that staff and child immunization is also considered part of facility safety.

  1. Check your contractors and/or employees.

Most states require that hired employees pass a background check and not be felons and/or convicted sex offenders. This means that you will need to conduct background checks on anyone you hire and pay for services.

Additional at-home daycare considerations

While these are the most basic requirements for starting an at-home daycare, they are just the beginning. The following items should also be considered, especially if you wish to maintain your business for many years and be profitable.

Revenue. As with any business venture, you’ll want to calculate how much money you need to generate per month/year in order to make revenue and a decent profit from your venture. Knowing this amount before you start your business is ideal because it will help you plan for licensing (or not) and negotiate a fair price for your services.

Marketing. It’s easy to forget that your business should always be undergoing some kind of marketing. You can advertise your at-home daycare by buying an ad in the local newspaper, by putting up flyers in stores and other public buildings, or even by using email sign-ups to disseminate your services and messages.

Education. Although it’s not absolutely necessary, you could eventually consider taking early childhood classes. By having this education under your belt, you’ll be more qualified for your job and thus more justified in commanding a higher price per child. Likewise, knowing how young minds work will help you better manage your brood and keep everyone in line (as opposed to destroying your house).

Finally, education opens up additional career directions to you; for example, you might wish to apply your newfound skills and open up a preschool or an after-school structured study program. You might offer early education tutoring as well as daycare. All these added options help raise your daycare rate.

Summary

Home daycare businesses can be lucrative and allow you to take care of your own kids by staying at home. While there are some hurdles to overcome in getting started, at-home daycares actually don’t require a lot of startup capital. Furthermore, the business can be started by nearly anyone.

Roy Tribble of Scam Watchdog: The #1 Most UNtrusted Binary Options Review Site

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Question: What’s the easiest way you can make your latest binary options get-rich-quick scheme seem legit, especially when there are websites like RealScam exposing it for the scam that it is?

Answer: You generate the persona of a trusted retiree who now tests binary options trading platforms and can tell the scams from the legitimate ones. Furthermore, this “expert” is so outraged by other online scammers that he calls them out by name and attempts to debunk their “scams.”

Case in point: “Roy Tribble” of Scam Watchdog. Here’s Roy decrying how affiliate marketers (you know, scammers) push their wares on unsuspecting online consumers and use nefarious means to capture emails. By the way, please note the photo placed next to the name of Roy Tribble- you’ll see this same photo later on in my review.  tribble4

This character claims that he is testing binary options trading platforms and setting aside the ones that pay out at least 51% of the time. Furthermore, this financial expert not only reviews the platforms for you, he also integrates the “winners” with his own free trading software, so that the chances of you making money on your binary options are even better.

Roy claims that he is making no money whatsoever from promoting the decent binary options platforms. He also wags his finger at sites like One More Cup of Coffee for posting affiliate links and trying to capture reader emails. However, if you click on one of the binary options platforms that Roy recommends (where the text says ‘Click here to sign up’), such as the Artificial Intelligence App, you’ll see something intriguing about that link:

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The entire link, when clicked, appears as follows:

http://aiapp.co/?transaction_ id= 102d4d2404177637faffba77ff8963 &offer_id=138&affiliate_id=1&affiliate_sub=490227940 &affiliate_sub2=cubd1& affiliate_sub3=&affiliate_sub4=&affiliate_sub5=

Gee, this looks like an affiliate link to me!

On the above page, Roy claims that he is making good money using the AI App. I’ve Tried That recently published an AI App review and found it to be a complete scam full of fake testimonials and an imaginary Dr. John Clark, PhD.

Here’s another link that Roy posted to his other recommendation, Binary Matrix Pro: http://www.binarymatrixpro.com/?clickID=490653260&affname=cubd1&S1=

Yet another affiliate link. Just like with AI App, I’ve Tried That also published a Binary Matrix Pro review and found it to be a scam.

As for not capturing emails, Roy’s site eventually asks you to sign up for his newsletter through several different means, including this pop-up.

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What really drives Scam Watchdog?

If you listen to Roy’s Welcome Message to New Visitors, you’ll hear a supposedly 62-year old retiree tell you how he created his amazing binary options software after talking to a binary options expert. Of course, Roy “can’t name who he is yet” but “I may do that in the future.” This trading expert told Roy a big secret about binary options trading that then led Roy to create his own super signal software.

That’s the flowery introduction to Scam Watchdog. But what really drives the site is this: Roy reviews and recommends binary options trading platforms to his readers. The recommended trading platforms are all affiliate linked to Roy. He also recommends that his readers accumulate and open a minimum of 20 (or even 40) of his “Master List” of recommended platforms.

After his readers have opened up all these platforms, Roy promises to give them his free Super Signals software to link to those 20 or even 40 platforms. Supposedly, this free software will improve the readers’ odds of making the correct call on a binary option, resulting in them “winning” their yes/no calls more than 51% of the time.

Naturally, no binary options platform is going to operate without a cash infusion. Typical binary options platforms require at least a $250 minimum investment. Thus, a person who opens and funds even 20 of Roy’s recommended platforms needs to invest at least 20 x $250 = $5,000.

What Roy never states is that, when people open and fund those recommended trading platforms listed on his Master List, good ol’ Roy gets a big fat commission from every new account. Many binary options platforms pay as much as a 50% commission per subscriber. Thus, even if a person provides his trading software for free, he still earns money.

Then there is the matter of the recommended trading platforms. One such platform that Roy recommends is CTOption. This platform pays out only 50% of your initially placed sum if your option expires in the money (i.e., you make the correct call on an option). If your option expires out of the money (i.e., you make an incorrect call on an option), you lose your entire payout or 100%.  So, on average, your calls will result in a net loss for you.

Of course, Roy’s software is intended to improve your odds of having your options expire in the money. However, he doesn’t talk much about the software or how much it improves your odds. Roy mostly talks about the other binary options platforms you need to download and fund.

Who is Roy really?

Even if you’re willing to take the risk and use the binary options trading platforms that Roy recommends, consider the following troubling indicators about the individual who goes by the name of Roy Tribble. Here is a picture of the guy you are supposedly getting trading advice from:

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Roy looks fairly trustworthy, at least according to his photo (which also appears on his LinkedIn and Google+ accounts). However, a simple Google image search reveals the following truth about Roy:

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It looks like Roy is available for the low resolution price of $50.

Another troubling indicator with Roy is, when you go to his Google+ account, the following URL is displayed:

https:// plus.google.com/u/0/+drbillhweld/posts

Scam Watchdog also uses the URL of billhweld.blogspot.com after you click on any of its internal links.

Who is this Dr. Bill H. Weld? Luckily, the WayBack Machine provides a possible answer. If you use WaybackMachine and go to June 25, 2014, you find the following information displayed on the billhweld.blogspot.com website:

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Who is Justin Tribble?

If you search on his name via Google, you will eventually find several websites and YouTube videos that link Justin to a “Nano Domestic Quell” hoax involving a man named Dr. Bill H. Weld. The story behind Nano Domestic Quell is that the U.S. government is conspiring to infect all citizens with a deadly flu virus that can be triggered at a moment’s notice through cell phone towers.

On the Scam Watchdog website, there is a page where Roy Tribble explains the entire conspiracy that his “nephew,” Justin Tribble, had become involved in. Roy emphatically denies that Dr. Bill H. Weld is not a real person or a hoax. There’s just one problem with Roy’s denial- there is a YouTube video in which Justin is documented as confessing to the Bill H. Weld hoax. How is this explained away?

On Roy’s page, it’s noted that the U.S. government forced Justin to confess that the Dr. Bill H. Weld flu virus conspiracy was a hoax:

So, to recap, I had “admitted” the “hoax”.

However, just a year prior, that same Justin Tribble was the perpetrator of an actual hoax, which he did admit to on ABC news. This earlier hoax involved Justin tweeting that a well-known pastor (Joel Osteen) was going to resign from his ministry. The minister graciously chose to turn the other cheek (i.e., not sue Justin) regarding this prank.

The ABC news segment showed Justin’s Nevada driver’s license at one point. On that screen shot, the license shows the name of Justin Roy Tribble.

tribble1

So, according to these data, it appears that Roy is Justin. And if Roy is Justin, and Justin has pulled off at least one officially documented prank, then how believable is the entire Scam Watchdog site anyway?

The Bottom Line with Scam Watchdog

Would you entrust your investment decisions to someone who generates online hoaxes and posts stock photos of himself? I know I wouldn’t. Likewise, would you use software that is created by someone who can’t even name his secret source/expert and who provides no evidence of how this software looks or functions?

If you want to start engaging in binary options trading, there are plenty of registered platforms out there that have been examined by the SEC. Otherwise, you stand to lose your invested funds very easily.

Self-Employed? Forget About Getting a Mortgage

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Imagine having an 800+ credit rating and no debt (including no mortgage loan), making a decent yearly income from freelance work and stock investments….and yet still being declined for a mortgage. Yep, that’s what happened to me- even after I was pre-approved for my mortgage loan based on my last two years’ AGIs (adjusted gross incomes). What gives?

If you are a freelancer, and especially if you have recently become a freelancer, be aware that you will probably NOT qualify for a mortgage loan, home equity loan, or even a personal loan.

Why?

Self-employed = unemployed

Banks and other lending agencies are hard set to trust traditional employment as an assured source of future income- even if you get fired or laid off tomorrow. Self-employed individuals have taken a risk by starting their own businesses and finding their own clients, and this is often reflected in their wildly fluctuating income statements. As a whole, self-employed folks are more likely to fail and then become unemployed altogether.

Finally, although never openly stated, many bankers and loan officers associate the term “self-employed” as code for “I can’t find a job.”

Self-employed = low income

Another reason why self-employed individuals are denied for loans is because they don’t make enough money- at least on paper. Yet, according to data published by Zillow, self-employed individuals actually make a lot more money than employed individuals. Furthermore, self-employed individuals have seen a substantial increase in their earnings since 2012, while employed individuals have seen a decrease.

However, in an effort to save money on taxes, most self-employed people also write off their business expenses. This saves a bundle on income tax- but it also lowers net income.

Net income is critical because loan officers use it to calculate your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, or your monthly housing costs and other debts compared to your net income. A loan applicant’s DTI ratio can be no higher than 43%.

Self-employed = always self-employed

Some freelancers transition gradually into self-employment, working with clients and for employers at the same time. They do this for several reasons, including insufficient client work, employer-based training/education, etc. Also, many employers nowadays will offer employees and independent contractors the option of working from home and/or setting their own work hours, making employment seem very much like self-employment.

You may not care whether your final earnings are reported on a W-2 or a 1099, but your loan officer will. In fact, once you declare yourself to be self-employed on your loan application, your employed earnings will not count towards your net income (unless you’re still employed with that employer).

In my case, because I was employed over a large portion of one of the years I reported to my loan officer, I was told that I made only $286/month for that year. If only the IRS believed that I made such a low figure!

Self-employed = no mortgage?

If you just started your own freelance business or have resigned from your employed job, it may seem like you’re doomed to not qualify for a loan until you earn mountains of cash each year (at which point, why would you even need a loan?). Luckily, it’s not impossible to get a mortgage loan- but it will be harder.

Understand that your ability to secure a mortgage loan, or any loan for that matter, depends on three factors:

Ability to repay + credit score + collateral

Ability to repay.

This is mostly based on your DTI ratio. For employed persons, DTI is calculated using the gross earnings from their last two years of pay stubs. Freelancers and the self-employed don’t receive pay stubs, so their last two years of tax returns are used to calculate the DTI ratio instead.

The problem with using tax returns is that net income after business deductions is calculated, not gross earnings. This is where freelance income is unfairly penalized compared with that of employed persons.

Credit score.

Most lending agencies are not going to approve your loan if you have a credit score below 680 as a self-employed freelancer. Call it discrimination, but that’s just how it works. As an employee, you stand a far better chance of securing a loan despite your low credit score, even if you do end up paying a higher APR.

Collateral.

This can consist of liquid assets, a pension or other regularly distributed income, and/or your home.

Given the variables used above to calculate your ability to secure a loan, here are the steps you should take at least six months to one year in advance of asking for money from a lending institution:

1. Improve your credit score.

While you have the time, ask for a copy of your credit report and find out how you can improve it. Try to achieve a credit score of at least 740, which will significantly improve your approval odds, as well as lower your loan APR.

2. Amend your taxes.

If you took significant deductions in one year on business expenses, consider amending your returns and spreading those costs out over several years- or even not reporting your expenses at all. This could cost you in extra tax, though.

3. Choose your tax years.

You can also, to some extent, choose which tax years your loan officer sees. Typically, you are required to show your last two years of tax returns. However, if you are applying for a loan early in the year, before you have filed your April taxes, you could go back two years before the current tax year. Then, if you find your net income from those years is too low, you could quickly do this year’s taxes and take the two more recent years into account.

Basically, applying for a loan early in the year means you can pick your two best earning years out of three.

4. Pony up a big down payment.

Even if your loan officer tells you to apply for 10% down payment loan, don’t. Save up enough cash so that you are putting down at least 30% on your mortgage loan. If you’re applying for any other type of loan, reduce how much you need to borrow as much as possible.

5. Work with an accountant now.

Get an accountant involved early on and have her calculate what your DTI ratio would be given your current and past net earnings. Discuss ways you can raise your net income or lower your current debts.

6. Obtain contract verification from all your clients.

Request contract verification from all your clients now, before you even set foot into a bank or apply for a loan online. Make sure your verification letters state how much you are earning with each client and how long you’ve been contracted with them. Having such letters ready to go and to supply to your loan officers will save you weeks of time (and aggravation) during the approval process.

7. Find a contractor-friendly lending institution.

With more and more individuals becoming self-employed or performing at least some freelance work, certain institutions are taking notice. Type “self-employed mortgage” into Google and you will locate online banks and other lenders that work with self-employed persons. Some cases in point are Vancity, a Vancouver-based credit union, and Freelancer Financials, based in the U.K.

8. Find a broker who specializes in self-employed loans.

A broker can go submit your income and other information to several lenders at a time. This saves you the hassle of constantly applying for loans and having multiple hard inquiries show up on your credit report- which ultimately lowers your credit score (I lost 0.9 points/hard inquiry). A broker can also provide you with advice on how to best submit your income and other variables.

However, you need to find a broker who regularly works with freelancers and the self-employed. Otherwise, you will be wasting your time with someone who knows about W-2’s….and not much else.

9. Apply at state banks and/or credit unions.

Traditional and national (i.e., “too big to fail”) banks typically work within Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan regulations, which are skewed in favor of W-2 applicants. State banks and credit unions are more independent and needn’t comply with such government-imposed restrictions.

10. Consider creating an annuity.

Annuities have long been touted as something for retirees who need a fixed income. However, if you have some liquid assets, you may wish to create an annuity with your bank and have it pay you on a monthly basis. This guaranteed monthly payout raises your net income. It does cost money to create an annuity account, however.

In summary

Being a self-employed freelancer is great in many respects, namely, choosing my own hours and clients and never getting bored with my work. But there are certain aspects to being self-employed that aren’t that great. It’s tough to secure a loan as a freelancer, and the mountain of documents you must supply is maddening. I now realize that I will need to track my income and expenses more closely. I will also need to invest much more time and effort into obtaining a loan in the future.

Still, what doesn’t kill me as a freelancer only makes me stronger. And then I get to write a blog post about it.

How to Start Your Own Local Affiliate Marketing Program

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Are you frustrated by Amazon’s low affiliate commissions or the fact that everyone and their uncle is selling what you are trying to sell? Affiliate marketing can be a tough field to make serious money in simply because lots of people are already doing it.

But what if you could knock out most of the competition, both in terms of similar products and even SEO? And what if you really could get a bigger piece of the affiliate marketing pie?

Enter local affiliate marketing.

What is local affiliate marketing?

Somewhat self-explanatory, local affiliate marketing is the marketing of local products and businesses in your neighborhood, city or (maybe) state. Basically, rather than scouring Clickbank or Amazon for would-be products and services to market on your website or blog, you go after area merchants and advertise their specific (and unique) merchandise, promotions, advantages, etc.

It’s a shame that many affiliate marketers overlook the money available right in their own backyard, assuming that local accounting firms, lawyers, restaurants, mechanic shops, etc. won’t want to deal with them. However, local merchants often need the most help of all when it comes to attracting customers and placing their wares online. Likewise, without a middle entity (i.e., affiliate network) taking a cut of the earnings, you could easily score a 25% or higher commission for every potential client/lead you refer to your select business.

Local affiliate marketing: Easier than you think

You might be thinking “I don’t want to be going door-to-door” or “I am not standing on a street corner holding up a billboard.” Here’s the thing: You don’t have to. Much or even all of your marketing can be remote and performed exclusively at home.

Also, given what you would typically expect with affiliate marketing, such as content optimization, backlink generation, guest posting, etc., there’s significantly less of it involved. Here’s why:

SEO is fairly easy.

Local SEO, especially in a small to medium town/city, is going to be much easier to do well than if you are trying to sell a world-famous brand. Simply put, the SEO will be easy because, aside from other local businesses that are in the same industry/field,  you won’t have much competition to worry about. Also, because your website is probably going to mirror your client’s to a good extent, it won’t look like the typical affiliate marketing website that is often overlooked by search engines.

AdWords is easy too.

Google Places loves local businesses and its AdWords ad program won’t knock out your keywords or charge you exorbitant fees for referring “real” local businesses. You’ll also be able to track your leads fairly easily because most of them will be local, so outliers in other states or countries will probably be false positives.

How do you find clients?

Depending on your personal style, there are several different ways to do local affiliate marketing.

If you build it, they may come.

If you know the field already, you could launch a website on the topic of personal finance, accounting, etc. Once you have sufficient traffic coming in, you could then approach prospective clients and ask them if they’d consider placing an ad on your website for a monthly/yearly fee. This approach works well if you want to work with several clients in the same profession. However, it also demands that you make a large investment of time and effort before you see any payoff.

Use AdWords only.

You could also contact individual businesses and offer to run AdWords ad campaigns for them. You could launch the ads and direct inquiries to a sales page, which would then provide those leads with additional sales material in exchange for their contact information. You would keep tabs on those ad clicks and collect an appropriate commission for each lead.

Alternately, you could also work with a third party call center and collect AdWords-based calls as your leads. Input the term “call centers” into Google and you’ll find lots of places- including local ones- that you can work with.

Do lead nurturing.

This requires a bit more trust from your clients, but if you know the industry fairly well, and they simply don’t have the time/patience to deal with inquiries, you could offer lead nurturing as part of your affiliate marketing deal. With lead nurturing, you’d be in charge of calling leads that had already clicked on your AdWords ads or sent an inquiry via your website. You’d then gauge how likely they’d be to try or buy your client’s products or services.

In time, your client could even give you entire lists of leads that she had collected over the years. By converting them, you’d be able to command a much high commission because they would be generating actual revenue for the business.

How do you track your leads?

It’s challenging to track leads when you aren’t relying strictly on Google Analytics or sales page conversions to provide you with definitive numbers. You’re also relying on the integrity of your clients to report their business dealings truthfully and not stiff you on (especially) converted leads.

However, most local businesses aren’t looking to rip you off, especially if you’re working hard to promote them. Of course, there will always be that one bad apple in the bunch, but you shouldn’t let the fear of untruthful reporting scare you away. If the hesitation is still there, stick to just generating and reporting your own sales leads via AdWords, for example, or through direct sales calls to your call center.

What kinds of businesses should you target?

It’s far better, and far less work for you, if you target local businesses that make high revenues on each converted lead. For example, consider how much a lawyer makes on every one of his clients. Or think about how much an event venue makes for each conference, wedding, etc. held there.

High revenue businesses are preferable because you’ll do less work for more money/lead. You also won’t need lots of leads, which can be especially difficult if you’re marketing in a small town.

Finally, it’s best if you can work with businesses that have recurring income from their clients, enabling you to re-market to these clients or charge a constant monthly or yearly commission. Also, you should not consider cyclic businesses like tax preparation because these industries will leave you with no leads for a good part of the year.

Work at Home Paycheck Review- Fictional Characters, Fictional Earnings

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What do Jessica Marshall, Kelly Frazier, Alex Cooper and Mark Wilson all have in common?

Work at Home Paycheck: A production with many actors

Jessica, Kelly, Alex and Mark are all promoting a work-at-home system called Work at Home Paycheck, which also goes by WAH Paycheck. Each one of the aforementioned characters plays a unique role:

-Jessica Marshall is the down-on-her-luck single mom who creates a system for making money from home.

-Kelly Frazier is also a down-on-her-luck single mom who tries Jessica Marshall’s system and now makes money from home.

-Alex Cooper is the reporter who interviews Kelly for a big online news organization.

-Mark Wilson is the originator of this money-making system.

Jessica Marshall weaves a wonderful story about how she was freshly divorced, trying to raise her young daughter, and on the verge of a nervous breakdown thanks to a layoff. Here’s Jessica as she weaves her hard luck story:

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Luckily, a mysterious (but friendly) guy named Mark Wilson saves the day. Jessica runs into Mark at a coffee shop and he tells Jessica exactly how she can make boatloads of money right at home.

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Next, we are shown her wealth growing in real-time in her Paypal account.

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How do you make money with Work at Home Paycheck? The details are a bit murky, but Jessica states that, by posting links to products sold by large and well-known companies, you can earn referral commissions.

So, it’s really just affiliate marketing.

How much can you expect to pay to learn about affiliate marketing? The site initially prices the information at $397. However, if you hit your browser’s back button a few times, the system becomes available for the ultra-low price of just $47.

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Is Work at Home Paycheck worth its $47 price tag? To answer this question, the system offers a third party testimonial from Kelly Frazier, another single mom who now also makes mountains of cash by working only 10-13 hours/week from home. Her interview is conducted by Alex Cooper and is posted on the news site Consumer Finance Guide.

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So far, everything looks legit- and who can argue with making over $7K/month for part-time work, right?

There’s just one problem…

There’s just one small wrinkle in this entire operation. When you scroll down every one of these “news” pages and read their terms of service and privacy statements posted below, you find the following disclaimer:

We are not affiliated in any way with any news organization. This is a advertisement for Work at Home Paycheck.

It is important to note that this site and the stories depicted above is to be used as an illustrative example of what some individuals have achieved with this/these products. This website, and any page on the website, is based loosely off a true story, but have been modified in multiple ways including, but not limited to: the story, the photos, and the comments. Thus, this blog, and any page on this website, are not to be taken literally or as a non-fiction story…I UNDERSTAND THIS WEBSITE IS ONLY ILLUSTRATIVE OF WHAT MIGHT BE ACHIEVABLE FROM USING THIS/THESE PRODUCTS, AND THAT THE STORY DEPICTED ABOVE IS NOT TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY…All photos images on this site are stock photography [my bolded emphasis added].

So, not only are these news pages not actually news pages, but the story, photos and even the comments themselves aren’t completely true. The website itself is “based loosely off a true story.” And all those news photos are stock photography.

In fact, all the “news” about this program is actually published on or through Consumers Finance Guide, a notorious fake news site that is well-known for promoting work-at-home scams.

OK, but what about Jessica Marshall herself? She’s got to be real, right?

Again, the privacy statement tells all. In brief, it runs as follows:

For purposes of privacy, the creator of Work At Home Paycheck is using the pen name Jessica Marshall. This story is based upon the real life adaptation of the parties involved. The Company reserves the rights to the name and any uses of it as affiliated with the product. Any improper uses by unauthorized parties is strictly prohibited.

So, nervous breakdown Jessica Marshall is also fictional. What else about Work at Home Paycheck is make-believe?

Fictional certification courses

When you try to sign up for Work at Home Paycheck, you are presented with the following program guarantees and trainings.

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The program promises to make you an instant search engine agent, for starters. What does that even mean- that you know how to use Google?

Next, you are enrolled in a link posting certification program, for which you pay a fee. As far as I’m aware, there is no such certification program in existence.

Additional charges may apply

The next worrisome detail is (again) noted in the terms of service area. Specifically, we have the following statement:

Please Note: Additional Charges May Apply. As with any Internet Business you may need to pay for additional products or services. For example: Hosting costs, domain name costs, advertising costs, internet and broadband costs.

What this tells me is that the $47 enrollment fee into Work at Home Paycheck is just the tip of the iceberg as far as costs are concerned. You’ll end up paying more money down the line for “required” upsell and cross-sell products provided within the system.

In fact, one of the common tactics used by such programs is to reel you in by offering a super low introductory rate. Then, when you find out that the purchased material is insufficient to make you a decent income from home, you’ll call the site asking for a refund. Just before you are issued your refund, however, sales agents experienced in using  boiler room tactics will tell you how you just need to purchase additional coaching programs or software in order to start earning lots of cash. This is the standard practice for many work-at-home scams, and it can end up costing you thousands of dollars.

In brief, don’t get sucked into this program, even at its low rate of just $47.

Copying and Pasting Will Never Make Money for You

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Quick Summary

Rating: 0 out of 10. 0 out of 10. 0 out of 10.

Pros: None. Nada. Nope. No pros.

Cons: It’s a modern day envelope stuffing scheme. “Pay money to learn how to build this exact website to get people to pay money to learn how to build this exact website!” etc. etc.

Our Recommendation: This isn’t a way to build a business online. Instead, learn how to create a REAL internet marketing business that can build you a sustainable stream of income in the long run. Click here to check out our top recommendation on how to do this. It’s free to get started and won’t have you stuffing envelopes.

Full Review

Some people dream of being able to make money at the press of a button, to be able to have cash pouring into their bank accounts whilst they sip margaritas on a foreign shore.

Let’s be clear, the first bit about making money easily isn’t true and never will be. There will always be hard work and effort required to earn money, whether that be in a brick and mortar business or working from home online.

The second part can be true, but only after you have done the hard work!

Copy Paste Cash at copypastecash.com sells the first part of this dream and they sell it very well. Their sales page is slick and pulls on all the right heart strings to get you thinking that actually, this system, this amazingly simple sounding system could be the one to change my life.

One time. Lifetime! It’s your time!

And it only costs a one off fee of $30 bucks.

How it works

The premise is simple, you copy some predefined adverts supplied to you by Copy Paste Cash and post them on classified advert websites such as Cragslist or Backpage and you earn a commission for each person that registers and pays.

Super easy!

Too easy!

The Problem with Easy

There are definitely some major flaws with this system.

First off, this system has been around a little while now which means that it has been used by thousands of people already. As you will be using the same adverts as the other members of this system, it quickly becomes problematic as you are all spamming, yes spamming the same adverts.

What this means is that the sites you are submitting the adverts too quickly realise what is happening as they are seeing hundreds of the same adverts posted every day.

As such, the adverts will be “ghosted” by the classified site. Ghosting is a way in which the classified companies deal with spam. Instead of blocking the advert and alerting the spammer that there is a problem, it pretends that the advert has gone through ok, but in reality it hasn’t.

Imagine if you will that you have spent hours copying and pasting these adverts, day in day out, and that all that hard work is wasted because they aren’t going anywhere as the adverts have been marked as spam.

That’s a lot of wasted time, and time is money.

Not only that but if you had used your own account to post these, then it is likely you are now marked as a spammer.

A further issue with Copy Paste Cash is that the click through rate and subsequent signups are terrible. I have seen evidence of a user with over 1 million total clicks, and a conversion of around 1600. This is a conversion rate of way less than 1%!

In some situations, I would have thought that perhaps the marketer in question was doing something wrong, that he had made an error somewhere. However, he is using the same adverts provided by the makers of the system. Really then, the only error is an error in judgement at purchasing the system in the first place.

Due to the nature of this system there is no residual income, there is no auto pilot, you have to manually add the adverts, and with that sort of conversion rate you are literally earning pennies per hour.

You can say good bye to the margaritas!

The Training

The system does provide basic training beyond copying and pasting, in internet marketing. The training only becomes available gradually as you earn points for doing actions like posting adverts. It forces you to do the work to get the information which was part of the product you bought.

The training isn’t in itself bad, it is just that the information is very much entry level with nothing to take you further and is already available on the internet freely, or with better support and guidance via other paid for services.

Recycling Rubbish

The worst thing about this system in my mind is that by using it you are perpetuating it, because you are not promoting products or services or even information, you are promoting the system itself.

Think about it, the system only promotes the system. Nothing good ever came of that. This is just a modern day envelope stuffing scheme.

The Bottom Line

Copy Paste Cash is a borderline scam, it offers very little in value and its whole system is flawed to the point of failure, requiring a massive amount of time and energy to be input for very few rewards.

Is this system worth $29.5? Absolutely not! Avoid this one unless you like wasting time and money and perpetuating spam.

Do Not Buy the Online Cash Success Kit.

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Last Updated:

Quick Summary

Rating: 0. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Pros: See: rating.

Cons: It’s a negative opt-in scam. You give your credit card information over to pay for “shipping and handling” and you’re roped into hundreds of dollars of charges that you didn’t sign up for. I don’t think any more cons are required.

Our Recommendation: You can learn how to build a business online, for free, without having to give up your credit card information just to sign up. In fact, if you click here and check out our top recommendation, you’ll see exactly that.

Full Review

We have yet another new “Google” scam making the rounds on the Internet today; however, this time the main targets appear to be Facebook users. If you’ve landed on this page through a search engine, you’re probably wondering if this program is legitimate. It isn’t and the “free” trial could cost you hundreds of dollars. If you’re trying to get your money back from these guys, keep reading.

The Online Cash Success Kit Scam

The scam isn’t with the product itself, but rather the various monthly memberships you are immediately signed up for upon joining under a free trial. The fine print on the website claims that if you do not cancel your free trial within 7 days, you will be charged a monthly membership fee for various programs. Despite the 7-day warning, we’ve read numerous reports from victims stating that their trial money was taken, and then the following day around $80 in unauthorized charges was pulled from their bank accounts.

You do not want these people to have access to your personal and banking information.

Actual Customer Testimonials

I paid the $3.00 to find out what the earnings were all about. They use Googgles name as a lure to sucker you in. It has nothing to do with Google. In 1 day my credit card was charged $79.86. I called today, Monday, and the girl said she would cancel my membership. I insisted on receiving a refund, but, that is not their policy. I told her to send me the merchandise then because I wasn’t going to just let them have the money. I was transferred to a supervisor where I made a much bigger stink telling him I would file fraud charges with the bank and anyone else I could. He then told me he would see that I got my refund. We’ll see! Too bad our Gov can’t stop these scam artists.

We signed up for what we thought was a legitimate Google company. We still don’t know for sure who is running this company. The terms and conditions said we wouldn’t be charged for 7 days. This is what printed out after we signed up. We were charged $79.00 in 2 days. The terms said $47.50 on the 15th day after we signed up. Their customer service claimed this wasn’t their terms and conditions. How could they make that claim when the name was exactly the same and printed out on the screens we signed up on? Either someone didn’t proofread their terms or they are cheating the public using Google’s name to do so.

How to Get Your Money Back

Call this number: 1-888-591-2190. You may have a long wait, but it’s one of the few numbers out there that work. You need to make it very clear that you want to cancel every single monthly charge and that you want a refund on the money that they have taken out of your bank account.

I’ve read multiple reports that they have flat out refused to give refunds. If they refuse, demand to speak with a supervisor. Let them know you will be filing a chargeback through your credit card or banking company and you will be reporting everything to the FTC. Usually this is enough to get your money back.

You now need to do three things:

  1. File a fraudulent charge claim with your credit card or bank if they refuse to give you a refund. Explain to them your situation and the refused refund and let them know this company is notorious for taking money. Insist they perform a chargeback. They have the tools and information available to fight for your money.
  2. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. It is their job to monitor and go after these types of scams. Visit: http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/contact.shtm
  3. File a complaint with your state Attorney General. Contact details here: http://www.naag.org/attorneys_general.php

JustThink Media Contact Information

These guys are operating more scams than we could count. They range from teeth whitening, to Acai Berry, to Google money scams.

Just Think Media
Corporate Head Office
Suite 204, 85 Cranford Way
Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA T8H 0H9
Phone: 780.416.0211
Fax: 780.416.0218
Careers@justthinkmedia.com
Corporate@justthinkmedia.com
Legal@justthinkmedia.com
Customer Service
1-888-591-2190
customerservice@justthinkmedia.com
Owner: Jesse Willams

If you’re fighting for a refund, I wish you luck. Be sure to outline any details in the comments below. It would be great to have verified methods of getting your money back from these guys.

EPS Prosperity Hotline – Hotline to Prosperity or Ruin?

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Last Updated:

Quick Summary

Rating: 0 out of 10 for legitimacy. 10 out of 10 for junk mail.

Pros: None. Absolutely none. Unless you count losing money as a pro. Then there’s that one. But for us normal folk, there are no pros here.

Cons: This isn’t a way to build a business. Hell, we’re not even sure it’s legal or how the company is still operating. You’re basically paying for an exact replica of the site to get people to buy the exact replica of a site from you and so on and so forth.

Our Recommendation: This isn’t a way to build a business online. Instead, learn how to create a REAL internet marketing business that can build you a sustainable stream of income in the long run. Click here to check out our top recommendation on how to do this. It’s free to get started.

Full Review

Sometimes I look at a website to review and I think to myself “My review should be one word long: Avoid!”.

That was my exact thought when I came across EPS Prosperity Hotline.com. This site screams scam.

First off, they are promising you $25 per email that you process, which sounds really good, I mean who wouldn’t want to earn $25 bucks for replying to an email?

Their earnings statements are interesting to say the least as although they state it isn’t a get rich quick scheme, they do an awful lot of pushing that you can make thousands per day.

It works the way that you are provided with 3 pre written adverts, though I am sure you can write your own if you prefer, and advised to post them to Craigslist.

Anyone who responds to this ad will need to be sent promotional information and if they join you get the $25.

The fee is a one-time $25 with an optional $10 to get a “website just like this one”.

Are there any flaws to this system?

There are plenty of flaws. To begin with let’s take a look at the actual product you are promoting, drum roll please; you are promoting the same site you just signed up to!

That’s right; there are no products, no services, nothing. Your main aim is to get people to do the same thing that you are doing.

This is just a modern day version of the envelope stuffing scams that were running rampant years ago. You are making money by promoting the idea of making money.

The only ways in which this differs from a standard pyramid scheme is that there is an extremely short “downline” (just you) and that the site owners are not part of the downline.

I am tempted to coin a new phrase and call this a “ziggurat scheme”.

You may be wondering how the parent company is making money off of this as the $25 dollars goes to you not them.

The only thing I can ascertain is that they make money from the “website” which in fact is just their website with an affiliate link.

It’s actually quite a clever way of making money off of people. Get people to sign up – in fact you cannot even sign up directly, you have to go through a person’s link to do so – and then get them to do the work in spreading the word about the system.

All they need to do is set up the site to automate the affiliate link and let’s say most people buy the “website” offer at $10 bucks, that’s easy cash.

And then there is the Craiglist flaw. OK, so you don’t need to use Craiglist and there are other possibilities listed for you, but that’s the main one they push.

Unfortunately, but really not a surprise,  Craiglist has already started blocking the 3 default adverts you are supplied with, meaning you will need to use other ways and methods  to spread the word or different adverts.

If you have little to no marketing acumen you may struggle to get a return due to this.

It would be no surprise to me if other classified advert places and the like are banning anything to do with this site.

There are other issues I have with this scheme: there is no refund policy at all and their sales page lists fake badges to Honest Jobs Online (who are they? I can’t trace them) and security sites.

The Bottom Line

Everything about this site screams scam! Somebody I know put me on to this site and as soon as I saw it I told them to avoid it like the plague!

That being said, I wouldn’t be giving an honest review if I didn’t tell you that you can probably make money from this.

You may be wondering why I am calling it a scam and yet saying it is profitable? Well, for me it comes down to what you are selling and the ethics behind it.

You are selling thin air and promises. If there isn’t anything tangible, be it physical, digital or a service, then it is a scam.

I also find it highly unethical for the same reasons; you are recruiting people in order to make money from their recruitment, and putting them into a situation where they in turn need to recruit people to make money.

I can’t tell you what to do, but my advice is to steer clear of this one.