Anyone Can Get Sucked Into an Internet Marketing Scam – If You’re Not Sure, Please Ask
Dec 14th, 2009 | By Loretta | Category: Articles & Other InformationThank you for coming back to visit us! Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more information.
I mean that very literally, it can happen to anyone. We have a pretty diverse group of readers here at Easy Wahm Websites, some of us have been online a long time, others are just now joining the work at home crowd.
If you’ve been around awhile, you’re probably less likely to fall for a scam right now, but even seasoned marketers aren’t completely invulnerable to scam artists that are on the prowl.
Those of us that have been around for several years now can likely remember a time when we fell for something or other. Remember the packaging or envelope stuffing jobs of the 90′s? I bet you do.
I met some of my closest online friends way back in my early days online when I got sucked into a company called NHCD, or National Health Care Discount. We all got taken in, chewed up, and spit out again. It was miserable. But, a group of us stayed in touch, determined to find something that was not a scam, and we did. That’s how I came to land my first work at home job in document coding all those years ago.
So, what brings me to this topic today? Well, it happened in my household this week. A well written scam ad sucked in my husband Brian with it’s 1 dollar trial offer, where you got a week or two for a dollar and then a monthly fee would kick in later.
We had talked a little about him doing some work online with me, and discussed some ideas. He wanted to get started by himself and surprise me with some results and knowledge before we got started, so he looked at a few ads and bought a trial membership to what he thought was an info product.
The ad offered a 1 dollar trial for a week or two to what was supposed to be an informative how to site for working online and making money with some Adsense and affiliate techniques. Only the trial locked him blindly in to a monthly membership fee of 128 dollars and there was no actual info site, it was just a static uninformative page. There was nothing there, no information, no membership area, nothing but a useless page.
I don’t know exactly what ad it was that lured him in, or the wording that was used. He didn’t fill me on these happenings until after he had secured a refund, which took some work on his part. The site that he ordered the trial from didn’t give any contact info in the confirmation email or anywhere online, red flag number one in my book. He had to get the phone number to call by going to his bank and asking them where the charges were coming from when the first 128 dollar charge came through.
Of course, had he talked to me before buying anything I would have told him that I have tons of information right here on my computer that he could read and learn from. I have SEO Fast Start and my NAMS Flashdrive sitting right here next to my keyboard, because I refer to them often. He could have used any number of resources that I have right here that wouldn’t cost him a penny, but he wanted to get started on his own and not ask for my help.
This is nothing new, of course people want to get started on their own and not always ask for help, that’s just part of human nature. But, you don’t have to go it alone, and I would certainly rather you ask us here at Easy Wahm Websites to look at something for you before you buy it, or ask your mastermind group, or ask someone you know and trust that works online before you purchase anything. I want you to avoid the scam situations, and I want you to find things that will help you to be successful.
If you’re not sure, please ask.
P.S. If you’re looking to learn from the best of the best online, NAMS is a great place to get started. The January event is currently sold out, but you can order a flash drive with all the presentations and bonus reports on it.
I have the flash drive from the last event in August and I refer to it often for advice, tips, and reminders on all the great stuff I learned that weekend. It’s a great alternative if you weren’t able to get a seat at the actual live event.
This is an excellent article, Loretta – and a much-needed warning! If it helps just one person not be sucked in, it’s worth it!! We have all been there! And back again! It’s so hard, because, I know for me, anyway – I feel so ashamed about it. I don’t want to talk about it. We have to realize, though, that it is not our shame to be had – it’s all on the scummy perpetrators of these vile “opportunities”. And the more people that do talk about it – the more people can be saved from their evildoings.
Lisa Marie Mary´s last blog ..Tips To Get You Started Working At Home
I recently saved my dad – who is a savvy guy – from a similar fate, for similar reasons. He got an ad to attend a ‘free’ seminar about starting your own website – a storefront type deal. He was blown away by all the information; it sounded so much like the stuff he’d heard me talk about, and helped him to understand some of the concepts. He also thought that he’d work with me, find out all he could on his own.
The next seminar was $50…but thankfully, he asked my advice, and I had to disappoint him and show him (Google search) how many people had been scammed.
Oh yes – this is really common, unfortunately.
My aunt heard that I was working online and she started investigating on her own. She came across a “Make Money With Google” ad, and joined for a $1 trial. She didn’t realize there was an ongoing fee, and she thought she was saving me the trouble of having to explain it all to her.
Luckily her bank didn’t approve the charge. They called her right away and told her it was a scam.
It pays to know who you can trust. Thanks Loretta for sharing this great information.
Jennifer´s last blog ..Surefire Traffic Strategies
This is so sad! I’m hoping this message gets into the browsers of newbies jumping online looking for a way to generate income at home. It’s very fortunate for your husband who pushed the issue until he got his refund because SO many people never get their money back, leaving them frustrated and afraid to continue their journey online.
VERY frustrating! I’m so sorry.
If he put it on a credit or debit card, I would definitely get that card changed. – asap!
Here’s my “duh” quote of the day: “Unscrupulus people can not be trusted.”
Sorry, sweetie, that you guys have to go through this!
Nicole Dean´s last blog ..Motivational Monday: Father & Son Ironmen
Thanks for sharing this with us Loretta. This is something that really needs to get out there because there are people falling for these scams every day and it’s so sad.
A little while ago my mother was searching around for online work and thankfully she came to me with the sites she found before wasting any of her money – if she hadn’t asked me first who knows how much she would have lost.
Wendy Wood´s last blog ..Computer Related Injuries – Protect You and Your Family
Great post Loretta! This is great information to know. A few months back my wife just about purchased a deal from a guy that sounded great to her. Luckily she knew to ask me first. I did my research and found out that this was a big scam and a lot of people had been taken by this guy. I have found that if you are diligent and do your research before jumping into something, that you will usually find legit programs vs scams. Your post is a great reminder of that. Thanks for sharing!
Tyy Ward´s last blog ..Top 10 Christmas Gifts for Women in 2009
Google is your friend.
But this is why when I find programs that really do work, I try and get them reviewed, so people know that they aren’t a scam.
Good advice Loretta.
I’m usually very suspicious but even so, I was suckered into a $12.00 per month charge for a newsletter when I bought a flight online. I’m still not really sure, but I think I checked a box which said I wanted to get a discount on future bookings.
For a number of months I saw the $12.00 charge on my credit card bill but didn’t really question it as it wasn’t very specific as to what I was paying for – and to whom – and it was a small amount. I started to pay attention after about 6 months and phoned the company that was charging me. Luckily their number was available on the credit card invoice. I asked about the charge, they explained it and when I said I didn’t understand at the time what I was signing up for and that I wasn’t happy about it, they reversed the charges.
I got off easily, thank goodness, but it taught me a good lesson. ALWAYS read what you are agreeing to or signing up for – and if it looks too good to be true, it IS.
Thanks for the reminder to be extra cautious
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Thanks for reminding us all Loretta!
The ads for scams look so “real” that anyone can get taken. I feel sorry for those who are disparate, new and have some money to spare. The are fresh meat to the wolves. I hope your post is read by many and I pray that MANY more will take you up on your offer and ASK.
The Business Coach for Moms´s last blog ..Making Money With AdWords?
Very important post. It’s true that even seasoned marketers get scammed. The only way we can know about it is if they write about or warn people in some way. I use Google and put the word scam along with the company name to do a quick check on them. And the old saying, if it’s too good to be true, it is, is something we all need to keep in mind. It always takes time and effort to make money.
ConnieFoggles´s last blog ..Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving Campaign
This is a great article and hopefully it will help others to be more cautious and not make the same mistake. It is unfortunate that shady scams like these are still around the internet and I think that scammers just try to get more creative in tricking others.
I know that my brother was trying to sell something on craigslist and one email response was so believable, but I suspected it to be a scam. I can’t remember the exact details but the guy was trying to purchase the item from long distance and wanted to wire money but needed to know certain details about my brother that seemed weird. After researching it, the scam is very common and the guy never contacted him again once we asked a few more questions.
Hopefully we can just inform others to always research items and sites before making purchases or selling goods. Thanks for being proactive in helping others.
Maybe your husband can use this learning experience and create a site about scams online and how to research more effectively.
ChattyGal´s last blog ..Experimenting with POM Wonderful’s 100% Pomegranate Juice
Loretta,
Yup, it happens to the best of us.
And making sure there’s contact info on the site is a great tip.
And thank you for being so transparent. My husband is thinking of getting into ‘the business.’ too and I am going to send him here first!
Shannon
Shannon´s last blog ..Ugly Christmas Sweaters Can Be a Publicity Goldmine
Well done Loretta. Ironically my husband was watching an advertorial on TV this weekend and said “hey, watch this” — he thought it might be a good addition to what I already do. Just watching it, I could tell it was probably a scam and thanks to Google I found that it was. So remember, not all scams are on the internet. You need to beware of newspapers and TV too.
Denise O’Berry´s last blog ..What Advice Would You Give to a New Small Business Owner?
So many great additional points and stories here. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences. I think I may need to do a series of blog posts just to highlight all these awesome extra tidbits that have bee shared!
Thanks for the warning! It’s good to know that even though we think we may be savvy, we still have to keep our eyes open. I like the saying, “It if seems to good to be true, it is.” Great article.
This is the second post I’ve seen recently about this type of scam. They are so widespread that any time a site asks for a credit card I am immediately suspicious. Thank you Loretta for sharing this and thank your husband for understanding that it CAN and DOES happen to anyone – and especially to those new to the Internet.
What he was searching for (how to make money online) is saturated with get-rich-quick schemes and expensive ebooks, courses and membership sites. Some are legit but most are not. I have identified which are real in a post about how people really can make money online.
You can safely point your husband to that post. Have him start with the free videos and ebook by Yaro Starek. That is the fastest, clearest path to how bloggers make money. Even when you take advice from those bloggers always research a new strategy BEFORE you implement it because Google changes what they penalize regularly and recently started banning AdWords accounts for life.
They have always done that to AdSense accounts. (AdWords = accounts where you BUY advertising; AdSense = accounts used to DISPLAY advertising.). Even honest bloggers have been banned and had their PageRank zeroed out so better safe than sorry. Be cautious especially of paid text link ads as that may trigger a Google ban.
Funny that most people never think to research what they are about to buy or try online when they are sitting in front of a computer that can be used to find out what others have to say. You can also use Twitter. You may have seen my Tweets during the holiday: Avoid regrets this year: research BEFORE you buy. Search Twitter using @twittiptop Tip Top & read product reviews.
GrowMap´s last blog ..MEME: Share What Makes You Feel Thankful
Thank you so much for sharing this. Too often people who are scammed are too embarrassed to speak up, and that only makes the scammers more successful. Kudos to your husband for fighting back and getting the charges reversed, too. Sounds like this could have turned out much worse than it did!
Cindy Bidar´s last blog ..Developing an Internet Marketing Plan for 2010
Thanks for sharing Loretta. This kind of stuff has happened to me in the past. I now look for contact information right off but that’s not saying that if I got real excited about something it couldn’t happen again. Their are some really smooth talkers out there. I once had one that I signed up for that didn’t have a phone number associated with it at my bank and it was a real problem to get stopped. The bank said that because I had given them permission for the automatic draft that they couldn’t stop it from coming out.We all need to be so careful of the scammers.
Gail J Richardson
Gail J Richardson ´s last blog ..header-03
Well I’m not sure what that header-03 is. Can anyone enlighten me why it linked to that. Still learning.What have I done?
Gail
I missed this post a few weeks ago but I agree it is easy to get sucked into the scams. I’ve learned that if the site or ad doesn’t address a con or acknowledge the big elephant in the room, it’s most likely a scam. And those simple things your hubby didn’t look for- an FAQ page and contact info… They have your contact info and FINANCIAL info, you have a right to at least have their phone number.
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Magnificent web site. Lots of useful information here. I am sending it to some buddies ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thank you for your sweat!