Josh Made Cash – Your Cash! Google Biz Kit Scams Are Back

by on April 13, 2009

jasongetsrich[ad]

This “Josh Made Cash” work at home make money ad that is now back on Facebook after a brief hiatus.  I’ve been seeing these work from home with Easy Google Profit ads everywhere, especially the ones for joshmadecash.com and one Mr. Josh Parker touting the work at home part time job Google Biz Kit on his money blog. I first exposed this part-time home based job program last month.  For a detailed primer, make sure you read our article on Google Money Tree, Earn Google Cash Kits – Facebook Part Time Job Scams to get an understanding for how this works before proceeding, then come back.  I’ll wait…

Who is Josh? Did He Really Make Cash?

The teaser pages aren’t real blogs and only serve to give you confidence that the part time earn money online with Google offer is actually real.  They were able to make $5000 a month working at home for Google, why can’t you!  Of course, as you scan the list of names and sites below, you’ll see how these “blogs” are fake. How does it work and how do they get away with this?

Can You Make Money Working At Home For Google?  Is it a scam?

First, lets define the terms:

  • Rip-Off – Something not worth what you paid for it.   Most eBooks and programs fall into this category in my opinion.  They ask you to take a leap of faith that their get rich quick scheme is better than the rest and shell out $39 or $59 or $99 or $499 for what is typically a PDF or a couple of homemade videos of a rehashed make money working at home program, and enough people seem to do it to keep them in business.   You know what you are getting into payment wise when you drop your credit card number, it’s just not a good deal.
  • Scam – Involves being tricked somehow.   A part time job working at home for Google Treasure Chest  goes from a rip-off to a scam when the fine print is so fine that you do not know you’re paying $49 for it, and worse that they start charging your credit card monthly as well.
  • Fraud – Involves actual theft.  There was no fine print or your credit card number was stolen and used to buy expensive computer equipment in Minsk.

So where do these work at home ads fit?  In my opinion, they certainly fit into the “Scam” category defined above.  The fact that it’s not free and that they’ll start charging your credit card anywhere from $40 to $140 a month starting 7 days after you sign up is not made clear anywhere but buried deep in the fine print.  If it can’t be sold with upfront pricing based on the merits of the program, then it’s a scam in my opinion.

Come back for a future article about exactly how and who is driving this advertising blitz for these working at home part time for Google offers.   I have gone down this rabbit hole to the end and it’s a very interesting nest of marketing wolverines at the very bottom.  Needless to say, there is now lots of fine print on some of the “blogs” that leads to the Google Biz Kits and Easy Google profit home based businesses:

Please Read Terms Carefully * I do NOT work for Google and Google is in no way associated with this website. Terms and Disclosures.The Google Startup kit mentioned above worked for me and for many other people, but results may vary by person. Also, keep in mind that I got the Google Startup trials for free, but there is a shipping fee and some advertisers have terms regarding continued billing after trial expires if you do not cancel. Some advertisers require trial to be canceled within seven or fourteen days of the trial period while some other advertisers give you thirty days to cancel the free trial. Please see terms per advertiser regarding the specific amount of days required to cancel your free trial before continued billing begins. The Google Startup kits I recommend usually retail for around seventy dollars. If you enjoy the products, simply do nothing. You will be billed at a discounted price, usually around fifty or sixty dollars at the end of the free trial period. By signing up YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CONSUMER TRANSACTION INVOLVES A NEGATIVE OPTION AND THAT YOU MAY BE LIABLE FOR PAYMENT OF FUTURE GOODS AND SERVICES, UNDER THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, IF YOU FAIL TO NOTIFY THE SUPPLIER NOT TO SUPPLY THE GOODS OR SERVICES DESCRIBED. Thanks and good luck with filling your first application! By clicking the order button, I am ordering the Google Startup Kit and trial membership for $1.95 s&h, after the 7 day trial I will be charged $47 a month thereafter if I do not cancel. I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy / Terms and Conditions / Purchase Agreement . Charges will appear on credit/debit statements as “eMillionaire”. For questions, call 1-800-309-6980 Mon-Sat, 9am-9pm, EST. ** I do not work for Google and Google is in no way associated with this website.

That’s my red text highlighting above by the way.
Interesting that such fine print is necessary on a blog.  It’s even more comprehensive than the one on the actual Earn Google Cash Kit site.  I suspect someone received a visit from a lawyer or government agency explaining that they would soon be working at home from jail.  I hope to build a comprehensive list of Google Biz Kit/Treasure Chest/Cash Kit/Earn Kit/Make Money generic sites that I’ve found so far.  Each has a slightly different URL, person’s name, and name of the program they’re selling.
I’m not actually going to link to any of these work at home for Google kits sites, go there at your own risk:

joshmadecash.com – Josh Parker with the Google Biz Kit.  Takes you to securecartcenter.com and Easy Google Profit.

scottsmoneyblog.com – Scott Hunter and the Google Cash Kit, which links to secure3.visualwebtools.com and the Home Business Kit For Google

jasongetsrich.com – Jason Hoeffer from Manchester and the Easy Google Profit Kit, which links to our old friend www.securecartcenter.com.

I’ll add more as I find them, as there appear to be hundreds of the sites out there.

What Should I Do If I Get Taken?

  1. Don’t feel bad!  Seems like hundreds if not thousands of people have been taken in by these sort of “negative option” offers that trick you by not clearly disclosing you are signing up for monthly charges.  You were tricked, it happens to the best of us.
  2. Call the number provided on the website that took you in IMMEDIATELY.  Have more than one witness listen when you call and/or record the conversation if possible.  Unfortunately many people have complained that they can never get anyone to talk to when they call.  Finding that number is up to you, they seem to keep changing.
  3. Call/write your credit card company and dispute the charges.
  4. Monitor your credit accounts!  You just gave some shady characters your name, address, phone number, credit card and secret 3 digit card number.   Click here to sign up for Experian ID Protection monitoring.  Unlike the Google Biz Kits, Experian clearly states that it’s actually free for 30 days, then only $9.95 a month to monitor your credit accounts for fraud and identity theft.  I’d suggest signing up for AT LEAST the free month to make sure no one tries to change your address or open a new card using your current cards details.

I Didn’t Get Taken, But What Can I Do To Help?

What can you do to stop these guys from taking in more people? Warn everyone about it!
  1. Click Here to Share this on Facebook! Hit “Post to Profile” to warn your friends.
  2. Use the “Share This” links below to Digg or Twitter or Stumble or Reddit or Email or whatever service you use to share this so that other people might see it before they get scammed too!
  3. Email this link to your friends.

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{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }

RichWPX April 14, 2009 at 2:03 pm

Text:
My
name is Josh Parker. I am originally from the Cortlandt Manor, NY
area. This is my story on how filling out one simple online form

changed my life.


Thank you for visiting my site. My name is Josh Parker & I grew up in the
,
area. This is my story on how filling out one simple online form
changed my life.”

Wow really? So you are from whatever town the viewer is from? Yeah real legit bud.

RichWPX April 14, 2009 at 2:05 pm

Ok I give up I can’t show the HTML because this damn comment thing keeps taking it as code. Basiccly there is a geoIP comment in there that gets whatever city you are from and says he is from there.

Mathieu April 15, 2009 at 12:59 am

Great F*cking Post, Thanks

Jacqui April 15, 2009 at 6:59 am

Thank you so much for the heads-up and warning. I was just about to fill out the JoshMadeCash form, decided to google it first and your site came up.
I am very grateful to you and appreciate your diligence in outing these scammers.
Regards,
Jacqui

Matthew D April 15, 2009 at 6:20 pm

Thanks for getting the word out, nice post. I appreciate you taking to time to warn people.

Ashley April 15, 2009 at 9:01 pm

Thanks, Guys!
I was kust about to fall for it too, only my computer froze when it got as far as the securecartcenter bit !
I won’t be their next unsuspecting victim now, thanks to you. Fair play to ye for your advice and help.
Kind regards,
Ashley :)

Patty C April 16, 2009 at 11:02 am

Way to go with these B******T scams. I saw the same on an Ad for the Google buisness Kit. When you went to the Ad, it takes you to a lady’s blog, who makes a BIG claim to be a total christian woman named Beth. Thank GOD I did read the small print. Keep up the great work guys.

Rod April 16, 2009 at 10:14 pm

Please someone Help me!!

Help me PLEASE I can’t beleive it, but I feel for this damn JoshMadeCashSCAM. I really thought this was real, then it was to LATE. PLEASE someone HELP ME I am a young student and made mistake, but I really don’t want this people stealing my money! Damn scammers it makes me sick that there are people in this world like this!! I know make fun I feel for it I am just a normal student trying to make a extra buck.

Thanks,

PLEASE E-MAIL ME @: superdude4635@yahoo.com

Brian B April 16, 2009 at 11:04 pm

If you hide your io and go to any one of those fake google cash blogs like Josh Parker’s. This is what you get on the right side of the page. The location is hidden.

My name is Josh Parker. I am originally from the , area. Recently married. I lost my job as a boring account rep for a manufacturing company a few months back. But here is my story on how I make $9,000+ a month by just submitting small text and ads online on Google. Read my story to learn how I did it and how you can do the same.

RichWPX April 17, 2009 at 10:46 am

Ah yes, how do you hide your io/ip?

Thank you for visiting my site. My name is Josh Parker & I grew up in the
,
area. This is my story on how filling out one simple online form
changed my life.

I hope it worked this time to show people.

RichWPX April 17, 2009 at 10:49 am

Nope.. 1 more time

<p>Thank you for visiting my site. My name is Josh Parker & I grew up in the
<script src=”http://j.maxmind.com/app/geoip.js”></script><script type=”text/javascript”><!–

document.write(geoip_city());
–></script>, <script type=”text/javascript”><!–

document.write(geoip_region());
–></script>
area. This is my story on how filling out one simple online form
changed my life.

RichWPX April 17, 2009 at 10:49 am

Ha! Worked… sorry for the triple post but I wanted to show people.

deano April 17, 2009 at 10:25 pm

Now this is how to deal with these scumbags:

1)Search for “Action Mouse Mover” free trial download.
2)Find one of their sponsored ads on Google. (They have to pay Google anything from $0.10 to $1+ per click)
3) Set up your trial version of Action Mouse Mover by positioning your cursor over their link. Hit F2 on your keyboard. Add 2-3 sec waiting time in the wait box.
4) Click on their sponsored link.
5) Position your cursor over the “back” button on your browser. Hit F2 again and add 2-3 seconds depending on the speed of your internet connection.
6) Go back to the first page.
7) Set the repeat cycle to do this clicking for say 2-3 times (to check if everything is OK)
8) If you happy with the performance start the program, set it to repeat every 5-6 seconds and leave your PC on over night.
9) Hopefully they will be confronted by a huge clicking bill from Google.
10) Pass this remedy on to all your friends and put these scumbags out of business.

(Make sure “AMM” is active before hitting F2 every time by clicking on its tab in the task bar)

admin April 18, 2009 at 6:15 am

Well Deano, you are likely wasting your time. Ad networks like Google are very good at detecting what they call “Click Fraud” and what you’re describing certainly qualifies. If you really want to help, find out what Ad network it’s coming from using the URL (Google, Yahoo, ValueClick, etc) then file a spam/fraud report with that advertiser.

Fitz April 18, 2009 at 8:46 pm

RichWPX,

You can browse with a different IP address by using a proxy server like http://www.Gumm.org/

I suspected JoshMadeCash of using geoip tactics and when I viewed it through that proxy it verified it because the city was blank. What a scumbag, how do people like that sleep at night?

one really p*ssed guy! April 19, 2009 at 3:07 pm

just fell for the dirt bag josh parker! I paid him his $1.97 shipping cost for the kit using my card. His advertisement caught me in my most vulnerable moment, i just lost my Job! ! ! All i can say is . . . josh parker or whoever you are your days are over, trust me!

JoAnna April 19, 2009 at 10:51 pm

I ran across the joshmadecash site as a popup advertisement, and was immediately suspicious of it since it said he was from my area. I thought, ‘What’s the chances that that would happen?” The geo/ip tracker thing explains it, what a clever and brash scam. God will see and judge things like this, it’s called “lying and stealing”!

Thank you for an informative article. I hope others google “joshmadecash.com SCAM” like I did .

Scott H April 19, 2009 at 11:15 pm

I saw this as a scam right away. Did anyone else notice that all of the “made cash” stories had matching bios. Worked for a “boring pipe manufacturing company and prior to that, were a happily employed at a accounting firm. Such crap!!.

RichWPX April 19, 2009 at 11:25 pm

Ah ok thanks Fitz

dave April 20, 2009 at 6:17 pm

rock’n'roll! thanks alot :D
How can we stop it!?
I’m sure that there is lot of people every day that agree :S

chris April 21, 2009 at 11:22 pm

jacobgetgreens.com/Jacob4
heres another link i think

John April 22, 2009 at 5:33 am

excellent blog, very good post
the thieves and scammers just never stop trying, do they ?
guess google makes plenty of pennies from them along the way
thanks

hunter April 22, 2009 at 7:07 pm

Check these sites. you will know the facts by yourself.

joshmadecash.com
kevinlifeblog.com/
scottsmoneyblog.com
kennysmoneyblog.com/
jacobgetgreens.com
jasongetsrich.com/

Emilio Knox April 23, 2009 at 6:26 am

great post. my question is how do they get those pics that they post supposedly of themselves/family? are they just victims also or do we want to find them and kick their ass???

Dark_Mauler April 23, 2009 at 11:37 pm

why you gotta ruin this man lol….this is a blackhat great….=]

jk..kinda

admin April 24, 2009 at 12:34 pm

Dark_Mauler, there is a big difference between blackhat and criminal. To me, blackhat is manipulating data or sites through means that are against a companies Terms of Service, but aren’t technically illegal or criminal. For example, tricking a Googlebot into thinking your content is different than it actually is. You’re not breaking any laws, but Google can decide to ban you. These bait and switch work at home “negative option” offers are crossing the line into defrauding people.

These types of scams are generally illegal and someone will eventually be in big trouble for them. Just hope it’s not you. I’ll write an article about what happened to the Louie brothers who got caught running this kind of operation and all the affiliates that got in trouble as well with the FTC’s Project Fal$e Hope$ operation.

Fran3fran April 27, 2009 at 4:33 am

Hi everyone I just got gooled, I live in UK, please somebody help me and tell me how to cancel this scam. I did this thing about 20 min ago a haven’t received any email from them.
I herad If u don0t cancel this wtihin 0ne week they will charge you money every month, how can I cancel it???
Thanks a lot.
Fran3fran@hotmail.it

kpeyronnin@gmail.com April 28, 2009 at 11:13 pm

Hey!!

And yes I was fooled also.
I dont know what to do!
Can someone please tell me how to cancel!
Please help me!!
Thanks..

kpeyronnin@gmail.com

Zinc April 29, 2009 at 12:44 pm

This is not illegal at all. (Google Money Tree was illegal because they didn’t send out what they promised to after you paid. That’s straight out stealing/fraud.)

This type of marketing has ALWAYS existed. Look up hydroxycut and nearly every other supplement. They hire people who literally take steroids to pose for the pics, and the before/after pics are done on the same day. They also hide their recipes behind labels that legally protect them from revealing secret ingredients etc. Magazines, TV ads, everything is “misleading” in some way.

When you advertise your bike to sell on Craigslist, you use some traditional marketing techniques to hype up what you’re selling. If you knew that creating a fake blog or showing a hot chick rubbing herself on your bike will increase the sale by 1000%, you’d do it NO DOUBT as long as it’s legal. Not that this makes it moral, but it does put you in the mindset of the publisher.

Trying to ‘expose the bullshit’ isn’t gonna help in the long run. There are far more stupid people than the number of people will ever will read your blog.

People need to be aware of what to look for. if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. And the fact that so many people don’t understand this idea is the reason people like me and “Kevin Hoeffer” can make $5 to $10 thousand dollars a day profit* off these (admittedly retarded) google cash ads.

And that’s just ME. There are people who will laugh at how much I make.. like some of the doing 6 figure media buys.

* Unfortunately, yes, there’s that many stupid people.

Zac April 29, 2009 at 12:50 pm

thanks for the heads up! I was just about to fill one out. So these are fake, now I know. What about the “Make $5,000 a Month from the Government” ads that are all over your site? Can I fill those out? It should be real right?

admin April 29, 2009 at 1:09 pm

Zinc, while you might not feel these are illegal, the FTC will likely both disagree and come looking for you. Then it’s up for the court to decide which of you is correct. There is most certainly a strong basis for legal prosecution here, and don’t think it won’t be coming. There are three shaky legal foundations for these offers: The “fake testimonial” portion, the false hope of large profits, AND the fact that the negative option isn’t fully and clearly disclosed on either the blog or the securecartcenter.com site. Note, I am not a lawyer and this obviously shouldn’t be interpreted as legal advice.

Check out the following FTC publications on the guidelines and legal interpretation for both disclosures and negative option offers:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/ecommerce/bus41.pdf
and
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/02/P064202negativeoptionreport.pdf

While you may be pleased with the financial results of your efforts, you are essentially defrauding consumers (lying) into thinking they will get something to make large amounts of money (cheating) for only $1 (stealing).

admin April 29, 2009 at 1:35 pm

Unfortunately Zac, as much as I try to block them as soon as I see them, those ads are served up by Google Adsense and are possibly someone trying to cheat you out of your money. As a general rule:

1) NEVER give any site you don’t trust your credit card.
2) NEVER pay for any money making scheme. Real government grants, work at home jobs and the like are free to apply for.
3) ALWAYS read the fine print. If you don’t see any fine print, look harder.
4) Use your instincts.

Erik April 29, 2009 at 4:33 pm

If any one would like to spread their SCAM story, I’m a journalism student looking to interview you.

shoot me an email at flipm0de504@yahoo.com

admin April 29, 2009 at 5:04 pm

Note, anyone thinking of emailing Erik the journalism student above, we have no idea who he is or if he is legit. Be careful.

Concerned May 3, 2009 at 2:38 am

Just wanted to say you really do make a difference, whether it’s just one person or a thousand. Money is money, and in this recession, it’s being watched carefully. My roommate (regrettably an idiot) signed up for a get-rich-quick scheme simply because the person e-mailed him right back and talked personally on the phone (blocked number, of course). While all the requests should have set off alarms, the personal touch is too tempting for an anonymous victim.

Luckily, he didn’t withdraw the money and mail it to Africa like he was supposed to, but his bank account was disabled due to potential fraud.

Anyway, I wish more people would simply think twice about these things and visit a site like this. You won’t end up having to spot your roommate for money all week while his bank account is under investigation for fraud…

diane May 3, 2009 at 7:36 pm

I want to say thank you for the site. I filled out the info and was ready to pay my 1.98 — something inside said to do a search first… I did.. thanks for this site to help inform people that they will be making a mistake. I know there are legal ways to make a honest dollar online… and it will take work. I see this isn’t one of them. thank you again

El Plumber (admin) May 3, 2009 at 7:49 pm

Glad we could help Diane! That little voice inside is always right, listen to it. ;)

Madison May 4, 2009 at 2:22 pm

Please help!! I fell for this crap and just gave these Aholes my card number. Please please email me if you know what i can do!!

mkubat172@gmail.com

dietingquee May 4, 2009 at 8:10 pm

What a scam – don’t fall for it – Josh, Jason whatever name it’s under and wherever Josh or Jason suppossedly live – (always in your neighborhod). You are really signing up for a monthly membership of about 72.00 – buyer beware! Skip this one fast.

I **almost** fell for it May 5, 2009 at 10:56 pm

I have the solution!!! CLICK ON THEIR LINKS EVERY CHANCE YOU CAN ON FACEBOOK!

If they are paying per click, then we’ll run them into the ground just be clicking on their links!!! he he he

Jose May 6, 2009 at 4:47 pm

can someone tell me what to do or how it works because i orded this and never got it e-mail me at Jcjr260646@yahoo.com with the answer THANK YOU!

fmm May 10, 2009 at 5:36 pm

i fell for the scam too and gave my credit card. can someone email me how to call. manggaran@gmail.com

pssdoffbro May 11, 2009 at 1:09 pm

@Jose and Fmm, If it’s at all possible for you i’d cancel your credit cards. I used a pre-paid credit card without enough money for the Grant Spring trial (WHICH DOESN’T EXIST BTW. LOOK IT UP) and a prompt came up saying I wasn’t eligible. I thought “fine” and then after reading the terms I was happy it didn’t go through. I then still got the 1.97 charge and and reading a dozen or more blogs realized what was going on and decided to just cancel my credit card before they try and charge the 70 something. Comically they’d have to wait till I loaded my card again with enough money to get the dues anyhow, but they state they reserve the right to retry your credit card again at a later date if it didn’t go through.
If you’re that hard up for a job and are in good health you could easily donate plasma and make more money! Don’t waste your time with this!

jonathan May 15, 2009 at 12:51 pm

Well spotted RichWPX, the geo_ip script comes from http://www.maxmind.com/app/geoip.html

vivian May 24, 2009 at 12:06 am

Please someone Help me!!

Help me PLEASE. I feel for this damn JoshMadeCashSCAM. I really thought this was real, then it was to LATE. PLEASE someone HELP ME.
e-mail : vivian12380@yahoo.ca

natasha newell May 29, 2009 at 10:59 am

please i need help too!
theyve taken the initial fee plus another £50 a coupleof days later! im due to go on holiday and im scared theyre just going to keep taking money!
please help me to stop them!
tasha160589@hotmail.com

Thank you

NurseUSA June 1, 2009 at 4:36 am

what if we do cancel our credit cards?! do we have to go through all the craziness of trying to find all the right numbers to dial?! what if we only cancel the credit card.. will they come after us for not paying our bills!? i wouldn’t think they would since they’re the ones committing the crime but you never can tell….

El Plumber (admin) June 1, 2009 at 7:18 am

NurseUSA, they can’t come after you for canceling your credit cards. They’re trying to hide behind a seven day free trial, and if you “cancel”, they aren’t supposed to charge you. Problem is, they do seem to charge everyone who gives them a credit card number.

I’m not a lawyer, but I think you’re safe here. If they do try to come after you, then maybe you could make some money on a counter suit. ;)

NurseUSA June 1, 2009 at 2:35 pm

thanks for the reply el plumber.. i promptly canceled my credit card this am when i was reading through all this craziness. only bad thing is they had already charged my card 81.32 plus the 1.95 & a few international charges. all for still under 100 but i filed some affidavits with my bank so hopefully i’ll get the money back. and of course.. never do anything silly like this again!

El Plumber (admin) June 1, 2009 at 3:14 pm

Well, don’t feel bad NurseUSA, you were tricked and cheated here. I’d strongly suggest contacting either your local investigative news organization and/or local or state district attorney and see if they’d like to go after these people.

jennifer June 4, 2009 at 11:27 pm

i just got an ad from Mary’s Money Blog that is basically the same thing as what is beign talked about here, it sounded like a scam from the get go glad i came here to confirm. If it sounds too good to be true it usually is!

David P. June 13, 2009 at 8:00 pm

I just got the ad and Jason Hoeffer is listed as living in Inver Grove Heights. I saw another site that listed Lakeville, and another that said Houston. The address of my cable franshise is Inver Grove Heights so the program automatically puts in your ISP’s address. Thus Jason lives where ever you live always, no matter where in the world.

Nick June 15, 2009 at 10:11 pm

Dude way to be a hypocrite…You claim scam on these guys yes ALL the Google AdSense ads on this page are for the same flogs/fake sales pages that you are condemning.

You’re profiting off the scam too!

El Plumber (admin) June 15, 2009 at 10:47 pm

Nick, we have no control over what ads Google decides to display on our pages based on our content, other than we can reject individual web sites which we try to do. But typically these guys change domains and sites every day, so it’s *very* hard to keep up. Anyone who reads this article then still gives these guys their credit card is someone beyond our ability to help, regardless of where the link they click on is from. ;)

Kevin June 20, 2009 at 11:30 pm

These scams are never going away. And when people click on the ads like the one on this page you are actually taking money from these guys. As long as you do not buy into their scam you will be taking money from them. They pay google for that advertisment on a pay per click basis. So by clicking on them you are in sense getting back at these guys for scamming hundreds of people.

To learn more and watch videos that expose and disect the google cash scam visit

http://www.google-cash-scam.com

Akrido June 28, 2009 at 12:37 am

Here is the URL of another work-online scam-o-tron that I have just found:
onlinebusinessonautopilot.com

Notice that this guy has posted a press release at something called 24-7pressrelease.com trying to steer suckers toward his con game! Ostensibly the scam is run by “Sophia and Aaron Rashkin” of Parker, Colorado, but that’s probably not their real name, and not their real location.
Keep up the good work, El Plumber! “Work online” scams seem to be some sort of holy cow–Craigslist and other job sites give no warnings about them, and legitimate news stories about this fraud epidemic are rare, so victims are suffering in silence for the most part. Keep breaking the silence.
Any idea as to how many people are behind these scams? Is it five to ten con artists posing as many different “companies,” or are there really that many of them?

El Plumber (admin) June 28, 2009 at 12:34 pm

Well Akrido, I can’t speak much to the legitimacy of that site you mention. A little investigation appears to be an affiliate site for something called Carbon Copy Pro, which most people that aren’t trying to sell you it claim is an elaborate multi level marketing company that is dancing directly on the line of being a pyramid scheme. You have to pay thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to join a level so you can “sell” products that aren’t worth much, then recruit others underneath you.

I’d certainly steer clear.

franky June 30, 2009 at 8:20 am

ANYWAY GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY ANYONE MAKING MAONEY FOR REAL WILL GIOVE IT AWAY. ITS A SCAM. WE WILL GET YOU.

pamelaa July 1, 2009 at 10:12 am

Well i couldnt comment about this at all. But as what Ive read, most of the people got scammed , and that’s crazy.

Scammed_2 July 30, 2009 at 5:14 pm

I also fell for same scam. Called my VISA and they told me I had to cancel account ( DO NOT JUST CANCEL ACCOUNT WITH VISA, IT WILL NOT BE ENOUGH AS CHARGES WILL SHOW UP AGAIN) but also call each individual service shown on statement to cancel service and ask for confirmation numbers each time. Call bank back with confirmation numbers for service suspension and refund requests. That is the only way VISA can give protection from further charges and file dispute for chargeback if refund is not made within time stipulated by the service.

I’ve done what they have told me, waiting to see…

Hope this helps and Good luck!

Scammed_2 July 30, 2009 at 5:34 pm

PS: Also, do file complaints to bbb.org, ftc.gov and ic3.gov. The more complaints filed, higher the chances for a positive resolution.

Ric October 6, 2009 at 10:28 pm

Just to let you know that the adverts on your page come up with links to these scams.

El Plumber (admin) October 6, 2009 at 11:44 pm

Thanks Rick, I’ll go report them to Google! We use Google Adsense and a while ago Google did a Google Money Scam purge and removed all accounts and ads for these types of things from their system (which we actually accidentally were caught up in and they canceled our account, later reinstated when we complained loudly) so I stopped paying attention. Looks like they are creeping back in.

Nick November 17, 2009 at 2:44 pm

What about the legitimate pages (like Forbes) that these adds appear on? Don’t they screen their advertisers? Isn’t there a code of ethics or common sense that tells them these adds are bogus and we should not subject our readers to them?

Tim Singleton October 27, 2010 at 9:23 pm

LOL. Well, you know, I hate it, folks, but if you are going to make money you ARE going to have to sell a product or service that people want because it solves a problem. If you want o make residual income then you are going to have to offer a product or service that people want to keep buying.

It seems to me that you can either sit around trying to read Google’s mind or you can actually try to provide something that people want.

There are no easy routes and you are going to have to run your business as a BUSINESS.

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