Free Work At Home Ideas

Newest Scam! Make Money from Home using Twitter

2009-08-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

Connecticut Better Business Bureau warns against Twitter “work at home” money making schemes

Written by Howard Schwartz, Connecticut Better Business Bureau
Sunday, 09 August 2009 06:26

Through Twitter.com “tweet” messages, e-mails and other Web sites, job-hunters are being told they can make big money from the comfort of their home. Better Business Bureau (BBB), however, warns fine print reveals the offers may not be what they appear to be.

Work-at-home schemes have touted a number of ways of making money by sending e-mails or placing ads on Google, but a new twist has emerged targeting cash-strapped Americans, saying they can make money through the Twitter real-time messaging service.

Connecticut BBB president Paulette Scarpetti says “make money with Twitter” schemes may sound risk-free, however there are red flags that prompt BBB to advise extreme caution with these offers.

“One e-mail states ‘Twitter workers needed ASAP, you’re hired! Make extra cash with Twitter; as seen on USA Today, CNN and ABC ... apply now!’ Like other work-at-home offers however, this scheme uses fake testimonials and can end up costing money, rather than earning it.”

The e-mail links to a Surrey, England based company Web site called EasyTweetProfits.com, that claims you can make between $250 and $873 a day working at home with Twitter. The Web site offers a seven-day free trial of their instructional CD-ROM for $1.95 to cover shipping. Buried in the fine print is that the seven day period begins the day the CD is ordered — not when it is received — and if consumers don’t cancel within seven days of signing up, they are charged $47 dollars every month.

Phony blogs, such as make-money-on-twitter.com feature testimonials about the success of Twitter based work, and even a photo of a check supposedly received by the blogger for posting links to Twitter. This same photo has been used on other fake blogs for various suspect work-at-home schemes.

Similar Web sites claim earnings of up to $873 a day working at home, offer a similar seven-day trial and CD, and if consumers don’t cancel within seven days of ordering, they are charged $99.99 every month. New Web sites pop-up regularly and it is only as matter of time before complaints start coming in.

BBB warns job seekers to watch for several warning signs when searching for a work-at-home opportunity online:

Upfront payment is required to be considered for the job or receive additional information.
The “job” is actually a money-making scheme that doesn’t provide actual employment.
The offer claims job hunters can make a great deal of money with little effort and no experience.
The same offer appears on different Web sites or is posted y many different tweeters. Links in such tweets may lead the visitor to scam sites or install malware on a computer to steal valuable personal information.

Easy Google Profits SCAM!

2009-06-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

Yet another scam makes the desperate jump at the chance to make big money online the "easy" way. Called Easy Google Profits, I first found a page advocating this new "program" on a local blog, which was ranking highly on one of the internet's good blog directories. The article looked extremely legitimate. I searched the term Easy Google Profits and found quite a lot of bashing going on. People are irate!

This scam is not associated with Google at all. Some website for the scam use Google's logo, as well as the logos of CNN, Yahoo, MSN Money, and others saying the program is legitimate and has been featured on those channels. But it's not true.

You're told, as usual, that you can make good money fast. You're told the information kit is only $1.99, to sign up right away. But the small print has you being charged anywhere from $40 to $70 per month by a third party.

Individuals are flooding the internet with websites created by "average" Joe guys who came on hard times and found this fantastic way to make money from home. Interestingly, the amounts these people make are always the same exact amount (hmmm?). And notice the comments section too... the comments have no dates. Additionally, every single comment advocates the system and testifies that they made money too. But even more noticeable is that comments are closed, apparently due to spamming. Rest assured, comments were never open. And every glowing comment was manufactured to make the system appear amazing.

Please don't fall for this scam. If you do/have, immediately contact your credit card company to stop payment.

To read the true stories regarding this scam, follow Scam.com thread regarding Easy Google Profit.

Newest Mystery Shopper Scam - Beware

2009-05-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

SELECTED PRESS RELEASE
Title: Scams Continue
Date Published: 2/6/2009
Author: MSPA Staff
Publication: MSPA Distribution

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Some scammers use legitimate company names, even including Mystery Shopping Providers Association or MSPA. Be wary! One scammer signs email as: Mystery Shopping Providers Association, John Edwardson, Admin Agent, www.mysteryshop.org, © MSPA, 2009. Don't be fooled!

DALLAS – Updated: April 22, 2009 - The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), the largest trade association dedicated to brand management and improving service quality using anonymous resources, wants to warn consumers of an ongoing check cashing scam.

Scammers approach prospective victims via mail, email, and telephone, or lure in victims by posting ads online, such as in Craigs's List. They pose as representatives of mystery shopping companies and attempt to persuade their targets that they want to engage them as mystery shoppers. Using highly sophisticated ploys, the scammers convince their victims that they will receive checks that they are to deposit in to their checking accounts, then wire most of the moeny to someone else. Often, this "someone else" is said to be a fellow mystery shopper who is involved in the evaluation of the money wiring service, etc. Victims deposit the check and wire the money, as instructed, discovering later that the check was counterfeit and that the victim is liable for all the money sent from his or her bank.

In the past, the scam used a fake cashier’s check to take thousands of dollars from consumers. More recently, consumers have received what appears to be a regular check from a legitimate mystery shopping company, but the check is actually forged.

Another scam tries to convince prospective victims to undertake shops by spending their own money, which the scammers say will reimbursed through direct deposit to a Citi Bank (or other institution) account (and the shopper is urged to open such an account and send details to the scammer so the "deposit" can be made.

In another version, consumers receive a large-sum check, typically between $1,000 and $5,000. They are asked to evaluate the service at a variety of stores and wire a portion of the money back to the sender while also evaluating the wiring service. Consumers are told to keep a portion of the money as payment.

The name of a real company usually appears on the check as well as real account information.
The forgery of the check is discovered a few days after it is deposited, and the consumer is held responsible for the entire amount of the check.

“Scammers are taking advantage of the allure of Mystery Shopping to take money from consumers' hands,” said MSPA Executive Director John Swinburn. “MSPA has long recognized the problem and is constantly working to make consumers aware of new scams related to Mystery Shopping.”

MSPA urges consumers who receive similar offers to file a report by contacting the following:

National Consumers League/Alliance for Consumer Fraud Awareness: www.fakechecks.org
Internet Crime Complaint Center: http://www.ic3.gov/ (if the offer is received by email)
Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Postal Service: http://www.uspsoig.gov/ (if the offer is received by mail)
Local Police
Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov
Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov

To see a list of legitimate companies go to www.mysteryshop.org.

(Press Release provided by Mystery Shopping Provider's Association)

How Can You Detect A Fraud?

2009-05-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

Read online ads and "conversations" with a healthy dose of skepticism. The same signals that tip you off to potential frauds in print and on television are apparent in cyberspace. Here are some warning signs of questionable online advertising:

Overstated claims of product effectiveness. Use of hype titles and frequent use of the word "hot" to describe an investment opportunity can indicate a scam.
Exaggerated claims of potential earnings or profit.
Claims of "inside" information.
"Pump and Dump" promotions of cheap stocks promising high returns.
Promotions for exotic investments such as ostrich farming, gold mining, or wireless cable TV.

When you make any decisions about investments or products, be careful. Check a variety of sources and references before you buy.

If you have a question or complaint about an online ad or promotion, contact your commercial service provider. You also may file a complaint with your local consumer protection office, state Attorney General, or the Federal Trade Commission. Write to: Correspondence Branch, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580.

Or, contact the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, 845 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022.

If you have questions about whether an investment sales person is licensed or an offered security is registered, contact the Office of Consumer Affairs, Securities and Exchange Commission, (202) 942-7040.

The National Fraud Information Center maintains a toll-free Consumer Assistance Service, 1-800-876-7060, to provide information about telephone or mail solicitations and online scams. They also tell consumers how and where to report fraud and how to file complaints.

The Federal Trade Commission publishes free brochures that explain fraudulent sales practices and how you can avoid them. For a complete list of publications, write for Best Sellers, Public Reference, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580; (202) 326-2222; TDD (202) 326-2502.

(Excerpt provided by Quakwatch.org)