Thursday, February 23, 2006

Get your Facts Straight!

Get your Facts Straight!



In light of the recent upheaval in the online world with payment processors, paid to surfs and hyips, it's time to take a look at what you're doing.

Any so-called business can make any outrageous claim they want on a website. While some are blatantly obvious thrown-together sites filled with typos, bad copy and erroneous statements, there are thousands of very slick, well-written, professional-looking sites. The crooks and con artists know how to fool people!

Get your facts straight

The common thread between an honest business site and a con artist's site is that BOTH are involved in sales. They are trying to sell you on the idea that YOUR life will improve if you take them up on THEIR offer.

Depending on the skill of the copy writer, they can be very convincing. You, as a reader, need to be aware that one of the key skills in writing good copy is to be able to appeal to the emotions of the reader.

If the copy is properly written, your mind will tell you that if you take the deal, you'll feel better, live longer, make more money, have a happier life, get more visitors, or many other things too numerous to mention.

It doesn't matter if the information you're reading is false. Your mind will believe it, because it wants to believe it. After all, it's going to solve your problems and make your life better.

You, as a savvy business person, need to set your emotions aside and do something you've likely heard of many times before, called DUE DILIGENCE.

What that means is, you immediately start digging to find out all you can about the company behind the website. Use the search engines and whois to find out all you can. Follow the links on forums. (Note that forums are often deceiving in themselves, because the writers will often post links that when followed prove their assertion to be false.)

Look for proper contact information on the website and use it to ask questions about the company. If you get no reply, or can't find the information, stay away from that company!

Don't let a friend's excitement cloud your decision! Just because a company has a history of paying doesn't mean it will continue to pay. One of the classic tricks used in ponzi and pyramid schemes is to start out paying on time and regularly. Then, when a certain point is reached - often right before the company would collapse anyway, the owners take the money and run, leaving YOU broke and mad.

Avoid prelaunches that tell you nothing about the coming business venture like the plague! They are used to hype up the "venture" before it comes on line to drive up the emotions in advance of the launch.

It is a trick that works will with products or services that are basically very boring, difficult to understand, poor quality, or expensive (or all of the above).

By steadily building up excitement during the prelaunch, the sales team is priming you to jump as soon as the PAY NOW button appears. They constantly publish the numbers of people joining during prelaunch and strongly suggest that it's so popular that anyone who jumps in and pays as soon as it launches will be guaranteed to get wealthy.

NOT SO!! I've been involved in sales and networking for over 27 years and have never seen someone get rich from taking part in a hyped-up prelaunch. I HAVE seen people make a lot of money from choosing a really good company and working really hard to make it work.

Now let's get back to the so-called companies I started this thread with - the paid autosurfs and hyips. First of all, let's deal with the hyips. Can you spell S-C-A-M? You convince me how they can offer the percentages they offer legally and I'll print a retraction.

Now let's go on to paid to surf. I include any kind of system that pays you to surf, autosurf, click ads, or whatever in this category. This is not the first time these things have shown up.

I can GUARANTEE you that if you make any of these your primary business - no matter how honest they may be - you ARE going to lose. You will lose either all the time you've put in, or all the money you've invested, or both.

Let's assume that you pick a paid to surf company that is running legally (if there is such a thing these days), and you work hard, build a downline, invest your money, and watch sites buzz by till your eyes fall out.

Where do you think the money is coming from if they're legal? The bulk of the money comes from advertising! By their design, these are high traffic sites, which makes them a desirable advertising venue for other businesses.

A banner ad on the sign in page of a paid to surf site costs a lot of money! However, as happened a few years ago (like I said, this is NOT new) so many companies are jumping into the arena that the value of that ad space has been steadily declining and eventually there will be so much competition that these companies will either have to drastically reduce their payouts or stop paying period.

If you think they won't stop, you haven't been around long enough to remember when this happened before AND you haven't read the fine print on the site that states that they DO NOT GUARANTEE PAYMENT! (Does anybody remember AllAdVantage.com and all the others that came after them?)

So, if you're SERIOUS about building a long term, profitable, paying business, start looking for a real business and do your due diligence.

Visit the online forums of people who deal in solid facts and learn from them. Take a serious look before you leap! You'll succeed much faster by slowing down first.




Friday, February 17, 2006

What's all this Nonsense about Global Warming?

What's all this Nonsense about Global Warming?

OK - here it is, February - almost March and we're freezing our buns off! 

 I keep hearing all this stuff about Global Warming, and yet my roses are freezing to death here on the south coast of BC, and they're setting record low temperatures on the prairies! Record LOW temperatures! And not by just a little bit, either. They didn't just break the records - they destroyed them! 

Frozen roses

 Personally, I don't accept everything I see on the news or hear from politicians and government-funded research. Why, the best way to keep getting funded is to create a crisis! 

 Do a little research, yourself. Go to Google and type in, mini ice age. What you'll see is that we've had around 600 years of lower than normal temperatures and if we ever get back up to normal, they'll be able to grow grapes in northern England again, and native grain again in Scotland, plus they might actually be able to use the Northwest Passage for more than a few days a year.  

OK - the ocean levels might rise a bit. Bummer. But think of all the land that is presently unuseable! A few degrees higher temperatures would allow a LOT more food to be grown, and make a LOT more land liveable than at present. 

 So when I'm shivering here in the "temperate zone," don't try to scare me with the "threat" of Global Warming. I'm all for it! And I'm far enough away from the water to appreciate the view without getting my feet wet!

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Stormpay Complaints

Stormpay Complaints

OK - what's next with Stormpay's "sleight-of-hand?" Where's the money now?

First Stormpay told the paid autosurf companies they had to drop all other payment processors and use them only. They said it was because they wanted to protect everybody from fraud. Riiiiight!

Next they told the autosurf companies they highly valued the excellent working relationship they had with them and just wanted to protect the companies and their members... hey, that was really nice of them!!

Then, once everybody complied (and upset a lot of their members in order to do it who used other payment processors), they froze all the autosurf companies' accounts!

Ok - so no one could get their money, but wait - then they started doing chargebacks to all the autosurf members' accounts, bank accounts, etc., but none of the autosurf companies were actually getting any of that money back in their accounts, so now nobody but Stormpay knows where the money is!

Finally, Stormpay posted the official Stormpay statement on their website! It seems they decided to play judge, jury and prosecutor and stated that the paid autosurf companies were a bunch of illegal ponzis and they were just protecting consumers!

Yeah, right! So where did the consumers' money go?? And where do they get off playing the high and mighty on the ponzi idea? Who owned Tymglobal?

Check out the rest of the nonsense at Google+Search+Tymglobal

So what can you do now? Tell somebody! Who? The Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau: StormPay.com Complaints - this is official!

The Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau are accepting complaints regarding accounts with StormPay.com.

To file a complaint with the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs, call 1-800-342-8385 or go to the department's Web site. Have an official complaint form sent to you by calling 1-800-342-8385 or by writing to The Division of Consumer Affairs, 500 James Robertson Pkwy., Nashville, TN 37243-0600.

StormPay complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau must be in writing and include the following:

Your name, address, and phone number.

Stormpay's name, address, and phone number.

The problem you are having and the resolution you are seeking.

Any paperwork or additional information you have to go along with the complaint.

Complaints may be filed at the website 

Here are some excerps with links from the Leaf Chronicle of Clarksville, TN, Stormpay's home town.

"Auditors dig into frozen StormPay accounts Auditors were busy at StormPay.com Friday as investigators try to get to the bottom of a dispute between the Clarksville online pay processor and a client who operates an "autosurf" Web site.”

"State agency investigating StormPay complaints The Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs said Wednesday it is investigating complaints involving StormPay.com, an Internet-based company in Clarksville embroiled in controversy over frozen customer accounts.”

"StormPay trying to resolve problem Clarksville-based StormPay.com issued a statement Tuesday night indicating it and another Internet company are working to resolve business disputes.”

StormPay has history with BBB, Tennessee While the owners of StormPay.com are negotiating a settlement, recent complaints against the Internet-based company on Golf Club Lane are not the first to surface.”

Update on communications With StormPay Attorneys for LifeClicks, LLC (the owner of 12DailyPro.com) and StormPay, Inc. have been communicating to attempt to resolve business disputes between LifeClicks and StormPay. Those discussions have been productive and useful, and are continuing.”

"BBB issues alert on StormPay The Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee today issued an alert regarding StormPay.com, an online payment processing business, in response to over 180 complaints filed since the end of January.”

Where is the money? Show us the money!



Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Wedgies

Wedgies 

Best one I've heard lately in regards to who done what to who with what in this Autosurf/Scam/Payment processor fiasco... 

 "These guys need a couple of wedgies, and have their pockets emptied!" 

 Couldn't have said it better myself!

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Autosurf and Investment PONZI Scams - Beware!

Autosurf and Investment PONZI Scams - Beware!

"New! New! 100DailyPro!!"

If that headline got your attention, please watch out! Paid autosurf and investment programs are very popular, right now, and people are joining them in droves. They promise to pay 1% and up, daily to yearly, on the money you put in. I'm sure you're familiar with them! 

I am quite positive that most of these programs are no more than PONZI schemes that are only able to pay their members as long as their paid membership keeps growing. I am positive that anyone paying over 2% (and even quite a few paying that much) are scams and will soon disappear. 

Ponzi

I have a links file for any company paying 12%+ that I regularly check (and do not join). So far the file isn't very thick, as the sites keep disappearing! 

Furthermore, as happened with similar sites in the past, the competition even among the ones that may be legitimate and that may last will likely eventually kill off the rest, unless a few have wizards at the helm that are able to generate enough ad dollars to keep them going. Be careful!! 

Some of these sites DO pay and run very well. (Note that this DOES NOT mean they're legitimate!) What I have found, though, is that 2% seems to be the line and anything over this becomes increasingly risky. I've joined a few to test them and have started small with all of them. And so far, any over 12% have either not paid me, yet (I'm still waiting for payment from an operating site that has promised to pay - it has been several weeks), or they gone right out of business with no warning and my money! 

As I type this, one of the biggest and most successful autosurf companies is embroiled in an ongoing battle with its payment processor leaving thousands of members financially stranded while federal and state authorities investigate both companies. 

When you go to join any program, ask the person who introduced you to it if they have been paid! If it offers higher than 2%, be afraid.... be VERY afraid!! Even if your friend has been paid, again, if it offers higher than 2%, be afraid.... be VERY afraid!! 

One of the reasons PONZIs work is because the excitement of people getting paid causes them to grow rapidly at first generating a lot of fresh cash and therefore the early ability to pay their members. Once the market is saturated, the funds run out and a lot of members lose all their money. 

Obviously when I created the headline for this rant it was tongue-in-cheek, but with the absolutely ridiculous percentages some of these "companies" offer, it makes you wonder if perhaps they're on drugs or if that's what they're making their money with! 

 Also remember that when it comes to PONZIs, being a part of a PONZI can, legally, land you in hot water even if you're not the owner. It's unlikely that you'd ever get into trouble, but IS likely you'll lose your money. It's something to think about. .... and don't even TALK to me about HYIPs!!