Miss Gullible

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

You may have read my previous post on blackhat seo techniques called “say no to blackhat methods“, well thanks to the forum blackhatworld I have changed my mind. Sure it is probably not a good idea to use blackhat techniques on your main websites (that you may have put many hours into), as you may lose your Google index altogether, but for short term money making projects you can’t beat it.

I have spent many hours reading some of the info on blackhatworld on making money and there are some really great ideas. Don’t worry I won’t be scamming anyone (except for maybe those who scammed me) but making money from my efforts is a high priority. The thing is I am frustrated. All the whitehat methods I try simply don’t work. See my post “should I go bankrupt“, so this is how I ended up at blackhatworld. The forum members are so helpful and nearly all the advice is free. In fact most members advice you not to invest any money in anything until you have built up an income from some of the free methods.

So it is time to stop reading and start doing. There are so many ideas it is hard to know where to start, so just pick something and get going. Many of the forum posters are incredibly experienced and very helpful. These are people who are making a lot of money every day.

I know many people won’t agree with me, but I feel like I have been ripped off so much and now it is time to take something back.

I got a disgusting comment from someone today who basically told me to die and that he wished I would drown in debt, well do you know what Brice? You have inspired me to take action. Whilst you are posting evil comments on people’s blogs and websites I will be making money. See you in hell!

Some scammers prey on people when they are at their lowest and most desperate. These scum bags will approach people who are vulnerable, grieving, ill or alone and offer their “psychic” services. They may pretend to be able to contact the person’s deceased family member, or offer hope to someone who is truly desperate. These people will charge a fee, which is often rather high and use key phrases to con the victim into believing in them.

There have been some high profile cases of scammers like these, being exposed, such as on Dr Phil, when a psychic scam was busted wide open on TV. However, many more scammers get away with their crimes and the victims may be left traumatised for some time after, when they finally realise they have been scammed. 

Now, I consider myself to be open minded when it comes to spiritual matters and I do not discount the idea that some people who claim to be psychic are truly gifted. But how do you find them? I think the only way to find an honest psychic is by word of mouth. Unless you have been personally recommended by a reliable friend, it is best not to risk it.

I think that one sign that someone is out to help is that they will not charge you, or the fee will be very minimal. In one of my previous jobs as a receptionist in a job network, a lady came in and filled out her induction forms. We had a chat whilst she did this. She looked as normal as anyone else and was certainly not the “airy fairy” type you may imagine to be psychic. She worked in a supermarket and had a loving family. She confided in me that she would often get psychic messages for people she saw and that she was getting very strong messages from my grandmother, who had passed away a few months earlier. She began to say names that were in my immediate family and talked of me wanting to start an animal sanctuary. I don’t know for sure that she was an honest lady, but she had nothing to gain from conning me, as there was no money involved. When she left I felt rather strange, like I had to reevaluate things.I also felt like I was being watched, but in a comforting way.

Whenever I saw this lady in the supermarket she would tell me she had messages for me. I always got a buzz from it, even though I held a healthy skepticism.

Personally I do believe in more than we can explain. However, I am very aware that we have to be careful of all the scammers out there and if you know someone who has been through a traumatic experience, keep an eye out for them, as they are the most susceptible to being conned. Do your research and ask around for honest and trustworthy people and if you end up in the horrible position of being scammed report the matter to the police and inform others of your experience.

You may have heard Andy Willoughby’s radio ads, “Well how in the world are you anyway?” and are wondering what it is all about. Well Andy Willoughby’s 3 step program is essentially a pyramid scheme that promotes a product called Xango juice. Now I haven’t tasted the juice, but apparently it is quite nice and healthy too, but so is a lot of the juice you can buy at the supermarket.

Anyway the main aim of Andy Willoughby’s plan is to make money, so I guess it’s not really about the juice. This is often the case with MLM schemes, even GDI, which is working quite well for me shares this trait. (GDI is not so much about the domain names as the money making scheme).

Buy my question is this, Can you really make money promoting Xango juice?

Well, it seems like it is a hard thing to do. First of all you call and talk to a distributor about the opportunity and listen to a presentation. You then pay approx $35 to become a distributor yourself. This enables you to buy a case of Xango juice for around $100 (4 x 25 ounce bottles per case). You are required to buy at least one case per month to remain a distributor. Can you see how you might end up losing money on this?

The aim is to sell each bottle for $38, which is $13 profit. Wow, that sounds ridiculous to me. I don’t care how good the stuff tastes. I mean, sure it’s meant to be good for you, but so is orange juice and you can get that for a dollar!

Where are you meant to find these affluent Xango juice buyers, who have money to throw your way? Especially with the current credit crunch. If you wanted to make a full time income of $30,000 you would need to sell 50 bottles of Xango per week. At those prices, surely that’s near impossible?

But this is MLM after all and like all pyramid schemes, it is in referring others that the money comes. You get 5% of your downlines sales. That doesn’t seem like a lot to me, but remember each distributor has to buy one case every month, so that is how you make your revenue.

I doubt many people are selling a whole lot of juice. Instead I think this is basically a pyramid scheme with a product as a veil. As with most MLM schemes, the market is rather over-saturated with Xango distributors already, as you will have noticed if you surf traffic exchanges or safelists.

If you don’t want to find leads yourself you can pay Xango around $500/month to get leads for you from their rather irritating radio ads. If you do this perhaps you will have some success, but you would have to talk to people and that definitely involves selling, you will be the distributor that they first speak to. I have to warn you that I was involved in something similar called PAS, where I paid them to get leads for me from a TV commercial amongst other things and I had zero success. PAS was eventually investigated and shut down and I lost my money. Just a warning.

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

People have had success with Xango, so it is not an out and out scam, but it is certainly not for me. The cost of the juice is ridiculously high and there is high competition. No matter what they say there will be plenty of selling involved and you need a fair amount of money to get started if you want to buy leads from Xango. To get your own leads, I imagine would be rather hard for this kind of business.

I guess, if you find a very supportive upline it could work out, but it is certainly not as easy as Andy would have you believe. You would need a lot of training to make, even a part time income.

This business is often advertised on Christian radio stations and forums and that really annoys me. It is promoted as a Christian business and to me, that makes it sound like a scam. Almost like they are saying that a good Christian would join Xango. Something about using religion to make money seems dodgy to me.

I really think there are better ways to make money from home. Don’t waste your money. I’m sure you already know how hard it is to build an active downline, but for an expensive product like Xango it is near impossible.

However one good thing about Hair Formula 37 is that it should improve hair texture and strength, just as improving your diet would. I think it may be useful for people who are recovering from an illness, or eating disorder and need to get vitamins into their body, but for the rest of us, who get vitamins through healthy, or even junk food diets, hair formula 37 will probably be a waste of money.

Those scammers never give up do they? Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard is warning residents of a new scam involving debit cards. The scammer is calling up residents and telling them that they need new debit cards, due to their bank accounts being compromised. The residents are asked to send in their old debit cards to protect themselves and their account and they are told they will receive new debit cards. Once the scammer has the cards he uses them to make purchases.

This has been confirmed as a definite scam. Goddard warns never to give your personal information out to anyone. Sadly this isn’t an isolated case. There have been many scammers who pretend to be from a financial institution to get your information.

Be cautious. If you think someone may be trying to scam you, make sure you don’t give them any information and then call up your financial institution to report the scam.

I have now completed over 2 weeks without Cola - well almost. Yesterday when I was in Sydney I was thirsty and really didn’t feel like water. Looking at the drinks in front of me in the food court I was amazed that all of them had Aspartame in the ingredients. In the end I just got a Coke Zero, however it didn’t taste as great as I thought it would.

Apart from that slip up, I have been doing well and have not been feeling the same sickness at night as I used to when drinking a lot of Coke. Apparently it takes 3 weeks to form a new habit, so I am hoping next week it will be a little easier. I have to say today I am not feeling very strong and feel like going out and buying a 2 litre bottle of my favourite LA Maxi Ice cola, but I will resist. I have to keep reminding myself of all the horrible side effects that drinking large amounts of cola could cause my health over the long term.

Must Stay Strong.

There are some things people would rather buy online, than go to the doctor for. These things tend to be a little controversial and perhaps a little embarrassing. Steroids, Viagra and weight loss pills fall into this category. Many people are willing to pay more online than get a prescription from a doctor and have to go to the chemist to collect it, which could prove embarrassing.

The problem with buying these drugs online is that you are leaving yourself wide open to scammers. Check out scam.com and you will see many threads devoted to steroids online shops that have ripped people off.

Advanced-stealth.com does not seem as dodgy as some of the online steroids shops out there, in that some people claim to have received their orders, but please be aware that they have had many complaints from unsatisfied customers.

Advanced-Stealth guarantee that if your order is seized by customs they will replace the order, although there have been reports of orders not being replaced and sometimes people have had to wait around 10 months for a replacement.

It seems that these orders get seized a lot and there have been many comments that suggest Advanced-Stealth packaging is not nearly as stealthy as it claims. It is often flimsy and coming undone. It is certainly not ideal if you are aiming to keep your purchase a secret from the mail man.

Advanced-Stealth delivers to all countries except for Australia. Despite Advanced-Stealth advertising on popular steroid forums, body builders on these forums are complaining of not receiving goods, or receiving counterfeit steroids.

Please don’t listen to the many angry forum posters on the forum, isteroids.com, as when asked if Advanced-Stealth is legit, many get very defensive and abuse the poster. They also claim that since the board is sponsored by Advanced-Stealth they must be legit. Sadly this is not the case. The people leaving positive testimonials are scammers themselves. They are also chock full of testosterone, which makes these forums a horrible place to try and have a discussion or to get a question answered.

You should be aware that people have become seriously ill after taking Advanced-Stealth products and that is if they receive them in the first place. You are likely to lose your money and hurt your body if you fall for this scam. Remember the drugs are not custom proof as they claim to be. There have been many many seizures and not so many replacements.

Be very careful. Almost all steroid shops out there are scams. Do your research very carefully indeed and please stay well away from the scammers at Advanced-Stealth.com.

You may have read some articles, or heard right wing radio DJs calling Al Gore’s Carbon Credit scheme a scam. You may also have heard these same personalities calling global warming a scam.

Well if you check our scam.com you will certainly find a variety of opinions on the matter, but whether you believe global warming exists or not, you cannot deny the fact that as humans we are abusing our Earth and we need to make changes to protect and preserve it.

Some people believe that Al Gore is a hypocrite and that by lobbying for the Carbon Credit scheme he is just looking for a way to get more tax money. However this scheme is not just happening in the USA, countries all over the world have implemented Carbon Credit trading with success. Many of the people who oppose carbon credits are businessman who feel that they should be able to do whatever they want to the Earth, with no consequences.

What is Carbon Credit Trading?

Companies are given a certain amount of Energy credits. These credits allow them to produce a certain amount of carbon. Some companies may not need to use all of their credits, so they can sell them.

Companies who need more carbon credits to run their business buy the credits from these companies. The extra cost is often passed down to the consumer, such as with electricity companies and this angers the tax payer, who feels that they should not be made to pay the price of polluting companies.

Although it could be argued that companies will continue to emit the same amount of carbon, even with the energy credits scheme, in my opinion, it is a good thing that they have to think about it. Although many companies will just pay the extra price and emit the same amount of pollution, some companies will rethink the way they do things and avoid the extra cost, by making environmentally friendly changes.

Any changes that will help the environment are a good thing and I feel that it is important that companies who are responsible for pollution are forced to think about what they are doing, rather than being free to abuse the Earth as they see fit. I would rather pay more tax to have a cleaner, healthier Earth. As long as governments use any extra funds responsibly to help our environment I do not have a problem with it.

In my opinion global warming is not a scam and the carbon credit trading scheme is a necessary step. It is necessary to acknowledge the damage we have done and still are doing to Earth and to take drastic steps to improve things while we still can.

You may have received an email or responded to an ad for Spirit of Wealth Today or perhaps, another cash gifting scheme. Well done for checking it out here first. You will probably save yourself a lot of money.

The Spirit of Wealth Today is basically a Ponzi scheme. This is where you “invest” a certain amount of money into a scheme and then expect to get more money back than you invested. The person running the Ponzi gives old investors some of the funds from new investors and the whole thing will come tumbling down when it runs out of new investors to recruit. Even more commonly many Ponzis will close down before they give anyone much money. This is illegal and people have gone to jail for running Ponzi schemes.

Now cash gifting schemes are like Ponzis in disguise. They are careful to avoid the mistakes of the typical Ponzi creator. They hype up their program a lot, but are careful not to make promises (you will notice this on the Spirit of Wealth homepage). They know they cannot get sued if they do not promise anything, although there will still be a lot of very disappointed people. There is no product, so they cannot get accused of running an illegal pyramid scam. Mind you they are so close to breaking the law, I wonder how long it will be before this thing gets shut down?

Now, just because The Spirit of Wealth Today are not currently breaking the law does not mean they will make you money. The fees to join are very high. Either $500, $1500 or $3500, depending on how much you wish to receive back (although in reality you will not receive anything). Be honest with yourself, how many people have that kind of money to “invest” on something so risky? Even you would only try to find that money out of desperation. Am I right? It would be impossible for you to find new investors for that amount, especially with no training. If you did find anyone you would only be scamming them anyway. You don’t want to be that person.

I have heard from people who have risked their hard earned money in this scheme and scams like it, that have lost it all and have been unable to get it back, because the site did not promise them anything. Don’t believe people who hype it on the forums, they are trying to get you to join under them and get your money. Even the lowest entry amount of $500 is a lot to lose, especially for someone who is in a desperate situation.

Please stop, step back and think before going any further with The Spirit of Wealth Today scam. If you give yourself time to think about it you will realise it is a scam. The only people who make any money out of these scams are the people who sit at the top, who started the whole thing and they will probably be in jail before you know it.

It is a sad thing that today scammers will prey on anyone. This is more true than ever with Cancer Fraud. There are 3 kinds of Cancer fraud we will be looking at today.

1. Scammers who sell “cure all” treatments of cancer, that will not work. Snake oil salesman. People who prey on the desperation of cancer sufferers and their families. These scammers know these people will jump at anything that may help them, even if, in reality, the product does not work.
2. Cancer Research scams. In reality a lot of research that is completed under the “Cancer Research” label is barely helpful at all. Researchers will attempt to put a spin on their research to get more funding. Many animal tests are completed that could be considered backwards and unhelpful. Money is the key here as it is for most scammers. The general public are lead to believe that their funds are going to valuable research.
3. Scammers who lie about having cancer, or exaggerate their condition to get money and sympathy from their local community. These scammers may use email or letters to get victims, or may talk to their local community to get funding.

All of these scams are very hurtful and seem to be the lowest form of scamming. Let’s look at the first example first:

Cancer Treatment Scams

Fake cancer remedies are sold online and many people fall for these scams as they are so desperate for a cure. Here are some key phrases to look out for to ensure you don’t get caught out:

• “Treats all forms of cancer”
• “Skin cancers disappear”
• “Shrinks malignant tumors”
• “Non-toxic”
• “Doesn’t make you sick”
• “Avoid painful surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other conventional treatments”
• “Treat non melanoma skin cancers easily and safely”

One example of a fake cancer treatment that proved to be harmful was black salves. The salves are sold full of false promises, but essentially cause a lot of damage as they burn off layers of the skin. If you are looking for a natural cancer treatment do your research and talk to others. Maybe join a support group and consult your doctor.

Now let’s look at the second cancer fraud example:

Cancer Research Scam

“Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud and that the major cancer research organisations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them.” - Linus Pauling PhD (Two-time Nobel Prize winner).

Cancer is still increasing every year, despite the billions of dollars of the publics money given to cancer research. It is a well known fact that around 85-90% of cancer is preventable. Environmental causes of cancer include smoking, eating a diet heavy in animal proteins, alcohol, food additives and pollution. Although 85% of cancer is caused by environmental factors, only 10% of the National Cancer Institute’s money is given to environmental research. Less than 1% of their research is dedicated to nutrition studies and even that had to be forced upon them by the Cancer Act.

So why is this? As usual money comes into it. There is not nearly as much money to be made in cancer prevention than in cancer therapy. Cancer therapy is a billion dollar industry. A large portion of money donated to cancer research by the public is spent on animal research which has, since its inception, been widely condemned as a waste of time and resources.

Dr  Irwin Bross, former director of one of the largest cancer research organisations said this, “The uselessness of most of the animal model studies is less well known. For example, the discovery of chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of human cancer is widely-heralded as a triumph due to use of animal model systems. However, here again, these exaggerated claims are coming from or are endorsed by the same people who get the federal dollars for animal research. There is little, if any, factual evidence that would support these claims. Indeed, while conflicting animal results have often delayed and hampered advances in the war on cancer, they have never produced a single substantial advance either in the prevention or treatment of human cancer. For instance, practically all of the chemotherapeutic agents which are of value in the treatment of human cancer were found in a clinical context rather than in animal studies.”

Many times the animal experiments are incredibly cruel and unnecessary and simply another way to make money.

Not all cancer researchers are scammers. I am not saying that at all, but many are far more influenced by money than making progress in cancer research.

So what can you do about this?

The best thing to do when you are about to give to cancer research organisations is to do your research. Tell them you will not give to them unless they change their methods. Imagine the progress that could be made if making money was not such a focus. If they got rid of animal tests that would be a huge step. Some research organisation have already moved forward.

Click here for a list of humane and progressive research charities.

You can also find out about humane charities in other countries by checking out PETA.

So that brings us to the third type of cancer fraud:

Fake Cancer Sufferers

It is appalling to learn that some people use cancer as a way to steal from people. Some people have collected around $40,000 from their local community and have only spent around 3 days in jail as a consequence.

The thing with this kind of scam is that you can’t detect it. You can’t really ask someone to prove that they have cancer. It would be incredibly insensitive. Really the only thing you can do if you discover you have been a victim of this kind of fraud is to call the police.

If you receive an email, often from Nigeria, asking for money as the person is dying from cancer, it is almost certainly a scam. The fact that people would do this is disgusting. You should delete the email immediately.

Almost everyone has lost someone to cancer and knows just how painful it is and the kind of desperation you feel whilst hoping for a cure. It is shocking to think  that people will sink this low for money, but hopefully if we all keep our wits about us, they won’t get any from us.