Have you ever heard about Super Eden or Pump and Dump these are two typical scams that take the money millions from hardworking people like yourself. Have you seen the ads "Want to "be your own boss," "work from home," or just "make extra money"? They are just the tip of the iceberg to the massive thievery going on over the internet every day. You may be tempted by an ads for every kind of business opportunity. However before you open your checkbook, check out the offer. Go to the BBB website and do a search by business name, telephone number and address. The BBB may not be the final word but it will give you a start. Other sources of information are InternetMarketingstudents.com, the FBI, the FTC's office of Consumer Affairs, and your State Attorney General's Office. If you are going to go into business with someone always get references you can verify. Don't just take the person's word for their creditial.
Fraudulent business opportunity promoters use the classifieds and the Internet to tout all kinds of offers, from pay phone and vending machine routes to work-at-home businesses like medical billing and envelope stuffing. Too often, these ads make promises - about earnings, locations, merchandise, or marketability - that sound great, but aren't truthful. The result: consumers are getting ripped off, losing money instead of making it (Federal Trade Commission, 2006).
Everyday, I receive email ads from China, the UK, or some exotic location advising me I have inherited millions from a long lost uncle. Look at my picture. I know DNA testing proves most naturalized Black males of African American heritage have a 'Y' chromosome that originates from some where in Europe or the UK, because of slavery, but I don't think any of my European ancestors are ready to sign over the deeds to the castle.
To be on the safe side, remember the old adage, "if it sounds to good to be true, then it isn't."
Often these shucksters will offer a MLM distributorship. MLM is simple and requires no real knowledge of health or nutrition. I know I was a member of the Amway/Quixtar. The problem is marketing. At the time, I was a ladies man, I had a different dates everyday of the week. One night I let one of my dates see my catalog. She purchased one tube of lipstick ($7.95) and never went out with me again. I made most of my sales to myself for personal hygiene, microwavable entrees that didn't need refrigeration, etc. Many people do so initially in order buy their own products at a discount. To make any headway, you can't be a bachelor, you need to do your grocery shopping at such a site.
My cousin Lorie for example, is into Jamba juice. She pays a small sum of money-usually between $35 and $100 a month for a nutrion drink. She also gets a distributor kit that includes product literature, sales aids (such as a videotape or audiotape), price lists, order forms, and a detailed instructional manual. Most MLM companies publish a magazine or newsletter containing company news, philosophical essays, product information, success stories, and photographs of top salespeople. Lorie has to pay the company for this sales material also. She is to use it when she makes her sales pitch.
Distributors can buy products "wholesale," sell them "retail," and recruit other distributors who can do the same. When you have enrolled enough distributors, the recruiter is eligible to collect a percentage of their sales also called residual income.
Companies suggest that this process provides a great money-making opportunity. However, it is unlikely that people who don't join on the groundfloor of operation ever make a great deal of money.
In July 1999, the National Association of Attorneys General announced that complaints about multilevel marketing and pyramid schemes were a tenth of their list of consumer complaints (Barrett, 2008).
I make this rewrite to warn that a new scam has cropped up in addition to the reasons below. Beware of people calling you about extending your vehicle warranty. If they know your license plate it is quite possible they can get your address, telephone number or even your ssn.
Since my last rewrite, Sunday March 31, 2008 I have received a job offer from Axa invest. Who the hell is that? I though they were Axa Financial or Axa Investment & Financials with the funny looking Logo. All they wanted was my bank account number and social security number.
Beware Of The Following
1. Nigerian Letter Scam
2. Be your own boss and earn big bucks.
3. Make money through the products and services you sell as well as those sold by the people you recruit into the program.
4. Money Laundering scams with Western Union
5. Make money on the internet while on the beach
6. Money making opportunities that sell nothing but pay on recruitment
7. Exotic unknown financial schemes
8. Letter Stuffing
9. Auction Schemes great wealth overnight
10. Super Eden.
One last thing, if you have any doubts about the products I sell, the management organization is (Secure2U) and the (the Shopster.com)
Works Cited
Barrett, S. (2008, January 28). The Mirage of Multilevel Marketing. Retrieved February 10, 2008, from MLM Watch: http://www.mlmwatch.org/01General/mirage.html
Federal Trade Commission. (2006, December). Business Opportunities. Retrieved Feb 10, 2008, from FTC: Business Opportunities: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/opps/bus68.pdf
Wikipedia. (2008, Feb 10). Multi-level marketing. Retrieved Feb 10, 2008, from Wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-level_marketing
