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Names of Scammers

Get-Rich Schemers and Their "Money Making Programs"

Get-rich schemes are all over the internet. Almost all of them claim to have the secret to making money fast and with very little effort or time, once you know their secret! Of course, the truth is that if ANYONE had a secret to making piles of money in little time and effort, it would be headline news. And certainly there are some legitimate affiliate programs, work from home plans, franchises and other means to earn money in your spare time. But it is pretty easy to separate the two.

In addition to the home-based-business schemes like stuffing envelopes, medical transcription, etc., many of the schemes simply involve selling more schemes! At their website they claim to have some great secret or secrets to how to make millions on the internet in a little time, that they have reviewed hundreds of the money making programs, and almost all of them are worthless... except for the ones THEY will tell you about... if you just pay them $11.99. If you do, you will usually get pages of mindless drivel, in which they are highly repetitive and talking in circles or pure nonsense....

How do these schemes really work?

Typically, they eventually tell you: You make a website like theirs, write your own "book" of secrets, then get OTHERS to buy it! And usually, you are supposed to make millions buy selling the others books through their affiliate programs. Sounds pretty much like a pyramid scheme, except because you sell a "book" (remember the 80 pages of mindless drivel?) it's not actually a pyramid scheme... just a truly worthless "book", which could be nothing more than Microsoft Word file. And unfortunately, conning people into buying a worthless piece of trash isn't illegal. Just slimy and unethical; which in the land of "caveat emptor" (let the buyer beware) is typically just called "marketing".

The bottom line

We wouldn't recommend ANY of the "money making programs" you see advertised on tv, radio, print or the internet. And we haven't got one to sell you, either. Let us remind visitors that the ads that appear on consumerfraudreporting are selected by Google - we recommend you follow the advice on our pages, not in the ads.

The obvious truth is anyone pushing a "money making program" is selling greed, not a real, substantial product or service.

Whether they are legal, illegal, scams or mere exaggerations, is really besides the point: Avoid ALL so-called money-making programs, and instead, figure out what your skills and interests are. Find a way to use those to meet the needs of the marketplace, i.e. of people and businesses using those skills and interests.

A Sampling of typical "Money Making Programs",

Remember, NONE are recommended:

Frank Matthews - Scammer-Alert.com - another so-called review website, actually peddling their own garbage. He CLAIMS:

"Thanks for visiting scammer alert! My name is Frank Matthews. On this site I expose the truth about online money making scams, and give the straight dope on the legitimate ones. I have been following online money making scams since 1998 and exposing the truth behind them. Over the past 9 years I have explored virtually every work from home scam online.",

yet then launches right into recommending the data entry programs, government grant programs and selling books like "The Truth Behind Government Grants Exposed" and other junk.

We have caught him in some current misrepresentations also, now aimed at ConsumerFraudReporting: for example

1. He used to have a glowing review of Bruce A. Berman on this page: www.scammer-alert.com/bruce-berman.html which he has now replaced with nonsense about CFR.
UPDATE October 4, 2008: he has since removed the content about Berman products (probably because Berman is no longer selling the products) . He now denies that he had this review, but fortunately we have a screenshot of that very page (which can be independently verified by Google and other archive organizations) (Hey, Frank, did you forget that your pages are being publicly archived?) which disproves what he now claims:

2. Matthews continues on this page www.scammer-alert.com/bruce-berman.html to make more false statements. He says:

"ConsumerFraudReporting.org has said some not so nice things about me. Even going so far as to call me a "scam artist." "

We have never called him that or any other names. The phrase "scam artist" appears further down this page, and was not said by CFR, nor about Matthews. We simply quoted Patrick of Springfield, Oregon who said that in regard to Ryan Isakson. And we merely reported it. The facts stand for themselves and further substantiate why we do not recommend his website nor his products. But, make up your own minds. Just don't say we didn't try to help!
DoublePayment.com - DoublePayment.com also uses the following duplicative websites to repeat their pitches:
Another money-making program seller, Mazu, thought it was such a scam that he published it for free - he took it down, but it is still available through the web archives here: http://web.archive.org/web/20050523010855/www.doublepaymentscam.netfirms.com/ - Note, we provide this link for informational purposes only - we think only a moron would actually try this program! But, read it and see what you get when you buy a "money-making program"

OnlyReviews.com - J. Ryan Isakson - claims to be offering reviews of other programs, but each ends with: "Since I review business opportunities and internet gurus all day for a living, you can guess I know which ones work and which ones don't. Click here to see how I make my money." (we removed the link) - guess what? It goes to DoublePayment! Beware of so-called review websites that are selling their own - or others - money-making "programs"!). For an example see his page on Bruce Berman. Isakson must be great at persuading other websites not to post negative reviews of him. Mazu apparently HAD a negative review of Isakson on this page, http://www.mazu.com/scams/isaksen.php, which you can see no longer exists there. Apparently, there was a lawsuit, after which Mazu removed the review. However, they both seem to forget that the internet is archived. We found a copy of the page and you can see Mazu's June 3, 2005 review here! Note that Mazu says "His Doublepayment.com system is a total scam" and "He will lie to your face." If all of this is not enough for you, go to Google and type in: Jason Ryan Isakson scam - click the search button below, to see Google's current results:

- and look at some of the reviews you see. Here's one from someone who is so mad at the Isakson that it is almost funny to read - enjoy: http://www.jasonryanisaksen.com/ Note: Isakson appears to have a number of websites, selling the same or similar schemes; here is another of his: www.topdollarpayment.com/.

And Patrick of Springfield, Oregon says of Isakson: "He said he'd reveal secrets not previously revealed by any other internet marketer, but after reviewing the hundreds of internet marketers he claims to have studied, all he did was compile the info from them, rehash it, and put it into manual and CD form and charged $713. for it. He is now returning the materials to me. This guy is nothing but a scam artist, and a lair!"

FederalReviews.com - Same old, same old... Claims to be a website warning you about scam money making programs, but highlighted on the home page is the following:

"Warning! We have spent $113,317 testing and reviewing different opportunities and money making strategies. Whether it's stock market investing, real estate investing, internet marketing, direct mail, MLM, or buying a franchise, we've been scammed, cheated, and lied to! It took testing hundreds of opportunities to find out what works and what doesn't. If you want to find out what is making us an excellent income from home then........ Click HERE NOW to read about the #1 Rated Business Opportunity"

which is a link to makecybermoney.com/. MakeCyberMoney.com is (as near as we can tell) is an exact duplicate of the scheme that Isakson and others are selling.

49GetMoney.com - See a review of their pages here

Shawn Casey - Mining Gold

Warning Signs: What to look for

Look for the common features of get-rich schemes:

lot's of hype
few details about how they work
misdirection, misleading ads, multiple websites all selling the same product
often offer a "free" book or cd, which requires a credit card to pay for "shipping and handling"
press you to sign up for a trial, a mailing list or otherwise provide your name, email address, phone, etc.
usually make money by getting other people to buy the program
often are pyramid schemes

They seem based on the premise that you can "make money on the internet", that's it. Not, of course, by designing a better product or selling legitimate products or services, but by using some "trick", secrets or other inside information. Perhaps, the quote attributed to P.T. Barnum was right, a victim is born every minute, and 2 to take him.

How DO you make money on the internet or working from home, then?

The only sustainable and substantial way to wealth is to come up with a good product or service and sell it at a fair market price. Working for yourself means you retain more of the profit, but it also means you take on more of the risk. Each person has to balance the two.

You can make money on the internet

Some people have made money selling things on Ebay, or writing a book and selling it themselves, developing informational websites, blogs, etc. But no one has a "secret" formula for these or any other way of selling online. Most of the legitimate successes were early to the market, or developed something that was unique at the time they introduced it.

Figure out what you are good at and and enjoy doing

Your grandfather's advice about finding out what really interests you, and what your really good at doing, and then doing something that uses both of those, is the best advice going.

Put the skills ahead of the schemes

Develop your skills and knowledge; become the best at what interests you. Read up (and most of the good information is free and available online or in the library or bookstore). Learn and practice. Invest in yourself, not a scheme!

Doing this, you'll naturally become one of the best at whatever it is that interests you. Few people are complete idiots; even Idiot Savants (eg, "Rain Man") excel far beyond other people at a few things. And there's always a market for an excellent service or product, on or off the internet.

Please notice that ConsumerFraudReporting.org not only does not sell ANY money-making schemes.. . As we state above, it is our opinion that the only sustainable and substantial way to wealth is to come up with a good product or service and sell it at a fair market price.And if you notice any ads on our website that are selling any 'money-making" programs, let us know right away - Google supplies the ads, we don't contact the advertisers - but we can block them if we see any that are inappropriate.

Reporting a Fraudulent Business Proposal

In the United States contact:

U.S. Secret Service
Financial Crimes Division
1800 G Street, NW
Room 942
Washington, DC 20223

Phone: (202) 435-5850

Fax: (202) 435-5031

Or contact your local U.S. Secret Service field office.

Overseas,

Contact the Foreign Commercial Service (FSC) at the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If there is no FCS office, contact the American Citizens Services Unit of the Consular Section or the Regional Security Office.

For othergovernment agencies to report scams, see this page. And of course, write us! We are always interested in hearing about any potential scams!

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