West Coast Opinion - Rantings

How NOT to Make Money Online

2007-05-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

This falls under the category of stinkers, as opposed to winners! (Yes, even the ones that seem the best to start can turn out to be stinkers!)

Basically, there is a very simple way to lose money online, rather than making it. That is to get into an "opportunity" that looks too good to be true.

Here are a few simple rules:

1.) HYIPs: If it requires very little investment and promises huge returns - you are going to lose whatever you invest. While a few who invest initially and pull their money out quickly will make money - that's just part of the scam. They start telling everyone how much they're making, people sign up in droves, the company gets rich, and the plug gets pulled. Simple.

2.) Automated wealth programs: No work, no calls, no big investment - what can I say... there's no such thing as a free ride. If you want to make big money, you have to put in big effort. Anyone who tells you anything different is lying to you.

3.) "New Secrets to Online Wealth" are hogwash in any form. This goes back to the old scheme of telling you to send a stamped, self-addressed envelope and $5 to get the secret to quick riches. You receive a note that tells you to post ads everywhere that tell people to send you $5 and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to find out the secret to quick riches.

4.) The age-old rule: If it looks too good to be true, it IS too good to be true. Protect yourself and your friends by staying away from such things and by sticking with things that require hard work, perseverance, and entrepreneurship. That's the proven way to wealth.

God bless,

Dave

Horse Pucky!

2007-05-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

Greetings, dear friends,

Perhaps those who grew up in warmer climes or wealthier
families than I did will not understand the term, "Horse
Pucky."

It is a somewhat more polite term than the one often used
to describe some of the absolutely worthless and crooked
money-snatching programs I've been deleting today as I
clean out one of my inboxes.

Look at this one advertising a new course put together
by someone I KNOW needs to take a course, himself:

"It's a complete A-Z training program to
guide you step-by-step to internet success." Yeah, right!
Horse Pucky!! And to top it all off, look at the P.S.
he has tagged on at the end (errors included):
"P.S: Make no mistake -- This is a blueprint
to internet success. Many people have tried
this system and is making money part-time
or full-time." Like I said, I'm not blowing steam,
here; I KNOW this guy - don't throw your money away.
(This guy is actually a friend - imagine what I
might say if he was an enemy! LOL!!)

How about this one: "I Just Couldn't Recommend It to You"
(Why? Because it was priced at $1500 and I felt really
stupid that I actually paid that much for something that
really didn't work properly, anyway, and I didn't want
to admit that I bought this Horse Pucky for such a
ridiculous price.... But NOW that the market has been
flooded by suckers - errr - clients who paid way to
much for an inferior product - I now want to recommend
that you waste only $97 on it...)

Guess what? For virtually ANY marketing software or ebook,
program, etc, all you need to do to realize just how
useless it is AND to get it free is to wait. You usually
won't have to wait very long before it's being given away
for nothing more expensive than your email address on a
capture page.

Here's a real beaut:
"I Need 200 Success Stories"
My goal is to take 200 average people
and show them how to make $1,057.50
every week within their first 30 days."
Follow the links, and you find out that it's SO
valuable that it's now being given away on an email
capture page... Man, if it was REAL it would really
be worth a fortune.

Do people really believe some of this stuff? No wonder
so many online entrepeneurs have no money and huge credit
card bills. Another email promises:
"Ryan & Andrew can show you how to do nothing and generate
over $10,000 a month." I don't need to make any further
comments on that piece of Horse Pucky!

Shawn Casey (Oops - did I actually just tell you the
name of one of these so-called "gurus? ") makes this
claim: "If You Can Click Your Mouse, Then I Guarantee
You'll Make At Least $1,000 In As Little As 48 Hours
Starting From Scratch." If you part with the $39
for this 825 page ebook, I can at least guarantee one
thing - you'll be poorer by $39!

Note also that when you actually read through the long,
LOOOOONG sales page, you'll find that he actually hides
a little disclaimer in amongst all the hype that tells
you that not everyone will actually make the kind of
money he's talking about.... Wow! Big surprise!

In fact, most people will fall asleep long before they
even get through the first hundred pages...

More Horse Pucky - pure scam - "Turn $30 into $279,300
IT IS POSSIBLE! Anyone can do it!"

Next, here's one from a guy who just feels SO bad that
so many people are getting scammed and losing money
that he's taken it upon himself to let you in on all
the secrets that all the other money-grubbing gurus
are keeping to themselves: "Make up to $250 in 60 Minutes,
over and over again, sitting at home in your pajamas!"
For just under 50 bucks, you can make him
feel all warm and fuzzy for letting you in on
this "secret." Horse Pucky! Beware of ANY so-called
money making program that tells you that you don't have
to sell anything! If you're not offering a product or
service in return for hard cash, you're not in business
and you're NOT making money!

I could go on and on and on and on... about so-called
"bootleg videos" of internet "gurus" spilling their guts,
guaranteed free targeted traffic, unlimited wealth
"secrets," How to get Your keywords listed in the top 10
on Google (yeah, if you choose the right words and they
are almost meaningless as a search term), and so on.

The facts are that in order to make money online, just
as in the offline world, it requires a product or service
(there's nothing wrong with an affiliate program), and lots
of learning, research, hard work, persistence, advertising
and more hard work. Any program that promises instant
riches with no work is just... Horse Pucky.

Horse Pucky - noun - frozen, hockey puck-shaped object
left behind by a large solid-hoofed herbivorous mammal
of the genus Equus (a horse).

God bless,

Dave

Community Stinkers

2007-05-09T02:03:00.000-07:00

Grrrrrrrrr....! Piggybackers!!

The time has come when I need to make it clear to all my friends, fellow bloggers and community members, that if you don't see my name attached to a thread or a blog I've created, it's definitely not endorsed by me!

Lately I've been getting a ton of people "piggybacking" on my forums and blogs. When that happens, I simply delete it and let the person who stuck it there know it does NOT belong there! If you see a new one there, just ignore it. I've been about as polite as I can get, but it's still happening. My personal reputation is on the line on my blogs and forums, and particularly in the ones where I endorse carefully researched products and programs.

So far, none of the people who have blatantly disregarded proper decorum, respect and just plain decent ethics when posting on my sites have been on my list of friends in the first place. They seem to just prowl communities, blogs and bulletin boards looking for a reasonably popular place to flog their junk, rather than introducing themselves first and asking me to actually take a look at their wares.

On some of my other forums, I've actually made it clear that posting a new thread is just dandy and welcome if it fits the context.

Most of my writing is based on my own studies, digging and personal experience, and they are NOT open to anyone (without my express permission.)

I don't think it could be much plainer or simpler than that!

OK - there's my rant for today. It's probably happening to you, too, but hopefully we can find a way to get this practice of "piggybacking" stopped.

God bless,

Dave

Junk Salesmen

2007-05-03T02:46:00.000-07:00

Oh... Man...

How long are people going to continue to send me email with "Buy My Junk!" in the subject line?

Of course, that's not literally what their subject line says, but it might as well be.

My first thought, if I even think about it at all before I delete all the junk that floods my accounts every day is, "Who Are You?"

My second thought is, "Why SHOULD I buy your junk? I know absolutely nothing about you... Except for the fact that you're obviously very rude."

Who, but a person who is very rude, (or an utter idiot) would walk up to a complete stranger on the street and say, "Psssst... Wanna buy a house? or a car? or a nice dinner at a restaurant?"

What would you think if someone you had never seen before walked up to you and asked, "How would you like to make an easy million dollars?" Call the cops... quick!!

I have a few words for all the strangers who send me "Buy my Junk" spam every day... you're NEVER going to sell me anything! Ever! I have absolutely no respect for you and think you have no respect for yourself, either. You're desperate to make a sale, and I'm really uncomfortable around desperate people (get me a flack jacket - quick!)

Selling anything, whether online or off, requires selling yourself, first. Most products or services can be bought from hundreds or thousands of different places or people, and the thought is always going to go through a prospective buyer's head, consciously or unconsciously, "Why should I buy from you?"

No one is comfortable buying from a complete stranger. The buyer wants to trust the person he or she is buying from, and that's completely impossible if the buyer knows nothing about the seller!

These Junk Salesmen need to learn this stuff. Perhaps if they read my blog or other articles I've written they'd at LEAST get my name right (it's NOT FIRSTNAME!) Perhaps then they'd address me as Dave, rather than Friend (I'm not their friend!!) Some people who don't know me actually address me as Dearly Beloved!! What rock did they crawl out from under??

Send me a note if you want to, and make sure to call me Dave! I'd enjoy getting to know you.

God bless,

Dave

How to Treat a Hero...

2007-03-16T02:30:00.000-07:00

The other day, a Canadian soldier came home from Afghanistan.

This is a guy who joined the Armed Forces of his own free will
as a volunteer so he could go to Afghanistan to help the people
there rebuild a country that has been devastated by years and
years of war. If you have any illusions about how much that
country has been damaged, do a Google search on Kabul, the
capital. In the 1960s, it was a beautiful, modern city.

Now, Kabul, like most of the country, lies in ruins. (See
http://www.afghan-network.net/Photography/kabul/ )

The Canadian soldier I'm talking about went to that country
to try to help the people rebuild and live in peace. It's
such a mess there that school children take their lives in
their hands just by going to school (the Taliban do not like
education and are especially opposed to females getting an
education of any kind.) Kids in many areas go to schools that
are only partially destroyed, but have to put up with no heat,
no electricity, and no place to plug in computers - something
that we take for granted here in North America.

After facing the enemy, both visible and invisible, for long
months during his tour of duty, this brave soldier came home
to his home town, still in good shape, having been one of
the favoured ones who wasn't shot up or blown up in an ambush.

He went to a local pub to see his friends, was hailed as a hero
when he walked in the doors, and then was severely beaten by
some low-life jerk who hasn't got the guts to do what this
soldier has already done, and ended up in the hospital with
head injuries, broken teeth and a lot of bruises.

Fortunately, he's out of the hospital now, and recovering
nicely.

What's the matter with our world? What's the matter with
Canada and the US, that we would treat our soldiers so badly
when they come home?

People in both countries are screaming at our leaders to
bring our soldiers home, treat our soldiers like garbage,
and don't really give a blip about the suffering thousands
and millions in those faraway countries.

Oh, they'll tell you they do. They'll say it's all about
oil, and if our leaders would just stay out of it and bring
our soldiers home, all the troubles would be over.

Bull.....

The people in Afghanistan, Iraq, and many other countries
don't have the luxury of even knowing if the lights are
going to be on when they wake up.

The enemy, be it the Taliban, el Queda, or whoever, do not understand the concept of passivism.
To them, those who will not fight are weak, and deserve to
be conquered, molested at will, and killed for sport.

Anyone who thinks otherwise has not paid any attention to
the news and photographs from the last 40 years, and certainly
has NO understanding of history from that part of the world.
Peace has been an extremely rare commodity over there, and has
only been possible when very strong leaders have been there who
are backed by other very strong countries (like the US and NATO
forces.)

Our soldiers who are fighting in these "far-off" lands are
heroes and deserve to be treated as such. What they are doing
"over there" is not simply "interfering" in someone else's
business, but it is a huge humanitarian challenge and ultimately,
is protecting our own freedom over here.

Those who spit on our returning soldiers or worse are the first
ones who would start screaming for the soldiers to protect them
if the battles came over here. My personal feelings would be
to send them out first to try to make peace. Then, when the
pile of bodies gets high enough, the rest of us would have a
place to lay our rifles when we start to shoot.

Call me callous. Call me mean. Heck, call me a warmonger! I
don't care. I call myself a realist, and have studied history
and modern history far more than the average head up the tail
ignoramuses that march in peace parades, and I think I know
which end is really up.

I don't like or support war, but when the war comes, I know that
doing nothing is the best way to get shot. I applaud our brave
soldiers and give them all the support I can.

We should support our soldiers and we should welcome them home
as heroes.

We should also pray for an end to violence and for peace in the
hearts of men. Peace doesn't come from parades. It comes in
hearts, one at a time.

God bless,

Dave

Hype Sucks!

2007-03-14T01:54:00.000-07:00

Hype really sucks! It sucks money out of the pockets of honest people trying to make an honest living on the Internet. There are thousands of scams being run on the Internet right now, and hundreds of products available that do not produce income the way they promise to.

Every day, hundreds of people go online for the first time, looking for the fortune the new commerce has been promising. They are inundated with programs that will make them rich, being told that all they have to do is build a free website, plaster up a bunch of banners, and then sit back and collect their fortune.

After a short time, reality begins to sink in. The hit counter is not moving. No one can find them. Having a website on the Internet is kind of like having a store at the North Pole. Nobody knows you're there!

The next step in the online business odyssey is website promotion. Soon, you are spending all your time joining every banner and click program available, then spending countless hours clicking through one banner-plastered, slow-loading site after another.

The result..........?

No sales.

The next step is to go looking for better affiliate programs that offer better products that everyone wants to buy. You put up more banners and take down some, and keep clicking.... clicking... clicking... And still no sales.

Here is where things really begin to suck, and I mean to literally suck YOUR wallet dry.

You either click through to a flashy "How to Make a Million Bucks Overnight" site or get something similar in your email. After reading for fifteen minutes, you still don't know who's behind the program or what the product is, but you are promised that you will get rich and that you are saving hundreds and hundreds of dollars by buying NOW!

Hype does sell. That is why you see so much of it. But most of the expensive programs promising to make you rich simply make their promoters rich. My basic rule of thumb is this: If the program costs more than dinner and a movie, and your online profits won't cover the cost, then don't go there. Learn how to market online first. Then you will be making money, and will be far more able to recognize a good thing when you see it!

I hate seeing people waste their hard-earned money, and then become discouraged. That is why I do the research I do, and why I write these articles. I want to see people succeed. I've already done things the hard way myself.

There are three steps I want you to look at. These will really boost your success on the Internet if you follow instructions and work hard. If you don't like work, please stop reading here.

1.Join an online community like Adlandpro, DirectMatches or Ryze (and there are many more). Get to know people, find out who seems to have the most popular forums on business, network marketing, internet sales, and related information, and learn from them. Ask lots of questions. You will quickly find out who really knows their stuff, because they will generally be the kindest, friendliest, most helpful people you'll ever meet. You will also find that they are not afraid to give you answers that might ruffle a few feathers because they realize that telling the truth is more important than anything else.
2.Find out who's making money and what they're doing. Take your time, and be choosy. When you find someone who's making money with a product or program you really like, you can approach them and find out if they're looking for new partners to mentor and train in their business. Note that in most cases, this is a networkers dream and they will be thrilled to sponsor and train you.
3.Learn from your sponsor and do exactly what you're told. You're not ready to go on your own, so why try to do it your way when upline already knows the right way?
4.Let a small number of people into your organization and train them in exactly the same way your sponsor trained you. Notice that I said, “Let a small number.” This is YOUR business, and you don't want the whole world trying to run your store. If you start out with the idea that it's YOUR business and THEY have to qualify to join you, you will have an organization built with people who are much more likely to follow your example and succeed, creating a very tightly knit and successful organization.

Do it right, right from the beginning, and you will enjoy wonderful success in a solid, long-lasting, profitable business!

©2003 - 2007 TipsnTools.com - All Rights Reserved.

God bless,

Dave

Don't Waste your Time

2007-01-27T01:25:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

A fellow member of a community I belong to has asked my opinion on
something called OTO Goldmine, so I joined the free program and took a look around.

There are some high profile people shown on the site recommending it (I know several of them.) In fact, there are more testimonials from "successful" marketers than you will normally see on ten sites!

The program is free to join, is not really a scam, but falls flat after that.

The hype starts right on the first page. It is a very typical, "Ya Gotta Have it - It's the Best Ever" kind of "Sell you in hurry" site, with plenty of "unsolicited" recommendations from fellow marketers (who are probably selling the system), and a lot of emphasis on the FREE part, but if you go through the sign up process, you will find plenty of opportunity to part with your money on "must have" One Time Offers (OTOs).

Once you get through the whole process, you will find that you can only actually have ONE campaign for yourself, but you have to upgrade (translation - you have to spend $67.00 today or $29.95 per month if you wait another day in order to really use the system.)

The other thing they REALLY tread the line of honesty on is their skirting of the FACT that the system is basically USELESS to you if you don't have your own website.

An OTO (One Time Offer) is something that you use on your website to sell a product or service. You are offering a "once-in-a-lifetime" deal that hopefully will inspire people to make a quick decision to part with their money or email address or both. You can use this kind of marketing strategy in popups (bad idea), or exit (logout) pages, or as an in between page after someone logs in, or for a 404 error page, etc. All of these things are things that you can do yourself with your own website and a little bit of research - FREE, and for as many campaigns as you want.

What makes these OTOs work comes down to two things - a TON of traffic (they say they have a 3+ percent conversion), and a lot of flashy hype.

Now let's get down to a reality check before you start thinking that you could maybe make a lot of money just selling their program. IF you sold their $67 program (you would need a Clickbank ID to do that) and you had 100 REAL visitors to your website per day, (not click-click-clickers) you would make 3 sales (according to their ad copy), at 75% commission, which is about $150 per day. However, if you think you're going to make that kind of money with generic traffic like most people are generating these days, I have a great deal on a bridge for you, too!

I also found one, in my opinion, outright lie on the website. I quote: "Don't miss a word of this page as this is third and most powerful way to make money through this system and the best part is that You need not to do anything for it. All you have to do is to become Pro Member and it's done. This system will do everything for you." That's if you pay the $67.00.

That is a pretty blatant falsehood. There is no system in existence that will do everything for you. YOU will have to generate enough pairs of eyes looking at the offer for it to make any money at all, and believe me, you will be lucky to get a .03% conversion rate, where you actually find someone who actually has the money and the will to shell out $67 on this system.

My best recommendation is that you take your $67 if you can spare it, and buy you and a friend a nice dinner somewhere. You'll definitely get more bang for your buck, and a LOT more satisfaction.

God bless,

Dave

Why should you pay someone else to sell their products?

2007-01-21T17:55:00.000-08:00

Why in the world would you pay someone else to sell their products? Duhhhhh!!

Have you ever asked that question, yourself? I mean, why should you have to pay for the privilege of making money for someone else? It doesn't make sense to me, and yet, every day, people like you and me are actually paying money to someone in order to sell their products.

Have you ever seen an mlm company that you can join for free and make money with them without ever paying any fees or buying anything from them? I sure haven't!

However, I have found a company that will never charge you a dime to become an agent with, and will pay you override commissions 4 levels deep!

This means that if only you simply referred 7 new agents (how hard is that? They get in free, too!), and they each referred only 5 agents, with only 5 customers each, you could be earning more than $2,500 per month just in residuals!

This isn't hard to market, either. With a few simple online classified ads, I signed up 10 new accounts last month, and all I did to do that is ran 2 simple classifieds! These are accounts that will continue to pay me residuals for as long as they use the service, and the service is something almost everyone, everywhere uses every day!

Don't let anyone tell you that the market is flooded or the competition to fierce. If you want to pay out $49 or more to join and another $49 or more in monthly autoships for some nutritional product - then you'll know what real competition and overloaded market is all about! And if you think you'll keep your customers month after month in that market - I have some great swamp land for sale, cheap....

But seriously, the communications market just keeps growing and growing, with local and long distance phone, wireless, broadband, cellular, ISP and more - people will continue to use their communications service long after they give up everything except food! Add to that a mall that offers thousands of name brand products and you have an absolutely incredibly huge market, with no sign of it ever letting up.

See what gets you excited. Don't do the duhhh thing by paying out a whack of cash to sell someone else's stuff. Visit http://ldsavings.com/bus.html right now and find out just how big and amazing a business you can get into 100% free. I'll be here waiting to help you.

God bless,

Dave Cottrell
http://ldsavings.com
1128 Chaster
Gibsons BC
V0N 1V4
6048868930

Heeeeeere's Johnny!

2006-12-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody out there in sucker - oops - I mean cyber land!

Well, our dear friend, John McConnell, of Stormpay, Stormpay Racing,
NetIBA, and (yes, really) Tymglobal, wants to help you make your
fortune!

Here's the lead in:

"Dear StormPay Member,

"If you are looking to change your life and generate a true residual
income, then you do not want to miss this opportunity. Here's your
opportunity to work closely with John McConnell, the founder and President of
StormPay.com. John is working toward Master Affiliate status with GDI,
a revolutionary residual income producer. John will work with and
mentor his direct downline to help insure the success of all..."

Yeah. Right. And I have some nice swamp land for sale, cheap...

If you haven't looked into the background of this guy, it's time
you did!

For starters - take a look at these customer complaints:
http://w3.ripoffreport.com/view.asp?id=77406&view=printer
You will notice that one of the rebuttals states that Tymglobal
and Stormpay are not owned by the same people. WRONG! Whoever
put up that rebuttal did not do his homework, and is probably now
suffering from it. The address for Tymglobal, Stormpay, Stormpay
Racing are all the same, and NetIBA is in the same building.

Google Tymglobal. That's an eye-opener!

Always do your homework before getting into anything with anyone!
So far, this guy's track record has been less than pristine.

God bless,

Dave

PAS Automated Builder Scam Finally Being Shut Down

2006-10-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

Greetings, my friends,

The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is finally shutting down yet another popular scam pyramid company, Prosperity Automated System or PAS. With over 25,000 websites are being shut down, the SEC complaint targets the network creator and owner William M. Osterhout of Citrus Heights, CA, in this downline building scam.

According to the SEC statement given on Wednesday, the system, billed as a marketing network, is "destined to collapse and leave the vast majority of investors with substantial losses." When visitors to one of the landing pages fill out the form, they are then contacted by high pressure telemarketers who work to sell them a downline-building membership for up to $3,895, promising to build them a huge downline that will give them a share of the fees from new members who sign up through their websites. (Can anyone spell PONZI?)

To be in profit with PAS, you need to make not one, not two, but three HUGE sales. Can you realistically sell three practically $4,000 packages?

Actually, this particular system is a newer twist on the original Ponzi scheme, commonly called an Aussie 2-up Pay Plan, (also known as in this case, a 1Up Plan) and it is quite illegal. (I have not yet come up with a reasonable explanation for the term other than that it seems to have originated in Australia.)

The way it works is this: while the system usually offers several different "products," their main focus is to get you to just sell the system to others. Initially, you have to pay a fairly large sum ($3895 in this case) for joining the system. The income from your first sale goes to the system sponsor. Furthermore, everyone who pays becomes a representative for the company, so there are basically no sales outside the pyramid. The system makes grand promises of huge returns with no (or very little) work. They promise that they will advertise for you, have a product for you, and even have people to close the sale for you.

An Aussie 2UP takes the first two salse from a person’s warm market and pushes the sales up to his or her sponsor. Since statistics show that most people can only recruit 3 or fewer people in their lifetime, a 2up leaves no market at all for the newbee.

Strong closers are required who can sell valueless, but expensive products and/or services. Most have some kind of service tied to them. Virtually no newcomer can sell a package that for $2000 - $4000. Instead, they usually get close friends and family to back them making more money for the professional closers who get the sales.

Rather than an expensive seminar or training of some kind, PAS offers an incredible "system" that does all the work.

Most of the products or services offered can be acquired for far less or even free, elsewhere.

Eventually, when the majority of the people realize they aren't making any money, they want their money back, which eventually causes the whole system to collapse, leaving virtually all the members suffering a complete loss.

Finally, when enough complaints reach the ears of law enforcement agencies, the system is shut down.

In most cases, law enforcement agencies don't move fast enough to catch the owners of these systems, who make a big, fat killing and then get out of the country with all the money before they're caught. All that they require to succeed is no conscience and great hype skills. Most (not all) of these owners know full well that their system will fail and that it is, in fact, illegal.)

Be warned! Many of our fellow members here have fallen victim to scams of one kind or another, (remember 12DailPro?) and others. A new one is circling the community right at this moment called OurPowerForcedMatrix (known here as a $7 Matrix.) Whether those who are promoting it realize it or not, it is, in my studied opinion, another twist on the Ponzi scheme and it is illegal. If you are in it:

1.) YOU are breaking the law - and -
2.) YOU are going to lose.

I don't care if it only costs $7 - cost does not matter - you will NOT fill your matrix, and you will NOT get the value of your time back, NOR will you get your money back. I can guarantee, however, that the owner will make a ton of money if he can take it out of reach of law enforcement officials soon enough.

If you think I'm blowing smoke, you have definitely not done your research, and you ARE going to get fried. People just like you are getting into these things every day and losing tons and tons of money.

A scam is a scam is a scam. Period. I don't care how nice the scammer appears to be.

For further very informative reading (it may save your bank account) go to http://scampas.com and
http://www.mlmwatchdog.com/RC_Scam_DownlineBuilder.html http://www.jimrivas.info/PASsite.html http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2006/lr19848.htm (Thank you Judy Hortin and Leon Horton for this link - it pretty well nails it.)
BE SAFE. Do your due diligence, your OWN research. Don't let yourself get robbed.

God bless,

Dave

SEC Shutting Down PAS Scam

2006-10-02T00:50:00.000-07:00

Greetings, my friends,

The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is finally shutting down
yet another popular scam pyramid company, Prosperity Automated System
or PAS. With over 25,000 websites are being shut down, the SEC
complaint targets the network creator and owner William M. Osterhout
of Citrus Heights, CA, in this downline building scam.

According to the SEC statement given on Wednesday, the system, billed
as a marketing network, is "destined to collapse and leave the vast
majority of investors with substantial losses." When visitors to one
of the landing pages fill out the form, they are then contacted by high
pressure telemarketers who work to sell them a downline-building
membership for up to $3,895, promising to build them a huge downline
that will give them a share of the fees from new members who sign up
through their websites. (Can anyone spell PONZI?)

To be in profit with PAS, you need to make not one, not two, but three
HUGE sales. Can you realistically sell three practically $4,000
packages?

Actually, this particular system is a newer twist on the original Ponzi
scheme, commonly called an Aussie 2-up Pay Plan, (also known as in this
case, a 1Up Plan) and it is quite illegal. (I have not yet come up
with a reasonable explanation for the term other than that it seems to
have originated in Australia.)

The way it works is this: while the system usually offers several
different "products," their main focus is to get you to just sell the
system to others. Initially, you have to pay a fairly large sum ($3895
in this case) for joining the system. The income from your first sale
goes to the system sponsor. Furthermore, everyone who pays becomes a
representative for the company, so there are basically no sales outside
the pyramid. The system makes grand promises of huge returns with no
(or very little) work. They promise that they will advertise for you,
have a product for you, and even have people to close the sale for you.

An Aussie 2UP takes the first two salse from a person’s warm
market and pushes the sales up to his or her sponsor. Since statistics
show that most people can only recruit 3 or fewer people in their
lifetime, a 2up leaves no market at all for the newbee.

Strong closers are required who can sell valueless, but
expensive products and/or services. Most have some kind of service tied
to them. Virtually no newcomer can sell a package that for $2000 -
$4000. Instead, they usually get close friends and family to back them
making more money for the professional closers who get the sales.

Rather than an expensive seminar or training of some kind, PAS
offers an incredible "system" that does all the work.

Most of the products or services offered can be acquired for far
less or even free, elsewhere.

Eventually, when the majority of the people realize they aren't
making any money, they want their money back, which eventually causes
the whole system to collapse, leaving virtually all the members
suffering a complete loss.

Finally, when enough complaints reach the ears of law
enforcement agencies, the system is shut down.

In most cases, law enforcement agencies don't move fast enough
to catch the owners of these systems, who make a big, fat killing and
then get out of the country with all the money before they're caught.
All that they require to succeed is no conscience and great hype
skills. Most (not all) of these owners know full well that their
system will fail and that it is, in fact, illegal.)

Be warned! Many of our friends have fallen victim to scams
of one kind or another, (remember 12DailPro?) and others. A new one is
circling the internet right at this moment called the $7 Miracle.
Whether those who are promoting it realize it or not, it is, in my
studied opinion, another twist on the Ponzi scheme and it is illegal.
If you are in it:

1.) YOU are breaking the law - and -

2.) YOU are going to lose.

I don't care if it only costs $7 - cost does not matter - you will NOT
fill your matrix, and you will NOT get the value of your time back, NOR
will you get your money back. I can guarantee, however, that the owner
will make a ton of money if he can take it out of reach of law
enforcement officials soon enough.

If you think I'm blowing smoke, you have definitely not done your
research, and you ARE going to get fried. People just like you are
getting into these things every day and losing tons and tons of money.

A scam is a scam is a scam. Period. I don't care how nice the scammer
appears to be.

For further very informative reading (it may save your bank account)
go to http://scampas.com and
http://www.mlmwatchdog.com/RC_Scam_DownlineBuilder.html
http://www.jimrivas.info/PASsite.html

BE SAFE. Do your due diligence, your OWN research. Don't let yourself
get robbed.

God bless,

Dave Cottrell

http://tipsntools.com

What's the Difference?

2006-09-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well, what do you know?

Recently released "secret" documents reveal that the previous Democrat government, under the guileless leadership of the slippery-but-popular President Bill Clinton, had ample warning about the potential threat from one Mr. Osama Bin Ladin.

It seems that the terrorist threat from that particular individual's chosen country club, otherwise known as "El Qaeda," was already well known in the "intelligence" community during the Clinton administration. Many sounded the alarm, but most were ignored.

During Mr. Clinton's "cigar trial," the administration did begin to make noises suggesting it was taking the situation seriously (Wag the Dog?), but when the president finally decided to launch several cruise missiles to Bin Ladin's known location, he first called Osama's friends in Pakistan to warn them (ostensibly to prevent a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan due to the unexplained presence of missiles flying over their airspace.)

Of course, when the missiles arrived at their destination, Osama and company were long (at least two hours) gone.

Since that time, many opportunities to curtail El Qaeda's operations, mainly by taking out their leadership, have been passed over due to a certain hesitancy on the part of the politicians in and over the intelligence community to believe reports from anyone but a red-blooded member of the US intelligence community. Virtually all opportunities to destroy the terrorist leadership have been missed due to the inability of the intelligence community to confirm these reports from people on the ground in the areas where the terrorists are residing.

Pardon me, but isn't it a little difficult to confirm these reports? Western intel will never even get close to these men! If the West is going to win, the West has to start trusting friends "over there."

This brings me to the whole point of today's rant: What is the difference between the present US administration and the previous US administration? The Democrats rather loudly decry the present Republican administration for not catching Osama Bin Laden and his friends, but the Democrats are crossing their fingers and hoping everyone has forgotten that THEY had the best opportunity to take out Bin Laden and prevent the 9-11 tragedy than anyone so far, and they blew it!

The truth is, the Bush administration has been left with the unenviable task of picking up the pieces dropped by its predecessor.

The Murder of the English Language

2006-06-09T03:26:00.000-07:00

Greetings, dear friends,

What has happened to the English language?

In scarcely a generation, it has been murdered, butchered and nearly forgotten in radio, television and the printed media.

Our once beautiful language has been reduced to a small handful of monosyllabic grunts, and continues on its dizzying nosedive into oblivion.

Back in 1611, at the time that great literary work was printed, the Authorized King James translation of the Bible into English, our language was complex, powerful, meaningful, expressive, and incredibly beautiful.

Today, if a Bible translation is rated at higher than a Grade 5 level, it's considered too complex and difficult for the average reader, and many translations are even simpler than that.

In the time of King James and Shakespeare, you could tell by the words that were used, for example, if the speaker was speaking to a group or an individual, depending on whether the word, "thou" was used, or the words, "thee" or "ye." (singular and plural)
The same rules applied with many other words, making the language clearer than it is today.

In the 19th century, some of the greatest classics of all time were written by people such as Charles Dickens, James Fenimore Cooper, the Bronte sisters,Robert Louis Stevenson, Louisa May Alcott, and many others.

In the 20th century, works of such magnitude as those produced in the previous century became far fewer, to the point where it would be both extremely unusual and likely very poor business to produce such a work today. It just wouldn't sell!

At one time, anyone who could read would find it pure joy to immerse themselves in a book written by a great author, even going back to the time of Homer and Plutarch. The books were vividly and brilliantly written with such descriptive and excellent language as to put the reader completely into the setting!

Today, most of the words that would create such a setting are too long, too difficult, and too much bother to read. People would rather watch a TV show with people speaking to one another with at most a Grade 3 level of English, and more often than not, with language filled with idioms and colloquialisms that would make a person from a foreign country, who has actually learned English properly, shake his or her head in wonder, having absolutely no idea what the people are saying at all.

Will it end? It doesn't seem so. The "new" approach to teaching language in the Western World is the "whole language" approach, which teaches children simply to sight read a small handful of "key" words, and to guess the rest by their context. The idea is that children learn to talk by being immersed in language in their home, so they should be able to learn to read by being immersed in words at school. It seems to me that the people who came up with such an idea have read far too many Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes books!

Thankfully, there are still some good teachers who are still trying to squeeze in spelling, grammar, and excellence in reading, but they are swimming against an ever increasing current of opposition.

Parents MUST spend time with their children encouraging them, helping them and challenging them to read ever more difficult language if there is to be any hope left at all for our once-great language. Otherwise, it will continue to be cut up, cast off, and buried in the refuse it is rapidly becoming.

That's my rant for today.

God bless,

Dave

Hurry! Hurry! Get in at the Top!

2006-06-08T02:38:00.000-07:00

How many times have you received an email with a subject line like that? I hope your first reaction is to delete it!

As a rule of thumb, if you have to get in at the top, it's because it's probably not going to go anywhere. It has an awful or horribly overpriced product, a hopeless commission structure (usually one that pays out FAR too much to survive), and is designed only to make its owners a whack of cash in a big hurry.

"Hurry! Hurry!" That's the cry of the huckster trying to grab your cash BEFORE you do your due diligence.

"Hurry! Hurry!" Did you notice the date at the top of the page? You only have 23 hours, 9 minutes and 34 seconds to "get in at the top!" Guess what? If you come back a week from now, you'll only have 23 hours, 9 minutes and 34 seconds to "get in at the top!" These hype artists use a simple java script to create a sense of urgency in the hope that you'll shell out your money before you take the time to check them out.

Good companies will still be good a year from now. There are billions of people in the world; that's a HUGE market! If the product is good, competitively priced, and tied to a reasonable, workable compensation plan, it will stay good for a long, long time.

Be reasonable and use reason when choosing a business. Do not let your emotions rule! The BEST rule to begin with in making any choice is to sleep on it. Beware of those who say you have to "strike while the iron's hot." YOU may be the one who is about to be struck... with another dent in your bank account and another unworkable, worthless, soon-to-disappear "business" opportunity.

God bless,

Dave

The Da Vinci Code: Pulp Fiction

2006-06-08T02:13:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Wow! What a furor The Da Vinci Code is making! You'd think it was a history book that had been made into a documentary the way so many people are carrying on about it!

It's a STORY people! It's a work of pure fiction from a man with a very active imagination who's getting richer every day, thanks to its huge popularity.

As a student of history with a passion for digging, myself, I find it absolutely incredible that people are even suggesting that it is an 'historical' novel based on 'documented' facts.

The fact is, there is precious little factual information in the book at all, and some of the most "astonishing revelations" are either taken from the work of convicted con artists or allegedly stolen from another work of fiction from the 1980s.

Note that the author, Brown, himself says on page 8: "In this work of fiction, the characters, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or they are used entirely fictitiously."

It is positively astonishing that the news media is wasting so much air time raving about all the 'amazing revelations' in the book, and how it will 'completely change' the way many people think.

Have people lost their ability to think for themselves? It's no wonder con artists and their ilk do so well these days - more and more people seem to be ready to believe anything!

Question everything! Dig and do due diligence! The real truth will stand up to intense scrutiny, but fiction soon reveals itself for what it really is... simply fiction. What you believe is ultimately your choice, but wouldn't you rather it was the truth?

For more reading: The Da Vinci Code: Fiction masquerading as fact

God bless,

Dave

I Got Mooned on Mainstreet

2006-05-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

The other day, as I was returning home near 1 am, a group of young people, probably in their early twenties, were standing on the sidewalk across the street as I turned onto the main drag through our sleepy little coastal town.

At first glance, I barely even noticed them, as I was tired after 12 hours and looking forward to relaxing at home.

However, just as I began approaching them, a number of young men and woman started out onto the street, laughing and looking my way. Then, without further ado, they turned around and mooned me, a total stranger, taking supreme and giddy glee in the rather cheeky act.

So, why would I even mention such an insignificant and childish act?
After all, I was driving by, and it was all over in less than a moment.

The reason is that as I drove home, I thought about what might inspire a group of normal young adults to get their jollies lighting up the cool coastal night for strangers with their gleaming little buttocks.

The answer is, the act was caused by the same mentality that you hear spoken by young people in communities everywhere these days: "There's nothing to do!"

I've lived in or visited many communities over the years, and have heard the same expression many times - young people and parents complaining that there's nothing to do in their community. We build arenas, skateboard bowls, rec centres, swimming pools, hiking trails, theatres and more, but there's "nothing to do" in our communities.

What's wrong with this picture?

It's simple. The mentality today is that rather than creating entertainment, everyone is saying, "Entertain me!" Laziness is rampant, and young people want everything done for them, including their personal amusement.

I've personally never been bored. There's more to do in any place I've ever lived than there's time to do! In fact, I've found that people who have lived in a community all their lives often don't even know what's in their area. They don't know where the hiking trails are, where the good campsites are, where the hidden fishing holes are, where that road goes, what's at the top of that big rock, what the inside of their library looks like, who's singing at the community theatre this week, and the list goes on and on. Unless someone is laying it all out for them and organizing their fun, they're completely lost.

Gone, today, is the adventurous spirit of youth, unless it's first sparked by alcohol or drugs (as was most likely the case with those youngsters on the street that night.)
Imagination in many, if not most young people is dead, and they're completely lost if no one is laying their entertainment right in their laps.

Perhaps we could begin to help by putting some pressure on our governments to quit experimenting with out kids, and go back to teaching the three R's, promoting healthy competition, and actually rewarding kids for accomplishing something and standing out above their peers.

Parents, too, can challenge their kids to strive for excellence, to create their own fun, and to look for adventure, rather than sitting for hours with a gamebox or TV in front of them. (What a horrible waste of time!)

As I said earlier, I've never been bored. (OK - except for a very short time with a mindless job I once had.) The reason is that my parents strongly encouraged me to succeed, to use my imagination, and to create my own entertainment, and to work. My siblings, friends and I spent hours acting out great adventures inspired by books that we actually read ourselves! (what a scary thought for modern kids!) As we got older, we explored the area around us, hiked, camped, canoed, fished and swam, even slogging through the snow in the winter time in search of new areas yet undiscovered by our enthusiastic quests.

We also enjoyed concerts, plays, music fests, flee markets, parades, our local library, and much, much more.

When we weren't out creating our entertainment, we (horror of horrors!) had CHORES to do! Yes, we actually cleaned our own rooms, washed dishes, helped clean the house, mowed the grass, washed the car, chopped firewood, worked in the garden, mended or built fences, and whatever else needed doing that we were capable of doing. We simply didn't have time in between to be bored.

Where is our modern, Western society headed? What will these young people be like when it's their turn to run things? Will we able to even function as a society? Hopefully, the answer is yes, and perhaps, even, our young people will see what a mess the thinking of the latter half of the twentieth century has made of our world and do an about face.

That is, if they set the gameboy down long enough to take a look around.

Big Brother AOL

2006-04-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

AOL is watching you.... They want you to help them in their noble quest to become richer by quietly and joyfully accepting a whack of spam from advertisers they are giving guaranteed delivery to YOUR email box to, all for a very tiny fee.

It has been with much interest that I've been following the debate over AOL et al.

My advice to anyone who is worried about AOL and friends charging advertisers for delivery of commercial email to their members is this - if you want to get your email, don't use AOL or anyone with similar policies.

For a long time, now, good lead companies have been excluding certain ISPs - especially AOL, as it has been virtually impossible to send commercial messages to AOL customers for a LONG time.

AOL has become so bad that children sending birthday greetings to their aunties are having their email bounce, simply because AOL has blacklisted their local ISP or because several innocuous words in the body of their email, like, perhaps, "Hi," have triggered AOL's draconian spam filters.

This new pay-to-mail system is NOT the death knoll for email marketing - it opens up a HUGE market to those who want to pay a small fee to guarantee delivery of their mail to practically half the market (yes, AOL is that huge). Remember that it has been virtually impossible for several years now to send commercial email to AOL users. Now, for a small fee, it is guaranteed!

However, for AOL users, this means that their spam holiday is over. Now, while Aunty may still not receive that cute e-card from her little nephew, Aunty will DEFINITELY receive plenty of junk mail, AKA AOL-approved spam.

In my opinion, it's high time people stopped fighting AOL and others like them, and started looking for smaller, freer, more open and user-friendly services.

God bless,

Dave

Scampay - the Saga Continues

2006-03-23T17:48:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

I have never liked Stormpay, became a member only to make a handful of purchases that were not available any other way at the time, and held my nose every time I used them.

During the 12DP debacle, I did a lot of digging into their background and found them to be some of the shadiest characters to ever cloud the sunny shores of cyberspace. How they've been able to survive as long as they have proves that in the online world, at least, crooks and scammers are a lot harder to stop than in the real world.

Many have said, "I told you so," regarding 12DP, and rightly so. It was rather obvious from the beginning that they and others like them couldn't possibly legally create the kind of revenue necessary to pay the returns they offered.

Yet Stormpay was happy to be the payment processor for these ponzi organizations, AND happy to certify them as trustworthy companies through their sister company, NetIBA. Furthermore, they collected even more money by convincing Stormpay members who were involved in paid autosurfs to get certified themselves in order to pay far lower processing fees when they used Stormpay to pay and receive payment from the paid autosurfs.

As things heated up with 12DP, Stormpay told its members all manner of tall tales, attempting to paint themselves as the good guys, all the while sitting on a small fortune in collected fees from illegal companies they knowingly supported over the past several years.

Now, just when you thought that things might get back to normal with Stormpay as the dust settled and they got back to the business of being a "legitimate" payment processor, they've suddenly locked out even more of their paying customers by making it a requirement to do ALL your Stormpay business through Stormpay auctions.

Read their announcement at https://www.stormpay.com/stormpay/handle_gen.php

What this means to all the legitimate businesses who have been using Stormpay for recurring subscriptions is that ALL their subscriptions via Stormpay have now been cancelled, leaving them with a greatly reduced or even non-existent cashflow even after following all the rules.

It is an absolutely disgusting way to treat hard-working, paying customers and a shame to the business world to think that they are peers in business. I personally hope they fall flat and crawl back under the same rock they crawled out from.

God bless,

Dave

Stormpay Innocent? Ha!

2006-03-21T10:41:00.001-08:00

While I suspected 12DP of being a ponzi from the beginning, and warned everyone to watch out, I have also dug into Stormpay's background and believe that while they were very likely acting on instructions from federal investigators, they were also cooperating to try to save their own skins.

The owners have also been involved in a ponzi (Tymglobal) and are intelligent, educated individuals who knew full well what 12DP was doing and willingly cooperated and reaped the benefits of all the processing fees AND the NetIBA "certifications" that they sold to thousands of members INCLUDING 12DP and many other ponzi organizations.

I have done my research and can confirm that Stormpay and NetIBA are owned by the same people. NetIBA is supposed to be a company that does a thorough background check and then certifies companies and individuals as being "legitimate and safe to do business with." They certified 12DP and MANY other Paid Autosurf and HYIP companies. That in itself puts them right up to their crooked little necks in this whole mess.

Furthermore, their certification process for NetIBA is a complete joke and a scam on its own. I personally went through the process and can tell you, I could have been Santa Claus and still would have been certified!

God bless,

Dave

Snarky!

2006-03-10T23:43:00.000-08:00

Feeling snarky? Huh?!

There are a lot of smart copywriters out there today, but only a few really know how to spell or use grammar correctly. Furthermore, bad habits that they have developed in their conversations tend to spill over into their writing.

Incorrect grammar, poor spelling, and improper word usage really bother me. Many times, I have come across a really attractive idea or program, only to click away in disgust because there were too many mistakes.

Maybe I'm lucky. My peeve with errors in written communication has probably saved me a lot of money. I am not going to fork over any of my hard-earned cash to someone who promises me tremendous success with his program, but doesn't take the time or make the effort to ensure that his copy is flawless before publishing it.

I'm sure I'm not unique.

Some people would say that I'm too picky. Let me pose the following question to them:

Why, when someone is as successful as they claim to be, are there numerous spelling, grammatical, and usage errors in their copy?

One argument would be to say that not everyone excels in those areas. In fact, some really smart people have difficulty putting their ideas into print.

This argument is flawed. There are a lot of people out there who can't come up with a unique idea to save their lives, but they CAN write well. Hire them!

Poor grammar, spelling and word usage is not professional. It makes an otherwise impressive site look downright amateurish.

When I read copy that makes fabulous claims about the success of a program, I struggle to believe it when it's full of errors. If the program is as successful as it is claimed to be, hiring an editor to go over the copy is cheap!

Not everyone IS successful enough, yet, to hire an editor. There are ways to write quite well, without hiring an editor, even if writing is not your forte.

1. Use a good word processing program with a spell checker. There simply is NO excuse for
spelling errors any more.

2. Write short, complete sentences, with as few connectors as possible. Try to eliminate the word, "and" from your sentences. Most of the time, you can use several sentences, instead.

Furthermore, short sentences are easier to read quickly. As an added bonus, tests have shown that people tend to remember more when the sentences are shorter.

3. Use a lot of short paragraphs. Again, people remember more when there are a lot of short paragraphs. Also, short paragraphs are usually correct. Remember, paragraphs are used to break up points into digestable chunks.

(It is interesting to note that teachers RARELY penalize anyone for using too many paragraphs, but OFTEN penalize for using too few.)

4. Do not use words unless you are sure of their usage! Look up the meaning of any word you are not one hundred percent sure of! What does "snarky" mean?

5. Have a friend or family member who writes well read your article. Most people would be
flattered to be asked for their input.

6. Do not be afraid to put your ideas into print. Your ideas are unique to you! You may have the angle that everyone else has missed. Your article may be the catalyst that sparks someone else onto greatness. Just make sure to follow the first five rules!

Now, to satisfy your curiousity, "snarky" is not a word in any of my dictionaries. It IS a word I have used for years, but one, thankfully, that I haven't used in my writing until now.

I decided to look up the word finally, only to find it did not exist. This is one example of improper usage of a word that we commonly use (at least that I commonly use). If I had used this word without an explanation, none of you would know what I meant!

Here is the meaning of "snarky" as I have always used it:

Snarky: adjective: feeling miserable, especially, feeling tired, run down and irritable while having a sore throat and sore eyes. From English: snarly + English Slang: yucky

Now YOU can use it!

God bless,

Dave

Get your Facts Straight!

2006-02-23T18:17:00.000-08:00

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!

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 desireable advertising venue for other businesses. An 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 adspace 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 forums here 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.

What's all this Nonsense about Global Warming?

2006-02-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

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!

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!

Stormpay Complaints

2006-02-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

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 Tennesse 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!

Stormpay Complaints

2006-02-14T21:56:00.000-08:00

Are you getting tired of Stormpay's little autosurf business "sleight-of-hand?"

Let's see what these upstanding financial wizards of Never Never land have done in the last month.

Hmmmmm...

First they told everybody they had to use them only as their payment processor or get their accounts frozen.

Then they told everybody it was for their own protection and they were doing it because they had such a great business relationship and didn't want to jeopardize it.

Next thing they did right after everyone complied is shut 'em all down and freeze their accounts because they just found out they were all crooks! (Read their site - they claim they're all ponzi schemes - Hey, just for fun do a Google search on Tymglobal and "free" laptops....)

OK, now they're doing unauthorized chargebacks from members accounts, bank accounts, etc. and everybody out here in the real world is going...

"Where's the money??"

"SHOW ME THE MONEY!"

So... What can you do?

How about...

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.

Ranting and Raving Again

2006-02-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

OK - I've spent tons of time digging through the whole StormDaily 12ScamPro thing and it's still not figured out - so forgive me if I'm ranting and raving again.

Stormpay says everybody else is a crook and they're the good guys, then go on ranting for endless pages about how it's some nice lady in another town who's really behind it, forcing them to freeze all kinds of Stormpay member's accounts and give all their money back to 12Dailypro.

12Dailypro says they don't have the money and rant and rave about how Stormpay's doing all these chargebacks to 12Dailypro, except they're not getting the money.

The members are ranting and raving all over the net in chatroom, forums, communities, blogs and W.H.Y. about who done what to who when...
They didn't get their money either.

So the big mystery still is...

Who's REALLY got the money??

Show me the money!!