If you’re researching a “job offer” and it is listed on this page, it is 100% absolutely guaranteed to be a scam. Stop talking with your “employer” AT ONCE. You are at risk of losing thousands of dollars and your identity. You could even end up with a criminal record if the authorities get involved. Do NOT do work for them and click on the links below to find out what to do next.

Click here for more details on these scams and how they work.

Click here to find out where to report these scams.

Scam Email #1

We appreciate your decision to join Titan Advisers Ltd.

The work from home option is becoming increasing popular in many corporate sectors. Financial Support Agent is on-line, home based position. Our employee get to work at flexible times. Thus it helps them to meet family obligations and full-time job if any efficiently. It helps them avoid travel, traffic, pollution, crowds, transportation charges, health risks, stress, work pressure and physical tiredness. Home Based Jobs have proved a great source of extra income. The capability and willingness to complete more tasks for less income has helped our employee to carry out their jobs of interest. As a result, their monetary benefits have increased considerably without having to leave their homes. Not having office space for an extra employee and never less having this employee completing a specific tasks that can be completed remotely for a modest amount of money. That allows them to complete a task in a few minutes while if a company were to use an internal employee it could cost hours in labor and perhaps even more to purchase any specific software or tools necessary to complete a task.

There is no formal Interview process for this position and most of communication is done on-line.

This job requires for you to be available Monday through Friday, 9 to 11 am. It’s possible to work different hours per day, however all transaction must be completed by 2 PM on the same day you receive the task. Your main job would be monitoring your on-line Task Manager, which you’ll create on our site. Once the funds enter your account, your supervisor will notify you and assign you your tasks for the day. At this point you would go to your bank, withdraw the funds and transfer them using Western Union or Money Gram, as instructed by your supervisor. In the beginning you will only receive 2 to 3 transactions per week. Every transaction is followed by an invoice with our company’s seal. You would always be aware of where the funds are coming from and where they are being transferred to.

You will be hired on a trial basis (1 month). During this period you will be trained and receive online support while working and being paid. Please note that personal supervisor can recommend termination during/after the trial period, depending on agent’s activity. New employee should be responsible and strictly follow supervisor’s recommendations to pass the Probationary Period successfully and be employed on regular basis.

In order to secure the position and get started with probationary period, you need to create a Task Manager Account.

Please follow the link to register on company website and create a Task Manager Account: http://www.titan-advisers-ltd.com/registration/1

For prompt and correct use of all of the online functions, please refer to the online account manual at http://www.titan-advisers-ltd.com/member/manual/

NOTE: As you will be receiving bank transfers for our international clients, please provide your bank essentials. To avoid unnecessary problems, please be very careful while completing this form.

It’s OPTIONAL to provide online banking information, if you do not feel comfortable with that, please keep it confidential, simply click on “skip this step” during the registration. If you wish to provide view only access to your on-line banking, simply contact your banker and let him/here know that you want to activate this service, but be advised, that not all banks have this option, in this case, simply click on “skip this step” during the registration.

During the registration, please familiarize yourself with all the clauses of the Contract, if you agree, click on sign the contract.

The contract comes into effect since the moment of your Task Manager account activation. We would like to mention that electronic form of the Contract has the same validity as the contract signed personally by both parties.

We guarantee complete privacy of your personal data and would like to emphasize that our company strictly carries out its commitments as regards to private information and confidentiality of private and business information protection. We make use of reliable means of physical, electronic and administrative security with the view of protection of private information entrusted to us.

You will find detailed information on this matter in our Policy on Private Information Security following the link: http://www.titan-advisers-ltd.com/privacy

Once registration is complete, please make sure that you have uploaded or faxed us some proof of identity, preferably a copy of DL or a copy of Passport.

We required this paperwork for background check. Due to company policy we use background check as a means of objectively evaluating a job candidate’s qualifications.

If you’re unable to upload the documents into Task Manager account please use fax. Here is the number: 087 2352 7716. If you don’t have access to the fax machine, simply provide a photo of the document via email. Please make sure the picture is readable before submitting the documentation.

Once I receive all of the required documentation from you, it will take me about 1-4 business days to activate your account and assign you a personal supervisor.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at job@titan-advisers-ltd.com.

Scam Email #2

From: Kelly Argust

Hello,

Your resume/email was received and has been reviewed. I appreciate your effort and have decided to give this a “go.”

My name is Kelly Argust. I am 51 years old, married with 2 wonderful children. I am a relatively successful entrepreneur and huge investor in the real estate market, which tends to be my main source of income.

I’m looking for someone that can be trusted and reliable to work very well with good understanding as my Personal Assistant. This position I am offering is home-based and flexible, working with me is basically about instructions and following them, my only fear is that I May come at you impromptu sometimes, so I need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings. As my personal assistant, your activities amongst other things will include;

Duties and Requirements:

*Scheduling programmers, flights and keeping me up-to-date with them.
*Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities.
*Processing weekly check payment.
*Filing, Faxing, Creating and sending out letters, scanning documents, some personal assistant duties for owners, and many other
*Managing expenses and invoices

Basic wage is $450 weekly from start date.

I’m sure you’ll understand I tend to have a very busy schedule at this point. Please note that this position is not office based for now because of my frequent travels and tight schedules, it’s a part-time work from home for now and the flexibility means that there will be busier weeks than others. I would like to give you an immediate trial, so if you are interested kindly get back to me. As I have been checking my files and schedules and would need someone urgently to run some errands for me this week/next week, while I am away. I will have some funds sent to you to complete the errands and would get back to you with more information on that, get back to me with your Personal/Contact Details such as:

FULL NAMES:
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
HOME PHONE #:
MOBILE PHONE#:
SEX:
EMAIL ADDRESS:
PRESENT JOB:
Nationality: ___________________________
Current Job: ____________________________

Are you eligible to work in the United States? Yes ____ No_____

If you are under age 18, do you have an employment/age certificate? Yes ___ No ___

How often do you check your email: ______________

Days/Hours Available: Hours Available: from _______ to ______

What date are you available to start work? ________________

Once I have received your contact information, I will get back to you with the task for next week, You will also be paid upfront as its important you help me handle some errands before i get back from my business trip. Hope I am clear with that.

NOTE: ALL RESPONSE SHOULD BE SENT TO kellyargust@yahoo.com FOR FAST FOLLOW UP AND DIRECT COMMUNICATION

Thanks in anticipation of your prompt response.

Scam Email #3

Position: – Administrative Assistant

Type: – Part-Time (Reference: 5540709) –
Full-Time (Reference: 7095490)
Salary: – Part-Time : $450/week + 5% commission
– Full-Time: $880/week + 5% commission
Hours: –
Part-Time : 3 hours/day, Monday-Fiday –
Full-Time: 8 hours/day, Monday-Fiday

The primary goal of the Administrative Assistant / Sales Support Representative is to provide local customer support to our clients within United States. This includes providing convenient payment options and informing them of shipping and the terms of sale. You will be assisting our clients within United States, the assistance to be provided will include: payment collections and customer service via email.

Your duties will include:
- Collecting Local Payments When a buyer in the United States decides to purchase an item through an online auction from our sellers he has the following payment options: pay pal, international wire transfer, international check, local certified check or local wire transfer. The quickest option of these is local wire transferring. Local wire transfers and certified checks are the options that the sales support representative will provide to the clients.
- - Managing Data Along with the payments received from buyers you will be receiving details for these sales. These details will include items sold, price, and buyer’s information. You are to file and maintain these purchasing records and transactions.
- - Forwarding of the Payments Once you receive each payment you will be keeping 5% as commission and forwarding the rest to the seller or representative, whose information will be provided prior each transac-tion. It is crucial to complete forwarding of the payments in a time efficient manner.
- Correspondence You will be submitting brief reports, weekly reports, and monthly reports. Weekly and monthly reports are to be done in Excel format and are to summarize all transactions completed within the week, or month.

Here is an example of a brief report:
- Date: May 8, ’07
- Buyer: Mona Evans
- Item: Movado Watch
- Price: 1,921.27 USD
- Commission 5%: 96USD
- Fees: 75 USD
- Total Forwarded: 1750.27 USD
- Forwarded to: Diana Paulco, Stockholm, Sweden
- Reference Numbers: 2438749827

Fees, and Transferring Procedures
All fees are covered by the company. The fees for transferring are simply deducted from the payments received. No client will contact you during initial stage of the trial period. After three weeks of the trial period you will begin to have contact with the buyers via email in regards to collection of the payments. For the first three weeks you will simply receive all of the transferring details, and payments, along with step by step guidance from your supervisor. You will be forwarding the received payments through western union, money gram transferring agents, or by international wire transferring.

Why do we need Administrative Assistant? What does it give us?
§ Reduces expenses for offices maintenance (as Administrative Assistant is an official company’s representative, so the construction and maintenance of the office is not required);

§ Number of clients is increased (as many customers can’t make an international money transfer);

§ Our service is increased (as the international transfer needs about 5 days to reach our central office and then a couple of days to reach the performers branch. Consequently, it slows down our work significantly. It’d be much faster if Administrative Assistant receives the money and directs them to the appropriate department/branch. This is how we reduce terms of payments expectation and can provide a service to the customer more promptly);

§ Improves quality of reporting (each Administrative Assistant is responsible for one’s region. That system allows us to quickly and accurately make up all the reports and avoid their mess up.)

Scam Email #4

SUBJECT: Incredible chance to improve your prosperity with a new vacancy,
FROM: Miss J. Simpson tech.resource.solutions@gmail.com

All the changes that have come about in the past 10 years, from environmental policy to emerging technologies to the recession, have contributed to the creation of careers that never could have existed before.

My name is Miss J. Simpson and I’m with staffing of one of the biggest outsourcing company in US. I recently came across your resume on Beyond.com. Below is a career opportunity that we are currently hiring for part time that you may be interested in.

Company we are representing is small but respectful in outsourcing market which is situated in United Kingdom. Main aim is to achieve simpler communications between US outsourcing services with international market in this area.

FS Agent is a part-time position. If you are just re-entering the workforce or are a recent college grad, this can be your opportunity to start a solid career with a leading outsourcing company. We provide one month paid training period. During your training you receive online training and support. A personal supervisor guides your training. At the end of your trial period the personal supervisor makes the final decision to extend a permanent offer or not. Your training is critical to your success!

The monthly salary for the first 30 days is $2300 + 8%commission for every completed transaction. Working with a number of permanent customers your total income can be up to $4500/month. After the trial period your monthly wage will be $3000 plus 8% commission.

We believe that money saved due to outsourcing can be effectively and successfully utilized to focus more on strategic and core businesses functions.

If this opportunity is a fit for you, please feel free to reply to this email at tech.resource.solutions@gmail.com. Thank you for your time, and I hope you’ll contact me to discuss this opportunity.

Our representatives will reply within 48 hours. We would like to thank you beforehand and we’re looking forward to a long-term cooperation.

Sincerely yours,
HR Recruiter

Enter Vemma. They sell a vitamin & mineral supplement drink.

I bet you are thinking, “OK Dean, why are you talking about health drinks?” The reason is because Vemma is also an MLM company, and while I will state right now that it is not a scam or illegal, please read on to find out why you should think carefully about signing up or even avoid this one at all costs.

Vemma the MLM

Just a refresher for those that don’t know, MLM stands for Multi Level Marketing but is also known as Network Marketing.

The basic premise is that you sell the products and recruit other people underneath you to also sell the products of which you get a small commission.

The general rule of thumb with MLM systems though is it’s only the people at the top (the owners) that make any money or any real money.

You can sign up to Vemma and get a bunch of different products from them:

• 4 bottles of Vemma^® (32-oz bottles, 30-day supply for 2 people)
• 1 V2 Fridge Brick (30 – 2-oz bottles)
• 2 bottles of Vemma NEXT^® (32-oz bottles)
• 24 cans of Verve^® Energy Drink (8.3-oz cans)
• 12 cans of Verve Zero Sugar Energy Drink (8.3-oz cans)
• 12 cans of Verve Bold Energy Drink (8.3-oz cans)
• 1 bag of Bod•ē Shake Vanilla Ice Cream flavor (16 meals/bag)
• 1 bag of Bod•ē Shake Chocolate Ice Cream flavor (16 meals/bag)
• 1 Vemma Success Kit

On top of that you will get a Business Builder Pack, which consists of:

• A FREE marketing website which utilizes social media to help you tell your story like never before.
• A FREE mobile app with innovative text videos and cutting-edge tracking to manage your business activity.
• A FREE success kit with the necessary tools every new Brand Partner should have to help you jump-start your business.
• A variety of Vemma products to share with others.
• A proven system of training tools and field leadership support.
• Full eligibility for the Rewards & Recognition Program, including a brand-new BMW paid for by Vemma.
• Freedom and flexibility to be in control of your business, your time and your success.
• A supportive upline and a corporate Home Office team of industry-experienced professionals dedicated to your success.
• A lucrative income from products you never have to ship or exchange money for. No merchant accounts, shipping, processing, customer service or other tedious tasks.

The Downside

I listed everything you get because all of this costs a fortune! To get started with Vemma, the basic package (outlined above) costs $499.95 or $999.95 for a bigger pack.

48 drinks, 32 portions of icecream and a marketing kit for $500 bucks? WOW!

Not only that but after purchase you are set up automatically to pay $126 a month for 2 32oz bottles.

Edit: You can actually get started with Vemma without buying anything, but it is so hard to find this information I bet virtually no one does.

This is a lot of money to pay for out of pocket on a product that is expensive to sell, with no guarantee of selling it. Most of Vemma’s competing products can be bought at a supermarket for half the price, and there is no solid evidence that Vemma’s products will actually improve fitness or health.

The site makes bold claims that you can make a full time wage with a part time job by selling Vemma. In order to do that, you would need an awful lot of marketing and face-to-face sales, and some competency with online marketing.

The company does provide basic websites for those members who are buying into their products but realistically speaking these sites are cookie cutter sites, and you would be better off with your own.

The reality of Vemma, just like with any other MLM system, is that in order to make a profit and to regain money spent on purchasing the product (as you will have to give at least some of it away as testers) you need to sell a LOT and you need to recruit a LOT.

The company doesn’t pay you for selling though they do give you reward points for hiring new sellers. You have to make the money back by selling an already over priced product.

I would love to know how much Vemma earns from the distributors buying the product compared to how much the distributors earn.

Something tells me Vemma gets the better end of the deal.

The Bottom Line

Regular readers will know that I am not fond of MLM schemes, whether there is a product to sell like with Vemma or MLM’s evil brother the Pyramid scheme.

However, as mentioned at the start, Vemma is not a scam. It is a large, international company that’s uses an MLM system to sell products. If nothing else, you do get something for your cash even if it is an overpriced health drink.

Generally speaking, 97-99% of people who sell products under an MLM system will not make any money; many of those will in fact lose money.

So unless you want the product for yourself with the possibility of offsetting the cost by selling some from time to time, or unless you are an amazing marketing who could sell snow to Eskimos then MLM programs like Vemma should be avoided.

If yes, then you needn’t retire your knowledge simply because you left your old job and/or took up a new profession. Indeed, many freelancers, stay-at-home moms/dads and other work at home folks make a good income by hiring themselves out as online consultants.

How to Start as an Online Consultant

To become an online consultant, you typically sign up with a third-party service (although you could just do it yourself) and create your expert profile on its site. Niche and specialty skills like SEO, App development, grant writing, web design, law, content creation, project management and quality control are heavily represented.

Many of the listed specialties would be considered white collar; however, there are also experts needed on blue collar industries such as construction, retail, hospitality, manufacturing and auto repair. I found a lot of unexpected expert requests, including the following:

I would like to speak to someone who is familiar with the Canadian coffee quick-service restaurant (QSR) space. In particular, I am looking to learn more about Tim Hortons and any strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of their organization. Overall, I would like to discuss the competitive environment for coffee QSRs in Canada and any general trends in the Canadian market.

I would to learn more about Textile Manufacturing. Specifically, I would like to speak to professionals knowledgeable about sustainable manufacturing practices, the costs associated with sustainable manufacturing, and the current competitive landscape of the sustainable manufacturing industry.

I am interested in speaking with someone who is familiar with Pandora, a company that designs, manufactures and markets hand-finished and modern jewelry. In particular, I would like to get a better sense of the global market for Pandora products, especially in Europe and Australia, as well as a big picture look of US regional markets.

Once your expert profile is set up, clients who are looking for a given area of expertise either post their requests on the site or reach out to you directly. If you are just starting out as an online consultant, you won’t get too many direct “hits” from clients; however, you will be able to look through and answer advice requests posted on the site itself- assuming, of course, you can accurately answer those questions.

My Personal Experience with Online Consulting

I set up my profile as a biotech freelance writer on several online consulting sites including Clarity, Maven and Zintro. It was rather easy, as well as free, for me to get on board; in many cases all I had to do was download my information from LinkedIn. On some of these sites, I could also find individual clients and what they were looking for regarding professional advice.

In the space of 2 months and between my 3 consulting profiles, I received 4 direct requests for advice that went to my regular email. On my actual site inboxes and general request areas, I was included on at least 75 expert requests, many of which I missed out on because I wasn’t checking those accounts on a daily basis. So, in a way, these online consulting sites work as job boards that you need to check regularly. Because of this oversight and/or because my expertise level did not cover what was directly requested, I ended up helping zero clients. However, had I referred other experts that I personally know for these requests, I would at least have made some hefty referral commissions.

I also learned that you need to market your services through social media (e.g., LinkedIn) and the consulting sites themselves in order to attract a greater number of customers. In fact, one of the ways that many of these sites make their money is through expert listing fees, where for a set amount of money an expert is featured on the site’s front page or as the first result of a site search. Since I wasn’t willing to pay these listing fees, my profile was probably being buried during the site searches.

Top-Paying Online Consulting Sites

The following online consulting sites, which are listed below, range widely in how much consultants can charge. Some online consultants charge a reasonable $20-$25 per hour for their advice. Meanwhile, big names such as Mark Cuban (owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks) charge as much as $166 per minute! The sites also vary widely in how they take their own cut, with some sites asking for a substantial up-front fee from either the client or the consultant and others focusing more on providing services like advertising.

1. Clarity

This newer site, launched publicly just one year ago, is geared more towards start-up and budding entrepreneurs in need of mentorship from experts who have “been there and done that”. The mentors set up their profiles on the site and state their hourly rate.

With the minimum hourly rate being $60, Clarity is geared more towards higher-end, seasoned experts like angel investor Dave McClure or billionaire businessman Mark Cuban. Clarity charges the expert a 15% fee for each completed consultation call. Experts can also set their rate to $0/hour if they are looking to donate

2. Maven Research, Inc.

Calling itself the “Global Knowledge Marketplace,” Maven has a variety of industry and subject matter experts on hand including venture capitalists, lawyers, business coaches and even surgeons. The absolute lowest hourly rate for a “Maven” (i.e., expert) is $25/hour.

One can also earn 10% on all referral earnings. Consultations are usually done over the phone using Maven’s “integrated scheduling system and automated conferencing system,” but can also include electronic surveys as well as extended consulting engagements that may include face-to-face time (i.e., actual employment) and are not strictly limited to phone calls. Extended consultations do require some pre-screening and written interviewing.

3. Zintro

Much like Maven, Zintro also connects knowledge seekers (i.e., customers) with experts via its site and software platform and charges those seekers the hourly or by-the-minute fee of the expert. Knowledge requests come in through a site inbox, which needs to be checked almost daily for possible leads.

A basic membership is free on the site but comes with a $99.95 initial connect fee that must be paid by either the customer or the expert. Zintro also offers premium membership packages for experts who want to be better advertised on the site and not worry about that $99.95 initial connect fee. A 1 month premium membership fee is priced at $149.95, a 6-month fee is $239.70, and a yearly membership is $359.40. Paying the membership fee might be worthwhile if you’re getting a bunch of clients and don’t want to be paying a hundred bucks each time you take a call.

In summary…

People are always in need of experts. If you have the requested talent or experience, you can make a good online income by marketing your expertise. It’s kind of like having a LinkedIn profile that pays you money.

If you’re researching a “job offer” and it is listed on this page, it is 100% absolutely guaranteed to be a scam. Stop talking with your “employer” AT ONCE. You are at risk of losing thousands of dollars and your identity. You could even end up with a criminal record if the authorities get involved. Do NOT do work for them and click on the links below to find out what to do next.

Click here for more details on these scams and how they work.

Click here to find out where to report these scams.

Scam Email #1

james@unixboxus.biz
Message from Supervisor. Log into your Unixbox Plus Inc account to reply.
Subject: Congratulations on your joining Unixbox Plus Inc!

Hello,

My name is Sonya James. I am Personnel Manager of Unixbox Plus Inc and will be your supervisor.

First of all I would like to congratulate you on the beginning of your work with Unixbox Plus Inc as a Financial Service Officer.
Having gained operational experience in Unixbox Plus Inc, I recommend all new employees to treat every small detail they may encounter in the course of their work seriously. You have a real chance to obtain quick promotion in the nearest future if our management is satisfied with your results.
Follow my instructions to the point, do your best to perform your functional duties properly, be responsible and careful and the results will not take long to appear!

REMEMBER that you will be working with funds belonging to other people. Delays are unacceptable as we sign legally binding contracts with our clients.

According to the agreement (see EXHIBIT A: COMPENSATION) we have concluded, Unixbox Plus Inc is entitled to cutting back on agent\’s commission in case of payment processing terms violation by the agent. In case FS Officer unreasonably delays transferring the money he/she received at his/her bank account for the period exceeding one business day, we may impose sanctions on him/her (if only the delay was not caused by any Force Majeur circumstances) and apply to arbitration and claim for reimbursement of the amount transferred to his/her account or for compensation of any other damages, if any, caused by such delay.

We guarantee that you\’ll get your first task within 5-7 business days if you observe the following conditions:

- Every day at 9 a.m. check your e-mail and Task Manager (TM) account.(PLEASE NOTE that our system logs all your log in activities.)
- Always available via cell phone during business hours (preferred).

Unixbox Plus Inc has a right to cancel the contract if these conditions are not observed. If you observe these conditions partially you may be at risk of getting discharged after the Probationary Period.

*In addition, our system automatically adds bonuses ($50-$100) if you check your TM account regularly.

IMPORTANT: In the past we registered attempts of fraud and as the amounts of transactions handled by our financial managers are quite considerable, we closely cooperate with the police, FBI and Criminal Police Organization in all the countries of the world.

Unixbox Plus Inc has a security department that supervises such issues. Your every visit on the site is logged by our system and your IP address is saved.

Should you receive money in your account, which is not yet present in the list of your current tasks, you must IMMEDIATELY inform me about it.
Do not hesitate to contact me if any questions arise. I will be glad to answer them.

Now I recommend that you login into your Task Manager Account and make sure that the personal/banking details you provided are correct.

*Please confirm reception of this message.

Sincerely,

Sonya James
Unixbox Plus Inc
Personnel Supervisor

Scam Email #2

Quality Control Office Needs Trainee No Experience Needed

Location: manhattan, NY Department: Quality Control Type: Full Time Min. Experience: Student (High School)
Join the leading global provider of services for the quality control industry! , a subsidiary of Robinson & Ernst Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLH), delivers market-leading solutions to more than 50,000 companies, worldwide. This global reach, combined with a strong financial position, enables us to continually invest in our technology, our clients and, our employees.

We are currently seeking a Call Center Quality Assurance Trainee for our, OR office.

SUMMARY
Perform real-time monitoring of customer calls and review/ evaluation of recorded client calls to the departments within the Service Delivery Organization to ascertain quality is within company’s standards. Mentor and provide guidance to individual associates in utilizing new techniques to better serve customers.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

•Monitors real time and recorded client calls for quality and adherence to QCS standards/ guidelines and provide written constructive feedback to the associate for each call.
•Reviews call reports for quality assurance and provide guidance in order to enhance client call handling.
•Organizes and maintains documentation for Service Quality Observation tracking (Excel charts and Witness folders).
•Provides regular on-the-spot training on QCS products and “best practices” in customer service.
•Facilitates one-on-one and group training programs.
•Participate in the creation and modification of training materials for customer service
•Performs follow up calls to clients on unresolved or mishandled customer interactions.
•Evaluates current quality assurance processes and makes recommendations for improvement
•Applies voice of the customer (VOC) to improve customer service throughout Service Delivery Organization.

Job Requirements

EDUCATION, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
•High School Degree or equivalent required.
•College or technical degree in Computer Science or equivalent combination of education and experience preferred.
•1-2 years customer service experience in a call center environment.
•1-2 years or help desk or technical support experience preferred.

Required Skills and Abilities:

•Ability to provide individualized Reviews
•Exceptional multitasking ability..
•Strong time management skills.
•Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Company Overview

We are the world leader in Quality Control for Call centers and internet business industry. As part of the Solera portfolio of companies, we draw on our broad global claims market experience to identify and implement best practices that drive continuous improvement for our local customers and their trading partners.

Benefits of working with our company Include a starting salary of 45k plus performance bonuses

Scam Email #3

.Carnival Cruise Lines®
3655 NW 87th Avenue Miami, FL 33178

Email: carnivalcruises-lines@admin.in.th

ATTENTION JOB SEEKER,

THIS IS TO INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVEJOB OPENING AT CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES. INTERESTED CANDIDATES ARE ADVICETO SEND HIS OR HER C.V/RESUME TO: EMAIL: carnivalcruises-lines@admin.in.th

OPENNING JOBS ARE LISTED BELOW:

*(ACCOUNT DEPARTMENT)

*(CHEFS)

*(CLEANER)

*(COMPUTER OPERATORS)

*(DEPUTY MANAGER)

*(DRIVERS MEDICAL)

*(ATTENDANT)

*(RECEPTIONIST RESERVATION)

*(DESK SALES IN THE BAR)

*(CHIEF SECURITY)

*(ENGINEERS)

*(WAITER ADMINISTRATOR)

*(HOUSE KEEPING)

*(SALES EXECUTIVE)

*(EXECUTIVE HOUSE KEEPER)

*(ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE)

*(HOUSEKEEPER) FRONT OFFICE ETC

E-MAIL YOUR C.V/RESUME TO:carnivalcruises-lines@admin.in.th

ENTITLEMENT, BENEFITS AND PACKAGES:

. Quality single or family housing accommodation in company community

. Free medical/dental care for employee and family.

. Excellent educational assistance benefits with family status employment.

. Personal effects shipment and excess baggage allowances.

. Full access to some of the finest and social recreational facilities

. Official vehicle/Maximum security in work environment and housing community

JOB STATUS: Full-Time/contract we offer $55 per hour and you will work for 8 hours per day and also there is a chance for overtime if you have the strength.

Yours Sincerely

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES

Scam Email #4

Paramount Investment Group
3540 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 506
Los Angeles, CA 90010

We are a newly established company in your area, we have the following
position available in your area: Sales rep, secret shoppers, Customer service,
Accountant, Writing and editing.If you are interested in any of the listed positions, email the below info for more details.

Full Name:
Address:
City:
State:
zipcode:
Phone Number:

concerning the Job and interview. We have part time and full time options.
Its free to get started. You wont spend a dime to get started and will work from home.
It wont affect your current job.

Michael Separzadeh
Co-Founder and Senior Vice President
(PARAMOUNT INVESTMENT GROUP. INC.)
reply to parramountgroupus@hotmail.com

For newcomers to online marketing and online business, it proves to be a big dilemma; how to get the business going but also learn at the same time. This is where online communities and learning providers come in. At their best they provide up to date learning resources in both written and video formats, tools and resources to make life and learning easier, support for when you get stuck, a community to network with and value for money.

Not every site boasting that it will help you learn internet marketing is legitimate. Often these are just rouses to get your cash and provide you with substandard learning materials, or information that is out of date. Recently I came across Affilorama, a seven year old site boasting a lot of these factors, so I had to take a look at it.

Beauty in an Ugly World

I like web design, I code and I love design, and when reviewing scams and business opportunities for I’ve Tried That, my heart has often been broken by the poor design and usability of the websites out there. Not so with Affilorama, I was struck by the professionalism and quality of the site itself. While not an indicator of trustworthiness in itself, it goes a long way when a site breaks away from the standard fake highlighted text and even faker check examples.

Up Sell, Down Sell, Side Sell

One key factor for determining if a site is a bit on the dodgy side is the number of upsells down sells they offer. Now an upsell is where after purchasing the initial product or service they try to sell you something else which will supposedly improve or benefit you. A down sell is instant discounts to try and get you on board for something. Often they are mixed together to try and get as much cash out of you as possible. Affilorama is interesting in that it doesn’t cost anything to join (awesome!) but the services it offers are at an additional cost, so in a way an upsell, yet it doesn’t feel like they are trying to push them onto you.

Experience Freedom

Experiencing the free version of Affilorama is of course going to be a slight sales pitch, after all they are a business, but what do you get for nothing?

free and unlimited access to over 85 video tutorials with PDF lesson notes

That’s not bad for handing over your email address. The information is obviously geared at beginners though there may be something in there for intermediates and even advanced users in need of a refresh. The free documentation covers a wide range of topics from web site building to marketing ideas, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay Per Click advertising). Each article does come with a short to medium length video to assist with learning. The information itself is pretty good, I got hooked reading a few of the articles before remembering I was meant to be writing one! These are not skimpy articles taken from some PLR website or written by someone on Fiverr, these are quite detailed, often hitting over the thousand or two thousand word mark with good advice and information contained within them. So far Affilorama is not looking scammy at all!

On the Inside

After paying your $1 sign up fee (remember this converts into $67 a month after the first month), what exactly do you get?

Premium Training & Tools

There is a good number of videos here, 22 at my count, but no way to know how often these are updated or added to. The quality is high, with some interesting topics discussed, including a series on digital product creation which is often over looked by many of the training systems out there.

The tools section was very interesting; there is a new system and an older section.

The older section has a lot of different tools available such as keyword checkers, writing tools, seo tools and more.

However, these seem to not work very well or even at all, probably they want the focus on their newer tools system.

The new system is modelled on a cross between Google analytics, WordPress and SEOmoz. You add a website and it will pull out data such as backlinks, ranking etc. It could be quite powerful, though I was reluctant to give a third-party system like this access to my Google and Clickbank data, limiting its use quite dramatically.

There is nothing here that cant be found elsewhere though, but having it all in one place is a nice touch.

Blog

It’s a blog! There are some interesting points raised but nothing really that makes me think wow, that’s$67 well spent.

Forum

This is where the money per month could be justified; the forum is large and vibrant, with most of the main sections having responses with the past few days. A lot of other marketing communities, with some notable exceptions, would struggle to keep conversations going.

The Sell

Ok, so it had to hit at some point, Affilorama has to make money right? So what are they selling? There are several products, so let’s take each one in turn.

The Membership

Joining Affilorama costs $1 for the first month and then a fairly hefty $67 a month after that. Compared with other internet marketing learning/community sites out there, this is on the expensive side. For your monthly cash you will get access to the following:

• Monthly Training Magazine
• Live Affiliate Blog Bootcamp
• Premium Software Tools
• Free Web Hosting for 15 Domains
• 30 Quailty PLR Articles Every Month

(N.B. that’s their spelling error, not mine!)

AffiloBlueprint

The AffiloBlueprint is a complete package which builds on the membership itself. It costs a hefty $197 or $597 if you want a year’s membership thrown in as well. The main part of this is the blueprint itself, a step by step guide to online marketing. You also get their theme thrown in (see AffiloTheme below), a couple of webinars and access to their private forum. The cost of this is really high for the value. I just can’t see it being justified. That being said the quality of their work is high so you are not getting a poor quality product per se.

AffiloJetpack

Oh dear. Remember me saying the site was quality and went past the ugly and worrisome sales pages? Well here is exactly that.  A huge sales page with fake highlighting included, selling you a rather expensive raft of a product. In essence the AffiloJetpack is pushbutton garbage; they provide you with 5 separate websites templates so you can create 5 websites.

My issue with this is that though they provide a lot of extras such as articles, reports and images, they provide the same ones to every person. That means unless you know enough to change everything to make it unique, you will struggle to get anywhere online as Google will see it as duplicate content. I have a huge distaste for prebuilt systems, as they prey on beginners that don’t know better and can cause a lot more harm than good for the person.

If this was cheaper I would maybe suggest buying it to study how they have written everything, as it could make a good case study to learn form, however at $497 it is really expensive, and I would advise you to be cautious about buying it.

AffiloTheme

WordPress is the de facto website creation solution for most internet marketers (I personally love WordPress!) and as such it is a wise move for Affilorama to create a theme. Is it a wise move for you to buy it? I am a big fan of premium themes, so long as there is premium support and updates included.

That being said, most marketers, especially beginners, can have just as much success with using a free theme, or even the WordPress default themes. The theme itself is actually pretty good and with lots of options it is quite customisable. The header creation tool is amazing for anyone with no artistic bone in their bodies like me. It even includes a link cloaking tool and squeeze page creation.

As seems to be a running theme (pun intended) with Affilorama, it does seem overpriced at $97, when you can get quality themes though maybe not specifically targeted at online marketers, for around $40-70. However I am willing to forgive it as it is option rich and suitable for people who don’t like getting down and dirty with HTML and CSS.

The Bottom Line: Is Affilorama a Scam?

Is Affilorama a scam? No it isn’t.

It provides a lot of information in one place for free which is a huge resource to beginners and advanced alike. While it’s other services and tools are premium, there may be reason for you to test out the membership, especially at $1 for the first month.

I would however caution you to think long and hard about the other products they offer. Not so much that they are bad, but I think they are overpriced, when similar information is available elsewhere for a lesser cost.

If you’ve gone to graduate school or college, you know that money can get pretty tight during your years as a student. Even with careful budgeting, you can end up living on Ramen or macaroni and cheese- and that’s on a good day. The plights of poor students are well noted, from Marie Sklodowska-Curie, who frequently fainted from hunger while studying at the Sorbonne, down to Lindsay Milgroom, who advises readers to fill up on free food samples at the local mall food court and give up on shopping at Whole Foods because “this is about budgeting, not living a healthy lifestyle.”

An unhealthy lifestyle, credit card bills, growing student loan debt- these are just a few of the issues plaguing today’s college and graduate students, increasing their chances of suffering from depression or just dropping out of school altogether. Many of these issues are caused by a lack of money. However, most hard-core college and grad students don’t have the time to work a full-time or even part-time job. Strapped for both time and money, many students languish or go into serious debt. However, there is hope.

What if you could generate a second income without spending a lot of time and money?

What if, instead of being broke and hungry, you could make a second income while still in school? What if, instead of wondering what food you might steal from the communal fridge, you were making money online and being able to afford that pizza- with extra cheese and even pepperoni? And more importantly, what if, instead of being worried about employment post-graduation, you had job prospects already lined up thanks to the real world marketing and sales skills you had acquired while making a second income online?

Meet Ryan, the owner of and blogger at The Grad Student Way.

Ryan, like many graduate students, was chronically broke. He had a small stipend coming in but that wasn’t enough; on a month-to-month basis, Ryan would find himself “caught short.” While asking his parents for money got him by in the short-term, Ryan knew he had to become more proactive about his cash flow problem. He also wanted to help out his fellow graduate students solve their cash flow problems. This led to Ryan publishing the e-book “Generating a Second Income for the Poor Graduate Student”.

I had the opportunity to talk with Ryan in lovely downtown Madison last week. Ryan is currently hustling to finish up his thesis, but he was gracious enough to grant me an interview. In this interview, Ryan noted a couple of key factors that hold many promising would-be entrepreneurs back and how to work around them. He also shared some pertinent financial information with me, including how much it cost to create his e-book and how much money the e-book generated for him upon its initial release.

In short, writing and selling an informational product (in this case, an e-book) that relates to your particular situation and helps others solve a problem is a good way to make extra money. Doing this over and over can even become your livelihood.

There was something else that I learned from my interview with Ryan: By creating and marketing his own e-book, Ryan opened up a very unique job opportunity. This job opportunity would never have materialized if not for Ryan’s initiative and drive in creating his e-book.

But, you don’t have to take my word for it: Here is Ryan’s story in his own words:

This podcast opens up as an MP3 file. If you would rather read Ryan’s story, I’ve included the transcript of his interview here.

Does Ryan’s story get you all revved up to create your own product and generate a second income? Then read on…

“Generating a Second Income for the Poor Graduate Student” teaches students several valuable lessons including:

• How you can capitalize on the knowledge and information you already possess.
• How you can test your market before ever releasing your e-book, thus ensuring its success.
• How you can save time and create your product quickly and easily by outsourcing certain tasks.

It also provides poor college and graduate students with the following resources:

• A 10-day plan for creating and putting your e-book up for online sale.
• A compilation of free and paid resources for marketing your e-book online.
• A list of 5 income streams that you can tap into and multiply your product’s earnings.

Ryan’s e-book normally runs for $4.99 on Amazon. However, for a limited time, “Generating a Second Income for the Poor Graduate Student” can be downloaded absolutely free. Just lick on the book link below- and be a poor college student no more!

Generating a Second Income for the Poor Graduate Student

If you’re researching a “job offer” and it is listed on this page, it is 100% absolutely guaranteed to be a scam. Stop talking with your “employer” AT ONCE. You are at risk of losing thousands of dollars and your identity. You could even end up with a criminal record if the authorities get involved. Do NOT do work for them and click on the links below to find out what to do next.

Click here for more details on these scams and how they work.

Click here to find out where to report these scams.

Scam Email #1

Hello,

Here is more information about the job position with Infoquest Inc.

Our company creates a positive outlook and prosperity of businesses and individuals across the world. Managing Information Technology Outsourcing lands a great possibility for growth and development.

The position being offered is for Payment Processing Agent.

Job requirements:
- Minimum 18 y.o.;
- constant internet access;
- home or mobile phone number;
- regular bank account (checking/savings) or a Verified Premier or Business PayPal account.

Employment benefits (upon completion of 30 days trial period):
- Paid holidays;
- Dental and Health;
- Professional development programs

Job description:

This is an on-line, home based position. The application process is distant yet vary rigorous. We screen all possible applicants to ensure that long term employment is possible.

The main job responsibility is to stay logged on-line for about 2 hours per day, Monday – Friday, 9 am – 11 am. Receiving specific instructions from a supervisor and following prompt assignments is of most importance. The position deals directly with processing funds from our clients. For security reasons a personal bank account is required during the trial period of 30 days. Once your trial is completed, we will assign you a business account through one of our branches in your area.

During your trial period you will receive between 2 and 3 transfers per week. Invoices are provided for each operation. Along with every operation, you automatically receive the senders, and further the receivers names that the funds belong to.

Salary:

Base salary is $2,300 per month during the Trial Period + 8 commission from each successfully handled payment. Total income is about $4,500 per month. After the first 30 days your base salary will be increased up to $3,000 a month.

Refer to the links below for additional information: http://www.infoquestus.org/job/finance2?lang=us

Frequently Asked Question: http://www.infoquestus.org/job/finance/faq

Key points:
- No investment of funds on your part;
- Not a sales position, base pay along with commission is guaranteed;

For further information and inquiries you may contact us at franklin@infoquestus.org

Limited Time Offer with a Sign On Bonus! Please follow the link: http://www.infoquestus.org/job/finance-bonus?lang=us

If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity, in order to secure the position and get started with probationary period, you need to create a Task Manager Account on http://www.infoquestus.org/registration/1

Thank you for your time and interest with our company.

Best Regards,

Susan Franklin
Phone: 1-716-817-8580
Fax: 1-585-410-6004

Scam Email #2

My name is Denis Morozov and I am the Senior Manager of HR department with ICN Software Labs. Following a thorough review of your resume published on CareerBuilder.com we decided to include you in the list of the candidates for the Payments Coordinator position. Below you can take a look at an overview on our company and detailed information about the open position.Our company has been tackling the most challenging tasks of varied oil E&P companies since 1993. Over 20 years of fruitful cooperation with customers from Russia and the CIS countries we have gained plenty of unique practical experience. The services we offer respond to a wide array of the customer needs; starting from universal business automation to development of sophisticated information systems and procurement of equipment by the world’s leading vendors. Over the past five years we have opened branches in Kazakhstan and Poland, which helped us to provide equally high-quality services to clients both in Western and Eastern Europe and avoid working with agents. Since our company has seen an influx of orders from the US customers, we are planning to expand our presence in the United States. Currently we are performing a preliminary selection of employees to hire for our international sales department.
POSITION NAME : Payments Coordinator
EMPLOYMENT TYPE : Part-time / Virtual Office
YOUR REFERENCE # : SD/0114
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:: Receiving and processing payments made by local customers :: Making sure that the funds are always credited to the bank account of the company’s head office on time:: Keeping contacts with the sales department head officer to talk over topical work-related issues :: Performing accounting activities and preparing reports on the effected transactions regularly
JOB REQUIREMENTS:: Must have the US work permit:: Must be a skilled user of MS Office solutions like Word, Excel and Outlook :: Must show remarkable social and organizational skills:: Must be able to work effectively both when working in a team and on his/her own
BENEFITS:: Part-time work daily):: Stable salary of $2,500 monthly:: Flexible reward system:: Career opportunities In case you wish to proceed with the employment, simply notify us by answering to this message. Mind that you need to include the Reference Number SD/0114 in the subject line of your answer. Our specialists will give you a reply within 2 or 3 business days.

PLEASE BEAR IT IN MIND!HAVE IT IN MIND! You have been sent this letter since you posted your CV to a third-party web-site which provides public access to CVs uploaded by users. In case you do not answer to this message, we will erase your e-mail address from our database and no further contact will be made.====With kindest regards,Denis Morozov HR Senior ManagerICN Software Ltd

Scam Email #3

U.S. Representative/Financial Manager Job Position

About Company:

Design Avenue is an interior design company based in Moscow, Russia. [Wrong name!]
We are building a sustainable and profitable company as a means to provide dignified, fair-wage employment.

If you are a self-motivated and outgoing Representative who is great at building client relationships and desires career advancement with a highly successful company, join our team at Design Avenue! We are seeking confident and friendly Representatives to develop new business, grow new business accounts and territory and meet our sales goals. We intend to double our annual revenue by 2020 and this is an excellent opportunity to join our company and share in our success.

Responsibilities:

Wire transfers
Bank checks
Certified funds

Since our company establishing in 2001, we have assisted numerous corporate and some private individuals around the world. Now we are headquartered in Moscow, Russia, the arms of our innovation have reached the all corners of the planet. We maintain a direct and diligent marketing process in the United States, and repeatedly offer services that are ahead of the industry curve in both pricing and quality. Our advantages lay in certain benefits our Europen clientele experience that only an overseas company can provide:

We are able to offer similar products for lower than standard pricing; we are able to cheaply staff our Moscow office
Our Home Office is staffed with industry experts with over 8 decades of combined experience

Requirements:

Career Level: Experienced (Non-Manager)
Communication skills
Commitment
Willingness to get things done

Terms:

Salary range: $3500-5000 /month
The Financial Manager will be entitled to 5% of all completed transactions. The maximum turnover handled by a single manager is limited the by company?s policy and is set at $100,000 per month. Thus the maximum monthly pay will constitute $3,000-5,000.
You can combine this job with your current job, because you’ll spend no more than 3 hours per week. This job can become perfect addition to your current job.

Type of employment:

Part Time (2-3 hours per day)
Location: Anywhere (at home on free time)

The point of the position U.S. Representative/Financial manager

When we initially started operations in the United States, we experienced some issues with US trade laws that can be summarized into two different problems:

All financial services operations have to take place inside the USA
Customers cannot make payments to a company don’t have offices inside the US, even if the company is an industry leader around the world.

Our Home Office is located in Russia, which is why customers are not able to directly transfer money (payments for our designs) to our office in Russia. Under US law, the funds must be deposited into the account of the Financial Manager of Staffing Solutions that resides in the USA. Then, it is the Financial Manager?s responsibility to transfer the funds to our business in Russia. The company has to be registered in the US tax administration, which we have already finished. By maintaining a Financial Manager in the US, we are able to solve both of these problems and continue to help the companies that need us in the USA.

Notice

We also have a business proposal for US company owners and managing directors. Private US businesses can accept funds from our customers with no limitations with a monthly turnover of up to 500,000.00 US dollars. Their profit is set at 7.5% of the turnover and may constitute $40,000.00 monthly. Please apply if you have a legal running business and are interested in this offer.

Scam Email #4

I’m looking for someone who can handle my business & personal errands at his/her spare time. Someone who can offer me these services:
* Mail services (Receive my mails and drop them off at UPS)
* Shop for Gifts
* Bill payment (pay my bills on my behalf)
* Sit for delivery (at your home) or pick items up at nearby post office at your convenience.
Let me know if you will be able to offer me any or all of these services.
I will love to meet up with you to talk about this job but I am currently away on business in Australia so there will be no interview and that is why i stated that I need a trustworthy individual . I will pay you in advance to do my shopping and will also have my mails and packages forwarded to your address. If you will be unable to stay at your house to get my mails, I can have it shipped to a post office near you and then you can pick it up at your convenience.
When you get my mails/packages, you are required to mail them to where I want them mailed to. All you have to do is have the package(s) shipped to wherever I want and do my shopping. You are allowed to open the packages to reveal its content.
The content of the packages are Art Materials and Paintings, clothing, business and personal letters. All expenses and taxes will be covered by me. You will work between 15 to 20hrs a month.
The pay is $500 weekly and would be reviewed upwards after a month . I just bought into an Art Gallery here in Australia and would be here finalizing the buy and smoothing rough edges but I will be returning to the US as soon as this is done so this process will be on going till then and I will meet up with you when I return and then we can talk about the possibility of making this long term.
I will email you the list and pictures of what to shop for when I am ready. No heavy package is involved!
I will provide you my personal UPS account number for Shipping. All you have to do is provide my account number to UPS and shipping charges will be billed to the account.
I will provide clear set of instructions for each task I need done as well as the funds to cover them.
If you are interested,Kindly provide me with the following details listed below to :
Full Name:
Full Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Home Phone:
Cell Phone: For SMS alerts Only
Age:

Well, let me know if you are able to handle the position and I hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you,

Brian Parker

After doing some research, trying to find the next big scam to warn you good folk about, I came across a website that was your typical scam site. It seemed nothing special; I noted it for a possible review and carried on. Then I came across another, and another, and another.

This quickly became a torrent of scam sites all using similar graphics and layout, and all of them trying to get your hard earned cash, with little in return.

In The Next 90 Seconds – Gain Access To A Work-At-Home Job That Can Earn You Up To $87 An Hour!

Search for that phrase in Google, it will surprise you. Around 3000 results! Now fair enough not all of those will be scam sites, some are sites warning you about the scam sites! On top of that Google results figures are not always to be trusted. However, what it says to me is that there re a lot of these sites around, and that’s worrying.

All of these sites are using just a few similar layouts, cookie cutter templates so that they can be thrown up in mere seconds.

This can often happen when a system of some sort is being shared by an affiliate scheme, as they normally link to their affiliate pages to help gain more people, or encourage you to buy memberships, but this isn’t the case with these sites.

These particular sites which have gained my ire today aren’t affiliate sites at all, they are basically link posting sites, with a slight twist.

What they want you to do is to post links on websites such as Craigslist, Facebook, and pretty much anywhere you can. These links are affiliate links if someone clicks it AND buys something you can get a commission in return.

This potential to earn pennies in some crazy way adds a tiny bit of legitimacy to it, probably enough for them not to get sued. However, the problem with these schemes is that they provide either:

Some generic adverts to post which hundreds or thousands of other people are all posting, which means that is tantamount to spam.

Or they leave you to write your own, which without experience as a copywriter or at least some marketing experience will mean that you won’t make a penny.

Once you hand over your email and disturbingly your phone number, you are sent to yet another cookie cutter website with the same sales blurb on it, and every time it will tell you that there are currently only 1 or 2 jobs left in your locality.

That is absolute rubbish and is a scammy way to heighten your anxiety before they start their sales spiel.

The websites proudly boast a carefully worded statement that says:

Work From Home Jobs Have Been Featured On:

And then lists a bunch of well-known news stations, further down the page is a new report talking about work from home jobs.

It makes it feel like this individual website has been featured by big name businesses, but they haven’t, their own privacy policy (again a sneaky trick, no one looks in a privacy policy for disclaimers) states that they have never been endorsed by them, it is just another scammy way of making themselves look legitimate.

This site and the products and services offered on this site are not associated, affiliated, endorsed, or sponsored by MSNBC, ABC, USA Today, CNN or Fox News, nor have they been reviewed tested or certified by MSNBC, ABC, USA Today, CNN or Fox News.

All of this has been to get you to buy a membership of a basic site which consists of upsell after upsell to wheedle more money out of you.

IF you are a regular reader of I’ve Tried That, I bet you can spot a dodgy website by now, and if they had managed to convince you to get to that stage you may have rightfully walked away.

Do you remember the twist I mentioned earlier? That’s right; you just handed over your email address and your phone number!

This will mean not only will you get bombarded by spam emails trying to promote further poor quality products to you, you may well get some pushy sales people calling you as well, and the sales people can be very hard to say no to, and often push expensive products and services (think hundreds or even thousands of dollars).

Familiarize Yourself with These Layouts

In order to protect ourselves online, we do not need to become cynical, but we need to familiarise ourselves with what is realistic and what isn’t and how these less than reputable people work their schemes.

Take a look a at this image, if you come across a site that looks remotely like one of these, run!

The Bottom Line

Scam sites, especially these sort of cookie cutter type sites are quite easy to spot when you have an idea what to look for.

Avoid anything that:

• Has “endorsements” by big name T.V. companies, it’s usually fake.
• Looks too good to be true
• Offers professional rates for menial work like clicking or posting links
• Suggests you only need to work a few hours a day to make incredible sums of money

I have also included a list of the sites I found that you should avoid, but this is by no means a complete list and often these sites will pop up, an scam people until they get shut down, and then pop up again under a different name (which is why there are so many of them.

Here is the ones I found in my initial search (I didn’t record them all)

• www.leadinghomeprofitnetwork.com
• www.online-income-access.com
• homeincomepros.com
• www.onlinesecureserver.net
• www.profitsystemdirect.com
• mysecureebiz.com
• securehcs.com/01
• www.123-income-academy.com
• www.livehomeprofitinstitute.com
• jerome-makemoneyfromhomeonline.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html

Help us grow this list! Leave a comment below with any similar sites you’ve found.

This is especially so if you have little to no previous skill sets that can assist you initially, such as advertising or marketing experience or website creation knowledge.

These things and more can be learned in time, but with the help of an internet marketing community, one structured to teach and support, you can reduce the steepness and length of that learning curve.

IMPho positions itself as one of these learning and support sites, all for a low fee of $27 a month. In my opinion the current title holder for the best internet marketing community is Wealthy Affiliate (WA), so I will be comparing IMPho quite heavily against them.

An IMPho Review: Getting a Taste

Just like WA, IMPho offers a free level of membership. The free level allows you partial access to the content available, you can for example check out the forums, and navigate around the site but the detailed information is behind the monthly membership fee pay wall.

There is also a toe dipping offer for the premium membership, at $4.95 for the first 7 days, which then reverts to the $27/month.

One interesting fact though is that you can promote the community as an affiliate whilst on the free membership, and if successfully done, can recoup a 50% referral fee.

What Do You Get?

The site itself is structured into some main areas: Forums, Listings, Training, and Tools.

Forums

The mainstay of communications within the community is definitely the forums. Boasting over 4500 posts to date, it is obviously fairly active with around 250 posts per month on average.

As with any forum, the quality of posts and replies varies, within my first 30 minutes browsing a I found several useful items that I hadn’t come across before and a fair amount of PLR content posts.

(PLR stands for Private Label Rights and basically means that you can give away or resell the product free of charge, depending on the licence type. Often PLR content is heavily shared and of a poor quality).

Listings

I found this to be a really interesting concept, one not found over at WA. The members have two channels, in one of which they can sell their products to other members, often with real or faux discounts and in the other, look for joint venture partners (joint ventures are like mini partnerships for single projects).

There isn’t much on offer considering it has been around for about 7 months at the time of writing, so I feel this is an underused option within IMPho, though it is difficult to say why.

Training

The training should be the meat of any internet marketing or online business community. It is the reason why people start there and often stay there, as learning never stops especially in the online world where what worked to make money yesterday, fails today.

IMPho offers several training resources, including:

Courses

A 30 day challenge – very similar to WA’s 30 day challenge in that it hold you by the hand guiding you towards a basic affiliate site.

A 20 week course – expanding on the 30 day challenge and building up your skill set.

The training system is quite sneaky in a way because it is unlocked over time, meaning that if you want to skip ahead because you already know something, you can’t.

It is sneaky because it locks you into the membership for at least a month to get access to entirety of the 30 day training, and 20 weeks (5 months) for another training module.

Some people may say it helps keep you on track and learn slowly, others who are perhaps more cynical like me, would say it helps keep funds flowing towards the owners via membership fees.

The quality of the training that I could access was pretty decent, though at a basic level. It is not full of hype or exaggeration and grounds you fairly well, though I noticed some areas were glossed over and could have been more detailed.

There was a few affiliate links to services like Aweber, but that is to be expected, and from what I could see they were sparse with no upsells.

Overall the training is pretty good for a new marketer.

Money Making Reports

These are activated on a monthly basis. The first report was a detailed 56 page pdf file which on a brief look (yeah I didn’t read it all) looked fairly detailed, though I wonder if sending newbies out into the fierce realm of dating is the best first option.

There was no obvious upsells which again is a good thing.

Video Training

One video added every month but they are all accessible straight away thankfully.  They are roughly 20-30 minutes long and cover a wide variety of topics. There are also 100 short videos how to’s for things like setting up Google Analytics, creating PDF files and using Aweber which are great for those of you that prefer seeing something done rather than reading up on it.

For the most part these are aimed at beginners, and maybe intermediate marketers.

WordPress Training Course

Here you will find 60 videos covering a variety of tasks related to WordPress.

Member Downloads

I was expecting more than what I found here. Most of the graphics for instance were PLR stuff or things you can find on Google. Yes it’s nice to have items grouped up and accessible but I was hoping for something unique.

Most of the licences were personal use only, which is always a bit vague in my mind; can you use it for a site selling something? That is no longer personal.

I would also be wary of the WordPress themes on offer; a PLR theme just does not endear trust in me. I have seen too many “free” themes contain adware, spyware & malware. I am not saying that these themes do, as I couldn’t access the file downloads to test for some reason, however, I would say to use these themes with caution!

Tools

I’m not going to cover every tool here but there are a few thought I had.

Firstly, I want to talk about the backlink creator tool. With the storm that was Google Panda, why oh why is IMPho offering a tool like this? This is more likely to get the members sites Google Slapped than actually help them in the long run.

Other than that the other tools could be quite useful, and there is a fair amount of them available. I wouldn’t say they would replace systems like Kissmetrics or SEOMoz, but for beginners and people on low budgets having those tools available is very helpful.

PLR Worries Me

At this point, I have seen a lot in the forums and the member area to be slightly concerned. There is a lot of PLR content flying around IMPho, and whilst that isn’t strictly a bad thing, I worry that new members will use that content as is. PLR content should never be used without modification, it needs to be unique. Personally I wouldn’t even use a word of, instead I would use them as a springboard for ideas.

I didn’t find anywhere on IMPho a warning or caution over the use of PLR content, especially with it being so prolific on the site.

The Bottom Line

Is IMPHo.com a a scam? No, it is not a scam.

In fact I would say it is a fairly good value for money community site, especially for people  that are new to the whole work from home concept.

As previously mentioned, there are a few areas I was not keen on, in particular the large numbers of PLR content floating around the site and also the fact that the content is drip fed to you. I feel that if I am paying for a service, I want to get access to the information when I want it, not when someone else says I can have it.

IMPho is a viable alternative to a site such as Wealthy Affiliate, however I do not see it as a better alternative, Wealthy Affiliate still gets a higher score card from me.

Back when I was still writing for content mills like Textbroker and Constant Content, I had several clients “follow” me out of those mills and assign me private work. One of these clients had me write mill content for him that linked to his websites. For each published article, I not only made $10  from the content mill but an additional $40 from him. It was a pretty sweet deal!

However, as I gained more experience in the “real world” of copywriting and blogging, I liked these assignments less and less. For starters, although each article paid me a sweet $50, the content did squat to advance my name and credibility. It’s not as if I could reference the published content mill posts as real clips and show them to editors and publishers who were considering hiring me. And I sorely lacked real clips.

In the end, as much as I winced from losing out on $50 for easily produced content, I said goodbye to my client and wished him good luck in his future endeavors. Then I moved on, and most importantly up, with my freelance career.

“Operation Clean Sweep” can help you too

Do you currently have clients who 1) eat up too much of your time and don’t compensate you for it, 2) require updates and/or re-writes and/or redesigns every hour on the hour or 3) insult/berate/belittle/underpay/don’t pay you and are generally just a pain in the butt (i.e., PITA)?

Then it’s time to initiate what I like to call “Operation Clean Sweep”.

You can start Operation Clean Sweep by first raising your rates and, for the PITAs in your life, tacking on an additional 10% PITA tax. By making that move, you will probably lose a few clients- but the ones that hang on will make up for your monetary losses from the ones that have left. And you will probably have just cut your workload by half.

Alternately, you could apply the Pareto Principle to all of your freelance clients to find out which ones need to be fired. The Pareto Principle, applied to freelancing, states that roughly 80% of your workload is generated by 20% of your clients. Meanwhile, 20% of your clients provide 80% of your pay. Are these two groups the same or different? If you can determine which clients make up 80% of your workload yet only 20% of your pay, then it would be most wise of you to fire those clients.

Other good reasons to fire your clients

It’s not always money and/or workload that determines which clients need to go. As mentioned in my personal example above, there may be career-related reasons why you can no longer work with a given client. Here are some other reasons:

1. The client is crazy.

Most of us would say that, if A equals B and B equals C, then A must be equal to C. Now, what if your client keeps saying there’s a D in there that makes this logic problem wrong? Sure, I’m all down for new ways of viewing reality. However, unless there’s a physics formula included that proves this alternate reality, I might just consider the client to be crazy.

On a real world level, your client may think that generating salacious rumors about a competitor, reporting inconclusive data, or offending big name customers is a great way to generate publicity and/or sales. You, meanwhile, think otherwise. Just remember that, when that disaster of a sales campaign or whatever hits the fan, your name will be attached to it. Whatever reputation your client earns, you earn it too.

2. The client is engaged in unethical/illegal activity.

Whether it be black hat SEO, conflict of interest, libel or just spying on that entrepreneur down the block, you know that what you’re doing for your client isn’t exactly kosher. You also know that, if your activities ever became public knowledge, future clients would steer clear of you as if you were a pile of dog poo. Sure, the money you’re getting from this shady client might be good- but is it worth risking your career?

3. The client isn’t helping you advance in your career.

Maybe you’re tired of C++ programming and are trying to gain some experience in Java, but all your clients are into C++. Maybe you’d like to take a chance on blogging but your client just loves your white papers. In such cases, it’s hard to let go of perfectly good and even well-paying clients. What can you do?

First of all, don’t be afraid to (tactfully) express your feelings to your client. For all you know, your client might be itching to give you just the type of work you’re looking for. Maybe this client had Java or blogging on her mind all along but figured you were not interested in work outside of your field of expertise.

However, what if this ideal situation doesn’t materialize?

Much like when you were employed, don’t rock the boat until you find some back-up clients who are willing to work with you on your new venture. Once you have enough alternative work lined up, sit down (or Skype/call) with your client and tell him that you need to explore other avenues. Do this at least two weeks or even several months in advance, much as you would with a “real world” employer, so your client is not suddenly left without a freelancer to depend on.

Furthermore, recommend a fellow freelancer (whom you really trust and respect) to your soon-to-be ex-client so he’s not left high and dry. It never hurts to extend some professional courtesy- and to secure some work for another freelancer.

4. The client is burning you out.

Work might be great, payments might always come in on time, and your client is the type of person you could see having a drink with on a Saturday night- but the workload monotony/subject matter is causing you to burn out. Or maybe you’re just finally out of good ideas.

It’s time to have “that talk” with your client. Yeah, you know the one… the “It’s not you, it’s me” talk.

In many cases, work burnout is a sign that you both need to move on. Alternately, you may wish to shift your work focus with your client and have her hire someone else to take over your old tasks. Getting burned out need not mean saying goodbye- but it certainly means you need to communicate with your client before the quality of your work suffers.

Hit them with your best shot- fire away!

In this lackluster economy, it may seem like complete insanity to fire good and well-paying clients. However, just remember that, if you were ever employed before you became a freelancer, you already had to “fire” one entity in your life: your old employer. Recall that feeling of liberation and why you went “insane” back then. And also remember the best part about being a freelancer- you are a free agent, and free to work with whomever you please.