A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about the Google Money Tree Scam. The concept is very simple. You're promised to make easy money with Google by just slapping some links across the web. But the truth is you end up losing a lot of money and faith in Google which incidentally is not associated with any of these companies. It should be noted that the Google Money Tree site isn't the sole culprit here. You can pretty much fill in the blank with the name or address of any site claiming to make huge easy profits with Google and the results are pretty much the same as what I described in the Google Money Tree scam. It's really simple to avoid, if you read the copy and it keeps mentioning Google profits this and Google make money that, it's the same crap all dolled up with a different name or website.
Old Dog, New Trick.
In any event, I wanted to refresh your memory about this because these shady con artist have switched it up. They're just like dirty roaches, they adapt and multiply. Although blogs like this have aired out their dirty laundry about their Google scheme, they've went ahead and remixed it. And no I'm not talking about a P. Diddy remix either. In the past you were brought to a regular landing page that would proceed to lie to you about how easy it is to make money with Google by posting links. All that was needed was for you to cough up $1.97 or insert whatever fee here for shipping & handling. But now that you've wised up, they're trying to put your skepticism at ease by using a very legitimate looking newspaper / news website format. After all most of us believe anything that a newspaper or news program tells us.
The Dirty News Site Secrets Revealed:
At first glance you really think you're on a real newspaper website but after further examination there are things that just "ain't quite right". They are as follows:
1. Why have you never heard of any of these news papers in your own town or city.
2. Is this the only news story that is going on in your city at the moment? Why are there no other stories being reported?
3. Why the hell is a credible newspaper or news site buying sponsored ads on Google and Yahoo to promote a news story about work at home? After all they're a news site, they get tons of people visiting them on their own merit without having to pay for PPC ads.
I don't know about you but when I considered all this stuff, I had an Aresino Hall moment because all these points were things that made me go "Hmmmm?".
Don't believe the hype!
Flavor Flav may not be the best looking man in the world but his 80's song "Don't believe the hype" is sound advice when it comes to these fake news site. At the end of the day, this is just another shady marketing trick to dupe you into a sense of security because we've been all trained to trust news resources. This way you don't really second guess what the fake news site is claiming about yet another misrepresented Google make money scheme.
So my advice is to ignore them.
Fake Newspaer sites to avoid:
No doubt there are still going to be a few of you that are going to ask: "But Eddy is [Insert Name of Fake News Site Here] a scam?" If it exhibits the characteristics I listed above, then chances are it is. You could also easily find this out by using our good old scam research video.
Please keep in mind that these guys are buying ads within Google and Yahoo. Most of the legitimate sites that you visit display ads by Google. (That's how we can eat without charging you money.) So if you see any of these ads on the trusted work at home resources you visit, It's NOT an endorsement. In fact MOST ads that appear on any sites aren't personally endorsed by the owners. This also applies to the shady infomercials you see on your local TV networks. People seem to understand this concept for TV but fail to see the same correlation on websites. So keep this in mind so you don't fall for the "okie dok". You've been provided with the information, now be sure to use your common sense and use it.
With that said, I've gone a head and listed a few sites to avoid below. I'm sure a few more will pop up. If so I'll try to update the list or feel free to post the ones you find in the comment section below this article.
- Atlanta-Tribune.com
- Boston-Tribune.com
- Business.Online-Gazette.com
- Chicago-Extra.com
- ChicagoGazetteNews.com
- DallasDispatchNews.com
- Detroit-Tribune-News.com
- eDaily-News.com
- eFinancialTimes.com
- Fresh-Off-The-Press.com
- Internet-News-Daily.com
- Jobs-Tribune.com
- Los-Angeles-Daily.com
- Los-Angeles-Weekly.com
- LosAngeles-Tribune.com
- LosAngeles-Tribune-News.com
- LosAngelesDispatch.com
- MiamiSunSentinelNews.com
- NationalEmploymentNews.com
- Napervilletimes.com
- Net-News-Daily.com
- NewYorkFinanceNews.com
- Orlando-Tribune.com
- Ottawa-Times.com
- RecessionMoneySystem.com
- Sandiego-Tribune-News.com
- SeattleChronicleNews.com
- SeattleGazetteNews.com
- Seattle-Tribune.com
- SeattlePostDaily.com
- SydneyNewsGazette.com
- The-Daily-Herald.com
- TheBostonTribuneToday.com
- TheBostonWeekly.com
- TheDallasChronicle.com
- TheMiamiGazetteNews.com
- TheNewYorkChronicle.com
- TheNewYorkTimesOnline.net
- TheOrlandoTimes.com
- TheSanFranciscoTribune.com
- TribuneNetwork.com
- TucsonGazetteNews.com
- United-States-Today.com
- US-News-Report.com
- US-Tribune.com
- USAJobJournal.com
- Washington-Press.com
- Web-News-Daily.com
Are you a victim of a Fake News site? What can I do?
1. Get over any embarrassment or negative feelings you may have. I'm a so called expert and I've fallen for a few scams. Unfortunately It comes with the turf in this industry. Use it as a learning experience & not as a reason to become jaded because ultimately that doesn't help you find work at home jobs faster. When I got scammed a few times it lead me to create my sites so I could help the rest of you. The point is take lemons and make lemonade with it. Don't let the scammers dissuade you from your dreams of working at home.
2. Next call your credit card company and dispute the charges. In fact make sure they note in their records how this merchant used false advertising to dupe you into the sale and buried whatever disclosure they had.
3. Monitor your credit accounts! It's not uncommon to hear how these shady punks will also enroll you in multiple other programs that will be taking money away from you every month. After all if they're capable of misrepresenting themselves as a credible news site what else are they capable of doing with your personal information. Why take the risk? I've experienced unexplained charges that occurred because I signed up for one thing wasn't aware that they also signed me up for some other crap. But ever since then I enrolled in one of those credit monitoring/identity theft services of all 3 bureaus. I never thought that stuff was necessary but now more than ever I'm happy to have it because it gives me peace of mind. It was a good option for me and if it something you're interested in, I would suggest checking out a site like MyFico.com if you're not already monitoring your credit.
I Didn't Get Scammed, But What Can I Do To Help?
Consider yourself lucky but do your part by snitching like there was no tomorrow! The problem with scams is that people get embarrassed if they fall for them. And if people don't fall for them they're content in knowing how to avoid them and go about their own lives. This doesn't help anyone. Lack of action on our part is why scams continue to be so pervasive. So why not do a little something by sharing this article and information with others?
We make this extremely easy with the buttons below each post. You can share this via email, retweeting, digging, etc, etc. But for God's sake do something. Help your fellow man out by making it hard for these scam artist to operate. It's because of folks who have done so that the con artists were forced to come up with a new ploy to get people. It's obvious the other techniques are being exposed.
So please do your part and get the word out today. If you have any experiences with these type of scams and want to share some information please post your comments below.
Are there any legit ways to work at home or for Google?
Yes there is. As always if you want legit work at home options visit our work at home companies or job leads page. Our work at home guide is also a great free resource that will help you find even more work at home jobs, avoid scams and discover my other personal recommendations to working at home right away.
If you do actually want to learn how to make money with Google legitimately, then I would highly recommend joining Wealthy Affiliate as I did over a year ago. They're very upfront about everything and it's not sugar coated. You should definitely avoid this site if you're looking to make instant cash on Google. That's not a reality. Anyone that tells you this is lying to you. What you'll find on Wealthy Affiliate is real expectations and all the information and tools needed to make money with Google. If you're willing to work hard, invest in your self and have the proper mindset you can become successful at making money with Google. How do I know this? Because I've been successfully making money online for years. I've also been a member of Wealthy Affiliate for over a year and have experienced personal success with it. So I feel confident personally recommending their company if you're serious about making money with Google via affiliate marketing.
At the end of the day you have a lot of legitimate work at home options out there. It's just a matter doing your research and choosing the best options for you. Either we've provided you with the resources to do this, so good luck.
It’s never advisable to go to any site and give your credit card information without researching said company. We make this very easy with our scam video listed here:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/scams
And keep in mind there are tons of ways to make money from home without spending a dime: http://www.workathomenoscams.com/recommendations
So I wouldn’t invest in anything until you explore the free options. Good luck.
Is it advisable to go in to such site n swipe our credit crad to make money from home  ?
I have seen a couple of these sites around a few times, but I already knew that they was up to no good. Good thing I just moved on. Thanks for this article.
It’s good you trusted your instincts. Continue to do that with this industry and you’ll avoid a lot of nonsense. You’re welcome! Thanks for chiming in.
I feel like i’m being scammed while being warned about another scam
Then stop being on this site and problem resolved for you.
ok, i never signed up for nothin or anythin, but this News Daily 7 thing keeps poppin up and even plays the audio when there’s no windows open…. how can i stop/remove this?????
Sounds like you have some type of malware or spyware on your computer. Trying running a virus or spyware scan or try clearing your cookies. But nothing should constantly just keep playing with no windows open. That’s just weird.
Hi Eddy, its Toi from WAHM!
It’s so funny – I found your site while researching an advertiser I suspected to be a scam. Your site came up in the top results of a Google search I did for their URL.
These type of scams are really prevalent these days, and people contact me all the time to advertise them on WAHM. The comprehensive list you have on here is really helpful for me, so I can quickly nail these guys when they come across my radar. They change all the time, so I don’t always know what I’m dealing with, sometimes too late.
Hey Toi,
How ironic to see you here. lol Feel free to shoot me an email since we’re probably being targeted by the same advertisers.
Really gald to know about Google Profits. My friend’s niece has it on her Facebook wall, and doesn’t know how it got there! She’s never done Google Profits. There’s another scam I heard about: postings to your wall and you don’t know where they came from!
I almost fell for this! http://www.seattlechroniclenews.com looked pretty legit, until I visited the site again and they changed the picture of the woman the article is about, “Mary Johnson”, she went from a white woman to a Hispanic woman!
Then I Googled the website with only 1 result, and the main page is about that Google cash thing. Not to mention the comments at the bottom, it says “Comments Closed Due To Spam (back soon)” how convenient. So they make you read the fake comments thinking it’s real people and that it actually worked, and you are unable to post any of your own.
I feel pretty dumb right now.
Just me,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Don’t ever feel dumb in situations like this. Scammers are very good at making things sound legitimate. But as long as you do your research and go with your gut you can avoid a lot of this crap. Hopefully you’ve visited my scam page: http://www.workathomenoscams.com/scams
There is a wealth of information there in the video, articles and comments. I’m confident if you read through all that material, you’re very unlikely to fall for any of this stuff. Take care and thanks for chiming in.
Thanks–I will avoid this site. Bill Dean
My problem with affiliate marketing is selling what I don’t know about, I don’t like doing that I feel like I am lying to others. I am trying to Sell other people’s product in an area I know, but some of them are misslead people in the beginning. So I get fustrated and try something else then I jsut get all unorganized and bet flying around all over the place.
Hi Debra,
One, you should focus on a passion you have. Most affiliates make the mistake of just trying to push whatever makes them the most money even if they know nothing about the subject matter. That’s like me trying to convince someone to allow me to perform brain surgery on them and the extent of my experience with medicine is using band aids to stop paper cuts. People will be able to tell from a mile away I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. So why would they take action on any of my medical advice?
Affiliate marketing isn’t about lying to people if you were trained by the right people. Sounds like you may have bought or read courses from people that don’t care about providing value but are more concerned about a quick buck. If you read this blog there are number of articles where I’m referring people to companies that are legitimate, have made me money and can make them money. I don’t lie to people about these companies. I tell them both the good and negative about a given company and then let them decide if it’s something they want to sign up for. If they do, that’s great we both make money. If not that’s fine too because maybe I brought to light something that they may have not liked about the opportunity. But they’ll appreciate my honesty and possibly be more inclined to try another company I introduce to them. You can see an example of this in my recent article:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/2009/07/21/is-clixsense-com-a-scam/
That’s how affiliate marketing should work when you were trained properly. You don’t need to lie and use tricks. You just need to provide people with solutions that they asked for & not push things they have no interest in. People that come here to this site are looking for legit work at home. So they don’t mind that I’m getting paid to refer them to legit opportunities. Why? Because they’re getting what they came here for which was honest information and leads on ways to make money at home. So that’s what you should be doing when you’re involved in affiliate marketing. Getting in front of people to introduce them to affiliate products, service or information your promoting is really the difficult part but again training is key in that respect. Convincing people to take action isn’t as hard when you just apply good old common sense and be honest. Treat people how you would want to be treated in a given situation and trust me they will respond.
Next, you should also actually believe in the stuff you’re promoting. I make it habit not to attach my personal recommendations to any company unless I’ve tried it myself and made money. Or I’ve done my research and determined the company is legitimate. Too often affiliates, just push anything what makes them the most amount of money while not giving any thought to the value or harm the product may be doing to their users. When you do that, people won’t trust you again. People continue to sign up for programs I recommend because I’ve proven to them time and time again, I have their best interest at heart and chances are they will make money or avoid scams following my advice. So I have a stream of loyal followers that are open to my suggestions. That will bring me long term money. Affiliates that do it the opposite way may make fast money but long term they’ll constantly need to change their tricks and promotion to stay sustainable and find new “suckers” to mislead. That’s not a way to build a business. It’s a hustle and we all knows that hustles don’t last.
So there is a proper way of going about this. You just need to be taught by the right people. If you’ve been on my blog long enough you already know that I think Wealthy Affiliate are the right people to lead you in the right direction:
http://www.gowealthyaffiliate.com
So I hope this helps. Affiliate marketing is a great career if you do it right. It’s not easy but when you learn the skills it becomes a lot easier than going it alone. Focus is definitely required and an unwavering discipline to succeed in the face of adversity. If you don’t have those things, you will fail even with the best of training. So definitely give that a thought. This isn’t for everyone.
Hi Eddy,
I have been online for a few years now and seen many websites come and go. Many of them try to sell HYPE and hype really sells well but the bottom line, when a program seems too good to be true, it probably is.
One of the best ways to make money online and FAST is to sell affiliate programs meaning selling other people’s products. This is the best way and the only way I know of making money online.
Tal
No argument here Tal. You’re preaching to the choir. It’s probably why I’ve written so many articles about the subject and constantly encouraging people to give affiliate marketing a try if it’s a right fit for them. See the following articles:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/aff
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/2009/05/31/top-10-reasons-to-avoid-affiliate-marketing
@Shelby keith:
Strong Future International http://www.sfimg.com
@Tammy:
No problem. Glad to help.
@Eddy Salomon:
Thanks Eddy……..I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
And thank you for answering my message.
@Debra Moore:
what does SFI stand for and could you give me the website so i can check it out. thanks
I have been scammed so many times by google and that was just from the initial sign-up and shipping fees. They have about ten sites that send out their lies and even though I never received an email or the initial disc, I was still billed every month for months at the cost of $11.95 each. I argued and fought with my bank and even sent to them a check card dispute form but I still got nowheres. I don’t know if it is over yet. So far this month I haven’t been billed by them.
Hi Sherry,
Thanks for sharing with us. What was the actual website that had scammed you?
By the way please understand you’re not getting scammed by Google. You’re being victimized by company’s misrepresenting legitimate ways you can make money with Google. You might want to read the article above again or our Google Money Tree article: http://www.workathomenoscams.com/2009/04/07/is-google-money-tree-a-scam/ so you understand how these Google work at home scams work. Google has no association with any of these companies.
In any event, I’m very surprised that your bank didn’t take your side or even made you jump through hoops. Usually with credit card companies this is not the case.
@keller:
I know thats how that make money 🙂 I was just thinking…they must be making alot. Its not very nice of them to trick people like that….but I bet they covered their butts in the fine print LoL Oh well guys just stay away from stuff like that. make SURE the company is solid and talk to people before spending any money on it. I came here and found Ameriplan 🙂
@Eddy Salomon:
Oh the site I was talking about what the google profit. I got the Cd and everything. I did everything it said even put ads on my other sites for them…did alot and made crap. I used a prepaid card as I do with everything I buy online and only put the amout they are asking on there so I cant get charged all kinds of crazy amounts LoL. Its sad that google has dont this to so many people. I got lucky lost 2 bucks for shipping and about 18 hours a day for 2 months…could have been worse.
Rachelle Laughlin -AmeriplanUSA
http://www.freedomfromhome/rachelle
Rachelle@ameriplan.net
@Tammy:Don’t feel dumb! I would say 99% of people that have ventured in this industry have been scammed or fell into a shady misrepresented work at home product.
Just take it for a life experience and move forward. But yes there is a lot to learn about the industry. But its pretty quick and easy if you read the following pages completely:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/scams
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/workathomeguide
You’re less likely to get scammed again and will learn how to find the legitimate work at home options out there. It’s a lot of reading but I think if you’re serious about working at home then you can sacrifice a couple of hours to secure your future in this industry.
Good luck and thanks for sharing!
@Debra Moore: Glad to hear you’ve avoided these sites. SFI has been around since I started on the internet in the early 90s. It was one of the companies I worked for and promoted. It’s was definitely legitimate back in the days. I may still be a member. But I’m not just active any more. I found it difficult pushing the products that were over priced.
Things may have changed since then. The best thing to do is follow the simple steps in our scam video to determine if the company has changed for the worst and become a scam. But I doubt it.
I just wanted to say that this entire google profit deal has me feeling very stupid. I thought “I can do this and have time for my family……awesome!” So I order the start up kit, was told I was going to receive an email right away so that I could get started, and was also going to be receiving some cd’s to assist me. I waited a week, new to this working at home investigating, no email and no cds. So I go to the website get a phone number and I call, oh so sorry , we’ll extend your free trial and send you out some new cd’s, you should receive them in the next few days and I’ll send you a new email right away, here’s your user name and password. Well guess what……….yep you got it, no email and no cd’s. So I call again and am told well what do you want me to do about it? Well DUH>>>>>>>>> so I told them to just cancel the entire thing. I guess that I have alot to learn about working from home. Thank you for your time.
HI Eddy thanks for the info, I have stayed away from those sites, I lost money too. Have you heard of SFI. I been with them for a while. Made some money but it is not a get rich quick business and it is internatioal.
Rachell, this is the scam. This little money toy have sent them as “shipping fees”. This is how they made there money.
Hey Keller,
They definitely make some easy money with the shipping. But the true money is on the back end when they start charging your credit card $50 and up per month and signing you up for other services that charge you per month. The shipping fee is low purposely just to lure you into a sense of security. Because you figure hey losing $2 is nothing. So just wanted to point that out.
Rachelle, what was the name of the company and their website? Share the info so others can avoid this scam.
I fell for googles tricks…Wasted alot of time. No money though..well except the shipping fee…by oh well. I wonder how much money is being made with all the shipping fees LoL…at any cost…guys look around see what others are saying,get the facts. 🙂