Cults and Christianity :: Multi-level marketing and scams :: If it sounds too good to be true, . . . Buyer beware. ~ Runboard

Cults and Christianity
Multi-level marketing and scams
If it sounds too good to be true, . . . Buyer beware.

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FJRB
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Registered: 11-2006
Location: USA
Posts: 113
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If it sounds too good to be true, . . . Buyer beware.

We are living in really tough economic times. It seems that everyone is struggling to make ends meet. Many people may be desperate for employment from anywhere doing just about anything. I feel sorry for people who do telemarketing, because of the unpleasant responses they are likely to get form people who are tired of being contacted by telemarketers. Telemarketing, of course, is just one form of multi-level marketing scheme. There are many online, too.

I recently ran across a company online claiming to give away billions of dollars in government grants. Of course, if you read the fine print, this company is linked to several companies: GrantsEveryday.com is linked to Grant Research Guide, Kind Remind, SB Connections, MyClubRewards.com, etc. The very fine print that appears at the bottom of the second page practically runs off the page and has conditions that include several different trial periods lasting from seven (7) to twenty-one (21) days. If a peson doesn't disenroll from each of those companies by the end of the trial periods, a person starts accruing debt very quickly ( 124.74 USD per month ); and that does not include other too-good-to-be-true offers from other Websites. Of course, these sites are set up so that you don't see the terms and conditions until after you give all of your contact information (and sometimes your payment information, too). If you receive something in your email box about grant money, investigate the claims. Enter information, such as:

First Name: MyFirstName
Last Name: MyLastName
Address: 1234 My Street
City: My City
State: MS
Zip Code: 39406 (valid MS zip code)
Phone Number: 999-999-9999
Email address: MyEmail@domain.com

At least, this way, you can read the terms and conditions before giving out your real information to people who will contact you to the point of annoying you.

Some sites even put their fees in written-out format: Thirteen fourty-two ( $13.42 ); sixty-eight thirteen ( 68.13 ), etc., without being nice enough to include the amounts in ( parentheses ). So they can say that they warned people ( legally ) even though they did it in an unethical way.

A good site to access if you have questions about a company, is http://www.ripoffreport.com . Chances are, you will find the questionable company already listed. If it isn't listed, and you have a complaint, file one through http://www.ripoffreport.com . Also, if you have already given out your contact and/or payment information to a questionable, you should probably contact your financial institution ASAP to have your credit/debit card cancelled and a new one re-issued, and also have your bank account changed enough to not allow the scammers to withdraw funds from you without your consent. The people who run scams don't want to lose potential income from you, true. But they also know they are operating unethically and possibly illegally (if they don't pay taxes, etc.) So, they are not likely to sue you if you put a stop to their fraud against you. It is inconvenient to have to change bank account and/or credit/debit card information; but it is worth it to do this in order to avoid losing money unnecessarily. Of course, be on your guard in the future, too. I hope this helps.