First there was Google Supervisor or Google SEO Supervisor and then the renamed version of the same product, Google Home Business Kit and now I receive a new spin on the same old song.
This time it is Google ATM - yet another scam.
Up front: Google ATM and all of the other products listed above - are not owned, licensed or developed by Google.
The pitch: Place small text ads on Google and start receiving checks from Google. The checks range from 1500.00 to 5000.00 a month.
Sounds easy right?
Wrong. The concept outlined is "small text ads" - that describes a Google product known as Google AdWords. You have to create and pay for those ads, (they are not free) and are charged each time someone clicks on one of your ads. If you make a mistake, such as putting your ad on too many websites, your monthly ad bill can go into the thousands of dollars in no time at all.
The second concept is that Google sends you checks - Google only sends checks as part of the Google AdSense advertising program. Google AdSense is a great way to make money online. Sign up for AdSense, put some code on your website and everytime someone clicks on one of the ads, you make a few cents. Most publishers report making one or two dollars a day with AdSense. AdSense is an incremental and scalable form of online income which depends upon lots of targeted traffic.
No follow along with how this system works.
You pay for an AdWords ad campaign. Searchers clicking your AdWords ads are directed to your AdSense enabled page. You "hope" enough stick around long enough to read your web page and click on your ads which in turn will pay you more money than it cost to send them to the page in the first place.
This is called the methodology is called the arbitrage model. It "can" work, but there are lots of hoops and rings to jump through and can fall flat on its face if done wrong. In most worse case scenarios, you make no money at all and end up spending a fortune.
If you still are wowed by Google ATM, let me invite you to read the small print. The product claims it is only 1.95 to start (some ads say 2.95 or other amounts). Even the ad copy says "1.95 is hardly anything for the chance to make thousands of dollars a month".
But let's read that small print:
By submitting this form I authorize Google ATM (DRI*GoogleATM) to immediately charge my credit card $2.95 USD for the setup of the Google ATM Home Business Kit
BUT THEN..
I hereby request that Google ATM (DRI*GoogleATM) activate my account and authorize them to advance funds as indicated. Monthly Service fees will commence seven days from the date of this purchase, and will be billed monthly thereafter. After the seven day trial you will be billed Sixty nine dollars and ninety cents USD monthly for the continued access to the Google Money Making System.
Zoiks! That price just went to 69.99 a month (!!!) for access to the Google ATM system. But wait! There's more..
No refunds will be given for failure to use the requested and provided services. We reserve the right to transfer your billing to a third party Merchant of Record. This authority will remain in effect until revoked by me.
That means once you sign up, they get to keep you as long as they want. Unless you send a snail mail to an address listed in the terms and ask for cancellation of service. Note: You will not get a refund for any reason what so ever!
Don't call your credit card company and reverse the charges..
All charge backs and reversals are treated as potential cases of fraudulent use of our services and/or theft of services.
Ugly.
Here is some advice: Don't sign up for Google ATM unless you have money to burn or are a glutton for financial punishment.
Instead, go to Google and search for Adsense arbitrage. There is plenty of free information on how to do make money with AdSense. Besides, you can use free services like Blogger and AdSense to make some extra money. Remember, Google ATM is just another scam.
This site does not sell the products in question here. If you purchased this product and would like a refund or have questions about the product, please return to the website you purchased the product from and read the Terms of Service for company contact information. Need Money Blog does not sell this product and has no affiliation with the company but is an informational site only.
Thursday
Tuesday
I hate Stumble Upon
Time to remove the Stumble Upon Toolbar from my browser.
Do you Stumble? If so, stop.
If you do not, don't start.
Why?
If you Stumble yourself, you can get your account suspended.
Here is the deal that drives me crazy about some of these companies out there.
Google, Stumble, Delicious, all of them depend upon two things:
Members and Content.
Without either, they become irrelevant and die.
Why bother with any social network or Web 2.0 application if it has no content?
Why bother "Stumbling" if there are no pages to Stumble Upon?
Members provide content for Stumble. If they don't, there will be no content. Stumble becomes worthless.
Sure, there are some people who treat the internet as television. They "channel surf" and look at different websites and read blogs.
Sure, some stumble a page and collect lots of stumbled pages.
These people enjoy observing and commenting on things they find on the internet. Sure, I guess that is a needed hobby and is reminiscent of 1995 when the Internet was new to so many consumers.
But it is 2009. I write original content as do millions of others. I provide this content to different social networks and Web 2.0 sites who then spread it to their members.
These same social networks use advertising revenue to make money. Without my content, which I provided free of charge, they would make less advertising money.
Rather than be thankful for the contributions of members, administrators for different social networks still think it is 1995. That all members are "spammers" who need to be "spanked" and corralled into providing providing free content or have their accounts revoked.
Sure, it stinks when a social network is nothing more than blinky ads and Vigra offers, but that can be controlled by maintaining channels for submissions which are appropriate for members to submit to.
However, revoking accounts and banning users for submitting original content which other members fine useful is wrong.
I hate Stumble Upon. I am sure if they disabled my account, the membership Nazi's must be on a roll and shutting down other accounts as well. Maybe yours. It stinks because I provided them free content which they used to make money.
Do you Stumble? If so, stop.
If you do not, don't start.
Why?
If you Stumble yourself, you can get your account suspended.
Here is the deal that drives me crazy about some of these companies out there.
Google, Stumble, Delicious, all of them depend upon two things:
Members and Content.
Without either, they become irrelevant and die.
Why bother with any social network or Web 2.0 application if it has no content?
Why bother "Stumbling" if there are no pages to Stumble Upon?
Members provide content for Stumble. If they don't, there will be no content. Stumble becomes worthless.
Sure, there are some people who treat the internet as television. They "channel surf" and look at different websites and read blogs.
Sure, some stumble a page and collect lots of stumbled pages.
These people enjoy observing and commenting on things they find on the internet. Sure, I guess that is a needed hobby and is reminiscent of 1995 when the Internet was new to so many consumers.
But it is 2009. I write original content as do millions of others. I provide this content to different social networks and Web 2.0 sites who then spread it to their members.
These same social networks use advertising revenue to make money. Without my content, which I provided free of charge, they would make less advertising money.
Rather than be thankful for the contributions of members, administrators for different social networks still think it is 1995. That all members are "spammers" who need to be "spanked" and corralled into providing providing free content or have their accounts revoked.
Sure, it stinks when a social network is nothing more than blinky ads and Vigra offers, but that can be controlled by maintaining channels for submissions which are appropriate for members to submit to.
However, revoking accounts and banning users for submitting original content which other members fine useful is wrong.
I hate Stumble Upon. I am sure if they disabled my account, the membership Nazi's must be on a roll and shutting down other accounts as well. Maybe yours. It stinks because I provided them free content which they used to make money.
Thursday
NeedMoney: Government Grants Scam
You have probably been seeing ALOT of ads that sound like this lately:
"I got my 12K stimulus check and you can too!"
"I get 5K a month from the government. Get your grant money!"
These ads come in the form of banner ads and text ads on many websites. The most audacious one features the likeness of the President. Unbelievable.
If you click on any of these ads, you are taken to a sales page which explains that there are lots of government programs which have grant money available, free for the taking.
The sales page generally features a college or urban kid who explains how he was in debt, had no money and a miserable life until he found out about this free government grant money.
They then go on to explain how they filled out a form, paid a small shipping fee and received some paperwork, which when returned, resulted in them receiving thousands of dollars which never have to be repaid.
Further, many tout this system as part of the current "Federal Stimulus" program of something similar.
Word to the wise:
These programs are scams, every one of them. No this is not a pitch to get you to click on my affiliate link, but a real warning.
You see, most people who visit my blog desperately want to make money. They have bills and mortgages and are in dire financial straights.
Advertisements for "free government money" can sound appealing to anyone needing money. Please avoid this scam.
The perpetrators behind these products only want to harvest your email address, collect a fee (and your credit card information), and continue to charge you monthly for a service which will never send you any funds.
There are no government grants as described in the sales pages. Government grants are carefully screened and distributed to reputable organizations only. Grants are issued to responsible parties who provide detailed financial information and are obligated by law to show how the money was spent and guarantee it was spent on what it was earmarked for.
The government does not hand out money for people to put a roof on their home, buy a new car or pay off their credit card bills.
There are government programs which help people pay for college or technical school, but that money is typically a loan (you have to pay it back) or available only for people of true dire circumstances.
Don't waste your time on this nonsense. Instead, check out reputable affiliate programs with Clickbank and Commission Junction. Build a free blogger site, a Squidoo lens or Hubpage and start marketing a product. Better yet, market several products.
Save your money and avoid any of these "government grant money for free" products. They are all scams.
Thank you,
This site does not sell the products in question here. If you purchased this product and would like a refund or have questions about the product, please return to the website you purchased the product from and read the Terms of Service for company contact information. Need Money Blog does not sell this product and has no affiliation with the company but is an informational site only.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
