| Data Entry | | | | Many databases let people have access to lists of |
| One of the most popular scams currently being | | | | paid survey opportunities for a subscription fee. |
| promoted is not a scam as far as the actual | | | | Once people have paid the fee, they discover |
| technique is concerned, but from the angle of the | | | | that many of the surveys listed do not pay, and |
| language used to market the technique, namely | | | | that nearly all of the listings are available |
| "data entry". | | | | elsewhere for free. Many of these offers seem |
| | | | legitimate because they feature phony |
| However, the whole process is marketed as | | | | testimonials from satisfied users. |
| "getting rich by doing simple data entry". There | | | | A few people might be fortunate enough to earn |
| are literally scores of products of this nature | | | | some regular money, but it will never amount to |
| currently being promoted. Recently, both Clickbank | | | | much, no more than a few hundred dollars per |
| and Google have kicked out product owners or | | | | month at best! |
| promoters of "data entry" related schemes. | | | | Multi Level Marketing |
| Its very important to note that the actual | | | | As has been noted by Quatloos.com, "once upon |
| technique itself is certainly not a scam. It is very | | | | a time, multi-level marketing was a legitimate |
| legitimate and it earns thousands of people, | | | | business which provided a way for small |
| thousands of dollars per month. However, the | | | | companies to get their unique products to |
| reason it is a scam is due to the deceptive | | | | consumers in small towns and rural areas which |
| marketing surrounding it. In addition, when you | | | | had no access to these products. At this time, |
| buy one of these programs and log in to the | | | | the products sold themselves, and the multi-level |
| customer area, you are strongly encouraged to | | | | aspect was a way of giving a small reward to |
| promote the very same program you have | | | | those who had worked hard to build the |
| purchased using the same so called "data entry" | | | | organization. But the focus was always on the |
| technique. | | | | product. |
| What the owners of such programs want to do is | | | | Today, and especially with the growth of the |
| maximise the money they make by leveraging | | | | internet, it is possible for consumer to get about |
| your time and your advertising budget to their | | | | whatever they want at competitive prices. There |
| benefit. Years ago, you probably would have been | | | | is simply no real need for distribution "systems" as |
| extremely successful, but now, due to the fact | | | | there once was, and indeed the focus of all the |
| that so many people are doing it, it is harder to | | | | programs is not on the products they sell -- which |
| make money just by blindly following this process | | | | are usually either bogus or are available |
| without any underlying marketing knowledge. | | | | somewhere else to the public at the same or |
| If the owners of such programs actually gave | | | | lesser prices. Instead, the focus now is solely on |
| their customers an education and taught them | | | | recruiting new people to either buy into the |
| proper marketing skills instead of just showing | | | | program or else to buy products that are grossly |
| them this affiliate marketing technique they | | | | overpriced (i.e., a $1 bottle of "herbal shampoo" |
| deceptively call "data entry", there would have | | | | for $26), with the idea that those people will |
| been something of value offered to the | | | | recruit additional people who will also buy into the |
| customer. | | | | program or themselves buy the grossly |
| Paid Surveys | | | | overpriced products. |
| Another very heavily promoted scam is "paid | | | | Thus, today just about ALL of the multi-level |
| surveys". You must have come across claims | | | | marketing programs are scams. In today's |
| such as "Earn $100 per hour filling out simple | | | | internet economy, there is simply no need for |
| surveys". How this scam works is that people are | | | | multi-level marketing or the overpriced products |
| asked to pay a fee ranging from $35 to $50 | | | | that they sell -- meaning that the only thing they |
| dollars in order to gain access to a list of | | | | are selling are memberships in anticipation that |
| companies that offer paid surveys. The surveying | | | | future memberships will be sold in the future, |
| companies themselves do not charge people for | | | | which is the classic definition of a pyramid |
| taking surveys, rather they pay participants who | | | | scheme, and thus securities fraud. |
| complete their surveys subject to certain | | | | Because products are available over the internet |
| requirements such as age, demographics, gender | | | | to everybody at lower costs than ever before, |
| etc. | | | | claims that "Multi-Level Marketing will take over |
| Many, if not most, paid survey offers do not | | | | the World!" are completely bogus. Indeed, the fact |
| deliver the rewards they promise. There are a | | | | that no MLM schemes sell significant product to |
| number of ways that paid surveys mislead or | | | | anybody other than the people who bought into |
| inconvenience participants. Many of them compile | | | | the programs is proof positive that MLM is a |
| personal information about participants to sell to | | | | dinosaur in today's economy, and exists only by |
| marketers. Others require people to pay to | | | | defrauding people to buy memberships in |
| access a database of survey opportunities that | | | | anticipation of being able to make a profit |
| the participants could find on their own for free. | | | | defrauding other people into the program. |
| Survey databases can cost participants money. | | | | |