Scams Going Down?
Anybody who spends much time looking into the various 'Get Paid' opportunities knows that there's no shortage of scams out there. One of the most popular over the last 6 - 12 months or so has been 'autosurf' programs. The basic formula is that you pay in some money (they usually call them 'upgrades' rather than investments), then you click a button that starts an autosurf script -- you're shown a series of websites, kinda like a slide-show. Once the script has shown you a minimum number of websites, you earn a certain percentage of your investment (I mean 'upgrade').
One program offered 12% every day that you autosurfed at least 12 sites. After 12 days, your 'upgrade' expired, and you could collect an amount equal to 144% of your initial investment (minus fees and charges, of course).
Of course these programs are nothing but old-fashioned Ponzi schemes with a new twist. They're illegal, but many have managed to slip under the radar of law enforcement authorities. But it looks like one of the biggest auto-surfs has finally received some attention, and is under investigation.
Here are links to a couple of news stories:
http://www.abc4.com/mediacenter/default.aspx?videoId=36003
http://www.abc4.com/mediacenter/default.aspx?videoId=36152
The payment processor mentioned in the story, StormPay, has basically kept afloat by handling payments for all sorts of scams that other payment systems like Paypal wouldn't touch. With any luck, they'll end up in jail along with the people behind all the big Ponzi autosurfs.
Edited to Add: I've found some posts at GPT Insanity that have a lot more info on this whole 12DailyPro thing, so I thought I'd post some links:
GPT Insanity: So Is AutoSurfing Legitimate?
GPT Insanity: StormPay Controversy Part Deux
GPT Insanity: StormPay: The Plot Thickens
There are several other related posts, and while I don't share the author's views, they are definitely worth a read if you're interested in some of the more controversial aspects of the 'Get Paid' world.
One program offered 12% every day that you autosurfed at least 12 sites. After 12 days, your 'upgrade' expired, and you could collect an amount equal to 144% of your initial investment (minus fees and charges, of course).
Of course these programs are nothing but old-fashioned Ponzi schemes with a new twist. They're illegal, but many have managed to slip under the radar of law enforcement authorities. But it looks like one of the biggest auto-surfs has finally received some attention, and is under investigation.
Here are links to a couple of news stories:
http://www.abc4.com/mediacenter/default.aspx?videoId=36003
http://www.abc4.com/mediacenter/default.aspx?videoId=36152
The payment processor mentioned in the story, StormPay, has basically kept afloat by handling payments for all sorts of scams that other payment systems like Paypal wouldn't touch. With any luck, they'll end up in jail along with the people behind all the big Ponzi autosurfs.
Edited to Add: I've found some posts at GPT Insanity that have a lot more info on this whole 12DailyPro thing, so I thought I'd post some links:
GPT Insanity: So Is AutoSurfing Legitimate?
GPT Insanity: StormPay Controversy Part Deux
GPT Insanity: StormPay: The Plot Thickens
There are several other related posts, and while I don't share the author's views, they are definitely worth a read if you're interested in some of the more controversial aspects of the 'Get Paid' world.
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