Saturday, August 30, 2008

reviewopedia and the scam trend

This is a true story which I hope will expose some scam artists out there. It all started when I recieved a bulk email message describing an opportunity of processing rebates. I usually ignore such blatant junk but it was curiously similar to data entry job scams I had seen before. More out of curiosity than anything else, I googled something about rebate processing jobs, and google's first result was a review on a site called reviewopedia.

Now the name of a site in many cases may not tell you much. But in this case it was clear what they were going for. Two things come straight to mind, a review site, and a wikipedia-like site. There are numerous sites for user review of products and services. If this were one of those, it might've been helpful. But it's not. It is a facade simulating user-to-user communication while in fact being run by one profit-seeking individual. His name, Steve Albright is at the end of every article. At first I thought he was one user of the site. But he is the sole reviewer. This is how he aims to get your trust.

And if you only look on the surface of the site, it is a convincing facade indeed. The first review I read, (that of the rebates job) was a negative review. This is another tactic to gain your trust, to make you think Steven Albright is "selective" and "looking out for you" when in fact he only writes positive reviews of sites that pay him to net them suckers. You can tell this simply by the fact that he never links directly to one of the sites. There is always a redirecting page on his site which then leads to the link (look in the status bar when you put your cursor over the link, it has reviewopedia in the address) This means that records are being kept of who goes from his site to the "program" or "opportunity" in question. And I'm sure he gets paid for anyone who signs up.

There are even user comments at the bottom of each page. Whoah wait, doesn't that mean that if he is being dishonest, users can refute whatever he says? Well to test that out I tried to post a comment to an article about something called profitlance on his site. This one had an almost flawless record of user comments, not a single one rating it less than 4 starts out of 5. I posted a reply saying that it wasn't working for me and surprise surprise:



He obviously filters out any comments that don't support the statements he makes. I'm convinced as well that he has added some of the comments himself.

The whole purpose of this? He makes money by promoting certain sites based on what they pay him. Not how useful they are or how successful their users are at making money with their "program." Personally I wouldn't trust anything that called itself a "program" or "system" for making money. It's some kind of bull shit buzzword that has been made up to make it sound like it's easy to make money. Like you can follow some secret formula and you will guarantee success. Well the world isn't like that, it's dynamic and you have to use your head. Sure, there are ways of making money. There are ways of making lots of money, but the ones that are easy can't be kept secret for long. You shouldn't pay for such "secret" information, research it yourself. You have no guarantee at these sites that the "program" works, until you pay them and find out for yourself. It's not a good idea to pay for something if the seller of this thing won't tell you what it is to begin with.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

thank you'honestylives. If you have any ideas about oppurtunties thatwork i would appreciate it. starsun99@comcast.net

Anonymous said...

I too would like to know if there are any 100% legitimate ways to make money online. please send an email to Papabooey@gmail.com if there is such a site. Thanks.

xSplitIDx said...

Same here im looking for something that is legit but its so hard to know if anything is! one person says i can make u money and then a review scam directs to ways to make just them money by saying the other people will scam you. If you know anything good out there let me know please! InLuvwithlife86@gmail.com

thank you for this blog! -Val

Anonymous said...

I've been researching the same thing and my results are the same... The thing that stumps me is the Process Affiliate Rebates... Is it legit?

Anonymous said...

I did all the same things that you just said you did through reviewopedia. I too go a negative reaction and am not sure where to go.

Paul's Marketing said...

Thanks for your review of Reviewopedia.com - my sentiments exactly - In these difficult economic times it is easy to be drawn in by this hype - old adage "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" sure rings true about all these internet scams. Thanks again, Paul

Mrs. She said...

Thank you so much Paul. I stumbled upon reviewopedia.com with the intention of researching all these alleged google business kits & "systems" as you call them, lol. Just as you said, "Steve" gained my trust by stating that all those sites were scams and could not be trusted. Then of course, suggests that there are few sites which are legit and if you enter your name & email, he'll send you his "favorite." Well, I'm embarrassed to admit that I fell for the okey doke. However, it was mainly due to my curiousity about the result. Before I went any further, I googled reviewopedia and luckily came across your blog. Generally, if it sounds too good to be true, it typically is... Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for your review. I guess we will all have to stick to our day jobs!

Anonymous said...

I found this site by googling "reviewopedia scam" after coming across the site. I too was directed to his site by a blog post in which he "outed" other internet scams. How ironic, he must be laughing as he writes.

I consider myself to be quite savvy, yet his marketing tactics almost worked on me. I feel that many people would be none the wiser and completely raked in. I guess it's time to realise that you just can't trust people on the internet. Stick with proper companies.

There should be some kind of police trowling the net catching these guys!

Anonymous said...

When are you people going to learn?
From reviewopedia to any other home business site, they are all AFFILIATE MARKETERS!!!! The "Reviewers" merely knock the competition( and there are plenty of those)to gain your trust(and there are plenty of you "pie in the sky'ers" out there) so they can redirect you to their paying clients.

If you really want to make $$ on the internet, find or make a product(e-books are popular)and then let these monkeys sell for you for a percentage of your $19.95.

JPT....out.

Unknown said...

I think my favorite part about the comments on this is how many people are asking if there are any reliable monkeymaking systems on the internet. Even though the article clearly states that it's just not how it's done, people go, "Yeah, that's a scam, but I bet there's an honest one similar to it."

There isn't. Get a job. If you're involved in something where no goods or services are being exchanged, you're either a conman or being conned.

Unknown said...

There are ways to earn money online but it will not happen taking surveys or filling out rebates.

Remember there is no legit opportunity online or offline that will make you $100's if you just spend a couple of minutes.

If you want to make money online then stop looking for the easy way out and start with something that's proven to work. For example, if you want to make money online then why not consider selling on ebay? Its a proven way and people are making a living selling on eBay. Now it will require you work but you can see success. Are you willing to do it?
Now before I go any further let me make one point clear...I am an ebay seller, I also teach people how to sell on eBay and I have my own website www.internetauctioncoach.com. BUT I am trying to sell you anything.
And when started out I have been scammed and lost money to so I know what works and what don't.

All I am trying to tell you is that if it is too good to be true then there is something wrong. And start with something that is proven to work.

And one more thing, please don't believe evrything you hear on te net..not even what i said. Always ask yourself..does it make sense? If not then move along.

As for ebay, start with a few things laying in you household that you don't need. list them on ebay and try to sell it. It will give you an idea how things works and the whole system. Once you are done selling things in the house, look at thrift store, estate sale and find things that you can afford to buy and sell on ebay. Just take the time and do some research before you go.

Once you get good at it and make 50 to 100 sales then build your own site and sell from there.

Hope my 2 cents works for you and I wish you luck.

Seems like a lot of people are dishing out emails looking for ligit opprtunity that will make them millions. Let me share one final thought...IT DOESN'T EXIST.
Start something that is proven and test it before you dive for it. And always remember if it sounds too good to be true then it is too good to be true.
Thanks.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
dmc11 said...

For years I have looked on various ways to make money from home and I admit I have been bitten many times and even taken a few others with me but the most frightening thing is that now with the internet you can scam or be scammed across the whole world.When will people learn that there is no such thing a a free lunch.By the way you can keep your google a/c

dvc.edu said...

If you are interested in making money by performing some kind of function for a company over the internet, all I can suggest is that you either set up your own site to market your service, or communicate with companies directly. Real jobs won't be heavily promoted or advertised, YOU have to seek it out. If a "job" is being advertised heavily, and there is a big pitch attached, it's likely that they are going to try to SELL you something before you can expect to make money. And once they've SOLD you something, they aren't going to care if you make money are they? Since they've already made theirs.

franny4me said...

People are soooooo sneaky. He probably owns the site that he is hwaking. Google Tory Johnson. I beleive she is a legitimate resourse to find real work at home. She has been on the morning new shows several times. Please never ever send money in to buy any kit or materials. That is your tipoff that you are looking at a scam.

Unknown said...

I left a positive review for Vemma and when I tried to post it, I got a message saying that it violated their "swearing" policy. Unbelievable, there was not anything remotely resembling anything that could have been construed as swearing. Our world has become a much worse place but I figure, what goes around comes around, and he will never be really successful based on lies.

Anonymous said...

I didn't see a newer post online to comment on this, but I tried to post the following on reviewopedia:

After seeing the Ric Edelman show, I can say that he gives acceptable BROAD advice. As a financial professional myself, the thing that I would recommend is that if he raises concerns for you, and you feel uninformed, speak to someone that know YOU.
Much of what he says is far too broad to be a catchall for the general population. Everyone is different, and their needs are different. Always make sure your plan is personalized and fits you. Never accept a financial plan because a "guru" says it is what you need to do.

I'm pretty sure I suggested individualism, but apparently I violated their swearing policy...

It is a scam and he screens posts to prevent even the most remote truth being written about his sponsors.

timetobehonest said...

I am so glad you put up this site causes I love exposing scams and thieves on the internet. I have to admit reviewopedia had me fooled but after trying to post some watch dog info on Armando Montelongo I recieved the same nonsense popup that you showed comes up when trying to post comments. I then noticed that some of the reviews were being shuffled around and dates were being switched of reviews that I already read. The site was re-posting comments with current dates. Lets get these thieves and con men. Their whats wrong with america. People doing that kind of deceitful jobs for the almighty dollar is why the we ended up in the longest recession our country has ever faced and is still facing. Heck politicians claim the recession is over trying to con people into spending their hard earned cash. SAVE YOUR MONEY AMERICA! WE STILL HAVE ALONG ROAD AHEAD IN THIS RECESSION!

utah johnny said...

I don't want to steer us too far off track here because I too am sickened by the length that these sociopaths will go these days in order to further their selfish, greedy agendas, however, I have to comment on what "timetobehonest" said in their post dated March 4, 2012 at 7:36PM. While I can agree with what much of what he/her said at first it's the tail end of their response that must be counterbalanced with some basic economics and common sense.

Timetobehonest states, "People doing that kind of deceitful jobs for the almighty dollar is why the we ended up in the longest recession our country has ever faced and is still facing. Heck politicians claim the recession is over trying to con people into spending their hard earned cash. SAVE YOUR MONEY AMERICA! WE STILL HAVE ALONG ROAD AHEAD IN THIS RECESSION!"

Now I don't know if scammers and "thieves" are solely responsible for any economic collapse our country may be facing or not but what I believe he/she may be eluding to is that dishonesty in general is to blame for our financial issues currently. There are so many factors involved in that equation it would be silly to scapegoat these people (who should be caught and punished for any fraud, misrepresentation and any other illegal acts they may be committing, don't get me wrong here!) and over simplify the reasons behind our arrival into our possible unfortunate state of affairs. The advice to "save your money America" IS the kind of bad advice given by an overly conservative type of mentality which only perpetuates our economy's negative status. The only reason we "are in a recession" is because people say we are… and then we all unfortunately respond accordingly… with fear.

A person who you may believe knows what they're talking about tells you that a recession has arrived and that you should be concerned or fearful you manifest the very thing you fear into reality by reacting and holding onto your money….thus economic depression ensues and progression is stifled. FEAR is the real culprit here, not the "recession" itself… the fear of one is where all the power resides. Turning the economy around or not is all our choice and if made to correct it collectively we have the power to change it in one day's time since our economy performs directly in relation to the way we are thinking collectively at any given moment.

If your money is being saved it's not being spent. Period. And "spending" is just as much of an intrinsic part of the equation to a successful flow of financial health in our economy as "earning"! If you are not putting money back into our economy you are assisting in it's decline.

Don't SAVE your money, folks! Spend it wisely, yet spend it nonetheless as to ensure your money is contributing to movement to economic growth and fluidity and not a decline or economic collapse.

Now, getting back to the main issue at hand here, I have to say that I'm BEYOND irritated that these bastards spend so much energy into advancing themselves at our expense and loss which requires us to spend more and more of our attention, money, time, and energy on ensuring that we are not further taken advantage of and therefore we become less productive in seeing our original vision come into our reality and that is simply just a higher quality of life for ourselves and our families while at the same time ensuring that we are honest in our dealings with our fellow man and that we are not trespassing their right to an equally happy life.

Anonymous said...

Thank you. Very helpful and wonderfully written.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Utah Johnny.

Anonymous said...

This review is ridiculous. Almost every professional review website has to approve your comment before it becomes live. They do this to screen for offensive language and to screen IP addresses to make sure that no one person is posing as different people in order to force higher or lower review scores. Have any of you people heard of a company called Amazon.com? Are they also a scam because they make money from selling products and screening reviews before they are posted? Sigh.

Cassy said...

Yes!!!! I was brought here because I also wanted to know if it was a scam. The Trim Down Club (possibly one of the most prolific scams on the net after 'The Calm Clinic' use it for their reviews too...with their add conveniently in the corner. My question is...how are they all getting away with this?