Total Home Profit System is the latest work at home product in a series of notorious programs. These kits rely on deception and hype to get people’s money and in the process generate tons of negative feedback.

This starts with the way that programs like Total Home Profit System are promoted. They are marketed through advertorials, simple one page websites that are made to look like legitimate news sites. These fake news sites feature a story about a young single mom who uses this program to make money from home.

Now this entire story is completely fabricated and to make matters worse these sites use an IP tracking script to geographically customize the story based on your location. So if you live in Nebraska, the website will say that the young mom is from your home town in Nebraska.

This is used to build up your trust in their offer but is an extremely misleading tactic. It shows that the owners of these courses don’t have enough faith in their program and need to use every trick in the book to get people to buy it. Can you think of any legitimate product that has to resort to these tactics?

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to programs like Total Home Profit System. The real problem is in the billing methods that they use, they offer the program for a low trial fee, of $2.97 but as soon as that trial is over they will begin billing you monthly until you cancel.

This information can be found in their terms and conditions which state,

I understand that by submitting my order now that I will receive a $2.97(USD) initial trial charge to the credit card I provided above. If I am satisfied with Total Home Profit System I do not need to do anything and 7 days later and every 30 days thereafter I will be billed $49.95(USD). I may cancel at any time by contacting billing support at 1-888-596-9279. I also certify that I am 18 years of age or older and agree to CCBill’s Terms and Conditions of this purchase and have read CCBill’s Privacy Policy.

Many people fail to read this part and end up surprised when they see their credit bill at the end of the month. The good thing about Total Home Profit System is that they’re using a 3rd party billing service which should make refunds and cancelation a non-issue.

In the past customers of these types of programs would have to jump through many hoops and put up with a lot in order to get their money back. Now, while this may not be the case with Total Home Profit System there are still plenty of red flags to cause you to think twice about joining.

The fact that they don’t tell you anything upfront about the opportunity itself is very alarming, couple that with the fact that they’re using the same web page as known scams it’s more than enough reasons not to sign up.

Take a look at the past scams using the exact same layout as Total Home Profit System…

The BlackBelt Profit System and the Home Income Profit System have both generated tons of negative feedback and should serve to deter people from joining similar looking schemes.  As soon as one name generates enough complaints to stop being profitable they just switch to another, so you can be sure that there’ll be more of these to come.

WorkLikeScott.com a website by “Scott Carter” promises to teach you how to make money from Google.  On the site you’ll find several pictures of checks he received from Google along with his recommendations for a kit that you can use to learn how to duplicate his success.

Now most people wouldn’t recognize this site but “Work Like Scott” is not a new website in fact it’s using what’s now known as the Kevin Hoeffer template.  The reason it’s called that is that when the original website first surfaced, over a year ago, instead of Scott Carter the name used was Kevin H.

The website was so effectively marketed that it reached unprecedented levels of popularity and once it was exposed the wave of knockoffs like WorkLikeScott.com quickly followed.

Take a look at the two side by side.

So What’s Wrong With Sites Like Work Like Scott?

First off these sites mislead people into believing that they can work for Google, this is a bold faced lie which grew so prevalent that Google Inc, stepped in and issued a lawsuit against one of the companies behind these kits.

Secondly the sites use a bunch of deceptive tricks to get you thinking that Scott Carter is for real and that his methods can help make you money.  For instance it’s not a coincidence that when you read Scott’s bio it says that he’s from a town near you.  They use an IP reading script that customizes the site to your location.

Also the comments made on WorkLikeScott.com are not real, and the fact that you can’t post new comments on the site is a clear sign of that.

Yet more importantly the biggest deception is in the opportunity that they present.  They want you to believe that you can get paid by Google but they don’t explain the real opportunity.

Yes, you can get paid by Google but that’s only through their AdSense program which is a system of advertising that compensates websites owners for displaying Google ads on their sites.  The checks that you see on WorkLikeScott.com are examples of these types of checks, pictures of these can easily be found online and are not indicative of anything.

However these are all minor discretions when compared to the real scam behind sites like Work Like Scott.  The real fault is in the recommendations that they make, the kits that they want you to buy have hidden monthly charges.

Specifically, the one recommended on worklikescott.com costs 1.97 initially followed by a whopping monthly fee of $74.86 unless you cancel.  The worst part is that all these kits are interchangeable so when one gets exposed it’s quickly replaced with another, same as with the pen name Scott Carter, as soon as these sites stop making the scammers money they reinvent them in no time at all.

It’s pretty obvious that Work Like Scott is not recommended and it’d be smart on your part to familiarize yourself with the telltale signs of this scam.

Web Profit Club is the latest version of the now infamous Google kit type programs.  Most likely you came across WPC by following an advertised link or through a make money online mailing list you may be on.

The ads that promote programs like Web Profit Club are almost as bad as the program itself.  They call themselves advertorials which is their way of saying an advertisement that looks like a real news source.  The article features a story about a single mom with kids who’s turned her life around after she found the (insert whatever name they’re currently using) program.

The comments on the news article are fabricated and are used to further convince you that Web Profit Club is a legit program that will make you money.  You can confirm this yourself by trying to add a comment of your own, which won’t get posted.

On some of these fake news sites they’ll even post a message saying that the comments are closed due to spam, a clever trick to avoid having to deal with people’s more critical posts and complaints.  Another trick that they use to build your trust is to tailor the offer based of your IP address, so the newspaper will always appear to be from your hometown no matter where you’re from.

All these devices are used to sell you on Web Profit Club, sadly this not the first of these programs and certainly not the last.  Prior to this one there was Home Income Profit System, BlackBelt Profit System, and a whole lot more.

It’s not hard for them to change names; they basically keep the sign up page the same only altering the title and maybe a few graphics.  The reason for this is simple, they need to stay ahead of the bad press.  After just weeks in operation negative comments about these programs begin to surface on work at home forums and consumer protection sites all over the internet.

Why do People Hate Programs like Web Profit Club?

If you took a look at their terms and conditions you’d immediately see why.  They sell Web Profit Club as a trial for $1.97 but they follow that up with a disclaimer that reads:

2.1 By submitting an order, You agree to Web Profit Club, and bill me $69.99 every 30 days until I cancel. By acting today, I will get my first 7 days for just $1.97. I can cancel according these Terms . I also agree to the terms and conditions and Privacy Policy. I may cancel any time by calling is 877-669-2971, or by emailing support@webprofitclub.com.

2.2 You authorize Web Profit Club LLC to initiate debit/credit entries to your bank deposit account or credit card as indicated upon sign-up and enrollment…

This basically means that they’re going to charge you the money upfront then wait for you to cancel.  The only organizations that use these types of trial charges are ones that aren’t confident in the real value of their product.  They make their money not by helping people succeed with a work at home business but by counting on the fact that a certain percentage of customers will neglect to read the terms and conditions and forget to cancel the automatic monthly fees.

However there’s an even more disturbing fact revealed by Web Profit Club in the terms and conditions,

4.1 You agree that any disputed fee will not be charged back to Your credit card issuer. You expressly agree to submit in writing any objection regarding fees to 11136 Ferragamo CT Las Vegas, NV 89141

4.2 Web Profit Club LLC, in its sole discretion, shall determine the validity of Your objection and notify You of its decision. Should You disagree with Web Profit Club’s decision, You agree to mediate the dispute before litigation.

4.3 You agree to indemnify Web Profit Club LLC for any financial harm or any losses caused by Your objections to fees that does not comply with this Section. You will be held responsible for the reimbursement of any fees and losses incurred as a result of Your failure to comply with any provision in this Agreement.

4.4 Credit Card Billing Customer expressly agrees that if Customer pays by credit card, check or demand debit, Customer shall abide by the following statement: “I hereby authorize Web Profit Club LLC to initiate debit/credit entries to my bank deposit account or credit card.”

Here they basically state that you can’t tell them or your credit card that “you didn’t know there was a monthly charge” as a reasonable excuse to get your money back.  If this really is the case then you would have to report these as fraudulent charges to get a refund.  This is why when it comes to programs like Web Profit Club we’ve only seen negative comments from customers and the main reason why they’re never recommended.

Update: It appears that many people are reporting a similar scheme in which they’re being billed by “Web Profit Coach, LLC” out of Temple Arizona, 1210 Riverstone Ct.  It’s not yet clear whether it’s the same company or a knock off of Web Profit Club but their M.O. is the same, cheap trial offer followed by high monthly payments.  So beware of both these names.

The latest installment in a series of work at home kits, Ultimate Home Based Wealth (www.ultimatehomebasedwealth.com) makes its debut. As with the majority of these kits the promoters will claim that you don’t need any experience to start and that you’ll learn how to work with leading search engines and social media networks.

What these kits consist of are courses and tutorials in internet marketing. They’ll show you how to promote other peoples’ products through various online mediums. They don’t tell you much information upfront but currently this is the most prevalent method of making money online.

Now there’s nothing wrong with internet marketing, it’s a legitimate method for earning a living and is the farthest thing from a scam. However, the reason that programs like “Ultimate Home Based Wealth” get torn apart by customers is twofold.

First off they never give you the full story of what this opportunity entails and often promote it through misleading ads. They’ll say things like, “get paid to post links on Google” and other misconceptions that convince people this is a traditional job or a series of simple tasks they can do for money.

In reality when it comes to internet marketing you work for yourself and only get paid when your marketing efforts generate enough internet traffic that you start seeing some sales. You only get paid when people buy the products that you’re promoting.

Now the second reason that kits like Ultimate Home Based Wealth get riddled with negative customer complaints is because of their billing practices. In this case they advertise Ultimate Home Based Wealth for an initial trial fee of $2.97. However there’s much more to that than meets the eye

This one takes the cake when it comes to hidden charges and deceptive billing. After you fill in your personal info you’ll be taken to an order screen that looks like this.

Underneath the itemized cost you’ll see some small print which states,

See the full terms of this offer for full details as they explain that if you take advantage of the trial you only pay $2.97 today instead of the regular monthly membership price of $19.71 and the one time join fee of $129.96. If you enjoy the trial please call customer service to provide feedback of purchase at a special discount of 10%, or call the same number to let us know if you do not want to continue or be billed for the program after the trial. Call 1-877-456-2472.

The wording is purposefully vague, not to mention hard to read. If you’re not careful you might get the impression that you’re only paying the $2.97 but if you keep reading and check out their full terms and conditions you’ll find out the truth.

Once you submit your payment information your trial will begin, after which you have 2 days to decide if you want to keep the product. If you don’t cancel within that time then they’ll bill you a nonrefundable fee of $129.96 and will begin monthly charges of $19.71 and a monthly account maintenance fee of $3.85 until you tell them to stop.

Now I hope you’re starting to see why there’s never anything good said about programs like Ultimate Home Based Wealth. Tons of people fall for these without ever seeing these added charges, in this case they’ve made their offer even more sinister by including the nonrefundable clause for the main fee.

It’s clear that they’re simply trying to catch people sleeping at the wheel, realistically even if you did read the terms and conditions how could 2 days possibly be enough time to review all the materials and decide if it’s worth the high cost.

If you did fall for this and want to cancel call their customer service number, 1-877-456-2472, from the looks of things it seems like getting that $129 charge reversed will be a real problem, your best bet will be to report the charges as fraudulent to your bank or credit card company.

The Home Income Profit System is a now notorious website that claims to help you make money from home. Their make money kit is often promoted through the use of fake newspaper articles and other unscrupulous means.

You may have seen “news articles” talking about a Kelly Richards (who incidentally lives in your area) and how much money she made working online. If you look at the article more carefully you’ll see that it’s nothing but a farce, closely resembling what real news sites commonly look like.

It comes as no surprise to me that this site is almost a direct copy of previous make money online scams called the BlackBelt Profit System and Home Income Black. This sort of tactic is often used by experienced online scammers…

When the customer complaints start piling up they simply give it a new name, move some graphics around, and start over fresh.  This process goes on and on while they continue to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting customers.

If this seems hard to believe just take a look at the two screen shots from BlackBelt Profit Systems and The Home Income Profit System.

Update 06/08/10: The Home Income Profit System/Home Income Black website now also uses this look:

The reason why there’re so many complaints against these types of kits is because the companies running them use very shady billing practices.  They offer the program as a Free Trial, charging you only several dollars for S&H, but as soon as they get your credit card details they quickly hit you with a much larger charge.

Take a look at their terms and conditions:

When you submit your order, you agree to pay the shipping and handling fee of $2.97 for your Road Map to Success; please allow up to two weeks for delivery.   After your 3-day trial period, you will be charged a ONE TIME fee of $139.95 for the product that will not be billed again for access to all of the features above. Thereafter, a $4.95 fee will serve as a monthly website hosting and maintenance fee until canceled.

They say that it can take up to two weeks to receive your materials, yet they charge you after just 3 days!  So basically there’s no chance of you having enough time to review the materials and decide if it’s worth the $139.95 + $4.95 a month. Some people have even reported being charged the $139.95 fee the same day as their order.

The other problem with this type of billing is that many people don’t even read the terms and only find out about the true costs when it’s already too late. In addition, lots of people have reported difficulties reaching customer support in order to cancel the trial or get a refund.

So what do you get with the Home Income Profit System, and can you really make money using it?

Well what you get is several website templates and instructions telling you to promote products from your website. While some marketers do make money promoting products online, you’ll never succeed with the Home Income Profit System and here’s why…

They don’t actually teach you how to do it.  The course materials are purposefully incomplete to make it easier for their telemarketers to up-sell you costly coaching and mentoring programs. Moreover, they don’t tell you upfront that you’ll need to spend money on advertising for your website, a tactic that doesn’t always pay for itself and can lead to losses, especially when you’re just learning internet marketing.

This, coupled with the fact that you’re already out over $140 in unexpected charges can be a real blow to most folks.

If these guys really did have a product that could teach you how to make money online then they wouldn’t have to use deceptive billing and false advertising to get customers.  A high value product would make them enough money on its own merit and they wouldn’t have to keep changing the name, not to mention they might actually generate testimonials instead of complaints.