Work at Home Reviews

In the latest work from home trend, marketing companies are focusing on selling the dream of Google work from home opportunities.  There are hundreds of these websites claiming that if you sign up for their kit they’ll show you how to make $200 – $600 a day posting links on Google.

The most egregious of these offenders go out of their way to make you believe that you’ll be working directly for Google Inc.  They post pictures of Google headquarters in CA and will even use buzzwords like “hiring,” “employment,” and “work at home jobs.”

What’s even worse is how low they’ve stooped to market these Google work from home kits.  The most common method is to use a fake online newspaper.  They create a website that mimics the home page of popular online news portals; they even include minute details like a weather forecast.

These fake newspapers feature one article with a variation of one of the following headlines:

How a Stay At Home Mom Makes $7359/ Month on Google

Is Working Online At Home The Next Gold Rush?

Breaking News: Google Hiring Americans to Work from Home

These articles profile a successful work at home Mom or Dad who are using one of these kits to not only survive these hard times, but make a killing working from home.  At the bottom of the article there’s a procession of comments, which are also fake, followed by pictures of checks and more links to purchase a start-up kit.
Here are some examples of what these sites look like…

Google Work at Home Kits the Biggest Scams to Date?

Aside from the deception used to get you to click through to one of these kits, the worst part is still to come.  These kits are practically given away for nominal shipping and handling fees of around 2 bucks; however you need to read the terms and conditions to get the full story.

What you are really signing up for is a trial period of the product; depending on which kit you purchase you have between 3 – 7 days to cancel.  If you fail to do so, they will begin to charge you a high monthly fee for the continual use of the product.  To make matters worse, often times they take the liberty of signing you up for additional trials for products you never even heard off, much less requested.

This is completely unethical and these Google work from home opportunities have fleeced customers for hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Since these billing stipulations are hidden in the fine print most people fail to see them until it’s far too late.

If you already fell for one of these scams there are several things you can do:

1) If you still have the link to the original offer, follow it and read the Terms and Conditions page to get a cancellation number.  What makes this difficult is that these kits are hosted on complicated domains like “https://secure3.on1inetrack.com/goph/?offer=go_qg…”

Almost no one remembers them and to further complicate matters these sites are always changing names and numbers.

Here’s a list of some of the more popular ones at the time of writing this article:

2) The easier option is to call your bank or credit card and report these fraudulent charges.  In most cases your credit card company will have a phone number for you to call and cancel the monthly charges.  Still, this doesn’t always work and in many cases people have resorted to reporting their cards stolen and are not taking responsibility for the purchase.

It’s pretty clear that you should stay away from any offers that resemble anything mentioned in this article.  The information in these Google work from home scams is outdated and definitely not worth the monthly fees.

Kevin Hoeffer is a name synonymous with internet spam; his site KevinsMoneyTree.org has been advertised on almost every popular outlet on the net.  His “make money from Google” ad has plagued Facebook, MySpace, News sites, and countless others leading him to internet infamy.

I first heard about Kevin Hoeffer and his “blog” almost a year ago and assumed that by now he’d faded away, but it appears that he’s back in full force.  When fake blogs first started being used, there were thousands of them; they were exactly the same down to the fake Google checks and bogus story.

Originally these blogs were used to market the Google Money Tree home business kit. This lasted up until several months ago when the FTC filed suit for a number of infractions.  Undeterred, other companies quickly stepped in to fill the place of Google Money Tree and this marketing juggernaut only grew bigger.

The problem is that these sites are too effective at convincing people to sign up for scams so marketers didn’t want to stop using them.  This led to a phenomenon known as “Flogs,” fake blogs that are used to sell bad products.

KevinsMoneyTree.org is a fine example of this marketing tool.  There’s nothing real about the site, from the fabricated persona of Kevin Hoeffer to the checks, the comments, the misrepresented corporate logos, and all the pictures.

However, what really makes this a scam and what’s led to the FTC crackdown is the actual kit that the owners of KevinsMoneyTree.org are selling.

Why the Google Cash Kits are the Biggest Scams of 2009

After reading the hype on Kevin Hoeffer’s site you’re directed to a one page site that looks something like this,

It’s difficult to nail down a name and company for each of these because due to the FTC involvement they’ve turned to fly-by-night marketing.  This means they’re always changing URLS and names for the kits and by the time one is exposed they’ve already moved on.  So while a site like KevinsMoneyTree.org may stick around the current kit that they’re marketing is always changing its appearance.

The main problem is that the entire opportunity is misrepresented.  Google is not hiring anyone and there’s no position where you get paid a wage for posting links on Google.  What they’re referring to is using Google’s search engine advertising platform to market affiliate offers.

This is a legal and recognized way of making money, however you’re still not getting paid for posting links.  The only way you make money is if someone clicks your ad and purchases the product you’re an affiliate for, earning you a small commission.

Nowhere does Kevin Hoeffer say that you’ll need an advertising budget and that you’ll be working on a commission basis; the only thing you hear about is making 5k a month posting links.

Here’s Where It Gets Worse…

What made these Google Kits such notorious scams is not just the substandard info they market but their horribly deceptive billing policies.  On Kevin Hoeffer’s site he says you can get started for $1.95 in shipping and handling fees.

However, what you aren’t being told is that after a short trial period you’ll be charged an outrageously high monthly fee.  This info is hidden in their terms and conditions…

Following your risk-free 3-day trial to MyMoneyPlan, you’ll be charged the monthly subscription fee of $59.84. You’ll have 3 days from your initial sign-up date to access and use the system. You’ll also receive 10 days free access to Search Profit System. After the initial 10 free days, you will be billed $29.71 should you choose not to cancel. After your initial risk-free trials, your subscription will automatically renew approximately every 30 days from the date you signed up. You can cancel any time after the risk-free trial period, in which case you won’t be refunded that month’s subscription charge, but you will have member access through the end of the month, and you will not be billed again. For questions or to cancel you may call 1-888-673-3212 Mon-Sat, 7am-7pm, PST.

As you can see not only do they charge you for the kit but they also sign you up for additional bogus programs that you never even requested.  This is precisely what’s landed these companies on FTC watch lists and has forced them to constantly change their image.

So is Kevin Hoeffer and KevinsMoneyTree.org a Scam…?

The answer is a resounding yes; his site alone has been responsible for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from innocent people.  Many folks never think to check the Terms and Conditions and only find out about the hidden charges after they get their credit card bill or are hit with overdraft fees.

The point is that the websites are misleading and the information is not worth the high monthly fee.  Additionally, many people complain about trouble getting support, difficulties reaching someone to get their refund or to cancel, and even getting charged without ever receiving the kit.

It’s pretty clear that if you want to avoid a massive headache and unauthorized charges you need to stay away from Kevin Hoeffer and any site that looks similar to his.  In case you missed it, here’s the number to cancel 1-888-673-3212.

Google Fortune (www.selfprofitsmadeeasy.com) is the latest addition to the long list of Google Kit scam offers that’ve been terrorizing work at home job seekers for the past year.  I don’t really know how many posts I can write – basically repeating myself – about these types of kits.

These programs have been so devious in their marketing and billing tactics that the FTC has made a point of shutting them down; so far Google Money Tree (FTC Report) is the only one in court.  They stand accused of unauthorized debit and credit card charges, false representation of income potential, and other counts of misleading the customer.  This is because, like Google Fortune, they have hidden the full cost of their program.

When you order the kit they make it seem as if the only charge you will incur is the small shipping and handling fee; however they use that info to begin billing you a high monthly fee for the continual use of their membership.  The only place that this is disclosed is in their terms and conditions, all the way at the bottom of the page. As you can guess, most people are so distracted by the notion that they could be making hundreds of dollars a day working for Google that they fail to notice the real cost.

If you think I’m making this stuff up here is a snippet of the Terms and Conditions for Google Fortune:

How it Works! By clicking “Rush My Order” I am agreeing to receive Google Fortune for a 7-day bonus period for $1.97 billed to my credit Card(please allow 5 days for the shipping process and 2 days to try the product). If you enjoy Google Fortune, simply do nothing. On the 7th day my credit card will automatically be charged $69.97 and every month, thereafter, unless I cancel by calling 1-877-361-8622 M – F, 8am-7pm PST. No Hassle, Cancel Anytime!Product is fully refundable within 30 days of purchase. Customer’s cancelling within their billing period will be fully refunded upon request. I also agree to the 14 day and 21 day bonus trials to Grant Members Site (1-877-495-1145) and Network Agenda (1-800-418-9320) for $19.95 a month and $9.95 a month thereafter, the trial will begin the day I accept these terms, should I choose not to cancel. For refunds please contact customer support at 1-877-361-8622 M – F, 8am-7pm PST, GoogleFortune only.

Search 4 Profit, LLC.
7614 Arvilla Avenue.
Sun Valley, CA  91352

It’s pretty clear that the only thing the FTC crackdown has done is forced these companies to clean up their offers.  For instance, they no longer say how much money you can make; in previous offers they would state specifics like $200-$900 a day. Now they simply say “you could make a lot of money.”  They have also removed a lot of the legal nonsense in their terms and conditions page which should help people notice all the monthly fees they’ll be facing; notice that this time they also sign you up for additional programs like the Grant Members Site and Network Agenda.

Sadly, that’s about the only thing that has changed in Google Fortune, the most recent version of these dubious kits.  If you’ve purchased this program without any knowledge of the monthly fees, use the numbers listed above to call and cancel. Remember that you have to cancel each program individually otherwise you’ll still be charged.

So is Google Fortune a Scam?

It’s pretty clear that this program and others like it have gone out of their way to deceive their customers. Anyone with a legitimate and high quality product would not have to stoop to these tactics to make sales.  It’s clear that there’s no value in what they’re offering and all they’re doing is finding new ways to trick you into monthly charges.  Stay away from Google Fortune.

Fake news sites are a recent marketing tactic used to sell a variety of offers, most commonly work at home programs known as Google Biz Kits.  Some of the more notorious programs include Google Money Tree, Easy Google Profits, and Internet Wealth Builder.

These fake news sites all follow the same basic template in which the site poses itself as a local online paper running a feature story on a successful work at home Mom or Dad.  The website owners use an IP tracking tool to make sure that the papers all have your local town in the heading.  So for instance if you live in Fresno, CA when you visit the site the heading would read “Fresno Times” and accordingly for anyone else who visits those sites.

The whole point of this facade is to build trust by having you associate someone successful from your neighborhood with a Google Biz Kit; they build this trust and then use it to boost their sales numbers.  The news article is completely fabricated and the entire story of the man who “quit his boring day job and is now raking in a fortune online” is again only created to get you to buy their product.

These sites all market a variety of kits that are supposed to get you started making money online posting links with Google or some other such bogus opportunity.

What’s the Real Scam Here?

The worst part about these fake news sites, besides the obvious deception, is that the programs they sell are ripe with hidden charges.  They claim that you can sign up for just the cost of shipping and handling but in reality that is just a short trial period after which they use your billing info to charge you a large monthly fee.  The only place that this is revealed is deep in their terms and conditions pages which are linked to at the very bottom of these websites.

The majority of people never see them and consequently have a series of charges on their credit cards that they never authorized.  Many government authorities have been notified about these persistent scams but they have yet to issue wide sweeping regulations to combat these sites.  Even worse, as soon as one site gets busted another pops up to replace it almost instantaneously, so the best way to protect yourself is to learn how to recognize and avoid these scams.

Here’s an example of what these fake news sites look like:

You may see variations of these sites but the general layout is the same and the only thing that changes are the names of the couple or person in the picture, a few details about the bogus job that was left to pursue internet riches, and as mentioned before the name of the town that the “paper” is supposedly from.  The bottom line is if you see something similar to this do not buy whatever it is they’re selling as it will cost you a lot more down the road.

Keep in mind that these internet scammers are getting more clever by the day and once this tactic stops converting they will move on to something else.  I’ve already seen some sites posing as Yahoo or Wiki Answers, which is why it’s important to use your best judgment at the time of your decisions; by the time articles like this get enough recognition it may be too late.

List of Fake News Sites:

• http://www.consumer-weekly.net/
• http://myonlinewealthreviews.com/
• http://www.net-news-daily.com/
• http://thedailytribuneonline.com/
• http://www.goolgemoney.com/
• http://www.homejobsnews.com/moms/

Foolishly, I haven’t been keeping a list of all the fake news sites I’ve come across, but if you’ve seen some please post a comment here and I will add them to this ongoing list.