InfiniteBanking.org is a website that wants to educate you on “becoming your own banker” by using whole life insurance policies to finance your major purchases (house, car, etc.), rather than the traditional method of borrowing money from a bank which you then have to pay back with interest.

Whole life insurance policies are a combination of life insurance and forced savings policies – the “forced savings” part meaning that part of your premiums are invested and bring you a small return.  The specific attribute of whole life insurance policies that the Infinite Banking system is focusing on, however, is the fact that you can borrow money from this policy.

Infinite Banking claims that investing in a whole life insurance policy and then using it as a source to borrow money from rather than borrowing from a traditional bank will save you the money you pay in interest over the course of your life, which could obviously add up.

To be clear, Infinite Banking is not a system that claims to make you money, rather they say that their system will save you money. Also, they are  not advocating that whole life insurance is a superior policy to term life insurance in the terms of payouts after you pass – their theory is that it is more important to have access to the money you pay into life insurance while you’re alive, rather than to have a large sum paid out after you die.

Understanding the workings of a whole life insurance policy is difficult, and Infinite Banking credits this by saying you may have to read through their text Becoming Your Own Banker multiple times before you truly understand how to utilize their system. This seems fair, as a quick skim of financial articles discussing term life insurance policies versus whole life insurance policies has enough numbers, percentages, and sample scenarios to make your head spin.

While the Infinite Banking system doesn’t seem to be for the faint of heart, there are advocates out there who say people without a lot of credit card debt and who have 5-7 years to invest in their policy before borrowing money from it might be able to benefit from this program.

PeopleString.com is a subsidiary of BigString Corp, a company that works with specialty emails.  PeopleString works on the concept that most people use both the Internet and social networking sites to do most of their daily activities, whether it be checking mail, shopping, or reconnecting with friends and family.

According to the information provided on PeopleString.com, sites like Facebook, MySpace, and even Google receive large revenues from advertisers trying to reach the markets who use these sites every day.

People String claims that they will pay out 70% of their advertising revenues to the people who use their site to do the same activities they would be doing anyway, whether that is checking email, surfing the web, online shopping, or online networking.  There are several different ways that you can earn money after signing up with People String.

First, you can refer other people to become members.  People String has a basic MLM component in that you get a percentage of the money made by the people you refer to the site, in addition to a smaller percentage of the money made by the people that they eventually refer.

PeopleString has two different memberships: a free membership and an “Entrepreneur” membership.  The difference between the two memberships is both what you pay and what you are paid in return.  The free membership is, of course, free, and it pays out 5% of money earned by each direct referral and 2% from their referrals.  The Entrepreneur membership, on the other hand, costs $200 and pays out 20% for direct referrals and 5% from their referrals.

PeopleString also has a program they call “Mailbox-Cashbox,” where you agree to monitor the direct mailing advertisements that come to your home in exchange for payments.  Beyond getting paid $1.50 simply to sign up for that program, there doesn’t seem to be any hard and fast figures on what you get paid for participating.

So is People String a Scam…?

Actually, PeopleString appears pretty legit.  There have been some reports by customers that the $200 membership is not really worth it; unless you’re ready to work hard at recruiting people, it might take you some time to make your money back. But the other functions of the site – web surfing, social networking, filling out surveys, looking at ads – are available to free members and there doesn’t seem to be any complaints about the company paying their members.

The “Mailbox-Cashbox” program is very new – apparently it just launched in October of this year.  PeopleString requires that you provide your mailing address and then receive a “snail mail” postcard that you must then fill out and mail back as verification.

While there seem to be some complaints about this from customers who are eager to get started, PeopleString does say that the verification process will take up to 90 days.  They do this to ensure that people don’t take advantage of getting paid simply to sign up for the program, resulting in spam to unsuspecting homeowners.

PeopleString isn’t claiming to make you a fortune, and it probably won’t.  But if you are interested in getting paid to do your normal, every day Internet activities (and maybe a couple extra surveys) then PeopleString could work for you.

Easy Typing Cash (easytypingcash.com) is a new program that makes the standard make money from home claims.  The owner, Tim Thomas, says that if you follow his course you’ll learn how to make a lot of money typing simple articles, blog posts, and placing media.

Whenever I come across an online program that has anything to do with typing or writing I’m immediately put on guard.  The reason is because the majority of these programs use misleading pitches to target data entry from home job seekers.

Most of these data entry scams have been shut down by now, however since data entry work is still in such high demand proponents of these scams are finding new and more clever ways to abuse this niche with false information.

So what’s Inside Easy Typing Cash?

Based on the income claims made on the sales page of Easy Typing Cash, it’s fairly clear that this not a standard job or straightforward writing opportunity.  Only professional writers get paid up to $75.00 for one short article and up to $35.00 for a blog post, so how is that any customer of Easy Typing Cash can make that much money.

The answer is simple; they are not selling a traditional writing job, what you’ll learn is basic affiliate marketing strategies that involve writing and typing.  This is a clear example of the aforementioned strategies used to mislead data entry job seekers.

The only way to make the kind of money promised by Easy Typing Cash is by earning commissions through product promotion.  Basically they’ll instruct you to write hype articles and show you were to submit them for maximum exposure.  The process works as follows: someone reads one of your articles, follows your affiliate link to the product website, completes a purchase, you then earn a  commission – usually 30 to 50 percent of the sale price.

This same concept applies to blog posts, you can start a blog on any topic you wish and sell appropriate products or eBooks from your posts.

So is Easy Typing Cash a Scam or Not?

Technically the course is not a scam, as long as you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.  Internet marketing is not easy and if you choose to run your promotions on major search engines you need to have an advertising budget prepared that might not be recouped.

The bottom line is that you need to forget any notions about getting paid for writing/typing.  The process of earning money involves, choosing a product to promote, writing about said product, getting your article/blog post to rank (involves learning SEO), and finally getting paid upon completion of a sale.

Now there is nothing wrong with this process but Easy Typing Cash misleads you about the true nature of what they’re selling and make it seem like all you have to do is write a couple paragraphs and wait for the cash to roll in.  The other little bit of deception is in the true cost of the course.

For the initial $47 payment you will get the Easy Typing Cash tutorial but you’ll also be automatically enrolled in a 7 day trial period of something called the Instant Money Toolkit, it’s not clear what this additional program is but if you don’t cancel in time they’ll bill you $39.95 a month until you do so.  If you’ve purchased the course and want to opt out of this costly program you can call 1-800-207-1132 to cancel.

Overall, I would advise proceeding with caution with EasyTypingCash, they’re not confident enough of their product to market it as what it is, an internet marketing course, instead they disguise it as a make money typing opportunity.  They also throw in that monthly auto bill, a clear attempt to fleece their customers.

Now these transgressions could be excused if they were offering a stellar product, but unfortunately customer reviews paint a different story.  The majority of people who’ve purchased the course have reported dissatisfaction on many consumer report websites.

PostcardProfits.com, and other websites that promote making money through postcard marketing, work on an interesting theory.  The claim is that marketing to people through email is so overdone currently, and the volume of traditional mail is so low, that marketing through traditional mail will actually be more successful at catching people’s attention.

Luke Jaten, the man behind Postcard Profits, claims that he’s been using this system for years and that he’s made up to $50,000 in a single week using it.  He says that he will teach you his personal, guaranteed method for making money by sending you ten CDs with step-by-step instructions for being successful, and that if the program isn’t for you, then you can send the CDs back to him within 30 days no questions asked – all you pay is the cost of shipping and handling.

However, there seem to be a lot of questions regarding Jaten’s program.  First of all, there is almost no information available online that explains exactly what this program is about, other than mailing postcards.  You will find people posting on forums that Jaten is a great guy and that they’ve made “tons of money” with his program, though there are no explanations as to how.

Second of all, Jaten’s terms and conditions state that the company – DMG Marketing – is located in Cheyenne, WY.  But the website is registered in Pennsylvania, and the customer service number has a Colorado area code.  Generally speaking, when people are trying to sell you “get rich quick” programs over the internet, the more states that are involved, the worse it is for the consumer.

Finally, Jaten’s promise is that if you return the product within 30 days then you won’t be charged the 5 installments of $59.99.  However, people who have bought the product claim that returning it is tough – there are no instructions on the website or included in the package itself.  And multiple people have called the Colorado based customer service number without ever getting an answer.  There are even people who have claimed that they hadn’t even received the product before they started being charged the $59.99.

So is Postcard Profits a Scam…?

While I haven’t personally bought this product, I would say that PostcardProfits.com certainly seems like a scam.  First, you should be very cautious about giving your credit card number to a guy that has no contact information on his website, especially if that guy has already had issues with the FTC.  Jaten worked with a previous program called Proven Concepts; Proven Concepts claimed that you could make $1200/hr by mailing out postcards.  The program cost $129 and then required a further investment of $477 for the mailing materials and resources.  If you wished to get a refund on the product, you were refunded the $129, but the $477 was your loss.

Jaten’s old Proven Concepts program sounds eerily similar to Postcard Profits.  The video on the website includes personal testimonies from a man who claims to have made $87,900 in one month. Or the people who claim to have made $25,000 in 3 days – they “put the postcards in the mail on Friday, and had made $25,000 by Monday.”

Here’s my problem with these claims: this whole system works on the concept that people receive LESS real mail.  Why are Luke Jaten and his successful customers practically begging people to join them in mailing advertisements? Wouldn’t that negatively impact the whole system? And if Jaten is making up to $50,000 a week mailing postcards, why did he decide to create multiple sets of CDs that he has to advertise and mail to people? Call me cynical, but when something seems to good to be true, it usually is.

Even if you think that Jaten’s system is worth a try, just remember that it costs $300 to purchase the CDs alone.  That’s without the cost of the postcards, mailing lists, 800 numbers, and anything else needed to make his “proven method” work. While it may not be impossible to make money the way that Jaten is describing, you certainly won’t be able to do it without already having a lot of money to invest in this opportunity.

Mach Michaels, creator of Maverick Money Makers, has once again made internet marketing headlines with the release of his newest training course, Cell Phone Cash. In this latest program he aims to teach people how to make a boatload of money tapping into the underutilized yet massive cell phone market.

This course has been promoted by pretty much every single known internet marketing Guru and as a result there are tons of opinions out there about the program. The downside of such overexposure is that it’s difficult to find real honest info about the benefits of Cell Phone Cash when everyone out there is just trying to make a buck through their affiliate links.

It’s not hard to tell who’s simply promoting the course in hopes of making money and who’s actually using the product as indicated. The sad fact is that most marketers, top gurus included, are simply pushing the product because it’s hot, without any regard for their customers’ satisfaction.

The truth is that not everyone finds Mach Michaels’ materials helpful and his last course, Maverick Money Makers has received mixed results. This is why it’s important to get all the facts first and then decide whether the course is right for you, and if you can actually see yourself using it to make money.

What’s the Cell Phone Cash System All About?

The concept of the course is to show you how to take internet marketing mobile. As cell phones like the iPhone become more powerful and more affordable, this is clearly the next frontier of marketing. The idea is to market affiliate offers through a mobile based ad platform and make money on commissions.

Here’s where it gets tricky: the Cell Phone Cash course is being blasted to millions of email addresses and advertised on tons of sites to regular people – Not Marketers. So the average person sees the ad, “Make $3,000+ from simple cell phone system” and thinks, “Maybe I can do this.”

In reality, you’d need an understanding of pre-mobile internet marketing to even have a slim chance of making this system work for you. If you have used Google AdWords or other Pay Per Click advertising systems in the past you have a much better chance of succeeding.

Because the Cell Phone Cash program is exactly that – buying mobile ads and having cell phone users click, buy, or sign-up for offers. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that if you weren’t able to do this with traditional marketing then you have no business attempting to make money in the newest, untested, and more technologically advanced mobile marketplace.

To those who feel like they have a handle on marketing and are willing to pioneer this latest opportunity, there are some things to keep in mind.

Training Modules and Mobile Marketing Strategies…

Like his previous course, Cell Phone Cash is a video based training course that’s split into 7 modules. There is a lot of controversy about how these modules are distributed. The course is listed at $24.97 but there is actually a monthly fee of $24.97 as well.

The way it works is that you only get a handful of training videos at a time and the rest are released on a weekly schedule. Proponents of Cell Phone Cash claim that this is done to keep you from getting overwhelmed and to keep you on track. The obvious assumption is that it’s done to keep you signed on for as many months as possible and increase the total amount you’ll pay for the system.

However, if you are experienced in Internet marketing and can make the system work for you, then the cost and the video distribution seem worth it. And since it’s a ClickBank product, you always have the option of canceling – no questions asked – whenever you like.

Here’s Where it Gets Hazy…

The problem with this method of drip feeding info is that it doesn’t stop people from applying the system before they’ve gotten all the pieces of the puzzle; the results, as expected, are disastrous.

Mach Michaels directs people to AdMob, a mobile advertising service like Google AdWords, instructing them to purchase ad clicks to several product offers. So far, based on customer feedback, the majority of people have experienced very similar results.

In the course of roughly one hour they get several hundred clicks, 0-1 sales, and the result is an operational loss of $30-$40 depending on what they were selling. This is why I believe the course should not be sold to marketing newbies.

There are people who have reported making money with Cell Phone Cash but they were able to modify the system using previous marketing skills and knowledge, while the beginners are out there blowing through their ad budgets without knowing if the things they’re promoting are made for mobile devices.

So is Cell Phone Cash a Scam…?

The answer is it’s hard to say. Since the info is split up into multiple weeks the majority of negative reports are based on what was presented in the early stages. Since it’s such a new product there are few people who have stayed the course all the way through. In addition, after initial failures most people either cancel the coaching or don’t have enough funds to continue.

Bottom line is if you’re expecting some kind of get rich overnight miracle then think again. This course does shine light on a developing market which can and will yield huge profits, but if you don’t have an advertising budget and no experience with internet marketing I would recommend trying a more beginner friendly product instead of Cell Phone Cash.