A Scary Story Of Making Money Online
Here’s a scary story that brings home the point of being extremely cautious with making money online. Although this story has to do with investing money on the Internet, I think the same discretion should be used in becoming involved in any business online.
A man named Alyn Richard Waage started a investment business online in 1999. It was called Tri-West Investment Club. Tri-West Investment Club asked it’s members for a deposit of $1000.00 and promised a return of 120 percent. The club was supposedly trading “prime bank” securities. It turned out that Tri-West Investment Club would actually become one of the biggest Internet investments frauds. The deposited money was not traded but used to buy property, cars, a helicopter and yacht. No money was invested apparently.
The really scary part of this is that not only was Alyn Richard Waage sentenced to jail, but other people in connection to the business were also sentenced to jail time. The web page designer was sentenced to 59 months in prison and Waage’s chef, Brenda Martin, was arrested in Mexico (where some property was purchased by Waage) and after two years is still in prison there. She apparently had no idea that the investment club was a fraud and invested some money in the scheme. She has been charged of "accepting illicit funds."
The scary part of this is that some innocent or unaware people can be caught up in schemes that land them in jail. The authorities are now cracking down on Internet fraud and that includes fraud businesses and pyramid schemes, and gifting clubs.
It seems imperative for us to try our best to make sure the businesses we become involved in are legitimate and do a little researching before we put money into a program. I know how tempting some of the more suspicious businesses can be. The promises of big money instantly usually appeal to people who need money the most and unfortunately, these are the ones who lose the most money. It is also easy to believe that because there is a professional looking website, a business must be legitimate. Not so. Professional looking websites are not hard to purchase or design. That doesn’t mean the business plan is professional or even legal.
When you are looking for a way to make money on the Internet remember these points:
Real businesses will tell you exactly what you are expected to do to earn money.
Real businesses do require work on your part.
Any business plan or investment plan you take part in should first be investigated.
Never assume you will make money simply by putting in money. If a return on your investment seems extremely high or a promise of money you will make seems too easy, it is likely a scheme.
Sources:
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr19267.htm
The Calgary Herald
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=8662f761-1065-4aef-a26d-d1e2b5a9e4b5&k=63001
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/triwest2.htm
There are honest businesses online where you, with work and effort, can make money legally. For those interested, I have put together some businesses I have tried myself.
One Interesting site I found was The Review Stream. Here you can write reviews on almost anything you can think of and it pays $2.00 per review posted. I signed up wrote two quick reviews and both were sold for a total of $4.00. Not bad for ten minutes of work!
http://www.reviewstream.com/?inv=WpDAh7t8dGPT
Profit Article, a step by step guide with links to step up a paying blog and all you have to do is follow the steps to get started. The charge a one time fee that’s worth every penny:
www.paydotcom.com/r/40669/greatb/2997784/
Paid Article Writing: If you can write, can put some time into regular writing and make some money too!
http://www.helium.com/
www.writerlance.com/cgi-bin/lance/r.cgi?greatb
Clear Surveys, this is to buy a list of paying survey sites. I used it (although I didn’t sign up with every business listed) and regularly get about five survey invites a day. I found it less time consuming to get the list rather than do searches myself. If you would rather, you can also find paying survey sites on the Internet without paying anything, but you may miss some of the higher paying sites.
www.paydotcom.com/r/15632/greatb/2997764/
Mystery Shopping, I personally signed up with Shadow Shopper and tested it out. I had more than ten opportunities a day to pick from and made money within my first few weeks. Most of the communication is done online, the actual shops are located in an area nearby that you can choose. I also got invitations for part-time merchandising work that was for regular pay.
Shadowshopper:
Click here to visit ShadowShopper.com
Pay For Post
Pay for blog posting, great for bloggers who want to make great money:
EYE EARN
A man named Alyn Richard Waage started a investment business online in 1999. It was called Tri-West Investment Club. Tri-West Investment Club asked it’s members for a deposit of $1000.00 and promised a return of 120 percent. The club was supposedly trading “prime bank” securities. It turned out that Tri-West Investment Club would actually become one of the biggest Internet investments frauds. The deposited money was not traded but used to buy property, cars, a helicopter and yacht. No money was invested apparently.
The really scary part of this is that not only was Alyn Richard Waage sentenced to jail, but other people in connection to the business were also sentenced to jail time. The web page designer was sentenced to 59 months in prison and Waage’s chef, Brenda Martin, was arrested in Mexico (where some property was purchased by Waage) and after two years is still in prison there. She apparently had no idea that the investment club was a fraud and invested some money in the scheme. She has been charged of "accepting illicit funds."
The scary part of this is that some innocent or unaware people can be caught up in schemes that land them in jail. The authorities are now cracking down on Internet fraud and that includes fraud businesses and pyramid schemes, and gifting clubs.
It seems imperative for us to try our best to make sure the businesses we become involved in are legitimate and do a little researching before we put money into a program. I know how tempting some of the more suspicious businesses can be. The promises of big money instantly usually appeal to people who need money the most and unfortunately, these are the ones who lose the most money. It is also easy to believe that because there is a professional looking website, a business must be legitimate. Not so. Professional looking websites are not hard to purchase or design. That doesn’t mean the business plan is professional or even legal.
When you are looking for a way to make money on the Internet remember these points:
Real businesses will tell you exactly what you are expected to do to earn money.
Real businesses do require work on your part.
Any business plan or investment plan you take part in should first be investigated.
Never assume you will make money simply by putting in money. If a return on your investment seems extremely high or a promise of money you will make seems too easy, it is likely a scheme.
Making money from an business scheme can cause you to be a party to an illegal venture.
The sneaky, greed driven people that promote business schemes and investment scams are always looking for people to bite. Don’t be one of them. Remember that making money takes work and time and it doesn’t happen overnight. Only a tiny percentage of people in get rich quick scam businesses will actually make any money. The thousands under them lose money and don’t make a dime.Sources:
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr19267.htm
The Calgary Herald
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=8662f761-1065-4aef-a26d-d1e2b5a9e4b5&k=63001
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/triwest2.htm
There are honest businesses online where you, with work and effort, can make money legally. For those interested, I have put together some businesses I have tried myself.
One Interesting site I found was The Review Stream. Here you can write reviews on almost anything you can think of and it pays $2.00 per review posted. I signed up wrote two quick reviews and both were sold for a total of $4.00. Not bad for ten minutes of work!
http://www.reviewstream.com/?inv=WpDAh7t8dGPT
Profit Article, a step by step guide with links to step up a paying blog and all you have to do is follow the steps to get started. The charge a one time fee that’s worth every penny:
www.paydotcom.com/r/40669/greatb/2997784/
Paid Article Writing: If you can write, can put some time into regular writing and make some money too!
http://www.helium.com/
www.writerlance.com/cgi-bin/lance/r.cgi?greatb
Clear Surveys, this is to buy a list of paying survey sites. I used it (although I didn’t sign up with every business listed) and regularly get about five survey invites a day. I found it less time consuming to get the list rather than do searches myself. If you would rather, you can also find paying survey sites on the Internet without paying anything, but you may miss some of the higher paying sites.
www.paydotcom.com/r/15632/greatb/2997764/
Mystery Shopping, I personally signed up with Shadow Shopper and tested it out. I had more than ten opportunities a day to pick from and made money within my first few weeks. Most of the communication is done online, the actual shops are located in an area nearby that you can choose. I also got invitations for part-time merchandising work that was for regular pay.
Shadowshopper:
Click here to visit ShadowShopper.com
Pay For Post
Pay for blog posting, great for bloggers who want to make great money:
EYE EARN
posted by Brenda M | 8:00 AM
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