This article in the Mid-Hudson News reports that a New York couple have been arrested by the Feds on charges they ran a work at home business that defrauded people. According to the article, authorities say the couple made more than a million dollars in their scheme.
Both husband and wife were charged with one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The charges came after authorities received multiple complaints from several New York counties and from across the U.S.
The scheme was allegedly carried out online, by mail and in print ads. It involved promising consumers they could earn a "weekly paycheck" while working at home just by labeling postcards that advertised a product called the "Mortgage Accelerator Program." To participate in this work at home program, participants were required to shell out an $80-$90 enrollment fee, after which they were to label and return the postcards and receive payment. Those complaining say they shelled out the money, followed instructions to the letter and never got any money.
It's like I always caution, "Don't buy into someone else's make-money-from-home system. The only ones who get rich are the ones who convince you to hand over your money - not you."
Related:
Have You been a Victim of a Work at Home Scam?
How to Report Work at Home Scams
Both husband and wife were charged with one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The charges came after authorities received multiple complaints from several New York counties and from across the U.S.
The scheme was allegedly carried out online, by mail and in print ads. It involved promising consumers they could earn a "weekly paycheck" while working at home just by labeling postcards that advertised a product called the "Mortgage Accelerator Program." To participate in this work at home program, participants were required to shell out an $80-$90 enrollment fee, after which they were to label and return the postcards and receive payment. Those complaining say they shelled out the money, followed instructions to the letter and never got any money.
It's like I always caution, "Don't buy into someone else's make-money-from-home system. The only ones who get rich are the ones who convince you to hand over your money - not you."
Related:
Have You been a Victim of a Work at Home Scam?
How to Report Work at Home Scams
This sounds like the ultimate scam, I agree you should stop buying into home businesses that look to good to be true. There are some great models out there to follow but they all involve hard work, there are no free lunches given.
Jason
Yes Randy I agree. You have to be careful and deal with firms that have long term established well documented records like http://www.website.ws/ Good luck to us all. Rick
Rick:
I removed the affiliate code from the link you provided – it wouldn’t be fair for me to allow it for you and not for other affiliates, though I appreciate you are trying to earn money as an affiliate.
I thought the video was very cool, but I have some problems with the program itself and hope my readers will again consider it carefully if they decide to get involved.
First, the video says that website.ws is the ONLY official worldwide registry for .ws domain names. In fact, it’s not. This sends up a red flag for me. Secondly, $10/month is no bargain. You can get a .ws domain name and economy web hosting from my own hosting service or through GoDaddy (same thing) for less than $5 per month – $9.99 per year for the .ws domain name and $3.99 per month for hosting, which gives you full email capability. The website.ws outfit is charging double that because it has to pay out through its MLM affiliate structure.
Next, I think the earnings potential, as in nearly ALL MLM programs is far overstated. Yes, you could conceivably make lots of money, and yes, your earnings are essentially unlimited. However, statistics have shown that about 97% of the people who engage in MLM never make more than a few dollars at best, and the vast majority end up spending more than they get back in return. I’m not discouraging any of those who want to be part of that 3% – I’m just saying it will take a lot of hard work – a lot more work than what is depicted in this video.
Finally, a 7-day “free trial” for this program is unrealistic. There’s no way you would know after just 7 days if this is the program for you or not. At least the company is up front telling you that they will continue charging you $10 per month if you don’t cancel, and at least that $10 is a lot less than you’d spend on most other programs.
Randy D.
People must understand that they don’t have to pay money to get a good job.Tell those people,the job if it gives you any income ok, then you can pay the first month income or reasonable one to them.Ask the question “if the job is paying good why they are giving it out?”. They will give them to their friends and relatives first, not to you.
David:
The problem is many “give it out” in hopes of snaring you later for payment. You’re right – if you can earn more than your investment, it might be worth considering, but you need to carefully research that and not just take their word for it. It’s like buying a deli, for example. If it’s going to cost you $200,000 you’d better know when you’ll get that $200,000K back in earnings.
Randy D.