Scam or Legit? HELP please!

[dispatch]

I was talking to a friend tonight and they related to me that they got into an internet advertising gig from a company called "Data Entry Institute". From the sound of it they ask you to place ads online and pay you based on how many hits are generated from your ads. It sounds to me like this might be a scheme of some sort; they're asking for money from him to join some kind of member's club for him to get more insight from their top people blah blah blah.
He asked me if I knew anything about web advertising or where he could find out more about this kind of thing. I think it smells like a cheap sushi bar and told him so, but I also said I'd look into it. Has anyone here heard of these guys? Apparently they're the "largest trainer of data entry businessmen" or some such nonsense.

[Rapscallion]

Sounds too good to be true? Yes.

Then ask you to pay before you get the money back later? Yes.

Sounds like pure scam to me. Not heard of them, but if this scheme's so good why aren't they doing it themselves and keeping the secret out of the public eye? They aren't spreading 'the good word' for their karmic balance.

Rapscallion

[Eric the Grey]

My personal belief is that any company that wants you to pay money up front is a scam, pure and simple. Tell your friends to avoid them.

http://www.better-internet-bureau.org/discus/messages/2/245.html

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/339/RipOff0339979.htm



:cool: Eric the Grey

[smileyeagle1021]

My personal belief is that almost any company that wants you to pay money up front is a scam, pure and simple. Tell your friends to avoid them.



edited because not all companies that require payment are scams... the hotel I work for used to require that you pay for your DOT exam to operate the shuttle (they now just have you sign a contract saying that if you quit within 90 days you have to pay).

Also a lot of places that require special licenses or certifications require you pay for your own license or certification..

that said, the company the OP was talking about does sound like a scam.

[Jester]

they're asking for money from him to join some kind of member's club for him to get more insight from their top people blah blah blah.

This just in: the Nigerian banker that wants to give me 10% of a vast fortune for helping him out with his troubles thinks that this is a huge scam.

[Shangri-laschild]

I know there is a think where if you place an ad in something or emails (I forget how it worked) you got some money (less than a dollar for each hit) but I don't know who it was through. I also don't think it required paying money. I just know that my friend used to send out a huge email/newsletter type thing and he did that. This one does sound like a scam though. I just wouldn't bother risking it.

[Boozy]

Any time someone asks for cash in exchange for a job that requires no skills or education, it's a scam.

This just in: the Nigerian banker that wants to give me 10% of a vast fortune for helping him out with his troubles thinks that this is a huge scam.

Wow! Who is this Nigerian banker? That sounds like a really great opportunity.

:lol:

[Evil Queen]

I'll have to agree with Eric the Grey. Any job that asks for money up front is a scam. Best to be Avoided.

[Setsunaela]

I had to put my two cents in, and state that I agree.. it seems awfully fishy to me!

[lordlundar]

Pyramid Scheme, pure and simple. Not really well thought out either.

And smiley, in the examples you gave, it was a case of having to pay for specialized training, not to join.

[dispatch]

thanks guys, after digging around a little myself I found a number of reports on scam sites and that the physical adress they listed is to a frakking UPS Store somewhere in Ohio. I relayed all of this to my buddy and he said he's not giving them another cent, but since he's already paid for the membership packet or whatever he's going to try to squeeze some cash out of it.

[BarbieGirl]

Well he better be careful, because they could pay him with a bad check. Then he's out that money too, when the bank comes after him.

I've also heard of some scams that when you deposit the check they can withdraw funds out of your account (don't know if its true or an urban legend though).

[Eric the Grey]

edited because not all companies that require payment are scams... the hotel I work for used to require that you pay for your DOT exam to operate the shuttle (they now just have you sign a contract saying that if you quit within 90 days you have to pay).

Also a lot of places that require special licenses or certifications require you pay for your own license or certification..

that said, the company the OP was talking about does sound like a scam.

There is a difference between paying to obtain the certifications, schooling, or other knowledge you need to perform the job/career your aiming for and paying a company to "join a club" or to otherwise receive the information you need to do the job your applying for. Most of the time, such "payments" go to whomever is doing the training, not the company doing the hiring.

That having been said, who knows. I suppose some *could* be legitimate, but I heartily recommend to everyone I know who considers these scams to avoid them like the plague.


:cool: Eric the Grey