As regular readers and subscribers will know, phishing is an ever increasing problem. It is a technique employed by scammers to try and extract personal or financial information for either identity theft or fraud, or both.
Due to the increased prevelance of phishing, researchers at Indiana University decided to delve into the subject in order to gain a better understanding and maybe even suggest better methods of avoidance.
Obviously their intent is quite noble, however, their methods have been drawing some criticism. You see, to garner the information they require they have been posing as scammers themselves, attempting to phish information from students.
They appear to have been quite successful too, gaining information such as mothers’ maiden names when phishing with email addresses known to the recipients. In fact, the article is really quite informative for those wishing to engage in phishing, much more so than offering any kind of advice for tackling it.
Indiana University claims it is quite legal to use deceptive practices to further their research, especially as those targetted could come across such phishing attempts away from the University anyway.
One can only hope that American universities store their information more securely than some British educational establishments, otherwise a scammer could get hold of extremely useful information quite easily from their database.
Adraker is was is was is (confused? me too!) a paid to read (PTR) email scheme. What differentiates it from it’s competition is the fact that not only is it a paid to read service, but it also offers a profit sharing scheme to it’s participants too.
How it works
Members gain something called an ‘Adraker spot’ for signing up. They can then purchase additional Adraker spots for $10 each. Money is earned by reading one email a day and clicking on a link within that email. This gives the reader an entitlement to their ‘Daily Rake’ payment which is a dividend of the total revenue generated by Adraker on that day.
For each Adraker slot that you have they guarantee that you will earn a minimum of 190% of it’s cost by just continuing to read one email a day and clicking on the embedded link.
As advertisers are paying to have their emails read, and new people are buying slots, so the revenue should increase. Adraker say they pay a percentage of revenue rather than fixed amounts. This fact ensures that they can never run out of money.
Total revenue for the day is derived from both the number of Adraker slots sold and the amount of advertising payments received in any given 24 hour period.
This figure is then divided equally by the number of active Adraker spots during that same timeframe. (more…)
Is there an apple diet patch scam?
Often, what we think about a potential opportunity is based upon our own perceptions of life.
There is, perhaps, no right or wrong answer so therefore the following is merely my opinion -
The apple diet patch, according to it’s makers, is supposed to be a weight loss aid. Supposedly, the active ingredients within the patch are transfered into the body through applying the patch to anywhere without hair (to avoid any possible irritation).
Sold by the Apple Patch Diet Company, a month’s supply of patches contains ten patches.
And that is about as much information as you get from the official site, http://www.applepatchdiet.net. Even then you have to dig around to find it.
The main thing that stands out when you visit the site is that it is almost totally geared towards promoting the benefits of becoming an apple diet patch affiliate.
The home page makes a big deal of a USA Today report which suggests some may make up to $6000 a month from selling apple diet patches.
They also mention, twice, how you can earn $25 just by signing up as that is the amount they deposit in your account. $25 also happens to represent the amount you could earn for each additional sale of apple diet patches thereafter.
They don’t mention on the home page that signing up as an affiliate will cost you $29.95, though it is quite clear if you look at their FAQ or do actually go to sign up.
When I saw that YOU have to pay THEM to join I immediately became skeptical - after all, just about every instance of advance fees in return for a job or business opportunity is a scam.
To be fair to Apple Diet Patch Company they do offer a no quibble, 100% refund if claimed within 60 days. Additionally, they also offer to repay the $29.95 fee if you fail to earn $250 within your first month. This sounds like they are making it a zero risk proposition, though I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has claimed a refund to see how they faired with it.
For the $29.95 joining fee you receive a website, designed and hosted by the Apple Diet Patch Company. They also submit the site to search engines, something their FAQ suggests you do every month which seems rather curious - multiple submissions are considered spamming and can lead to penalties being imposed by the search engines.
So, is the apple diet patch a scam?
Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to that question.
The no quibble guarantee would suggest there is no scam, however, I have been unable to verify if anyone has actually claimed and received a refund. They may charge $29.95 and then credit accounts with $25, thereby reducing the cost of joining to $4.95 but what is the minimum payout? I couldn’t find any information on that on their website so it’s possible that you may never see the $25 they give you.
Why are they looking for affiliates to potentially earn $25 per sale using their own websites, hosted and promoted by them, when they could just do it themselves?
My guess is that they are hoping that their affiliates invest time and/or money into promoting their websites, thereby acquiring sales that the Apple Diet Patch Company may otherwise have missed out on. It should be noted though that spamming submissions to search engines is a bad practice.
Additionally, if all the websites that they give to their affiliates are the same then there could also be issues with duplicate content penalties. This would make it impossible for the sites to appear in the search engines and get any traffic of note without a lot of hard work and/or expense.
Also, any company that asks money from you to work for them is generally a scam. The only thing that seperates apple diet patch from this is the money back guarantee that may or may not be genuine.
Conclusion
I would say that web savvy marketeers may be able to make money from the apple patch diet but if you are not sure how to market online or keep on the good side of search engines then steer well clear of this one.
My overall opinion : NOT a scam but may be hard to make money with this one.
Whilst the average internet user is happy just surfing around, finding sites of interest, many webmasters are trying to build quality websites and promote them.
This is done with the express intention of making money online.
With this in mind, many gurus have appeared, offering advice of variable quality on how to best maximise revenue from all types of sites.
If making money online is your goal then you should go check out Shoemoney, Problogger or, my personal favourite, Food Fetishes R Us.
However, if that is all too much to digest and you prefer to dive into ventures feet first then try our alternative strategy -
According to an FBI report in Wired magazine here are 6 of the best ways to Lose Money Online, complete with average losses per transaction :
- Reply to a Nigerian Scam Letter - $5000
- Have your cheque book stolen - $3800
- Become a victim of a confidence scam - $2025
- Fall prey to an investment scam - $2000
- Post your ebay goodies to Nigeria - $385
- Use an ATM with a skimming device attached - $240
John Chow might be able to show you how to make $12,569.61 in one month but that’s nothing compared to the above - with a fast internet connection and a bit of determination you could lose $13,450.00 in just under 10 minutes! 
I’d almost forgotten about the fake profile I had put up on one of those Russian dating sites but, for some reason, decided to check the emails on there.
My alter ego, Jack Hov, seems to be very popular indeed, having received over 1000 emails!
I’ve certainly not had time to read them all but one of the few I looked at caught my eye as it contained a photograph which I’ve included in the text of ‘her’ email below.
For those who do not know about Russian dating scams I should point out that ’Elena Volkova’ is almost certainly NOT looking for love or marriage. There is also a fair chance that ’she’ is not even female.
A quick search of the net will reveal that her name is linked to online dating scams in a big way so think carefully before corresponding with anyone who contacts you in this way.
Elena Volkova
Hi new friend!!!
I saw your announcement on a site in the Internet. There there were many good people. I do not know why I have written to you, probably something inside has prompted me to do it. I already during long time wanted to find to me directly people, but not from Russia. As in Russia very many bad people and are very difficult to find such person, which will serve me as a fine half. Simply me the girlfriend has advised me to go in the Internet of cafe to search for persons outside Russia. My best girlfriend has found to itself through Internet good people Which has invited her in the country, and now they live together 2 months It also has pushed to find me to itself of the satellite Though I also do not believe life in it, that it is possible to find love through The Internet I should hope for it up to the last.
Now it - is slightly about me: My name - ELENA VOLKOVA. I the simple Russian girl who search for a basis The person from abroad for serious attitudes in the future for Creations of family. I live the Russian city Cheboksary. It - very beautiful city In which I live. I very much like to help people and therefore I have chosen trade on heart the doctor. I am long brave to write to you and have written in hope which you will write also to me I hope for it, and I shall look forward to hearing from you.
P.S. If I though have slightly interested you, please write to me the answer. On mine E-mail:elena2121@mail.ru I shall hope, and I shall wait, that you nevertheless will answer it soon. I send the image in the letter. With hope your new familiar Elena Volkova.
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Monday, July 23, 2007
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