experiment 5: reverse funnel system

do a search on google for how to make money online and one of the first ads that comes up is for the 'reverse funnel system'. it's a $50 investment that allegedly will teach you the methods to:

shovel truckloads of cash off the Internet
have HUGE profit lines
create at least 7 ready-to-go streams of income
automate your business
generate over $1,000 pure profit within your first 48 hours
make big money while you sleep
generate revenue 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year

it sure sounds like a scam to me, but i'm willing to throw my money in to see what happens and i'll share it here.

etrade

got approved for the etrade affiliate program through commission junction today, so i put it up. so far my commissons have totalled $0.

prosper

well, i funded my first loan on prosper and got a $25 referral bonus. we'll see how the experience goes.

experiment 3: prosper revisited

i have initiated a transfer to my prosper account and used their portfolio plan to see how it works. i took a pretty middle of the road approach and went with their balanced portfolio plan. this allows you to have your loan divided up against multiple borrowers, so that if someone defaults, it's not your whole loan amount at stake.

the whole process took about 5 minutes.

i'll update with progress and returns once the votes are in!

scam 1: online office revisited

so, i actually got signed up with the "online office" and it looks like a check cashing scam to me. i did some research and what happens is this -- you sign up as a 'broker' for these guys and they send you checks made out to you that you're supposed to cash and then transfer the money to them, holding a commission for yourself.

here's a link describing the scam in some more detail and how to identify it -- http://www.bobbear.co.uk/officeonline.html

the deal is you would likely be helping these guys commit fraud and identity theft if you do go through with it. the checks that they will allegedly be sending you are almost certainly stolen and you'll unknowingly be playing a criminal middleman in their plan.

although i signed up, i didn't use my real address. i didn't want any street toughs showing up at my door wanting to know where their money is, but i did create an alternate email and received the following correspondence (i've removed any specific features that might identify the email):

Hello!

Thank you for the collaboration with us. Everything is all right. The
first check was send on your address, which was mentioned in contract
today. Check to the amount of $XXXX,XX. You will get it during one or
three days. For the fast cashing, you may use such services like “cash
check” or “cashing offices” (the commission for the fast cashing you
pay from the sum of our money, they will not exceed more than 5) From
the cashed sum of money you will take 8 percent as your fee. And the
rest you should send to us by Western Union.

OUR COMPANY SUPPORT LINE NUMBER XXX-XXX-XXXX.

HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH CHECK CASHING? WE WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU THAT
IN CASE YOU MANAGE TO CASH THE CHECK DURING 1-3 DAYS YOUR COMMISSION
WILL BE HIGHER. YOUR SHARE WILL BE 20 OF THE CHECK AMOUNT. YOU MAY
TAKE 20 OF THE CHECK AMOUNT IF YOU TRANSFER MONEY WITHIN THIS TIME.
IF CHECK CASHING TIME EXCEEDS THIS TIME PERIOD YOU WILL GET STANDARD
8 COMMISSION OF THE CHECK AMOUNT.

ALL COSTS OF TRANSFERRING MONEY BY WESTERN UNION A DEDUCTED FROM OUR
SUM OF MONEY.

Information for transferring money by Western Union:

1)First Name - XXXXXXXX
2)Last Name - XXXXXXXXX
3)City - XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
4)Country - XXXXXX

Please use “money in minutes” service if available

After you have transferred money by Western Union you will be given
the MTCN (Money Control Transfer Number). It consists of 10 digits.

After you make the Transfer please send us the same day an email with
the following data

PLEASE, SPECIFY THE FOLLOWING DATA COMPLETELY
1) Your address (as you filled in the Western Union form):...........
2) Your full name (as you filled in the Western Union form):..........
3) Amount of the transfer:...............
4) Money Transfer Control Number [MTCN]:..........

After we will get money and be certain of your efficiency, the number
of checks on your name will be one in a day. We appreciate the quality
of our partners and hope to work for a long time.

Our company support line number XXX-XXX-XXXX.

who knows if they actually sent a check, but days later i received another note from them:

Hellow

Why you are not answering our E-mails.We have got a contract signed by
you . we called our American partner and they informed us that the check
was forwarded to you . Did you get it? Please, answer at your soonest
convenience. What"s happened?

Awaiting your reply

and another few days after another 'reminder' that was very similar to the first.

in any case, this is not an operation that you want to be involved in! it could end with you in some serious trouble!