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Get rich quick with data entry?

mezzanayne — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:14:39 -0800

What are those Craigslist "get rich quick" ads really all about? You know the ones; they promise $250-1000 a day just for "filling out forms" and then prompt you to purchase a $39.99-99.00 "kit" with all of the instructions on how to become financially independent overnight. In looking for (legit) part-time work I keep coming across all of these ads for data entry that sound like this:

Data Entry Workers Needed! All you need to do is fill in online forms and submit them daily.

Make $30 - $50 Per Form!
Easily $200+ Per Day!

Fill Out Simple Web Forms at Home Instead of Going to Work."

So what's the deal, really? Is the entire scam wrapped up in getting people to buy the getting-started "kit" or is there more to it? Have any part of the MeFi hive mind ever purchased or otherwise acquired such a kit?

Don't get me wrong, I know that ads aren't promising legitimate work; I'm curious as to what they are offering.

Googling for an answer lead me to thousands of sites promising the same deal but nothing with real information.

Get rich quick, repent at leisure?

allen8219 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:24:54 -0800

Is it possible to take out huge sums of money as cash advances and then flee the country? Don't worry, I have zero interest in actually doing this, but I was talking to a friend who claimed that one could apply for a bunch of credit cards at once, max them all out, and then skip out to Thailand or somewhere and live off the $150,000 or however much you got. Is this true? And if so, why aren't more people doing it? It seems like it would be illegal, except maybe if you declare bankruptcy? I know the bankruptcy laws got a lot stricter a few years ago, but if you just had the cash in a suitcase or something, it'd be pretty hard to repossess, right? And you could always claim you lost it gambling, or whatever.

Over on Fatwallet forums, people talk about doing an App-O-Rama, and routinely get six-figure lines of credit limit (combined, from getting lots and lots of credit cards in one day). Whenever I get a new credit card, which is rarely, the credit limit is well over $10k.

What am I missing here? Does Bank of America have a crack team of assassins to track down the cheapskates (thieves) that actually do this?

Market America?

furiousxgeorge — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:17:20 -0800

What can you tell me about a scam group called "Market America." I'm looking for some concrete info I could give to some friends to convince them not to blow their money.

How to cope with a MLM-programmed sibling?

catfood — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:20:01 -0800

My older brother, who has been swindled by MLM (multi-level marketing) scams in the past, has gotten involved in yet another. Have any of you dealt with a family member in this situation? Is there anything I can do, or do any of you have suggestions on how to cope with this? My brother, who has some actual problems that had prevented him from doing well in school and keep him in relatively low level jobs otherwise, has always been convinced that one day he would strike it rich through running "his own" business.

In the past, he has participated in, and thrown a lot of money away on, different MLM schemes. He never makes much (if any) money off of them, but always spends a *lot* of money he does not have on materials and product to get himself started. He's older than me (now 35) and has been doing this since his early 20's. He's also never been financially stable - he has maxed out every credit card he could get his paws on, he still constantly asks my dad for money, and my parents, who now live across the country from all of their kids, get calls from collection agencies trying to get ahold of my brother. His phone is frequently disconnected because he forgets to or is unable to pay the bill. In other words, he cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars starting up an ultimately doomed MLM business.

He finally seemed to get his act together over the past few years - he had a steady day job and actually started his own side business DJ-ing parties (which I have to admit he did a great job of, and seemed to also enjoy). Our family was really very proud of him, since he seemed to have a real talent at his DJ business.

But now he has signed up for yet another MLM scam selling detoxifying diet products and he has been calling me & e-mailing me to get me to try this wonder product *and* to become an associate under him.

I have challenged him in the past, but he spouts off marketing crap like he's in a cult or something. I reply to his insistance that I try his products or consider becoming an associate with the fact that I'm not interested in any diet products right now, that I don't have the time or inclination to sell anything ever, and that I don't want to talk business with family. Nothing seems to work. He just responds with how much he cares about me and wants me to live to old age, and that it's not a weight loss product, it's a "detox" product that everyone needs to be healthy. And that I am wasting my life working a steady 9-5 job when I could be earning income from a successful home business like him.

On one hand, I feel like I will never be able to change his mind, and that I just have to sit back and let him get burned again and again and hope that at some point he will learn.

But on the other hand, I just feel desperate. My parents have given up on talking any sense into him, and they just keep giving him loans when he's really desperate to pay a bill. There are deprogrammers for cult members. Is there anything like that for people in MLMs? Is there anything I can say or give him to read that might get through to him about how evil these companies are?

Or do I just need to keep telling him I'm not interested in his business or products, and find some way to cope with watching my brother destroy the little bit of stability he had built up for himself?

Tell me about the "We Buy Homes For Cash" businesses

Optimus Chyme — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 07:28:56 -0800

Tell me about the "We Buy Homes For Cash" businesses that are seemingly popping up all over. Please note: I have no interest in starting one of these businesses or selling my home to one. I'm just wondering why someone would choose to sell this way, and if they pay anything near market value or if they're - as I suspect - greedy parasites looking to take advantage of people in dire financial situations.