8
Nov

The Doubler Scams Are Back

Author: Jerry Iannucci

Happy Monday!

So a few weeks ago I went on a little rant with my blog post about all the latest wave of ponzi schemes that had been popping up in Sweeva.  In case you missed it, here’s the link:

http://www.getrichwithjerry.com/ponzi-scheme-frustrations

Since then I have made it a point to call out the scam sites whenever I see them.  It’s been a lot of fun and I think it has put a spotlight on a lot of the people promoting this junk.  I suspect most of the people promoting these things are ignorant to how bad they are but at least I think people are starting to think twice before investing their money in them.

This all started with with the “profit sharing” scams which are now popping up all over the place.  However, now it appears that “doublers” are starting to make a come back.

Doublers are nothing new.  In fact they were quite the rage a few years ago.

Here’s how a doubler works.  It’s basically a straight line matrix.  In a perfect system you pay your entry fee and you receive a position at the bottom of the matrix.  Every time 2 new people join the matrix the person at the top receives double their money back and is removed from the list.

So if you are in position number #1, you double your money when spots #2 and #3 are filled.  The person in the #2 spot doubles their money when positions #4 and #5 are filled.

Easy right?

These things move like crazy when they first launch because everybody wants to be in the top spot.  However things quickly slow down as the number of members needed to get paid gets higher and higher.

The person in the #50 spot needs to wait until member #100 joins to double their money.  The person in the #100 spot needs to wait until member #200 joins.  #1000 needs to wait for #2000.

Do you see where I am going with this?

I said this is how it works in a perfect system.  In reality doublers are never a perfect 1:2 ratio.  The people running the site need to get paid too, right?  Then we add in affiliate commissions to get people to promote these sites and it really ends up being closer to a 1:3 ratio.

This is what is called a money game.  If you join early you can get lucky and make money from the people who join after you.  However if you join too late you may find that you will never get your money back because all doublers eventually stall out.

Why do doublers stall?

We already know it is better to join a doubler right when it launches.  Well the people running these sites know this too.  There is no reason for them to continue promoting a doubler that already has a few thousand members in it when it is far more profitable to launch a brand new doubler.  This happens over and over again.

Most of the members know that doublers eventually stall out too.  Would you rather invest your money into a doubler that already has a few thousand members or wait and join that brand new doubler that is launching tomorrow?

I used to follow doublers quite closely when they were popular a few years ago.  I have never seen a doubler last for more than 1 month before stalling out.  I’ve seen a couple of really popular doublers last a few weeks.  In reality most doublers only last for a few days.  I’ve even witnessed more than a few that only lasted a few hours before stalling.

When a doubler stalls the vast majority of members will never get their money back.  Yes, some people will make money but they do so at the expense of many others.  This is a classic ponzi scheme and is considered quite illegal.

I’ve only seen two new doubler sites but you can bet your money that over the next few weeks we are going to see dozens of new ones being launched.  Lots of money is going to be changing hands.  The owners of these sites are going to make a killing while thousands of people are going to lose their hard earned money.

So to summarize… doublers are bad, mmmkay?

Just say no to doublers.

Now, how long do you think it will be before “randomizers” make a come back?

12
Oct

Ponzi Scheme Frustrations

Author: Jerry Iannucci

Hello again!

Sorry I haven’t been updating my blog as often as I would like.  I’m still around, I just haven’t had much time to write.

But today I am ready to rant!

Yep, welcome back!

So, lately I have been spending way too much time on Sweeva.  Frankly, i’m addicted.  Whatever.  In case you live under a rock Sweeva is a social marketing site / traffic exchange.  So by using it you are not only getting your site seen by other marketers but you are also getting to know a lot of other marketers socially who are promoting their own sites.

I guess recently it has really started to bug me to see how many talented Internet marketers I know are out there promoting illegal pyramid and ponzi schemes.

I know.  These programs have been around even longer than I have.   It’s not like I haven’t seen hundreds of them come and go over the years.  But it’s interesting now to finally see the faces and talk to the people who are promoting these programs in a social environment such as Sweeva.

Ok, for the record i’m no angel.  I’ve been known to bend a few laws in my time.  If I am in a hurry I might go a few mph over the speed limit.  I probably play the stereo in my car louder than I should and I might even admit to having a few mp3s on my computer that I didn’t pay for.  Hey, I’m like a modern day Jesse James.

Let’s be realistic here.  The police probably aren’t going to break your door down and haul you off to jail for promoting an affiliate link that might not be entirely legal, but does that mean you should do it?

As long as nobody gets hurt, right?

Wrong.

People do get hurt.

Money doesn’t just magically appear.

No program pays out more than it takes in.

The only way for you to make money in these programs is for other people to lose money.  Your success can only come from someone else’s failure.

Am I the only one bothered by that?

No, i’m not a lawyer or a judge.  I can’t pass absolute legal judgment over every site out there.  But if you are not selling a product or service and the only thing you are offering people is a money making opportunity then chances are it’s either an illegal pyramid scheme or an illegal ponzi scheme.

What’s that?  You program offers a product or service?  I guess that makes it legit, right?

Of course it does!

In fact, Bernie Madoff would be a free man right now if he had only thought to provide his clients with some ebooks and a rotating banner ad on his blog.

You can dress it up anyway you like.  If people are spending money on these things with the goal of making more money back then slapping on a worthless product or ad credits isn’t going to make them any more legit.

It’s frustrating to me though because sometimes I just want to grab these people and tell them what they are doing is wrong… but I can’t.  Who am I to tell them what they should or should not promote?  Right?

Look, if you have the money and you want to gamble it on one of these programs I don’t really care.  Maybe you’ll get lucky and eventually make a profit.  Congratulations on your wise business investment.

My problem is with the program owners and the people who use these programs to prey on newbies who don’t know any better.  The people who only care about making money and don’t care where it’s coming from.  To me that is more than just breaking the law… it’s just wrong.