MegaLido Autosurf, Pushed By ASD Members, Vanishes
We’ve written previously that members of an autosurf known as MegaLido had reported their support requests had been ignored and they they were seeking refunds from AlertPay and SolidTrustPay.
MegaLido members now say the site itself has gone offline. The paid-to-surf site rose to prominence in the weeks after the government seizure of AdSurfDaily’s assets, with some ASD members touting MegaLido as a safe, offshore alternative. Reports suggest as many as 27,000 people joined MegaLido, whose promoters clearly traded off ASD’s miseries.
One forum poster said today that all 10 autosurfs in which he was a participant were encountering various problems, meaning they were failing or perhaps on the verge of doing so.
Here’s the thing about autosurfs:
- It is a virtual certainty they are operating as Ponzi schemes, a cousin to the type of alleged fraud pulled off by Bernard Madoff.
- They are virtually impossible to police.
- The SEC has a history of shutting them down. The Justice Department also is involved in the autosurf fray these days. Witness the civil forfeiture complaint against the assets of AdSurfDaily, including the seizure tens of millions of dollars.
- You don’t know if your fellow autosurfer is a criminal or terrorist.
- You don’t know if the autosurf operator is a criminal or terrorist. It is likely that the U.S. government, at least, would view him as a criminal if he is using the Andy Bowdoin/ASD playbook.
- It is impossible to perform due diligence.
- Virtually all autosurfs engage in the sale of unregistered securities, calling themselves “advertising companies” that offer “rebates.” Equivalent words also are used, all to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
- There is nothing to prevent an autosurf operator from gathering a planned amount of funds and then running off with the money. Early “pay-outs” may be designed just to create buzz and keep money flowing into the system.
- Receivers have a history of suing autosurf participants to force the return of illegal profits. Madoff wasn’t operating an autosurf, of course. But attorneys are lining up to sue institutions and people and who received redemptions from Madoff on the theory of ill-gotten gains.
- Participating in an autosurf puts you at risk of losing money, being sued or even arrested.
Actually the question was which would happen first. They ran or they got shut down by the authorities. Looks like running won. The real sorry part of all of this is those that got taken again because they didn’t learn their lesson from ASD.
Of course when you believe that ASD was real, and that it was the government’s fault, not Andy; then you are ripe for falling victim to another scam. Hopefully this time they learned their lesson. The sad part is I seriously doubt it.
You said, “Here’s the thing about autosurfs”. I’ll add to the list the significant risk of identity theft of thise who participate. The Megalido owner(s) now have a database of personal info about those 27,000 people, including social security numbers submitted for tax reporting purposes for any Americans involved. Based upon my research on the subject, there’s a huge market for that info aceoss the world.
Hi Lynn,
Some folks seem not to have gotten the clue. There were reports yesterday about people who’d lost money in MegaLido seeking entry into other autosurfs — even after what happened to them in ASD and Megalido.
Despite all the pain — despite the Bernard Madoff Ponzi case, whose elements include Affinity fraud and claims of due diligence despite secretive financial underpinnings — people still are tossing money at Ponzis.
The move to “offshore” autosurfs is just another means of self-deception. They’re using a “nasty old SEC” argument and trying to beef it up by saying it’s nobody’s business what anybody does in a “free market,” but that doesn’t explain who will pay when the schemes collapse.
It’s going to be a lean Holiday Season this year for folks who got sucked into “can’t miss” Ponzis.
The SEC is taking a pounding now for not acting sooner in the Madoff case — the opposite of what’s occurring in the ASD case, where the prosecutors are taking a pounding for acting at all. It is an incredible disconnect.
Regards,
Patrick
Very good point, Pat. Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Patrick
From David Courtney’s Megalido.info site and a thread about the programs demise:
Reply by Fritz Geiger 11 minutes ago
I would gather ML is done. there has been zero news, information, or contact with anyone regarding the status or progress of the program. looks to me like it was all a 28 day front to me.
I’m done with autosurf!! I’ll stick to the safety of cash gifting. anyone interested go to: http://editedforsanity
I know there’s no lifeguard in the genepool but people like Fritz make me think Barnum was an starry eyed optimist.
Hi Glimdropper,
Thanks for the note. I think David. C. deleted the cash-gifting pitches.
What I can’t get my arms around is why anybody would even enter the autosurf fray, given the bountiful amount of evidence that it means money trouble and perhaps even trouble from the government.
A key part of the pitch now when they fail is that the failures themselves demonstrate the need to “diversify” — not the need to avoid autosurfs.
It’s a message that somehow resonates. People KNOW nowadays that they’re playing a Ponzi game, so it is become something equivalent to a thrill-seeking sport. Some folks even are selling the trill of getting in and out quickly and cashing out prior to the collapse.
What’s missing from that message, of course, is that they’re taking money from later participants, rationalizing it as smart business, and ignoring the fact that their gains came at the expense of losses by other people.
Patrick
Not only Megalido, but also now it has been reported that V-Lane/MrsVIP/GMS has been sold. After having read the transcript of the conference call, our (Eagle Team) summation of the call was:
“We’re out of money and can’t pay you anymore, although it’s not our fault, because the new owners are the ones that did it. No, we can’t tell you who the new owners are, they wish to maintain their privacy. Please don’t ask us any questions, because answering them makes our ability to keep all the lies straight much more difficult. So long and thanks for all the fish!”
Just a nice try at dodging responsibility for V-Lane if it goes down. They forget they were the owners that was running this Ponzi before the sale, and cannot escape liability. Going to be interesting to see how this one plays out with the members.
One would think with all these other ad/click programs biting the dust, they would get the idea to stay away, but now we have competing ad surfs for ASD members between Clarence Busby, AD Gate World, and AD View Global. It is going to be interesting to see how long they go before they too crash and burn, or get raided, which they will.
BRAVO ! to all the contributors who posted great information on “Paid to surf” scams ! Unfortunately, people do not heed or follow the call to stay away from them until they first take a hit to their pocketbook and are learning the heard way that they actually have been “had” .. again ! I visit 2 forums of ASD whiners who just don’t get it !
Whether these types of operation are called “Ponzi” or not (and we know that they are), a normal thinking person can mathematically ascertain that no paid-to-surf program can by the very rationale of itself – sustain itself. If they could, then Albert Einstein would be just another pretty face in the crowd.
Of all the “paid to surf” programs that have been mentioned on here, “Surfing with Doves” was another one (no gone also) that was “run” by 2 “dedicated” christians who in the text of their website hype even dared (!) to “guarantee” the “blessings of the Lord” to anyone that would join their program !?!?!?!
Alas: these people did not even shy away from using the Word of God, biblical scriptures and christian rhetoric to pry on other christians in hope they would fall for this and so feed their scam and keep it going. I’d be curious to know what God thinks about being used as a “front man” created for the benefit of His adversary: the Devil !
“”You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies “””” John 8:44
I made over 15K with megalido, straight in the bank in i think it was 3 months. Thankfully i took my money and left it 2 weeks before he ran off.
But still, I believe you can profit with autosurfs… even if they run off with the cash in the end.
Timing is key !
Of course Sean, you do realize that you have stolen money from other people? You are right, the proper way to steal money from others in Autosurfs is to have the right timing — get in early. Also the best way to get to jail more quickly. Call an attorney — you may need one soon.
[…] See this post. And see this post. […]
[…] some ASD promoters have been linked to any number of failed schemes, including MegaLido, Noobing and Regenesis 2×2, which now is under investigation by the U.S. Secret Service in […]
[…] MegaLido: Pushed by ASD members in aftermath of seizure of ASD’s assets and positioned as a safe, “offshore” alternative, MegaLido tanked late in 2008, during the Christmas season, a few months after the ASD seizure. MegaLido purportedly had 27,000 members. MegaLido might have had a tie to Instant2U, another surf that tanked during the 2008 Holiday season. “MegaLido Rocks!†one ASD promoter blared, noting excitedly that it paid 12 percent a day and “It’s Offshore!†Instant2U advertised 14 percent a day. […]