BREAKING NEWS: eWalletPlus, Firm Associated With AdViewGlobal, Disables New Registrations; AVG Members Question Management
UPDATED 12:30 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) eWalletPlus, a money-exchanger associated with a surfing company that has close ties to AdSurfDaily, no longer is taking new registrations, according to its website. The site does not explain why.
At the same time, AdViewGlobal (AVG) — the firm with close ASD ties — sent members a newsletter encouraging them to use the so-called “80/20 Rule,” a sign the company may be desperate to keep money in the system.
AVG’s newsletter led with the 80/20 pitch, despite all of the news it could have led with. AVG again did not fully explain its banking problems or an apparent inability to process some or all ACH transactions. The newsletter was said to have originated in Phoenix, the purported home of eWalletPlus.
“One of the strategies to have your advertising with AVGA pay for itself besides watching the 24 required sites is to use the 80/20 rule,” AVG said in its newsletter. “Simply stated you use 80% of your daily earnings to purchase[] additional page impressions and cash out 20%.
“This will create additional income by creating more probabilities of sales because of increase[d] advertising of your site. And second by purchasing more page impressions every day this increases sales that directly affect your VIP.”
“VIP” is AVG’s term for what ASD called “rebates.”
“If you have any questions about the 80/20 rule your up line should be able to give you additional details,” AVG continued. “The AVGA business model is sound and will work to promote your business and help pay for the advertising bill.”
Just below the 80/20 pitch was an announcement that AVG’s 200-percent, matching-bonus program had been extended until April 10. The company has been promoting the 200-percent program, which applies to members and their sponsors, for weeks.
One promoter claimed a $5,000 purchase turned into $15,000 “instantly!” The promoter making the claim was Shad Foss, who has been linked to the CEP Ponzi scheme. ASD once advertised that it accepted payments from CEP Trust, the failed payment processor run by the operators of the CEP Ponzi scheme.
Although AVG used the newsletter to announce its “Future Is Very Bright,” it has never fully explained the March 20 departure of Gary Talbert, its chief executive officer and a former ASD executive.
On March 23, the company announced it had a banking problem, but did not fully explain what the problem was and how it was affecting operations. The March 23 annoucement blamed the problem on AVG members who’d sent too many bank wires in excess of $9,500.
AVG has a history of not identifying the corporate authors of specific communications to members. Some correspondence has been signed by the “AVG Management Team,” which has led to questions about who is running things and why no one has emerged as the public face of the company.
Hi Patrick,
I’m seen many of these types of sites, like yours, making a good living out of supposedly exposing other scams. The main thing is that it gets you in the search engine so that people will come to your site. Then you have your own ads on the page where you make money on the advertisers telling them how much traffic you get.
Your scam busts may be legitimate and they may not be. Either way it generates traffic which is the main goal to sell advertising. But after just one visit to your site I have a problem and I’m hoping you can clear it up.
I click on the following link in one of your ads by Google banners:
http://www.internetbasedjobs.org/part-time/index.html
Interestingly enough I’ve seen this website. When I did I checked with Google to see if they offer the kind of program that Corey is saying he sells. What a shocker; they don’t offer any such program and told me “IT†was a scam.
So the question is why do you allow this ad on your website when you seem to be promoting yourself as a scam “buster� Do you check your advertisers to see if their websites are scams themselves? Or do you just take whoever will pay for the spot? And what about Google? Does Google know that you have a banner called “ads by Google†that has a link to a website that THEY say is a scam? Remember I’m not guessing here I checked with Google on the exact site that you link to. Are you Corey? Hmmmmm…
Interesting stuff. I’m willing to learn of course but my guess is that this post and Corey’s link in the ads by Google box will disappear. I hope I’m wrong. I’ll be checking to see if it does and if you answer the questions. If you do and they are verifiable I’ll apologize for the inconvenience since I’ve accused you of nothing… yet.
The Scambuster – Buster
Hello Scambuster,
Google has an ad filter, and I added the URL you found offensive to the list in my adsense back office. Google says it takes a couple of hours for the change to take effect.
No, I’m not “Corey.”
No one pays for a “spot” on this Blog. Google delivers the ads based on content. The situation you described likely was caused because of keyword targeting on the part of the Google advertiser.
Patrick
Hello, Scambuster – Buster,
FYI, Google puts the ads on sites thar subscribe to its Adsense service. Want to see an extreme example of what seems to be a direct conflict? http://www.Scam.com will frequently have 4-5 ads pitching various “programs” as part of posts I’ve made over there. It can appear that I put those ads in my posts. It’s annoying, but it apparently pays the bills for scam.com – which is an anti-scam site.
By the way, FYI, Patrick is a former police officer who became an award-winning investigative journalist, so your innuendos regarding his integrity are out of line.
Hi Patrick,
Thank you for the reply. It shows at least that you are not hiding anything at least on the surface. So let me be clear about a few things.
First, and also to answer Pat Dunn, I have not accused anyone of anything. Innuendos? I’ll get to that in a minute. But I have asked questions. In other blogs on this site about scams (in the case of this site you seem to be focused on a company called AVGA) there is a lot of talk about how important it is to “ask questions”. I don’t know you Partick and I had no idea you were an “award-winning” investigative journalist. Evidently Pat Dunn does know this, assuming Pat Dunn is not you. Let’s be honest here. No one sees who anyone else is on these sites. Therefore you could be very reasonable and cordial as Patrick and then have your Pat Dunn incarnation do the attack stuff. Either way it doesn’t really matter.
The question is what is an award winning investigative journalist doing talking about “alleged” scams on the Internet on a site that has to cost somebody something where you say “no one pays for a “spot” on this blog”. Are you just a nice guy? Are you someone who has retired and devoted his life to making no money on a site you obviously spend hours on and doing research for so that you can have a place to warn the world about the “alleged” problems with AVGA or the like? Frankly if that is the truth my hats off to you! But….
Let’s ask the question another way; and by the way Pat Dunn, innuendos are a great “award-winning investigative tool”. :-) Does anyone, anywhere make any money off of anything that is produced, advertised, written, blogged or whatever off of this site or any other site that you link to from this site? Asked more simply, is any money generated from this site that you somehow benefit from in any way? Do you make any money from this site or any site it is linked to and if so how?
I’m just trying to find as many ways as possible to ask the question so there is no ambiguity. So, do you do all of this for “no compensation whatsoever from any source”?
BTW, I’m willing to learn about the way people are driven to sites in search engines but it is still a known fact that activity, regular posting and keywords drive people to websites. So I have a difficult time believing that there is no link between staying on a controversial issue and getting people to your site.
Having said that I’m hoping that you are the caring individual that you seem to be. Sure I’m digging. But if you really were a police officer once and an award winning, etc., then this should pretty much roll off your back. And then once the questions are answered everybody’s friends. :-)
Make it a great day!
The Scambuster – Buster
ScamBuster – Buster,
You’ve chosen three threads about AVGA to make whatever point you’re trying to make.
Your two initial posts were duplicate posts — both in stories or comments dealing with AVGA. And then you quickly sent an email through the Contact link to make sure I’d seen your work.
I’ve seen it. You’ve received my answer.
Patrick
Hey, ScamBuster – Buster;
You put forth more innuendo – this time suggesting that perhaps Patrick and I are the same person.
To clarify that issue for you, since my just saying it is not likely to satisfy you, contact Lyndell Edgington at Eagle Research Associates (http://www.eagleresearchassociates.org) another scambuster group you may want to waste some time trying to bust. Lynn knows each of us and can tell you we’re not one person.
As far as your bizarre questioning regarding whether Patrick earns income from the great work he does here:
1) First, it’s none of your business;
2) Second, research Google’s Adsense program and you’ll find that it generates inome for sites that subscribe to it;
3) Maybe Patrick inherited a fortune, or is married to someone who supports his lifestyle, or has a pension that does it. Only he knows.
I have no personal knowledge about his finances, but your approach is antagonistic, confrontational, and disagreeable, as I perceive it. Your inference is that Patrick writes about AVG only because it will profit him. That is rude, offensive and without justification.
BTW, unless AVG has documented outside revenue – as opposed to members’ payments – to support paying daily percentages, it’s a Ponzi. If it’s a Ponzi it’s illegal. If it’s illegal it’s open season for anyone who wants to criticize it – and hopefully bring it down.
Document the outside revenue and many, many critics will happily become part of your downline. Including me.
By the way, you are, I presume, a member of AVG just for the benefit of mankind, correct? Generating income from referral commissions and/or daily percentage payouts doesn’t have anything to do with why you defend it so vigorously, correct?
You know – to use your words, Scambuster-buster “Let’s be honest here” you seem to be going in for a bit of innuendo yourself. Pity you couldnt just ask the question straight out – why do you do this Patrick? Why do you not like ponzis? And then you will get a straight answer.
The issue of the Google ads is well known – anyone who uses Google Ads to help finance their sites (which many do and is both legal and acceptable – they are usually highly targeted ads) will see ads on their page which reflect some of the keywords picked out by the Google robot. Finance, Investment etc are all words that appear on many of Patrick’s blogs and unfortunately, as with all anti fraud sites, the kind of site you mentioned earlier does slip through the Google net and has to be blocked by the site owner. (Why Google are accepting these ads in the first place is another issue)
So that innuendo didnt work and you proceed to the next one – doubting who Patrick and Pat Dunn are. Puleez. You are sadly lacking in your research – as both these gentlemen’s “curricula” have been outlined both on Patricks Blog and the pages of the ASD Surf’s Up site for months. Your comments about people’s motives for doing what they do reflect, I suspect, more on your own way of dealing with issues than their!
I personally would be rather ashamed to admit to be a scambuster-buster. and am sad to see you so proud of it and so cynical about the work they do. People who contribute to the effort to combat fraud, whether on or offline are doing a great service to the community and help to protect the innocent from being parted from their money and becoming the victims of other unscrupulous people.
I wish Patrick had had his blog long before the AG went into ASD and many might have been able to avoid what is now a very painful situation. There were writers warning people before August, though not enough, and thankfully some of them were able to stop people from making a terrible mistake.
Prevention is better than cure and it is a great thing that there are people willing to put themselves on the line and speak out about other, possible dubious programmes to avoid more victims in the future.
One day we will all be totally computer savvy and less overawed by these amazing “opportunities” that spring up regularly on the internet – and that will reduce their promoters’ effectiveness. Until such time, rather than belittle them, I think they should receive a round of applause.
p.s. And of course, any legitimate and sustainable business will be able to provide sufficient information and answer reasonable questions about their business operations. THAT stops bad press and guides people towards those businesses that are worth joining without fear of loss or illegality.
I think I might have to side with SBB on this one. Other than his/her quotes around “alleged” scams in the initial post, it does not appear as if SBB is clearly in favor of the AVG Ponzi. I think it is only fair that he/she be allowed to ask the questions that he/she is asking, since it is known that seasoned scammers, once a scam has been busted open, often pile on to the busted scam (see: Faith Sloan and Noobing). I don’t personally take offense, and SBB for the record I get zilch/nada/squat for any activities or posts I make. Philosophically I also support sites like eagleresearchassociates and this blog in making a few nickels at the very least in order to pay the server charges. Exposing criminal activity is a reasonable pursuit…….IMHO
Hi alasycia,
I’ve written about this before, but what caught my attention out of the gate were the organized attacks by ASD members on websites that raised questions.
It’s a pattern. So is innuendo. So is the strain of threats. Much of it is passive-aggressive in nature, with “smilies” or some other device used to repress the hostility. It often is deeply sarcastic and contains veiled language.
Some of it has been downright aggressive and ugly, filled with invective or ad hominem attacks — or both.
None of it can pass a “real world” test. The communications are revealing by their very nature.
More than anything else, the people are what keep me writing about these events. From fireworks and champagne after the evidentiary hearing to celebrate the perceived win by Perry Mason over Gomer Pyle — to attacks on the judge as brainless and on-the-take and, ultimately, to attacks on Perry Mason and the celebration of Andy Bowdoin’s destructive, pro se pleadings — well, there isn’t a better people story out there.
Thanks for your note — and thanks to Pat, too.
Patrick
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I write one post, I attempt to be nice, not easy to do in a blog since you can not see me and it can easily be miscontrued, and yes I use the occasion smiley face so that readers will hopefully understand my purpose. The fact is you should all “welcome” the questioning. Why? Because if you successfully answer the questions it lends that much more creditability to your site.
“We don’t need your stamp of approval” you may say. I’m not asking for it. I’m just one more person looking around the Internet wondering why so many people like yourself (Patrick), with obvious talent and a good heart with a desire to help people focus so much time on a single issue like this ASD thing. It’s all over your website. It seems to be the single thing you focus on except for Bernie and that’s news that you can get anywhere.
I have no horse in the ASD AdSurf group or whoever they are. But there are obviously people who have responded to your threads that do. My point is that I believe sites like yours, whether doing a good thing or not, capitalize on things like the ASD story to drive people to their site. That’s all. You stay on topic, they google it, they end up here by the 1000’s. So I’m on a mission to find out is scam busters are really trying to scam bust or if they just use a single issue like this to drive traffic to their site, and if so why?
For the record I know of http://www.eagleresearchassociates.org and have a personal friend who claims to know at least one person who runs that site personally. So if you are associated in any way with them it lends much credibility to your cause. Again I know you don’t need my stamp of approval but who knows. Perhaps someday everyone will go to The Scambuster – Buster website to check on exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about.
Now Pat Dunn it’s good to know that you are not Patrick. I will assume that is the truth and at this point I have no reason to doubt it. But you and alasycia obviously did not get my point about innuendo. I am “absolutely” using innuendo to get to the truth. That’s why I said, and Patrick would know this as an ex-police officer, that innuendo is a great strategic tool to get to the truth. If you don’t like that you need thicker skin. :-) That was for whoever has a problem with the smiley face. I hope we can still be friends, seriously, I mean that, now get outta here. (To quote Bill Murray) It’s a joke guys.
And yes, I could have just asked straight out, “why are you doing this”. But I don’t do things that way for a few different reasons. First, people on the Internet generally do not tell the truth about what they are doing or why they are doing it. I think both are relevant to have long term success on a website like this. alayscia you said this yourself although you were talking about AVG or ASD or USD or whoever they are.
“And of course, any legitimate and sustainable business will be able to provide sufficient information and answer reasonable questions about their business operations.â€
What’s wrong with applying the same standards to this site?
Second, the way someone responds when questioned tells you a lot about a person. Usually defensiveness is employed because one is uncomfortable with the questions. And I can’t see your facial expression or which way your eyes are looking so I have to rely on written response and whatever emotion is behind that. Third the way someone is treated, even someone who might be a little annoying, also says a lot about whether someone really cares about the people they are blogging to or if they just get off hearing themselves speak, or in this case blog. The fact is I am harmless unless I’m right.
And Pat you obviously did not see my comment about my hat being off to Patrick if he is in fact just a nice guy out to warn people. Again, it shows your defensiveness and frankly a lack of taking everything I said in the context and spirit which it was given or possibly only reading what jumps out at you negatively. Patrick has his mission here and I have mine. Mine is to find out why a website focuses on a single issue with claims that are purportedly not provable, or at least that’s what the people responding think, you know the ones that have a horse in the race? I think it’s to make money. If it is great! I’m a capitalist so I’d say that’s a good thing. But trying to disguise it as just doing good is disingenuous and it doesn’t help credibility.
Also, I’ve said repeatedly that your site interests me because it focuses on a single issue, I believe to drive traffic to the site. I’ve never once defended AVG. Not once.
And yet you claim I have defended it vigorously. To quote alasycia, Puleez. Pat lighten up. Read what I’m writing and don’t be so defensive. We could actually end up having a nice conversation. I am a networker. My interest in sites like this came from my pursuit or “legitimate†network marketing businesses. Whenever I’d google them I’d invariably come across a site like this one that bad mouthed it. The more visibility or news the business had the more negative stuff I’d find and oddly enough there was always one website that stood out at the top of the google list. I don’t remember exactly what got me to this site but it was in the process of entering key words that I ended up here. I saw the single issue angle (although there are a few other things that are written about) saw the responders, started to check it out and click on the ad that Google confirmed to me was a scam. I thought, “what’s a scam buster doing posting an ad that’s a scam. The rest is blogged here for all to see.
I have since checked out AVGA been to their website and talked to a few people that are involved. Turns out a few people in my networking circles have heard of it and I was able to talk to some pretty high ups. I’m not going to mention names cause it’s not fair to do that. I will say that I’m not afraid they are going to destroy people’s lives. People will always get involved with things like this because they are hoping for that one quick thing to bring in the cash. A few might even make money and get out before the ball drops, which could take years. Who knows, maybe I’ll join, throw a few hundred dollars in there and see what happens just so I can report back. I’ve done it before and I’m not afraid of what might happen. I would not refer anyone for some time until I knew what was going on with the company and even then it would be simply to show them in case they had interest. I don’t recruit, it’s bad for networking.
At any event this has become a book and I’m sure I’ll get slammed again momentarily. Please read the whole thing before you slam me. I’m really not the monster you suppose. I’m actually a pretty nice guy myself. :-)
Respectfully
The Scambuster – Buster
Don’t kid yourself, Mrs. You nor any of the other diehards would have taken a blind bit of notice. No matter how entertaining and informative this site may be, it is not nor will it ever be a cure for avarice.
“Perhaps someday everyone will go to The Scambuster – Buster website to check on exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about.”
You got a link, Buster?
http://asdgodsown.ning.com/
Buster seems to be using the popularity of Patrick’s site to attract viewers to his own site. Not nice.
Oh? How about this?
http://asd-biz.ning.com/group/announceyourbusiness/forum/topics/2406462:Topic:835
Hi Kathy,
When I first started covering ASD, I was plagued by spam Comments from ASD members. Some of them didn’t bother even to respond to a post. They just created an ad for their website and inserted their links.
Patrick
“I am a networker”
That explains a great deal (if of course it’s true. lol)
Just suppose you had to explain to a child what the career “networker” involved. It is simple – it is the WAY you go about your business and NOT the intrinsic business itself. By the same token, MLM is not a business, it is the WAY you sell your product or service. The nearest one could really get to defining “networker” or even “internet marketer” is to says – I’m in sales and marketing. And the next question will be “what do you sell or market?”
“Networker”, “internet marketer” are words often used by people who spend their lives looking for “business opportunities” to sell to all and sundry – whether by direct or multilevel means.
And what is a “business opportunity”? In the real world, it invariably means the opportunity to invest or participate in some other way in the development and sales of a product or service. However, on the internet especially, it has come to mean someone who lives off sales commissions and other related benefits off one or several different operations, which may or may not have a viable product or service, but which, if you recruit enough salesmen on various levels, provide you with an income for doing nothing more than finding them. The basic product or service rarely has much of a starring role and the item “for sale” is usually the sales system itself.
In fact it often boils down to what a charming supplier of mine from eBay once called, being a seller of “those internet get rich quick schemes”
In reality there are two ways of making a living – providing a product or service, or working for someone who does, or investing (higher risk but passive) The rest is just so much hype.