PatrickPretty.com

Tag: TelexFree

  • UPDATE: Pushed To Profitable Sunrise Victims, Biwako Bank Limited Appears To Be DOA

    biwakoadUPDATE: The PP Blog wrote about Biwako Bank Limited on April 29 after it was touted on a Profitable Sunrise Facebook site as a good “program” for individuals ripped off in the alleged Profitable Sunrise pyramid scheme.

    But now Biwako Bank’s website has disappeared, with the “program” apparently following Profitable Sunrise into the darkness.

    “**THIS IS NOT AN HYIP , THIS IS A BANK**” a pitchman bizarrely claimed about Biwako on the Profitable Sunrise Facebook site last month. The program curiously said it hoped to attract “costumers.”

    The non-HYIP claim was made despite the fact Biwako Bank listed four color-coded “plans” that purported to provide daily payouts of between 1.95 percent and 3.05 percent.  The highest-paying plan — the “Red Plan” at 3.05 percent a day — advertised a percentage even higher than the purported “Long Haul” plan of Profitable Sunrise.

    The “Long Haul” plan claimed to pay 2.7 percent a day.

    In April, the SEC alleged that Profitable Sunrise was a pyramid scheme that may have gathered tens of millions of dollars at least in part by using offshore companies and wire transfers.

    Regulators have repeatedly warned about reload scams targeted at victims of fraud schemes. Like Profitable Sunrise, Biwako had a presence on the TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup forums. So did Zeek Rewards, which the SEC described in August 2012 as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme.

    Biwako’s haul is unknown.

    Other reload programs promoted on the Facebook site by boat-sharks include (at least) “SuperWithdraw,” “Whos12,” “Maxi-Cash,” “FairyFunds,” “Roxilia,” “OptiEarn,” “AVVGlobal,” “ProForexUnion,” “MajestiCrown” and “TelexFree.”

  • Profitable Sunrise Facebook Site Changes Graphic To Promote ‘DollarsBluePrint,’ Which Triggers Security Warning

    "DollarsBluePrint" now is being promoted in a big way at a Profitable Sunrise Facebook site.
    “DollarsBluePrint” now is being promoted in a big way at a Profitable Sunrise Facebook site.

    A Facebook site set up to promote the Profitable Sunrise HYIP scheme has changed the lead graphic on the page to drive traffic to a site known as “DollarsBluePrint” — apparently through a web entity known as “Big Idea Mastermind.” The previous lead graphic was a leftover from the fraud reign of Profitable Sunrise.

    The Profitable Sunrise Facebook site has 5,045 likes as of this morning. The SEC has described Profitable Sunrise as an exceptionally murky enterprise that gathered money through multiple other enterprises and may have collected tens of millions of dollars. The website of ProfitableSunrise went offline March 14 or thereabouts.

    In 2010, FINRA issued a warning on HYIP fraud schemes, saying they often trade through social-media sites.

    When the PP Blog sought to view the website at the DollarsBluePrint URL, the Blog’s security software issued a “Dangerous Site” warning that said the Big Idea Mastermind site was exhibiting “one or more risky behaviors.”

    A series of reload scams have been promoted at the Profitable Sunrise Facebook site. In addition to DollarsBluePrint, today’s entries include “Hourly Chic Pay” (again).

    “Up to 260% ROI,” the Hourly Chic Pay promo reads in part. “Get paid by the hour!”

    The promo for DollarsBluePrint reads in part that recruits can “earn 6 figure[s.]”

    “YOU are a WINNER,” it screams.

    Other reload programs promoted on the Facebook site by boat-sharks include (at least) “SuperWithdraw,” “Whos12,” Maxi-Cash,” “FairyFunds,” “Roxilia,” “OptiEarn,” “AVVGlobal,” “ProForexUnion,” “MajestiCrown,” “Biwako Bank Limited” and “TelexFree.”

    The website of Biwako Bank Limited also has triggered browser security warnings.

    Promos for TelexFree have claimed a person can pay the purported opportunity $15,125 and receive at least $1,100 a week for a year. Lesser incomes can be bought for lesser sums, according to the TelexFree promos.

  • Now, Boat-Sharking For ‘Biwako Bank Limited’: Promos Appear On Facebook Site For Profitable Sunrise And Claim Enterprise Is ‘Japan’s Strongest Bank’

    In 2010, FINRA warned that scammers may provide a "Typo Tip-Off." An enterprise whose affiliates are targeting victims of the alleged Profitable Sunrise pyramid scheme says it is trying to attract "costumers."
    In 2010, FINRA warned that HYIP scammers may provide a “Typo Tip-Off.”  In 2013, an enterprise whose affiliates are targeting victims of the alleged Profitable Sunrise pyramid scheme says it is trying to attract “costumers.”

    Biwako Bank Limited caught our attention yesterday after a boat-shark appeared on a Facebook Profitable Sunrise site to promote it while making this claim: “**THIS IS NOT AN HYIP , THIS IS A BANK**”

    The claim is at odds with a claim on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum that Biwako has a “GoldCoders’ HYIP Manager License.”

    Regulators have warned for years that internal inconsistencies are one of the hallmarks of HYIP fraud. In 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) noted that HYIP scammers also often present a “Typo Tip-Off.”

    “Watch out for online postings, website copy or emails that are riddled with typos and poor grammar,” FINRA said. “This is often a tip-off that scammers are at work.”

    Now, with Profitable Sunrise apparently dead in the water after actions by the SEC and numerous state and provincial regulators in the United States and Canada over the past two months, Biwako is informing prospects in a video playing on its website that the enterprise exists to connect “costumers” to new opportunities. It also claims that compounding is “avaliable.”

    Meanwhile, it publishes an investment calculator and appears to imply an association with CNN and Time magazine.

    And despite a Facebook boat-shark’s claim that Biwako is not an HYIP, the website of the purported “opportunity” lists four color-coded “plans” that purport to provide daily payouts of between 1.95 percent and 3.05 percent.  The highest-paying plan — the “Red Plan” at 3.05 percent a day — advertises a percentage even higher than the purported “Long Haul” plan of Profitable Sunrise.

    The “Long Haul” plan claimed to pay 2.7 percent a day.

    Earlier this month, North Carolina issued a warning about “reload scams” aimed at Profitable Sunrise victims.

    Like Profitable Sunrise, Biwako also is being promoted on the Ponzi boards.

    Also see March 27 PP Blog story about Facebook boat-sharking and March 31 story. (The March 31 story reports that promotions for a “program” known as TelexFree claim participants can purchase an income that varies by the amount they invest. Under one scenario outlined in a video, participants who send in $15,125 purportedly are buying an income of $1,100 a week for a year.)

    The TelexFree pitch was similar to pitches for the infamous World Marketing Direct Selling (WMDS) and OneUniverseOnline (1UOL) pyramid schemes, which were exposed in 2005 and operated by James Bunchan and Seng Tan. Those scams resulted in federal prison sentences for both Bunchan and Tan.

     

  • ANNOUNCEMENT: PP Blog Receives Repeated Spams Labeled ‘telexfree’ That Point To YouTube Video For ‘Leads’ Program

    ponzinews1ANNOUNCEMENT: The PP Blog has banned a specific IP that appears to originate in the area of Fort Wayne, Ind.

    Between 1:33 p.m. and 1:36 p.m. today, the IP sought to pull six separate PP Blog stories with the aim of planting spam links. The first story was this one, dated Dec. 17, 2010: URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Secret Service Has Seized More ASD Cash; Forfeiture Complaint Filed Today Against Bank Accounts Controlled By Erma ‘Web Room Lady’ Seabaugh And Robyn Lynn Stevenson

    It was not immediately clear whether the spammer was a bot. What is clear is that the would-be poster used the identity of “telexfree” and sought to plant links to a YouTube video that appears to be selling “leads” for TelexFree and other MLMs. The spams used a gmail address that (in part) included this phrase: “LoBuzcy.”

    On March 31 (Easter Sunday), the PP Blog reported that an apparent Telexfree boat-shark was seeking to recruit members of the collapsed Profitable Sunrise “program”:

    https://patrickpretty.com/2013/03/31/profitable-sunrise-members-targeted-in-easter-sunday-boat-sharking-for-telexfree-on-facebook-viewers-told-they-can-plunk-down-more-than-15000-for-a-contract-that-provides-earnings-of-at-lea/

    The SEC later said Profitable Sunrise was an international pyramid scheme.

    Now, someone appears to be trying to ride on the PP Blog’s bandwidth to drive traffic to a third-party leads provider for the TelexFree “program.”

    This is one of those days that MLM just makes people want to vomit. The would-be spammer sought to use both flattery and derision to drive traffic to the YouTube video for the purported TelexFree “leads”:

    Example of flattery: “Excellent write-up. I definitely love this website. Thanks!” the spammer wrote.

    Example of derision: “The next time I read a blog, Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint me as much as this one,” the spammer wrote.

    More background: On Feb. 15, BehindMLM.com reported that TelexFree was under criminal investigation in Brazil.

    http://behindmlm.com/companies/telexfree-under-criminal-investigation-in-brazil/

    So, what we have here is either a bot or a human being serial-spamming the PP Blog for a leads “program” that:

    Apparently doesn’t care if TelexFree is under criminal investigation if there is money to be made.

    Apparently doesn’t care that TelexFree is being pitched to Profitable Sunrise victims.

    Apparently doesn’t care that the first story targeted in the spam campaign was about the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme as investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.

    Apparently believes that it is entitled to ride on bandwidth provided by Google and the PP Blog because there is money to be made through a purported MLM “leads” program for a company under criminal investigation.

  • Profitable Sunrise Members Targeted In Easter Sunday Boat-Sharking For ‘TelexFree’ On Facebook; Viewers Told They Can Plunk Down More Than $15,000 For A ‘Contract’ That Provides Earnings Of At Least $1,100 A Week

    Old Aunt Ethel will join the masses paying to join TelexFree after she notices the success affiliates are having, according to a video playing on Facebook at Profitable Sunrise site.
    Old Aunt Ethel will join the masses paying to join TelexFree after she notices the success affiliates are having, according to a video playing on Facebook at a Profitable Sunrise site.

    UPDATED 12:42 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) An apparent affiliate for an MLM “program” known as “TelexFree” is trying to recruit Profitable Sunrise members on Facebook on Easter Sunday morning. In yet another stunning example of disconnect within the MLM sphere, a poster left a link to a video titled, “Telex Free — Earn Weekly Posting Ads.”

    Here’s the Facebook text pitch: “Finally! A program the GUARANTEES YOU a WEEKLY INCOME! Takes Minutes Per Day – No Sponsoring – No Sales!”

    The name of TelexFree is not mentioned in the video, which plays on a page styled “EarnWeeklyPostingAds.com” and also within a frame on Facebook itself. The EarnWeeklyPostingAds site appears to be hosted in Utah. Meanwhile, the video playing on the page includes a representation of an artist’s hand making stylistic drawings, including one that represents an old woman dubbed “Aunt Ethel.”

    In the past, according to the video’s male narrator, “Aunt Ethel” was turned off when approached by MLMers. But because TelexFree is a different kind of program that pays people based on their purchase of a “contract,” “Aunt Ethel” will note the success and follow the masses who join the “program” by plunking down sums up to $15,125.

    For the $15,125 sum, recruits will earn a minimum of “never less than $1,100 a week for an entire year.” Lesser sums for the purchase of a “contract” result in lesser earnings, according to the video.

    Everyone — “Aunt Ethel” included — will say the same thing: “I WANT IN,” according to the 7:48 video.

    “And again,” the narrator intones, “if they want to make more money, they can just buy more contracts.”

    The video asserts that TelexFree has a business relationship with the Best Western hotel chain “to build 500 hotels.”

    Profitable Sunrise has been offline for 17 days. In recent days, various boat sharks on FaceBook have been hawking other “programs.” Profitable Sunrise purported to have a “Long Haul” plan that paid 2.7 percent a day. Members purportedly were due an “Easter Gift” to be paid out tomorrow, April Fool’s Day.

    At least 34 regulators in the United States and Canada have issued warnings about the Profitable Sunrise “program.”

    Read the TelexFree review on BehindMLM.com.