Homeworkers Wanted: Make Hundreds Weekly Stuffing Envelopes!!!

Dale King · 12-04-2007, 08:52 AM

Since this is the season when a lot of people get ripped off, I thought that this was an important topic.

While browsing through a popular business opportunity magazine the other day, I noticed that one of the all-time classic scams seems to be as popular as ever. I'm talking about stuffing envelopes for money, of course.

I'm sure you've seen the ads where the companies claim they will pay you a dollar or more for each envelope you stuff, along with the fake testimonials of individuals claiming they make hundreds or even thousands of dollars per week stuffing envelopes.

I have four words for you: DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! Why would a legitimate company based in Anywhere, USA, advertise nationally for homeworkers to stuff envelopes, when they have thousands of individuals right in their own backyard that they can hire?

In addition, they charge you a $49.95 "application fee" for the privilege of working for their company. It just doesn't make any sense. Especially when you consider the fact that nowadays there is state-of-the-art mailing equipment that can stuff thousands of envelopes in minutes for mere pennies apiece.

Here's how the scam works: After you send in your aforementioned application fee, you will receive a letter basically instructing you to duplicate their success by advertising the same scam ad that you originally responded to.

Many people are so desperate to make money, without actually having to work for it, they'll go along with the scam and end up ripping off other gullible individuals.

Anyway, that's how the envelope stuffing scam works. Be wary of this and other homeworking scams. And remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't!

Dale King

Dale King · 12-04-2007, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krupt

Dale,

I think you are "warning" the wrong trget audience here with this article/warning/post

You should be well aware people or a market on such a forum as this or even internet users would not fall for such a thing.

The type of people, the market that would fall for such a thing, you could say are less educated. Most probably havn't even gone to university.

Low income, less educated individuals. Which, in a country as big as USA, is quite a high %

Your warning the wrong crowd Mr Marketing

Au contraire. Reading a lot of these posts, it's obvious to me that not everyone who visits this forum is as sophisticated as you might think. Having said that, this post isn't meant for everyone. So if it doesn't apply to you, simply disregard.

Dale King

ncik · 12-04-2007, 02:31 PM

Websites trying to sell these con's can usually be recognised a mile off, showing many 'testimonials' (always fake) from apparently happy clients, babbling on for ages, and often contradicting themselves, using bad grammar and spelling as they're put together so quickly.

Then of course, after all that, they'll ask for some money for some kind of 'starter pack'.

I do agree with krupt - Most in this forum would not fall for the scam, apart from perhaps the younger and less experienced members.

Dale King · 12-04-2007, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncik

Most in this forum would not fall for the scam, apart from perhaps the younger and less experienced members.

I'll say it again. My post isn't for everyone. If it doesn't apply to you, simply disregard.

Dale King

ncik · 12-04-2007, 02:42 PM

Oh I'm not saying it shouldn't be said. The people that run those kinds of sites annoy me so much I'd rather it was all out in the open, with the hope that they'll all give up eventually and get a proper job.

Dale King · 12-04-2007, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncik

Oh I'm not saying it shouldn't be said. The people that run those kinds of sites annoy me so much I'd rather it was all out in the open, with the hope that they'll all give up eventually and get a proper job.

I wish I didn't have to make these kinds of posts. Unfortunately tens of thousands of people get ripped off by these scams every single year, and believe it or not, a small percentage of those victims are members of this forum - even if they choose not to admit it. That's who my post is for.

Dale King

Online Super Sale · 12-04-2007, 03:00 PM

I wonder if we have people on this forum who make a living running a scam.

A really huge one i almost bought into was that of Poetry.Com: Free Poetry Contest, Poems, Publishing

It seems legimate but do a quick search "poetry.com scam" I was sooo surprised, I thought my poetry was actually chosen from a panel of judges, but in fact anything you submit will win an award.

Dale King · 12-04-2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Online Super Sale

I wonder if we have people on this forum who make a living running a scam.

I believe that the majority of people on this forum are honest and run legitimate businesses. However, there are a few scam artists on this forum. To think otherwise is being naive.

Dale King

ncik · 12-04-2007, 03:34 PM

It would be quite interesting to research these kinds of scam sites and profile the owners, to see if there's any big players.

Dale, do you know of any published figures or research down this line?

Starlor · 12-05-2007, 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale King

Au contraire. Reading a lot of these posts, it's obvious to me that not everyone who visits this forum is as sophisticated as you might think. Having said that, this post isn't meant for everyone. So if it doesn't apply to you, simply disregard.

Dale King

Nobody is too smart or sophisticated to get scammed. Sure people who work minimum wage get scammed, but so do CEOs, lawyers, doctors, etc. The only real difference is the type of scam involved. Having said that, if a CEO is looking to make a few extra hundred dollars a week stuffing envelopes, he's either a very had worker or he's got some issues.

On a side note, even the low-level scammers are getting more sophisticated. The trend is moving towards using templates from legitimate sites like careerbuilder.com so that they can portray the scam as a legitimate job in the hopes that the victim won't figure out what's going on until it's too late.

dfveteran · 12-05-2007, 08:11 AM

From my experiences, book smart people seem to be more gulable than street smart people. Street smart people are usually found in poor city areas, those are the people that are less likely to be scammed.

Steet smart people are usually the ones that say "no way, thats too good to be true". Usually because they have seen it before or heard that it was a scam. Book smart people just take for granted that the ad is possibly telling you the truth, lol. It has something to do with being book smart. It shuts off the side of the brain that gives you the intiuition that someone may be lying to you. Therefor book smart people tend to think everyone is telling the truth. That makes book smart more likely to be scammed.

I have seen tons of book smart people fall for this scam through the years. Some of them I even warned before hand and they still did it. Usually with a comment like "they cant advertise it ,if it isnt true". LOL

And I can't think of any of my street smart friends or myself that ever fell for this scam.

Just my 2 cents. Thanks for the information Dale, very informative as usual. You still rock!

jasaunders · 12-05-2007, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfveteran

From my experiences, book smart people seem to be more gulable than street smart people. Street smart people are usually found in poor city areas, those are the people that are less likely to be scammed.

I disagree. I think one only needs to look at the housing market now. The problem is in subprime ARMs where mortgage brokers convinced borrowers that they can afford houses at nice low rates. The majority of this occured in poor urban areas. The people in these areas were more or less scammed into buying a house, they didn't realize or take the time to find out what would happen when their adjustable rate reset. On the other end of the specturm, prime mortgages, even prime ARMs have not been nearly as disastrous.

dfveteran · 12-05-2007, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasaunders

I disagree. I think one only needs to look at the housing market now. The problem is in subprime ARMs where mortgage brokers convinced borrowers that they can afford houses at nice low rates. The majority of this occured in poor urban areas. The people in these areas were more or less scammed into buying a house, they didn't realize or take the time to find out what would happen when their adjustable rate reset. On the other end of the specturm, prime mortgages, even prime ARMs have not been nearly as disastrous.

Nice I didnt know that. I was more or less referring to this letter stuffing scam though,lol. But yes I see your point. Different spectrums can be scammed in different ways.