3HourProfits.com BBB warning – and funniest “As Seen On” claim ever…

I was reading a BBB alert about a site called 3HourProfits.com in which the BBB stated:

3HourProfits.com of Minnesota charged one Wilson consumer to begin applying their internet marketing concepts and claimed the consumer would start making a profit within the first three hours of work. After paying, the consumer was re-routed through PayDotCom.com to set up an account for the commissions she would make. The site would not let her log-in to set up, and after contacting 3HourProfits.com multiple times she has yet to receive a response or reimbursement for the $39 start up fee. 3HourProfits.com is also operating under the name of Force One Events, Inc. and they claim to be ‘ranked #1 on BBBReviews.org.’ BBBReviews.org is in no way associated with the Better Business Bureau. The name is misleading, but neither 3HourProfits.com nor Force One Events, Inc. is a BBB Accredited Business. Force One Events, Inc. has failed to respond to several complaints and has an “F” rating with BBB.”

So, I decided I’d go check out the actual 3HourProfits site. And boy am I glad I did. I was treated to the funniest “As Seen On” claim I’ve ever seen. Tell me if you can figure out what it is in the image below:

Funniest "As Seen On" claim ever

Funniest "As Seen On" claim ever

 

BBB warns of new phishing scheme

A 10/16/2009 BBB alert warned of a new phishing e-mail posing as BBB complaint confirmation:

Beware of Bogus Emails coming from complaintsmajdivision@complaints.bbb.org

Better Business Bureau is alerting consumers and businesses about a new phishing attack that resembles an e-mail confirmation claiming the recipient has filed a complaint with BBB about a business. The malicious e-mails first came to the attention of BBB on Thursday, October 15.

When consumers file a complaint with BBB about a business, they may often receive a confirmation e-mail and subsequent follow-up e-mails from BBB on the status of their complaint. The malicious phishing e-mail attack is designed to mimic a confirmation e-mail from BBB and includes the full name of the recipient and the name of the company they supposedly filed a complaint about.

According to reports to BBB, individuals who have received this e-mail have not actually filed a complaint with BBB but are, instead, employed by the business the e-mail claims they have filed a complaint about.”

I highly recommend you read the rest of the BBB information about this phishing e-mail scheme here which shows a sample of the letter and suggests what you should do about it.

M.O.R.E. Inc. BBB Advertising Review

A very long time ago I ordered a product from M.O.R.E. Inc. called “Dialing for Dollars”. It was a pretty decent product – especially for the time – about using automated answering machines as part of a 2 step direct mail sales process.

It included information about risks involved and was pretty well laid out step by step.

However, immediately after that I remember getting bombarded with direct mail from M.O.R.E. Inc. that made some extremely outrageous claims. I’m going from memory here, but I think one had to do with making a bunch of money just by “mailing two letters” and another had to do with becoming a list broker (which requires a lot of specialized knowledge to do correctly).

Apparently the outrageous claims haven’t stopped according to a recent BBB review of M.O.R.E. Inc.’s advertising practices:

Advertising Review

The company has failed to substantiate advertising claims when requested by the BBB on December 21, 2007 and February 7, 2009.
The business claims the following through mailings and faxes:

  • Average customers have earned between $20,000 and $100,000 per month
  • $10,000 can be earned in the first week prior to “know(ing) anything;
    and
  • the referenced bonous gifts are worth $97,760.

The business has also sent out mail and fax communications stating that their firm is having “big problems” and asking the recipient to assume an equity position in their firm. The BBB requested that the business clarify the nature of the problem and they failed to do so.”

Before proceeding I should mention that I don’t know the exact procedures that the  BBB uses to verify that advertising pieces are actually from the company in question and haven’t been modified or created by a third party.

Also, considering that that company has been in business for 15 years, the complaint history

If this BBB report is accurate, then obviously those are some pretty bizarre claims, not to mention that if M.O.R.E. Inc. was truly offering an equity position in their firm they would possibly be violating SEC regulations on private offerings:

“B. Private Offering Exemption

Section 4(2) of the Securities Act exempts from registration “transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering.” To qualify for this exemption, the purchasers of the securities must:

  • have enough knowledge and experience in finance and business matters to evaluate the risks and merits of the investment (the “sophisticated investor”), or be able to bear the investment’s economic risk;
  • have access to the type of information normally provided in a prospectus; and
  • agree not to resell or distribute the securities to the public.

In addition, you may not use any form of public solicitation or general advertising in connection with the offering.

The precise limits of this private offering exemption are uncertain. As the number of purchasers increases and their relationship to the company and its management becomes more remote, it is more difficult to show that the transaction qualifies for the exemption. You should know that if you offer securities to even one person who does not meet the necessary conditions, the entire offering may be in violation of the Securities Act.

Rule 506, another “safe harbor” rule, provides objective standards that you can rely on to meet the requirements of this exemption. Rule 506 is a part of Regulation D, which we describe more fully on page 24.”

You can read the full BBB report on M.O.R.E., Inc. here

Other sites hosted on the same IP address as MoreIncorporated.com (I have not verified ownership) are:

  • 1-800-487-0023.com
  • 100killerprograms.com
  • 18004870023.com
  • 24hourorderdesk.com
  • 3magicrules.com
  • 5freeprograms.com
  • 60in90.com
  • 60thousandin90days.com
  • 7freeprograms.com
  • 7freesecrets.com
  • 879secrets.com
  • Areyouruthless.com
  • Auctionclearinghouse.com
  • Becomeaplatinummember.com
  • Cashin48hours.com
  • Club20.tv
  • Drnwealthcollection.com
  • Ebookdiv.com
  • Ebookdivision.com
  • Free2990gift.com
  • Free4485gift.com
  • Freegiftdivision.com
  • Freeinfoon.com
  • Freeinternetmarketingcourse.com
  • Freewebsitesofthemonth.com
  • Freewebsitesofthemonthclub.com
  • Getallthesecrets.com
  • Gmwdtracker.com
  • Goesselsnackfood.com
  • Heytj.com
  • Hotrealestatesecrets.com
  • Internetcoachingcenter.com
  • Jointhedrn.com
  • Mailingcoop.com
  • Meetcustomerservice.com
  • Morecommerce.com
  • Moreinc.biz
  • Moreinc.net
  • Moreinccomplaints.com
  • Moreincorporated.com
  • Moreincorporatedinfo.com
  • Moreincorporatednews.com
  • Moreincscams.com
  • Nonegativity.com
  • Parttimeinternetwealth.com
  • Prospectmanagerpro.com
  • Ptiw.com
  • Recessionproofwealthsystem.com
  • Ruthlessmarketing.com
  • Secretinterviews.com
  • Securedataprocessing.net
  • Temporarymembership.com
  • Terencestormpublishing.com
  • Thedrn.com
  • Tjrohledercomplaints.com
  • Top150ebooks.com
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  • Ummsystem.com
  • Unmlm.com
  • Wealthurl.com
  • Whatshotrightnow.com
  • Worldseasiestwaytomakemoney.com
  • Theunmlm.com
  • Threemagicrules.com
  • Tjrohlederinfo.com
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  • Top100ebooks.com
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