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Pacific WebWorks CEO expresses surprise over Google lawsuit

December 11, 2009 By Paul (Founder, WorkAtHomeTruth) Leave a Comment

The Salt Lake City Tribune has just reported that the CEO has expressed surprise over the Google lawsuit stating that “Pacific WebWorks insisted Wednesday it was taken unaware by a Google Inc. lawsuit accusing the Salt Lake City company of running an elaborate scam that roped in hundreds of consumers and millions of dollars by trading on Google’s name.”

The full Salt Lake City Tribune story on Pacific WebWorks here details more about the Pacific WebWorks surprise over the lawsuit.

Here are a few other surprises that may be in store for Kenneth Bell, CEO of Pacific WebWorks:

1) The complaint history of Pacific WebWorks discussed in this post called ProfitCenterLearning review revisited (includes a great question by commercial litigation attorney Michael Webster).

2) The first manned moon landing  – SURPRISE!

3) The invention of Television – seriously, it’s been invented. No really…look:

4) The Great Big Beautiful Bowl was in fact just a big plastic bowl:

5) And of course a bit of shocking news about this guy (sorry folks):

Filed Under: Legal Issues, News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Google Lawsuit Against Pacific WebWorks – Prediction…

December 9, 2009 By Paul (Founder, WorkAtHomeTruth) Leave a Comment

I have an unsettling prediction about the impact the recent Google Lawsuit against Pacific WebWorks will have – and my prediction is that it will have little to no impact in the long-term.

Why? Because it’s still incredibly easy for companies running hidden negative option scams or misleading people using the Google Trademark to cover their tracks and remain invisible.

Sure, there are easy targets that weren’t smart enough to cover their tracks or bizarrely believed they were forever immune to the type of lawsuit Google recently filed, but unless

A) the anonymous corporation and secret banking loopholes discussed in the post Digging deeper into hidden negative option scams are closed.
AND
B) There is a tremendous increase in funding for Federal Law Enforcement Agencies
AND
C) There is MUCH better coordination between U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Agencies (which is starting to happen)
AND
D) There is MUCH better coordination between countries in fighting cross-border fraud (note, the U.S. Safe Web Act has been used in a few recent FTC cases)
AND
E) There are stricter penalties and actual jail time for companies/individuals who perpetrate such scams on consumers
AND
F) There are stricter penalties or higher fines for incorrect WhoIs information that remains in place after a registrar requests it be updated.

Related:

Filed Under: Legal Issues Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Google forgets to disable Pacific WebWorks Adwords account?

December 9, 2009 By Paul (Founder, WorkAtHomeTruth) 2 Comments

After reading the news today about Google suing Pacific WebWorks, a lot of us who have been reporting on Pacific WebWorks and other companies which seem to use the Google Trademark in a deceptive manner…were thrilled to see Google take this action.

So, I decided to see if it was a big enough deal to make the top of Google itself. Well, it did…but not exactly in the way I expected. LOL.

Here’s what I got when I searched for “Pacific WebWorks” on Google:

Pacific WebWorks Adv Exact

Pacific WebWorks Adv Exact

Considering all of the Adwords Accounts that Google Disabled it seems a little more than odd that they did NOT disable the account of the company they allege “perpetuate Internet scams on unsuspecting consumers using the trusted Google brand” and have engaged in a “Scheme To Defraud The Public Using Google’s Marks”.

Additionally, according to this Lawsuit Google recently filed against Pacific WebWorks:

“This action seeks to stop a widespread Internet advertising scam that is defrauding the public by misusing the famous Google brand. The scam victimizes unsuspecting consumers by prominently displaying the famous GOOGLE mark, by suggesting sponsorship by the plaintiff, Google Inc. (“Google”), and by urging consumers to obtain a kit supposedly showing them how to make money working from home with Google. The kit is advertised as free, except for a nominal shipping and handling charge or access fee. However, people who sign up for these offers have their credit cards charged with substantial recurring monthly fees. They also receive little of value, or nothing at all, in return for their payments.

Because of the prominent use of the GOOGLE mark and false or misleading statements in the advertisements, consumers are tricked into believing – falsely – that these work-at-home kits are offered, sponsored or endorsed by Google. Consumers have sent letters and e-mails to Google complaining about fraudulent charges. Many have asked Google for a refund or asked Google to cancel the recurring charges, even though Google is not connected to the solicitations. Google has informed the victims that Google is not affiliated with the scam and has referred victims to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). Google has demanded (to no avail) that websites involved with the scam stop using Google’s name and marks, or similarly confusing names and marks. This summer, the FTC obtained an injunction and asset freeze in the District of Nevada against other websites operating a virtually identical scam. While the injunction did lead to removal of a few of the scam websites, thousands more remain, including those associated with Defendants. This, in turn, has compelled Google to file this lawsuit.”
 
Some of the specific Google Kits mentions in their complaint are:
  • Google Adwork
  • Google ATM
  • Google Biz Kit
  • Google Cash
  • Earn Google Cash Kit
  • Google Fortune
  • Google Marketing Kit
  • Google PayDay Kit
  • Google Profits
  • The Home Business Kit For Google
  • Google StartUp Kit
  • Google Works

Some of the credit card processing sites Google mentions in their complaint are:

  • BSSkyTracking.com
  • GoogleWorksToday.com
  • ProcessCartCenter.com
  • SecureCartCenter.com
  • SundayBikeRides.com
  • SafeTrialOffers.com
  • SelfProfitsMadeEasy.com
  • SecureSiteOrders.com
  • YourSearchProfits.com
  • SecureOrderSites.com
  • SecureSiteOffers.com
  • OnlineTrack.com
  • ProfitCenterLearning.com
  • S3curehost.com
  • VisualWebTools.com

Google TradeMark within Domain Names:

The Lawsuit also alleges that “consumers are lured into the scam through a series of
websites that prominently display the Google name, logo and other trademarks. These websites
often include “google” in the domain name address, such as”…

  • GoogleFortuneMembers.com
  • GoogleMoneyProfits.com

Related posts at WorkAtHomeTruth:

There are a bunch more and other sites that were listed in this post:

White Knight SEO-ers ride in on broken horses

Not all of the products mentioned are ones owned by Pacific WebWorks, but the same issues are present as Google details in their lawsuit against Pacific WebWorks.

Other discussions about Pacific Webworks:

Filed Under: Legal Issues Tagged With: , , , , , ,