I got into an argument the other day with a buddy of mine who is looking for a way to make some extra money. He had been looking around the internet in search of a reliable way to make a few extra bucks each month. After spending a few late nights searching he stumbled onto an idea he liked. It was a data entry service that claimed it would pay him to type simple information into a couple of fields. He could do this right from the comfort of his own home and he’d get paid every two weeks.
This immediately set off the alarms in my head. I’ve seen people fall for data entry scams before and I didn’t want to see it happen to my friend. As I tried to explain it to him he got very upset. He claimed I was trying to put down his idea because he hadn’t consulted me first. I strongly suspected he was making a mistake but to keep the peace I kept my mouth shut and wished him luck.
This morning he called to apologize. He told me he had been had and that he should have listened to me. I managed to fight the temptation to say “I told you so” and asked if I could write a short article about his experience. If you’ve never heard of data entry scams then let me explain how they work so you can avoid getting burned by them.
Most advertisements for data entry jobs lead you to believe you’ll be helping one or more companies enter data into a database or other computer system. When you see these ads you probably think its a form of outsourcing like a medical transcriptionist. All you have to do to start earning a steady income is send away for their information package (and pay a small fee).
But when you get the package you realize you’ve been misled. You actually signed up to be an affiliate of the data entry service itself. Your information packet instructs you to sign up for Google AdWords and place ads for their service (this is where the “data entry” comes in). When someone clicks on your link and signs up you get a commission.
Now this in itself is not wrong. There’s nothing wrong with affiliate marketing and you can make a lot of money doing it. But the scam is that this isn’t what you signed up for. Its blatant false advertising because they never told you:
1. You could have signed up to be their affiliate for free.
2. You’re not doing data entry at all. You’re purchasing advertisements.
3. You have to pay for those advertisements.
4. There’s no guarantee you’ll ever receive a single paycheck.
In my opinion these data entry scams are nothing more than a way to take advantage of people who are looking to make a few extra bucks in their spare time. A year or two ago these services were banned from Clickbank but I’ve seen them popping up with other payment processors here and there.
Buyer beware.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s a shame because these offers look so legit. And there are quite a few of them under different names.
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Data entry jobs like that are usually too good to be true. It’s much cheaper for companies to outsource that kind of work to India.
These make money quick schemes that often seem too good to be true, usually are. I would research into what your getting into before investing time and money into it.
You’re right. If it seems to good to be true it usually is.
Thanks for your article. What I was hoping is you could do one on the other hand-legit ways to make money online. Because you know we are looking for these! And it is extremely difficult to find a trustworthy source. Some of the pay us upfront start to look pretty inviting after enough searching. Thx
Hey T, i definitely plan to write more about making money online. There are many ways to do so but you have to watch out for the snake oil salesmen trying to rip you off.
I saw a work from home job posted on workopolis and sent an email to the address provided. I found it odd that the email address was kijijisomething @live.ca and not an email address with the company’s name in it. I do not know anything about these work from home internet data entry jobs but I do know there are work from home jobs that are legit and this particular one sounds good but also made me wary enough to try to investigate it further. The company’s name is Money Today and they ask for a $10.00 fee up front for a training manual and once you start working you get paid every day via pay pal. The job is processing applications for people starting home businesses. If anyone has any knowledge on this company I would greatly appreciate hearing what you have to say on it. I am going to keep looking online myself to see what I can find out. Thank you in advance to anyone who has ay ideas on this or knows something about it.
I just found something similar – same company name and everything – on Kijiji – this one actually as a person’s name and a personal email attached to it though. The fee this time is only $5 and I have to admit, I was tempted but decided to do a bit of checking first. Have there been any replies to Greg’s questions?
Hi Greg and Chris … I also saw ad on Kijiji for data entry work posted Nov. 23, 2011 by “Money Today”. I sent email expressing interest and received immediate response from firewoodhere @hotmail.com instructing me to send $7 to cathy70 @live.ca. for training manual & info. Sounds like same thing you guys are referring to. Did you ever find out it if truly is a scam? Look fwd. to your replies. Thanks, Shirley
Hey Shirley
I didn’t follow through enough (like replying to the email address or contacting someone like the BBB) to find out how it was a scam, it looked like one to me and not being familiar with these scams the fact my untrained eye could pick it out as one was really good enough evidance for me.
Hi Greg,
I also recd. a mail from the same company named money today and asked to open $7 as one time fee. The mail i got from somebody named lisa and also was asked to open a ay pal account. hope this help.
i have still not signed up with them.
thanks
Hey Rachna
Not sure why but my replies seem to be in waiting moderation limbo.
I got another email from Rachel taylor a recruiter from Fran recruiting this morning. Apparently my management, initiative and work experience makes me a natural to run my very own business. And the best part is out of the goodness of their hearts they say they will help me for free. They have 2 links on the email and one is for a get started form which I am thinking about filling out but in a way they wont like. It is a little childish but I am tired of getting these emails (I have tried to block them but they get through anyway) and email scams in general.
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