You may have
received a letter (or seen an advertisement) promoting a seminar
or conference that promises to help you make a lot of money on
the Internet.The scam artists lure would-be entrepreneurs with
false promises of big earnings for little effort. They pitch their
fraudulent offerings on the Web; in e-mail solicitations; through
infomercial's, classified ads and newspaper and magazine "advertorials";
and in flyers, telemarketing pitches, seminars, and direct-mail
solicitations.
'Earn up to
$100,000 per year! At the world’s most successful marketing
seminar, we’ll show you how to multiply your money in 6
months or less -- with little risk. Our experts will teach you
the latest insider marketing secrets for making money fast. You
can’t afford to pass up this valuable opportunity. It starts
out with a free one to three hour seminar (free meak, organizer,
etc.), at which they tell you for a small fee, you can attend
a one day Internet training seminar.
What a pitch!
Seminar hucksters say they’ll give you valuable information
about how to invest successfully or operate a profitable business.
Their "success stories" and testimonials seem to show
that anyone who attends the seminar can make money from the investment
and business program they’re selling. Some promoters may
even claim to have gotten rich from their own investment in the
program.
If you attend
one of these seminars, you’ll hear a series of sales pitches
for a variety of business opportunities and investments. Consumers
who invest in these "opportunities" frequently find
that the pay-off isn’t as promised -- and they can’t
recoup the money they spent. For your investment of $2,000 to
$8,000, a promoter will promise software, training and technical
support. And the company will encourage you to call its references.
Make sure you get many names from which to chose. If only one
or two names are given, they may be "shills" - people
hired to give favorable testimonials.
Keep in mind
that just because a company has a flashy Web site doesn't mean
it is legitimate.
These scams
often target people who are eager to learn and use technology
but are not yet Internet savvy. The Federal Trade Commission wants
to alert you to the secrets of the seminar squeeze.
Don’t
Get Hit By The Pitch. Promises of quick, easy money can be a powerful
lure. If you buy into a business opportunity at a seminar, you
may find that the products and information you purchased are worthless
and that your money is gone. Read
how you can avoid this. More ... http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/seminar.htm
