JonStarbuck.co.uk

[ Update -> Facebook have had a change of policy and most of the scams are now gone ]

I have blogged before about Facebook allowing their site to be used to advertise scams and cons, how FB know it is going on, how it is a violation of FB’s terms & conditions, and how FB  blatantly don’t care because they allow it to continue. Doing nothing about it makes FB complicit in the scam, they are as guilty of conning people as those placing the adverts.

Facebook advertisements are expensive, anyone offering you something for “free” should be viewed with extreme suspicion, after all why would someone pay loads of money to advertise  something for nothing?

Today I decided to take a look at other adverts on Facebook, see how many of them were also scams… it turns out the answer is a lot! In fact, the vast majority (80% or more) of adverts shown to me today are scams.

I make $$$ doing nothing scams:

Google, Google Kits and other making money for free scams have been blogged about by me, and others, elsewhere. Look here.

Quizzes, “97% of Americans get this wrong”, “how many eyes”, “how many triangles”, “impossible IQ Question”…

There are loads of variations of this one and all of these appear to be scams, not only do they violate Facebook’s own terms and conditions by being fraudulent, they also violate it by directly referencing Facebook in their adds, by pretending to be affiliated with Facebook, and by trapping the user once the advert is viewed.

Here are a just a few examples (there are loads more) advertising their con on Facebook:

http://www.facebook-iq-quiz.com/quiz.html
http://quizyouriq.net/
http://www.iq-center.info/
http://www.triviaspace.net/
http://www.buzzzworthy.com/
http://www.time4quizes.com/5/
http://www.themindquiz.com/
http://freshpuzzles.com/quiz/

How are they scams?

All of them are after your cell/mobile number. They start off by wasting a load of your time answering questions and then they ask for your cell/mobile number in order to send you the answer…. why do they want your phone number? Well take a look at their disclaimer:

This is an auto renewing subscription service that will continue until cancelled anytime by texting STOP to short code 40544. Available to users over 18 for $9.99 per month charged on your wireless account or deducted from your prepaid balance…

In other words, by giving them your cell number they are allowed to charge a load of money to your phone every month for nothing. It is a scam.

Free credit report, scam.

By law Americans are entitled to view their credit report for free but this is not what these guys are offering you. For example www.creditreportamerica.com have been shown over and over to be a scam, see here, and yet here they are advertising on Facebook…

On their own website it says:

… you agree to pay the Activation Fee and the monthly Membership fee of Eleven Dollars and Ninety-Five Cents ($29.95)… Should you choose not to cancel your Additional Services, you will be billed six dollars and ninety five cents ($6.95) each month… and nine dollars and ninety five cents ($9.95) each month… charges for Additional Services are non-refundable and a monthly one dollar ($1.00) transaction fee applies to each…

… and what do you get for this $40 odd a month? Nothing which you can’t get for free directly from Equifax, Experian and other credit report agencies.

Trick to whiter teeth, scam

It turns out cathysteeth and other similar sites advertising on Facebook are scams. They use the same trick as above, on top of the $7 you pay for your “free” sample, you end up paying $70 a month for your teeth whiting kit and another $55 a month for membership if you don’t cancel.

Thing about Cathysteeth.com is they are trying to sign you up to two scams at once (teethwhiteningnow.net and moviestarlook.net) and this going to add up to hundreds of $$ a month.

Claim your Government handout here, scam.

The same scam yet again, advertising on Facebook;  http://www.grantnow.com/

These guys are implying they are the US Government and that there is a grant waiting with your mane on it waiting to be claimed, all you have to do is give them you name, address, credit card details and a shipping charge of $1.95 and “grant kit” is yours, along with “Business Edge Network” and “Google Profit Biz”.

If you don’t cancel you will be charged and additional $70 a month… (I think you may be noticing a pattern here by now).

In big letters at the top of the page it say:

Only $1.95 shipping

At the bottom of the page in tiny letters it says:

By submitting this form I am ordering the $59.97 Grant Now Information and seven day trial. After the seven day trial I will no longer be able to receive a refund for $59.97. After a fifteen day trial of Google Profit Biz I will be charged $9.97 a month thereafter if I do not cancel. After a thirty day trial of Business Edge Network I will be charged $59.97 a month thereafter if I do not cancel. I have read and agree to the PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS & CONDITIONS.

And on the terms and conditions page it says:

Memberships will renew automatically every 30 days and will be billed at the rate of $59.97 for “Business Edge Network” and $9.97 for “Google Profit Biz” or the then applicable rate, unless cancelled in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. This agreement is subject to change at any time, and changes may be effective without notice upon each Subscriber.

Who is searching for you, scam.

[sorry, not written this yet, not even sure it is a scam... ]

Free computer/mac/mountain bike/camera.

While it does not appear to be a scam the internetgiveawaygroup are widely associated with spam, misleading information and unethical promotions. See here for more.

Rezvmax anti ageing, scam.

Several anti ageing scams are regully advertised on Facebook, one is “Rezvmax”

http://www.rezvmax.com/offer/rezvmax/

Not only does the product not work any better than a glass of red wine or some fresh fruit (it contains anti-oxidants) , if you read their terms and conditions you will see that if you don’t cancel after 15 days the $3.95 you paid for your “free” sample will be followed up by $87.13 every 30 days.

http://www.google.com/search?q=rezvmax+scam

Diet pills, scam.

“Acai Burn”, “Acai Burn Extreme” and so on; miracle diet pills advertised on Facebook and  all scams. Not only do they not work, if you don’t cancel your “free trial” within 14 days you will be charged over $100 a month. Nice.

HHO and run your car on water scam

Facebook advertise the HHO scam on their site. I have blogged about it a lot before so I’m not going to repeat it here. For more information on the HHO scam click here.