Google Scam is Now Using the Yahoo Trademark

Most of us have heard of the Google scam, where people sign up and think they are going to work for Google posting links. Well, they are now using Yahoo to lure the desperate in their scam.

If this is the first you are hearing about this type of scam, let me give you a crash-course on the how the Google scam works. While on the internet, a pop-up window will appear, usually with someone holding a check from Google showing they have been "paid". They claim that they are endorsed by ,USA Today, MSNBC, Fox News, ABC, and CNN. They claim that Google is hiring people to work at home posting links for them. All you have to do according to the Web site is order the "Google Business Kit" for $1.97. What they don't tell you unless you find the tiny link for the Terms & Conditions is that the kit never arrives, the initial amount charged is actually $2.97 and your credit card is charged $74.97 per month. What they also do which is not listed in their Terms & Conditions or anywhere else on their Web site is that they will use your credit card information to sign you up for other offers, such as "ExpenseTracker" for recurring monthly fees. You will receive a series of emails from them thanking you for your order and it is in those emails that you are told what you are really being charged. Then they give you a link to a Web site to get started. Once you go to the Web site from the link in the email, you realize that it has nothing to do with Google, and they instruct you to sign up for all sorts of programs and inform you that to earn money, you must purchase equipment and services.

In the Terms & Conditions as well as in the confirmation emails, they tell you that you can cancel anytime by calling a 800 number, however, when you call you will either get an answering machine or a disconnect signal. The only way to stop them from draining your bank account or charging your entire credit card limit is by canceling your cards and notifying the bank of fraud.

What is interesting is that the phone number for all these programs that you did not sign up for is the same, which means that the company is running their scam using many different business names. My email confirmations came from "FastBlogIncome" and "ExpenseTracker". Although "FastBlogIncome" arrived in my inbox, "ExpenseTracker" went to my spam folder, which I rarely check. This is what they count on, because if you don't know they are charging you, then you can't cancel in time. Another interesting fact is that they count on people waiting for their business kits to arrive in the mail, and by the time they look into why their order has not arrived, they realize that the 3 day trial is over and they are unable to cancel. By that time, hundreds of dollars have already been charged.

On the sign-up page they forgot to update the page title to Yahoo, because it still says "Google Home Income". They have also updated the networks they claim to be endorsed by. They have now added CNN, CNBC, and have posted the logos for Twitter and Yahoo Messenger under "As Seen And Trusted By..."and I'm sure they will add others. They have renamed the "Google Business Kit" to the "Yahoo Work At Home Kit". I see from the Web site that they have update the trial fee to the actual charge of $2.95. They are advertising that your first checks will be as much as $1,500 per week. They also have a list of "responses" from people who claim to have tried this program with positive results or are thinking about it. Of course, all the responses are glowing and they have "closed comments due to Spam".I checked the Terms & Conditions for this "Yahoo Work At Home" opportunity to see if anything had changed since my experience with the "Google Business Kit" scam. With the "Google Business Kit" scam, their official business name was Pacific WebWorks, With the Yahoo version of the scam, they are using the official business name of Creative Search Training. Also, they have also changed the billing amounts. It states, "If you do not cancel within the 3-day trial period, you will be charged a one-time amount of $129.95. In addition, you will be provided access to an online Learning Center which will bill at $39.98, unless you cancel, 30-days from the date of enrollment and you will be re-billed every 30 days at $39.98, unless you cancel. You will also receive a Risk Free 14-day Trial membership to HomeSource. If membership is continued you will automatically be charged $29.95 a month." This makes a total of over $200 that they charge you. They have decided to disclose the fact that they sign you up for other programs, which was not stated in the Terms And Conditions when I signed up for the "Google Business Kit" about a month ago. Instead of you being signed up and charged for a service called "ExpenseTracker", they now call it "HomeSource".

I performed a Google search on the "Google Business Kit" and was relieved to find that CNN reported that Google has sued Pacific WebWorks and several unnamed defendants for using the Google name and trademark to promote fraudulent work-at-home schemes. However, this has not stopped them from now changing it from Google to Yahoo. Concerned that others may fall prey to this scam like I did, I contacted Yahoo to let them know of their name being used in a fraudulent manner, but have yet to receive a response. A search on "Yahoo Work-At-Home Kit" yielded no results.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED:
1. Tell them to refund your money immediately; if this is not possible then notify your bank and cancel your account or credit card if necessary.

2. File a report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

3. File a report with the Federal Trade Commission(FTC)

4. File a report with the Better Business Bureau (BBB)

Remember, the only way to earn money without being scammed or scamming others is by good old-fashioned hard work.

Sources:

Breaking News: Yahoo Now Hiring People To Work At Home, http://www.news33show.com/jobs/yahoo-hiring-you.html

Google Home Income: Sign Up, https://www.internetrichgurus.com/103109/index.php?subid=200041&subid2=104928&hitid=673961991

CNN: Google Takes Work-At-Home Scammers Using Its Logo To Court, http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/08/technology/Google_lawsuit_Pacific_Webworks/index.htm

Internet Crime Complaint Center: File a Complaint, www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx

Federal Trade Commission: Submit a Complaint, www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

Better Business Bureau: For Consumers, http://www.bbb.org/us/consumers