Money Tree 4 Moms

Now that you are looking online for ways to make money, you’re bound to run across hundreds, if not thousands, of “get-rich-quick” or “easy money” schemes that not only won’t work for you, they will rob you of your time and hard-earned cash. So every now and then I will risk the wrath of the Marketing Gurus and “name names” on some scams that I find particularly offensive. Ready? Here are the first two:

• Maverick Money Makers Club (Mack Michaels)
  The web site for MMM states that the system was “developed by millionaires” and it’s been “proven to generate at least $354.97 per day.” It claims to be “the most effective step-by-step money making system in existence,” and that it’s been “seen on” CNBC, CNN, Fox News, Small Business Opportunities, CBS News, and Reader’s Digest. Your first warning sign should be that searching on the web sites for any of these publications and media outlets brings up absolutely nothing for either “Maverick Money Makers” or “Mack Michaels.”It is nearly impossible to turn up any unbiased information for this program, because a web search brings up thousands of pages, reviews, and articles published by MMM members, all trying to sell you the program and earn a commission for themselves. As best I can tell, the entire program consists of signing up to re-sell programs for Mack Michaels (if that’s really his name… more on that in a bit), in order to earn themselves an affiliate commission. Oh yeah, Mr. Michaels will also charge you $97/month for the privilege of belonging to his “club.”

  Finally, it seems that “Mack Michaels” has been known in the past as “Chris Luck,” “Chris Cavalli,” and “Chris Clayton.” Before MMM appeared on the scene, Chris Luck was running a suspiciously similar program on the now-defunct site IncomeGreed.com.

  My best advice to you is to run screaming in the other direction from Mack Michaels and his Maverick Money Makers.

• Pay-to-Click (PTC) Programs
  This is not a single program, but an entire class of schemes that you should completely avoid. Briefly, PTC programs show you links to advertisements which you are required to view (or leave up on your screen) for a specified period of time, usually about 30 seconds. You are paid about $0.01 (yes, one cent) for each ad you view, and you are only allowed to perform a very small number of these each day, usually 3-10.So, what is the appeal of a program where you can earn $0.03-$0.10 (three to ten cents) daily? Well, the real money supposedly lies in referring other people to click on links. Most programs allow you to recruit your own referrals, and they also offer you the opportunity to buy them. If you take the time to apply some math skills and realistic assumptions, you will see that these programs simply are not the “investment” they claim to be. Worse, they tend to be very short-lived, since the owner of the system stays in business long enough to collect your money, but closes down when it’s time to actually start paying out. If you are still considering participating on a PTC scheme, please read the following article: Getting Paid to Surf? One Person’s Alarming Story.