To close the chapter on doublers I present this article by David Congreave. You may email him at : david@thenettle.com
The Truth About Doublers
In 1919 Charles Ponzi invited business men and women to invest in his business and promised to double their money. Returns were guaranteed. Charles Ponzi recruited new investors and used their funds to pay earlier investors. Unsustainable, the business eventually collapsed leaving a great number of people with nothing to show for the funds they had committed. Charles Ponzi was imprisoned and from that day, scams that mimicked this approach became known as ‘ponzi schemes’.
In more recent times, many of these types of schemes go by the name of ‘Doublers’, ‘Triplers’, 'Bubbles', 'Cyclers', 'Gifting' and other variations. When this article uses the term ‘Doubler’ it is referring to a scheme that operates in the same way as a ‘ponzi’ scheme. However, this article is not suggesting that all schemes including the name ‘Doubler’ are ponzi schemes.
If you have joined, or are considering joining, a money doubler program, study it carefully to see if it operates as a ponzi scheme.
Some ponzi schemes provide you with a product or service in exchange for your investment in a bid to achieve the appearance of legitimacy. Don’t be fooled! If a program promises all investors a complete return on their investment without limiting the number of applicants, this program is almost certain to collapse.
Legitimate enterprises will limit the number of investors or require members to achieve their own sales. A legitimate enterprise will never guarantee a profit.
Illegal
The laws of the country you live in may prohibit running, or investing in, a ponzi scheme. Owning a ponzi scheme, investing in a ponzi scheme or permitting a ponzi scheme to be promoted through your website or advertising network, may be illegal.
Remember, ponzi schemes rarely use the word ‘ponzi’ in their name. ‘Doubler’, ‘Tripler’, ‘Cycler’ are all common euphemisms for this kind of operation. Before investing in any program, examine it carefully to see how income will be generated.
If you knowingly involve yourself with a ponzi scheme, you run the risk of losing your investment, damaging your reputation, or even legal action.
Immoral
The modern Internet Marketer may well be familiar with Doubler programs and how they operate.
Some Internet Marketers have written ill-advised articles that demonstrate the best way to profit from money doubler programs without losing your investment. Usually this runs along the lines of ‘join a program early and withdraw your funds before the program collapses’, effectively using Doublers as a form of gambling.
Putting aside the obvious financial risks of such an approach, this view selfishly ignores the large number of people who will lose their investment from the program.
When a Doubler program collapses, everyone who invested last loses their investment. In some cases this can affect hundreds or even thousands of people. Sadly, many of these will assume that it was the individual program, rather than the concept, that was to blame and will try again with a new program.
It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to work out that if you put any number in a calculator and multiply the result by 2 over and over, the number grows exponentially. Even the most avidly promoted Doubler will collapse when the number of new investors required to sustain the program becomes unachievable.
If you are tempted to speculate on these programs, please remember this one important point:
The money you receive comes ultimately
from the people that lose their investment
And, unlike gambling, many of these people were unaware that their investment was at risk.
If you involve yourself with a Doubler program with full knowledge of how they work, you are giving your approval to a fraudulent operation that is tantamount to theft.
Would you steal your neighbours television set because they accidentally left their front door unlocked? Would you knowingly purchase stolen goods?
If your answer is ‘Yes’ then this article probably means nothing to you. If the answer is ‘No’ then ask yourself why you would give your approval to a Doubler program.
If you are intelligent enough to understand how Doublers work, you are intelligent enough to make an honest income online.
Build your own website. Provide an online service. Sell affiliate products. There are a vast number of legitimate business opportunities available to you without resorting to the underhand tactics used by operators of Doubler programs.
If this article can persuade even a few people to leave these programs alone, then it will have been worthwhile.
====================================================================
Resource Box
Help us build a Better World
Friday, November 12, 2004
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Doublers continued. Ways to recoup
As I mentioned before doublers can make you money. But what happens if you get into one that fails or isn't exactly kosher. There may be a way to recoup "some" of your investment.
First, depending on how you made your original investment get a copy of how much you sent and who you sent it to.
Send the Admin of the program an email asking to have your money refunded. Sometimes it is just a matter of the program stalling and the Admin may return part or all of your investment. In other cases the Admin may be behind several programs and using a fraudulent email. You may have to search around for a valid email. Sometimes you can get it from the domain information at WHOIS.
If you are unsuccessful in finding the Admin and getting him or her to refund your money then you must be prepared to file a complaint.
Perhaps you may eventually get your money back but if not, at least you have placed this person/program on the record as being a ripoff. That in itself may save others from being scammed again in the future.
These 5 options are valid when trying to get your money back from any vendor or program on the internet.
1. If you paid by Paypal, Stormpay, Intgold, eGold,
etc. file a request for a charge back thru them.
2. File thru your respective bank.
3. File thru your credit card company.
4. File a complaint thru http://www.fraud.com/
5. File a complaint thru your city, state, or federal
government offices and fraud divisions of various law enforcement agencies including Postal inspectors.
I have been successful a few times in getting my money back from a failed MLM. Usually it's just a matter of being persistent. However, I have also seen my hard earned cash "fly the coop" never to be seen again. It's a crapshoot at best. There is one thing for sure: "if you don't try to get it back... you never will".
=================================================================
Officially licensed sports products for sale. Support your favorite team
First, depending on how you made your original investment get a copy of how much you sent and who you sent it to.
Send the Admin of the program an email asking to have your money refunded. Sometimes it is just a matter of the program stalling and the Admin may return part or all of your investment. In other cases the Admin may be behind several programs and using a fraudulent email. You may have to search around for a valid email. Sometimes you can get it from the domain information at WHOIS.
If you are unsuccessful in finding the Admin and getting him or her to refund your money then you must be prepared to file a complaint.
Perhaps you may eventually get your money back but if not, at least you have placed this person/program on the record as being a ripoff. That in itself may save others from being scammed again in the future.
These 5 options are valid when trying to get your money back from any vendor or program on the internet.
1. If you paid by Paypal, Stormpay, Intgold, eGold,
etc. file a request for a charge back thru them.
2. File thru your respective bank.
3. File thru your credit card company.
4. File a complaint thru http://www.fraud.com/
5. File a complaint thru your city, state, or federal
government offices and fraud divisions of various law enforcement agencies including Postal inspectors.
I have been successful a few times in getting my money back from a failed MLM. Usually it's just a matter of being persistent. However, I have also seen my hard earned cash "fly the coop" never to be seen again. It's a crapshoot at best. There is one thing for sure: "if you don't try to get it back... you never will".
=================================================================
Officially licensed sports products for sale. Support your favorite team
Thursday, September 30, 2004
A Prime Example
There have always been programs that make claims such as "no sponsoring or recruiting required","we do all the work", "make oodles of cash", etc., etc. In the past, I myself,joined now defunct programs like GMT(Get Moving Today) and FNI (Freedom Network International) with hopes of making a lot of money. Both hyped making money without sponsoring and brought in thousands of people. Ultimately, I was left high and dry along with many other disgruntled patrons. I did manage to make a profit with a smaller program called the The 7th Phase which tried valiantly to continue after the demise of the bigger programs.
"7th phase" recently shut down when the owner determined he could no longer compete within the "tainted environment" left by GMT and FNI. He was honest and I salute his effort. However, people were quite skeptical after getting burned by GMT and FNI. It's a shame that the good guys have to suffer while the scam artists continue to proliferate and invent new ways to get your money.
The recent rise of doubler programs provides a great example of why you should do your homework before jumping into any new program. A lot of people have already been burned by the collapse of a few doubler programs. Perhaps this will help you avoid the same fate.
Doublers operate on the principle of returning double your investment after a period of time. The money you invest is put into a straight line matrix and when enough funds enter the matrix your investment cycles returning double the amount to you. Sounds simple enough.
The danger with doublers is that unless the program is tied to a "legitimate" renewable product it will eventually slow to a point of failure leaving behind a lot of "undoubled" and forfeited cash . That currently is the case with more than a few doubler programs. Had the investors crunched the numbers they would have seen it coming.
Don't misunderstand me. Doublers Do Make Money!. Get in early enough and you can make a lot of money. If and only if the program is legitimate you will continue to make money for years to come. Just know what you are getting into. For those wishing to try one I can only offer these guidelines:
1. Programs must have a legitimate renewable product. Something that people will continue to buy like leads or advertising. Not some one time purchase item or ebook.
2. Know who you are dealing with. Anyone can buy a doubler script for under $300 nowadays and start a program. Make sure they are reputable.
3. Have a success strategy. Try to get your original investment back as soon as possible and then use your profit to continue. Even if the program fails you won't have risked anything.
4. Never risk more than you can afford to lose and don't tie up needed cash. It may take days, weeks or months your reach payout. Don't risk the rent money!
5. Be alert for signs of trouble. It is normal for cycle times to increase as more people invest. However, if the company starts running "cycling specials" that is a strong sign of impending shutdown. The owners are trying to get as much money as possible before making their getaway.
There are a few trustworthy doubler programs out there that should be around for years to come. One is the RSVP program run by Empowerism. Cycle times are currently around 50-60 days but don't fret about that. It is still quicker than your bank don't you agree. The only drawback is that you have to be a member to participate. Membership is by subscription and costs $19.99 a month. However, an Empowerism membership is well worth the cost as they offer some of the best leads, business tools and online training. Such things are must have resources for anyone seeking to make a profit online.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Empowerism-http://www.empowerism.com/e/87102/
"7th phase" recently shut down when the owner determined he could no longer compete within the "tainted environment" left by GMT and FNI. He was honest and I salute his effort. However, people were quite skeptical after getting burned by GMT and FNI. It's a shame that the good guys have to suffer while the scam artists continue to proliferate and invent new ways to get your money.
The recent rise of doubler programs provides a great example of why you should do your homework before jumping into any new program. A lot of people have already been burned by the collapse of a few doubler programs. Perhaps this will help you avoid the same fate.
Doublers operate on the principle of returning double your investment after a period of time. The money you invest is put into a straight line matrix and when enough funds enter the matrix your investment cycles returning double the amount to you. Sounds simple enough.
The danger with doublers is that unless the program is tied to a "legitimate" renewable product it will eventually slow to a point of failure leaving behind a lot of "undoubled" and forfeited cash . That currently is the case with more than a few doubler programs. Had the investors crunched the numbers they would have seen it coming.
Don't misunderstand me. Doublers Do Make Money!. Get in early enough and you can make a lot of money. If and only if the program is legitimate you will continue to make money for years to come. Just know what you are getting into. For those wishing to try one I can only offer these guidelines:
1. Programs must have a legitimate renewable product. Something that people will continue to buy like leads or advertising. Not some one time purchase item or ebook.
2. Know who you are dealing with. Anyone can buy a doubler script for under $300 nowadays and start a program. Make sure they are reputable.
3. Have a success strategy. Try to get your original investment back as soon as possible and then use your profit to continue. Even if the program fails you won't have risked anything.
4. Never risk more than you can afford to lose and don't tie up needed cash. It may take days, weeks or months your reach payout. Don't risk the rent money!
5. Be alert for signs of trouble. It is normal for cycle times to increase as more people invest. However, if the company starts running "cycling specials" that is a strong sign of impending shutdown. The owners are trying to get as much money as possible before making their getaway.
There are a few trustworthy doubler programs out there that should be around for years to come. One is the RSVP program run by Empowerism. Cycle times are currently around 50-60 days but don't fret about that. It is still quicker than your bank don't you agree. The only drawback is that you have to be a member to participate. Membership is by subscription and costs $19.99 a month. However, an Empowerism membership is well worth the cost as they offer some of the best leads, business tools and online training. Such things are must have resources for anyone seeking to make a profit online.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Empowerism-http://www.empowerism.com/e/87102/
Sunday, September 26, 2004
My First Mistake
My first mistake in trying to build an online business was to "believe the hype".
Like most novices, I would see the "get rich quick sign" and ...SHAZAM... there I was... joining up,doling out cash, and expecting to make a lot of big money in return. Months or sometimes a year later I was still shelling out cash but making little or no income.
This cycle repeated itself over and over until my lack of cashflow forced me to take a serious look at myself. "WHAT WAS I DOING WRONG?", I asked myself.
The biggest thing I was doing wrong was believing the hyped up claims and not taking the time to do the math. You can save yourself a lot of headache and cash by just crunching the numbers. For example, if the claim says "make $5000 a day with our matrix" don't just assume you or anyone else will get to that point. That matrix might pay $5000 a day but it may take several hundred or several thousand people in your downline to get to that point. Look at the figures and run the numbers for yourself.
There is also one figure I never knew about when I first started on the internet. A whopping 90% of people will fail. Why do I leave you with such a dreary thought? Perhaps it will spur you to avoid becoming a part of that group who fails. I would surmise that the majority of those who fail do so because they don't take the time to learn how to succeed. It's easier for them to go from program to program hoping that a bogus claim will true.
It's ironic, but if people spent more time on learning to be successful the 90% failure rate would turn into a 90% success rate.
========================================================
Here's a great free resource for tips.
Resource-A-Day
Like most novices, I would see the "get rich quick sign" and ...SHAZAM... there I was... joining up,doling out cash, and expecting to make a lot of big money in return. Months or sometimes a year later I was still shelling out cash but making little or no income.
This cycle repeated itself over and over until my lack of cashflow forced me to take a serious look at myself. "WHAT WAS I DOING WRONG?", I asked myself.
The biggest thing I was doing wrong was believing the hyped up claims and not taking the time to do the math. You can save yourself a lot of headache and cash by just crunching the numbers. For example, if the claim says "make $5000 a day with our matrix" don't just assume you or anyone else will get to that point. That matrix might pay $5000 a day but it may take several hundred or several thousand people in your downline to get to that point. Look at the figures and run the numbers for yourself.
There is also one figure I never knew about when I first started on the internet. A whopping 90% of people will fail. Why do I leave you with such a dreary thought? Perhaps it will spur you to avoid becoming a part of that group who fails. I would surmise that the majority of those who fail do so because they don't take the time to learn how to succeed. It's easier for them to go from program to program hoping that a bogus claim will true.
It's ironic, but if people spent more time on learning to be successful the 90% failure rate would turn into a 90% success rate.
========================================================
Here's a great free resource for tips.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Why start an online business
Do you know the most common characteristic nearly all millionaires share?
If your answer is "owning their own business" , you're absolutely correct!
Think about it - is your job ever going to make you rich? You and I both know you could work your fingers to the bone at even the best J.O.B. and you would never get rich. You might make a lot more money, but in the process you'd be giving up life's most precious commodity - time! Your time for their money will never make you rich! I know of a lot of people who make over a $100,000 a year but work 12-15 or more hours a day, seven days a week. Is that really rich?Divide what they make by the number of hours they work and you may be surprised at thier "hourly" wage. Ownership is the key. Even the big wigs who pull down those multi-figure salaries usually own a part of the company thru shares,stock options, etc.
I read somewhere once that at least 80% of all millionaires are self-made? That is, they started with nothing but ambition and energy, the same way most of us start. What is the difference between them and us? I choose to believe there is no difference, only a decision to actively control one's own destiny. Will I ever become a millionaire? I sure plan to and if I fail it certainly won't be for lack of trying.
If your answer is "owning their own business" , you're absolutely correct!
Think about it - is your job ever going to make you rich? You and I both know you could work your fingers to the bone at even the best J.O.B. and you would never get rich. You might make a lot more money, but in the process you'd be giving up life's most precious commodity - time! Your time for their money will never make you rich! I know of a lot of people who make over a $100,000 a year but work 12-15 or more hours a day, seven days a week. Is that really rich?Divide what they make by the number of hours they work and you may be surprised at thier "hourly" wage. Ownership is the key. Even the big wigs who pull down those multi-figure salaries usually own a part of the company thru shares,stock options, etc.
I read somewhere once that at least 80% of all millionaires are self-made? That is, they started with nothing but ambition and energy, the same way most of us start. What is the difference between them and us? I choose to believe there is no difference, only a decision to actively control one's own destiny. Will I ever become a millionaire? I sure plan to and if I fail it certainly won't be for lack of trying.
A New Name ...A New Direction
I've decided to go in a new direction. The blog has been renamed to "Ledon's Blog " and will concentrate more on business and online marketing. Stay tuned as it going to be very informational. No not a lot of "get-rich-quick" stuff but solid information on becoming successful. Call it get rich slow (smile).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
