...the following is an email that was sent to all of our members on 5/30/2009 in case you missed it. I know it's long but read it anyway - it could save you a lot of headache and money...

Hello,

SUBJECT:
INTERNET SCAMS APPEAR TO RUNNING RAMPANT RIGHT NOW, SO LET ME SAVE YOU SOME HEADACHE - BUT YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY READ THIS, unless you're one of those know-it-all people!

PLEASE BE ADVISED, THIS IS AN ADVISORY EMAIL TO SAVE YOU SOME HEADACHE - PLEASE READ IT.

If I had a fire alarm, I'd ring it for you and I know it isn't my place to baby sit all of you and your internet behavior but as a webmaster for many websites, server administrator, internet publisher, SEO Expert, marketing expert, (and a few other fancy sounding titles), I am feeling obligated to send you guys this email in an effort to protect those of you that will listen.

Granted many of you probably don't give a rat's what I think or say and are probably sitting there trying to figure out why you're getting this email in the first place, but just be patient and listen for a minute :-)

There are a number of things I want to tell you about in this email so hang in there and find the time to read this - you might learn something. I know it looks long, but do yourself a favor and suffer through it.

AND NOW FOR THE STUPID STUFF:

...The following is an email announcement sent to all ASF members who have subscribed to our updates (as well as those who have not - (because I will be purging accounts with broken email addresses for every bounced email I get). If you don't know why you are getting this email, it is because you have created an account on our forum: http://www.airsoftforum.com/board If you wish to discontinue updates from us, check the links at the bottom of this email as opposed to sending be a hateful reply or I'll just delete your account for being stupid...

There are two main objectives with this email, one is to let you know about a major scam going around on the internet right now that is actually being broadcast on radio and TV ads as a real and legitimate business opportunity to earn extra cash and "possibly replace your day job". The other thing I want to let you know about (if you don't already know) is that there also seems to be a high number of scams taking place on our forum in the Buy Sell Trade (BST) forums.

Had I not heard the radio commercial myself, I probably would not be emailing you all about this. But I heard this great ad on the radio 2 days ago (a major local top 40 station) and it prompted me to check out what was being advertised. But first let me tell you that I have been a self employed entrepreneur for 15 years now so I have seen my share of business opportunities, network marketing, MLMs, you name it. Some work, but most do not. With all of them, it takes a certain type of person to have success with any of them and the sad truth is that many people loose their money.

Many of us, myself included are always keeping an eye out for an easy way out of the rat race (hence the lure of the infamous get Rich Quick Deal out there). I have personally and literally spent thousands and thousand of dollars experimenting with several dozen of them. I've probably lost $10,000 dollars or more over the last 20 years throwing money at stupid stuff looking for it. Many of you are teenagers and young adults and will probably do the same by the time you're 40, but I hope this messages reaches a few of you and if one or 2 people are saved, then hey - it was worth the knee jerk responses I'm invariably going to get "for spamming" the idiots that couldn't care less what I think and for wasting their time with such "nonsense".

Hopefully if you're still reading this, you're probably not one of those "know it all types". So anyway, about this radio commercial I heard...

The ad stated something like, "start your own internet website and let Google pay you anywhere from $40 to $200 dollars an hour... $10 - $20 per click.... $3,500 - $5,000 per week" (there are several variations going around)

#1, The ad obviously peaked my attention on a number of levels as you can image from what I have just told you, but I couldn't believe it was being advertised on the radio. Normally if you hear an ad on the radio it must be legit right? Well no, but it was probably one of the best ads I have heard for something like this in a long time.

I mean you'd have to be an idiot not to call the number if the report on how to do this, was "free" like they said for the "free report" to show you how Google (of all places) "would actually send you anywhere from $3,500 to $7,500 PER WEEK". They were going to send you this free report and all you have to do is pay the "shipping and handling" charge.

#2, I know all about Google (being a webmaster, and SEO guy), and I had a vague idea of what I thought they were talking about, but I sure as heck am not making $5,000 a week like they promised I could if I only called to ask for their free report.

...How many of you have already heard this ad advertising "INTERNET SPEEDWAY" with an 800# to call for your free report?

Well, I got on Google and did a little search and wouldn't you know it, I found out more than I care to know about I-Speedway or Internet Speedway. I also found a similar approach (A different company) advertising an almost identical method for $1.95 (not $9.95) for their "free report" so I figured, what the heck and began to read that page...

Here's what you can find about Internet Speedway:
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=interne...;fp=SHAbtGzS2yM

And here is the one I want you to read BUT WHATEVER YOU DO - DO NOT BUY THE $1.99 REPORT, JUST READ THE SCAM. On First glance it does not appear to be a scam. In fact, the guy goes into how all the other deals out there are scams and how this one is different and how it changed his life, etc and so on right? - But then you read the
"terms and conditions" (if you've been burned a gazillion times like me) and HOLY SMOKES, it's nearly identical to the Internet Speedway Scam. Read the guy's sales letter and see for yourself: (don't buy it, just read it and come back here)

http://scramscamsplan.com/

...with a domain name like that, I for sure thought I was about to read his views on how internet speedway was a scam, but surprisingly enough, that website was selling "a different approach" - but no! It's the same scam just packaged differently.

And here it is... (If you read the terms of service and all the dozens and dozens of "Hey I've been scammed, what do I do?" complaints floating around)... But believe it or not, I promise you there are thousands and thousands of people hearing that radio ad and calling to sign up - I guarantee it. So anyway, here's the scam...

You send them $9.95 (or $1.95 S&H depending on who's lie your believing) - you send them this for the shipping and handling and they send you the "free report". What they probably didn't tell you is that you have 7 days, or 30 days (again depending on which scammer you're going with), that if you don't cancel you are going to also be billed $69.95 a month. One company is going to bill you for 5 months for about $350 and the other is going to bill you that indefinitely lol

Oh and good luck trying to stop it "because you didn't cancel within the allowed grace period, so we're going to send your account to collections"...

So anyway... the free report? yeah, its an explanation on how to setup an adsense account, build a website, find companies with products to drop ship, and magically you start earning $5,000 a week. Oh wait, you have to spend money to advertise it, but if you do, watch the money start rolling it. In fact you better get two bank accounts to hold all that money you're gonna get!

Holy Crap, sorry folks it doesn't work like that. granted there are people out there making that kind of cash, but I can tell you how to set up an adsense account for free and so can the google website. If you need a website or help with marketing it, I can help you with that too, but holy moly people - If you're going to sign up for something - READ THE FINE PRINT FIRST! Or at least donate your money to us, we need it more than some internet scammer lol

Thank God, I didn't sign up or give them my credit card number because I was (this time) smart enough to do a little googling first, but how many people out there do you think are getting bit by this? Try tens of thousands. Nice eh?

Well believe it or not, But I actually care about my members here and like I said, if I can stop one or two of you from doing something stupid, then all the hate mail I'm about to get because of this, was worth it.

.........................................

...SO NOW, FOR THE OTHER THING I NEED TO TELL YOU ABOUT
REGARDING THE SCAMS RUNNING RAMPANT ON ASF...

..........................................

...As if you haven't enjoyed my never ending novel as it is... Yeah sorry about that guys, I like to write and I have a lot to say, so again please bear with me...

AirsoftForum.com (ASF) Buying & Selling Area (AKA BST Forum) IMPORTANT NOTICE

If you use or plan to use our forums for buying and selling of airsoft items, please continue reading this (yes I know it's long and some of you haven't finished the 8th grade yet, but read it anyway) lol... If you don't use our BST and have no plans to use it, go ahead and delete this email (unless you're just simply curious or a gluten for punishment with my dry humor).

Ok, first of all, our BST on ASF, http://www.airsoftforum.com/board/Buy-Sell-Trade-f149.html is there for members to buy, sell and trade airsoft items. Most of you already know that new items are not allowed to be posted there unless you are a paid sponsor and authorized to list your new / retail items.

This rule is designed to inspire dealers and retailers to sign up as a sponsor and support us financially if they want to market and promote their items here on our website. I know some of you think that's a dumb rule, but that's our rule - like it or not.

You are of course, allowed to list occasional new items such as if you bought something and can't use it or etc. but if you make a habit out of it and looks like you're a retailer trying to play dumb, don't wonder why your topics are deleted after a day or two.

In other words, the BST area is a community market place for players, not retailers. If you're a retailer or distributor, you have two options, #1 sign up as an official ASF Sponsor: http://www.airsoftforum.com/board/index.ph...&CODE=index

Or #2, use our Online Sports Auction Website

I hate to keep "beating the dead horse", but how many of you buy and sell in out BST Forum, but have never read the rules? http://www.airsoftforum.com/board/Airsoft-...-Sale-f224.html Please take 54 seconds and read the advisory note at the top of that page, it will save you a lot of grief and headache the next time you're about to be scammed on our BST Forum.

Why am I talking about being scammed on ASF?

Because it has just been recently brought to my attention that there has been a high number of scams and fraud going on in our BST forums the last few months. Why, I think it's something in the water. Either that, or the economy sucks and the scammers and broke idiots are crawling out of the wood work to look for suckers to take advantage of.

If you use our BST Forum to Buy, Sell or Trade airsoft items, please stop sending us your sad stories about how you got burned or how you need so-in-so's phone number or email address... etc and so on. It's not that we don't care because we do.

The problem is that people don't listen or read. #1 pay only with paypal, #2 go to paypal and dispute your claim there. or #3 (USE OUR ONLINE AUCTION WEBSITE FOR ALL MONEY TRANSACTIONS (echo, echo, echo).

Do I have to shout that from the top of a cliff for people to heed our warning on this? Please list your items for sell or trade on http://www.SportsOnlyAuction.com (AKA SOA)

And then once your item / items / your free store front there, is listed then return to ASF and post a topic about your item or items and link your ASF topic to your SOA listing. I am not and have not been charging any seller or buyer fees and probably wont for quite awhile, but please list your items there and insist that the seller you are thinking about buying from has his item listed there for sale.

if you do this, I will bend over backwards to make sure you don't get scammed there. That is a $1,000 website software package specifically designed to be used an auction site, an commerce website, I.e. a place to keep an eye on money transactions (UNLIKE FORUMS OR DISCUSSION BOARDS). ASF is a community website - not a shopping cart system. So if you enjoy getting ripped off, scammed, burned, etc and having the ASF Staff not really giving a damn cause you don't listen, then continue to use our Free Buy-Sell-Trade forums and for $9.95, I'll send you a free report on how to get rich quick selling your airsoft gear online.

-admin

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This post has been edited by admin: May 30 2009, 11:49 PM

I've been dismayed at the irresponsible behavior of broadcasters recently.
It used to be that even advertisements had standards.
Sigh
The FTC has injunctions against those folks and yet the broadcasters continue to take their money.

Wonder what would happen if major commercial sponsors started getting letters concerning their association with these folks by advertising on the same networks. Do you suppose that the networks would give up a prime time sales slot sponsor for some infomercial that plays at 3:00AM?

Wonder how many letters it would take?
How many sponsors?
How many people would be willing to not buy something like name brand soda, bottled water, candy, or a particular brand of laundry or dishwashing detergent for a couple of months?

Would it be worth it to the general public to give up some trivial stuff for a period of time to drive the message home or has everyone been sort of hypnotized into a dull apathy and we just don't care anymore about what sort of nation we live in where criminals are free to pollute our broadcast media.

I remember when the media was sacrosanct... Yes boys and girls, Once Upon A Time.
The news was actual news... Walter Cronkite was Uncle Walter, and he and others like him came into your living rooms every night and told us the honest news, "...that's the way it is" or at least the way it was...

Does it occur to anyone else that WWII lasted from 1939 to 1945, 6 years, and the U.S. was only directly involved from '41 to '45, and Vietnam lasted 16 years, yet every hour of every day you knew exactly what our boys were dealing with, who they were on a personal level, and felt what they felt... knowing that they were cold, tired, frightened... Proud, Brave, Resolute, and that they fought, bled, and died... because the media made sure we had that information, every hour of every day. We had a personal investment in our boys. Those were the values of that day.

Now we have the Wardrobe Malfunction Celebrity Rehab Network... and not a word about how our own troops are doing. Our troops are nameless, faceless, non-persons now. We are aware of them only peripherally, and only when they come home to be laid down to rest a final rest... they may get a brief mention if some twit didn't climb out of her car in a short skirt and no panties that day.

Something happened down the street from me last week.
SWAT was called out and area a block wide, major streets... sealed off.
I have no idea what happened that was important enough to warrant such a reaction. No local station carried it even at 11, but thankfully They did take the time to tell me that the Reds lost. Smilin Bob was there as well during commercial break to let me know that a pill the FTC has banned as a fraud was the reason for Bob's smile. He's probably laughing too.

With civic priorities like that, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the criminals have cut themselves in on the network media's declaration of moral bankruptcy.

"That's the way it is..." It's just rather depressing.