Archive | Scam Busting RSS feed for this section
Dissolve MPS? Yes, please!
Late this past week, the Milwaukee Public Schools board voted 6 to 3 in favor of “examining” the possibility of dissolving the district. This would be a sort of bankruptcy situation, and basically that is where the district is headed eventually. The teachers are so grossly overpaid and the administration is so excessively wasteful with [...]
Continue reading...Wauwatosa teachers doing less because they got a raise
14 Sep 2008
You read that correctly. Wauwatosa, WI teachers are upset that they got an across the board 3.8% increase, so they’re doing less around the schools. Did you get a raise this year? How much was it? I’d put money on it that it was something less than 3.8%, but the teachers are still crying.
Continue reading...You are not being constitutional!
13 Sep 2008
This email I received does not really need any commentary from me: Info-Sequence, We have found that your shoptoearn blog operator is erasing 90% of all positive information in defense of Shoptoearn supporters. Their is a large group of people who belive in Shoptoearn and they recently were exposed to your business practices. We are asking for a email [...]
Continue reading...Amway executives make Top 5 Scam Artists list
11 Sep 2008
Published by Vue Weekly, a news source in Edmonton, the Top 5 Scam Artists list included Amway (Quixtar): Dick DeVos and Steve Van Andel are the inheritors of Quixtar, the company left to them by their billionaire fathers. Call it a pyramid scheme, call it multi-level marketing, or, better yet, call it by its original brand [...]
Continue reading...Selling the Money Merge Acount from UFF
06 Sep 2008
One of our readers posted this, and it’s brilliant. It is the simplest possible way to break down what United First Financial is selling with its Money Merge Account. Question for the consumer: Would you rather pay $0 to save $110,000, or would you like to pay $3500 to save $100,000? It gets to the truth of what [...]
Continue reading...United First Financial’s new math (It’s still not worth $3,500.)
30 Aug 2008
Guest post by Craig Hansen The fine folks at United First Financial (UFF) have come out with a new version of their Money Merge Account (MMA). It’s version 4, and it’s marketed as something that uses… factorial math! And promoters are saying the software does over 3 million calculations each time you use it to analyze [...]
Continue reading...Len Clements: Usana distributor with “seasoned” associate number
27 Aug 2008
Well, well, well. Leonard Clements, defender of Usana to his death, former “executive” of multi-level marketing company Zenza, failed business owner… is now a Usana distributor. But he’s not just any distributor. No, any distributor number would not do for Len. He’s got the number 47278, which is an old, old number. (We’re talking 15 [...]
Continue reading...United First Financial scam: You’re using the bank’s money to pay down your mortgage
27 Aug 2008
Banking 101 - If you’re “using the bank’s money” it means you’ve borrowed it from the bank and you’re going to pay interest to “use” it. You don’t get to use it for free. The United First Financial Money Merge Account supposedly uses “the bank’s money” to help you pay off your mortgage faster. After paying [...]
Continue reading...Ufirst Money Merge Account: Resistance is futile
26 Aug 2008
One of the most common forms of “training” offered to members of multi-level marketing companies (also known as direct sales, pyramid schemes, dual marketing, networking marketing, etc) is Overcoming Objections. Why is that such a key? Because all of the ones that I’ve seen have overpriced, underperforming products, and consumers are usually pretty quick to [...]
Continue reading...More wasting of taxpayer money by MPS (surprise!)
21 Aug 2008
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran this story a few days ago, and it’s just so indicative of the mismanagement of the district from a financial standpoint. No one in the private sector would get away with wasting billions of dollars and not be held accountable. Yet the district will again spend almost $1.2 billion or [...]
Continue reading...- Is Shop to Earn a scam or a legitimate business?
- More on why ShopToEarn sucks (and so do MyPowerMall and TeamNational)
- MonaVie: Scam or not?
- Mary Kay Cosmetics: Destroying half a million women a year
- Primerica Financial Services a scam?
- Shop To Earn lawyer bullying bloggers
- The Pyramid Scheme aspect of Primerica Financial Services
- The Sarah Palin pregnancy cover-up that wasn't (updated)
- What does Dave Ramsey think about United First Financial
- A new pyramid scheme: United First Financial
- quixtarisacult: Dave… Obviously this IbendOverFORbuddies fellow can not...
- Teresa Botial: who cares if the customer likes the products and it fits their...
- quixtarisacult: Thomas… I am sure you are the kind of reader that Tracy...
- Tabitha: Pet owners are responsible for their pets, just like parents are...
- Duped: Thank you for researching Ms. Palin, a larger than life individual who...
- Thomas: A friend of mine recently got involved with UFF. He gave me a quick...
- David Brear: Since the original police investigation of Amway in Andhra...
- Tracy Coenen: Sorry, Charlie. You still don’t get it. All you have to...
- Mercedes: All I was saying Tracy (I think I understand your sarcasm) is that...
- Charlie: you know, I was following some of the links posted here and some of...
- Searching for Shop to Earn scam
- Debunking Sarah Palin rumors and lies
- Check out the pork in the bailout bill
- The $700 billion bailout should fail on its own merits
- Criminal charges against Amway in India
- The lure of multi-level marketing
- The UFF Money Merge Account money shuffle explained
- Mark Cuban’s idea on a private bailout of the financial sector
- Somebody please check Henry Paulson
- Bailout to include consumer debt?
About the Author
Tracy Coenen is a forensic accountant and fraud examiner who investigates white collar crimes, including cases of financial statement fraud, embezzlement, tax fraud, and insurance fraud. She is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud and more than 100 articles on fraud featured in industry publications.
20 Sep 2008
1 Comment