How to tell when a 'watchdog' isn't really one at all
Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Technology, Buyer Beware, Consumer Ally
These days it's getting so you can't tell the consumer watchdogs from the crooks. I've exposed a number of phony do-gooders over the years, and the pretend-watchdog routine runs rampant among competing marketers of junk-products like acai berry supplements and colon cleansers.The way it works: One group of bogus marketers sets up something that looks like a product review site, and calls it a name that sounds like a consumer advocate. All the links on the page lead to product sites owned by the same company.
This time, though, we're going to look at a dressed-up, work-from-home scam. Here's a site that calls itself TheConsumerWatchdog.org. It pops up in link ads on, among other places, the Internet Movie Database.
At first, the site looks kind of convincing, with links to a radio network and an embedded video from an ABC network TV show that appears to be talking about this particular work-at-home site.
It's a common tactic of bogus marketing sites to link to video clips from network TV shows or to festoon the site with logos from big-media brands, to try to imply an endorsement that isn't there. Sure, Diane Sawyer may have been talking about working from home -- but not about what this site is selling.
TheConsumerWatchdog, as it turns out, is trying to sell $300-or-so "courses" that claim to teach you how to make thousands of dollars writing what sounds from the explanation like sock-puppet reviews for big-name companies. But by poking around on this site and doing a little background checking, we can make the determination TheConsumerWatchdog.org, no matter how convincing its setup, is bogus:
- When you toggle between TheConsumerWatchdog.org and the company offering the work-at-home course, the "Stratford Career Institute," the Web site's address doesn't change. It's still the URL of TheConsumerWatchdog.org. No legitimate consumer organization would self-review and then sell its own products this way. It's a conflict of interest.
- Do a WHOIS search on TheConsumerWatchdog.org and you'll find fake data -- most notably, the phone number listed as the company's contact point is actually the main phone line for Network Solutions, the domain's registrar. No legitimate consumer organization on earth hides its identity like that.
- Dig into the Stratford Career Institute's home page and you'll see it cites a bogus report from something called The National Consumer Advocacy Group. Its Web site is almost convincing, except nowhere can you find a physical address or phone number -- contact is by e-mail only. Sure, some consumer groups don't want to give out their phone number so they don't have to be bothered talking to real human beings. But they don't hide their identity. Also, do a WHOIS search on the National Consumer Advocacy Group, and you'll see its Web site is blind-registered through a private proxy service. You shouldn't buy anything from a Web site that purposefully hides its identity. Should you accept "consumer advice" from one?
- High-paying work-at-home jobs don't grow on trees, no matter how many scam artists try to convince us they do. Under no circumstances should you pay anyone a fee to teach you how to find these kinds of jobs. Nor should you buy software that claims to help you find them. For that matter, pay no attention to advertisements in newspapers claiming to have the inside scoop on work-from-home jobs. This is a billion-dollar-a-year scam, and it's heartbreaking.
Beau Brendler was the executive director of Consumer Reports WebWatch for eight years.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-21-2009 @ 8:35AM
Alice said...
Thanks for this information. I have run across numerous "work from home" advertisements that request a fee. I hope that folks who are struggling and cannot afford to give their money away to con artist do not fall for this type scam.
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8-21-2009 @ 8:24AM
S said...
PLEASE NOTE! Consumers should know that the website TheConsumerWatchdog.org , OR scicourse.org are in NO way affiliated with reputable distance learning school Stratford Career Institute. These websites are NOT a Stratford Career Institute company, product, or affiliate.
Many blogs and consumer sites are incorrectly claiming that scicourse.org or consumerwatchdog.org is Stratford Career Institute. This information is absolutely incorrect.
Here is Stratford Career Institute’s CORRECT contact information:
Stratford Career Institute
http://www.scitraining.com
1-800-363-0058
If you have any questions about the real Stratford Career Institute, please visit our website or call us. We are happy to answer any questions you might have.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 11:01AM
Marlys Harris said...
Excellent comment. I just saw someone from this site quoted recently in a legit news story.
Reply
9-22-2009 @ 4:59PM
Darla said...
My husband and I are going through some hard times and he came across this blog showing
Diane Sawyer talking about “ work from home “ Like others …. He just assumes that because Diane Sawyers face is part of it, that it must be legitimate! ….I was spacious from the beginning because It shows her talking about working from home, but doesn’t go into specifics about where, who, how and why. My husband insisted that I pay the money and take the $300.00 course and start becoming rich but I knew better and investigated further, only to find your blog. It gave me the ammunition I needed to wake him into reality and learn that there are really elaborate scams out there on the internet and that even the most skeptical and savvy people can be fooled in desperate times. Thank you for exposing the crooks and saving my $300.00
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