Gee, Call Me Not Shocked... (Another Seminar Scam)

[MJ DeMarco]

Undeterred, Stephens paid $1,997 for three days of classes and $1,000 for real estate software. But the classes turned into a sales pitch to buy additional courses that cost thousands more, said Stephens, a pastor and teacher from Havana, Florida.
"They weren't really teaching at all," he said.

The El Moussas, like many reality TV stars before them, are capitalizing on their fame by offering pricy classes. At free events in hotel ballrooms, instructors tell attendees that if they pay to enroll in three-day courses, they'll learn how the couple flips homes and also gain access to investors who will give them cash to buy properties, even if they have low credit scores or a weak job history. They'll earn back their money quickly, the instructors say, and will get refunds if they don't flip a home within a certain amount of time.

The day after she finished the classes, Briggs found three properties to try to flip near her home in Roseburg, Oregon. She said she called Success Path several times to help her connect with the promised investors, but that no one ever picked up the phone. (The company said it had no record of the calls.) A few weeks later, Briggs said she received calls from Success Path representatives who told her that they could put together a team from the El Moussas to help her, but only if she paid another $8,000. She said no and asked for a refund of her $1,798. She was offered half and she took it, she said, but still wants the balance back.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...im-flip-or-flop-stars-classes-misleading.html

 

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[TonyStark]

For $26,000, you could put a deposit on a real rental property.

 

[devine]

I wonder when people will finally learn that $3k is nothing.
They all want to get rich, but think they can throw a wallet full of pennies and learn how to make fortune in 3 days.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

For $26,000, you could put a deposit on a real rental property.

Funny how these gurus all use the same "sales funnel" into the "more expensive seminar" scheme. It's really getting old, and yet, it apparently still works masterfully.

 

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[G-Man]

Funny how these gurus all use the same "sales funnel" into the "more expensive seminar" scheme. It's really getting old, and yet, it apparently still works masterfully.

Sadly, bullshit get rich sales funnels will be evergreen as long as human nature remains what it is.

My dad went to tons of those things over the years. Real estate, stock trading, even gurus that promised to teach you "King Solomon's secrets" to getting rich.

I hate these people, but it's sort of like hating the dealer for selling what the junkies demand.

 

[GuestUser4aMPs1]

My dad went to tons of those things over the years. Real estate, stock trading, even gurus that promised to teach you "King Solomon's secrets" to getting rich.

Had to look up King Solomon Secrets...wtf?

 

[Lex DeVille]

I feel there needs to be clarification about what constitutes a scam guru vs. a legit instructor. There are tons of people out there trying to sell high-level stuff without knowledge/experience. But there are people offering legit high-level training that's absolutely worth the cost.

Over the last 2-3 weeks I had the opportunity to attend 3 high-level programs by industry experts. All 3 courses were full of info I'd never seen anywhere, and all 3 were worth their high price. I found value in all of them that I would have gladly paid for if it weren't for the fact I gained access for free (my client had already paid for them )

The only way they wouldn't be valuable is if the person going through them didn't have the right stuff. But at least 2 of those programs taught mindset & value first, so even that wasn't an issue. In all 3 I found useful, actionable info to immediately put to use.

I guess the point is it comes down to due diligence. For the right person I absolutely think it makes sense to pay the price to propel yourself to the next level, whatever that level may be. Should you go into debt for it...probably not, but if you can afford it, and if you do your research, then I say go for it.

Based on the story in the article, I feel the customer probably could have figured out whether this was legit or not with a 5 minute Google search.

Maybe a couple of identifiers could help.
Here's some stuff I've seen that might help people figure this out:

• Can you talk to the instructor directly?
• Have others worked with that person? What did they say?
• Do you know that person, or do you have reason to believe they know their shit and care to teach it?
• Are there any signs it might not be legit?
• Do they create value up front that you actually find useful or helpful?
• Are there any horror stories on Google about them?

But about a dozen people interviewed by The Associated Press said those promises did not pan out. Although class leaders offered some instruction, a lot of time was spent pushing them to buy more classes,

That's straight from the article. If they had that experience, others did too, so it's on Google somewhere.

 

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[obrian]

Funny how these gurus all use the same "sales funnel" into the "more expensive seminar" scheme. It's really getting old, and yet, it apparently still works masterfully.

Human behavior haven't changed much as we would like to think. Those niche will forever be ever green. Lose 100 pounds in 2 weeks, get 5k in 2 hours etc. lol

 

[obrian]

Had to look up King Solomon Secrets...wtf?

I burst out laughing "king solomon secrets" lol

 

[TheGrind]

I feel there needs to be clarification about what constitutes a scam guru vs. a legit instructor. There are tons of people out there trying to sell high-level stuff without knowledge/experience. But there are people offering legit high-level training that's absolutely worth the cost.

Over the last 2-3 weeks I had the opportunity to attend 3 high-level programs by industry experts. All 3 courses were full of info I'd never seen anywhere, and all 3 were worth their high price. I found value in all of them that I would have gladly paid for if it weren't for the fact I gained access for free (my client had already paid for them )

The only way they wouldn't be valuable is if the person going through them didn't have the right stuff. But at least 2 of those programs taught mindset & value first, so even that wasn't an issue. In all 3 I found useful, actionable info to immediately put to use.

I guess the point is it comes down to due diligence. For the right person I absolutely think it makes sense to pay the price to propel yourself to the next level, whatever that level may be. Should you go into debt for it...probably not, but if you can afford it, and if you do your research, then I say go for it.

Based on the story in the article, I feel the customer probably could have figured out whether this was legit or not with a 5 minute Google search.

Maybe a couple of identifiers could help.
Here's some stuff I've seen that might help people figure this out:

• Can you talk to the instructor directly?
• Have others worked with that person? What did they say?
• Do you know that person, or do you have reason to believe they know their shit and care to teach it?
• Are there any signs it might not be legit?
• Do they create value up front that you actually find useful or helpful?
• Are there any horror stories on Google about them?

That's straight from the article. If they had that experience, others did too, so it's on Google somewhere.

This. There's BS seminars everywhere, but some seminars are absolute gold.

For example, Dan Kennedy. I would gladly pay 5 figures to attend a Kennedy seminar because I know he provides knowledge worth millions potentially.

 

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[G-Man]

Based on the story in the article, I feel the customer probably could have figured out whether this was legit or not with a 5 minute Google search.

I agree with you Lex, but I've come to the conclusion that people subconsciously don't want to find out it's a scam, no matter how obvious the signs are. A large number of people go to these things for the same reasons they send money to TV evangelists.

 

[lowtek]

Story time:

I attended one of these Flip or Flop free seminars right after I got laid off. My wife saw the ad on facebook and signed up, sent me in her stead (thanks, babe). I had never been to anything like it, was naturally skeptical, but didn't know any better. Hell, I was laid off. Not like I had a job to go to. Besides, there were going to be free snacks.

It was funny, they advertised the event as if Mr. and Mrs. Scammer would be there in the flesh... but alas, it was just a bunch of slack jawed lackeys. The Scammers in charge couldn't be there, the lackeys said. Something about counting their stacks of cash, er... attending to their new baby.

Undaunted, I figured what the heck. They're giving me some free shit. Might as well stay for the snacks and the free legal pad. Who couldn't use more legal pads?

Looking around at the forming crowd, my suspicions began to grow. It was predominantly older folk. 55+, retired... barely any money left in the bank. These were not people I perceived as money savvy. The smell of desperation hung heavy in the air. You could tell for some people, this was their last hope.

A short fat, bald scammy a$$ schemer looking weasel SOB came in and got the crowd of geriatrics all in a frenzy over the possibility of making some serious cash. Of course, it starts out with the mindset talk. Don't think in terms of spending money. Think in terms of making money. After all, if you could spend a few thousand to make tens of thousands, you would do it - right? That's just good business sense.

Then came the big promises of fat a$$ pay days and truck loads of cash plopped into your driveway with golden dump trucks. Tales of regular folks, just like us, who had struck it big with the system that Mr. and Mrs. Scammer had created. Experience? Capital? Who needs that. They've got you covered. Everything you need, baby.

Their team of hard money lenders would front most of the cash, and their team would help you with the flip because they're in the deal with you too. They don't make money, if you don't make money. Makes sense, right? How could you possibly lose? They take almost all the risk, and you keep the lion's share of the profits. How kind of them.

These people are right up there with Mother freaking Theresa. Saints.

What's that? Business people generally don't like to take all the risk and get minimal reward? Oh, they just want scale. They can't possibly parse all the deals out there, and YOU know your local market best. You live there, right? They need boots on the ground and are willing to pay a premium for it. All very sensible and totally believable.

then came the sales pitch - of course you can't learn what you need to know in a 2 hour seminar. Who would think that? I mean, the advertisement just said they were going to teach us how to make money in real estate, but I guess it was just a misunderstanding, right? Maybe my wife just misread. She just has a PhD in physics. She's no English major, after all.

No... the real big money secrets are in their weekend workshop. The price was deeply discounted, we were told. It typically ran for $4997. A bargain even at that price, if you asked the lackeys. Remember, don't think in terms of spending money... Think in terms of making money, right?

Despite the overwhelming value of the program at almost 5 stacks, if you signed up TODAY, they would part with their next level real estate knowledge for a mere $1997. We were practically robbing them.

In the grand scheme of things, that $2k is chump change, of course. Unless you've only got $20k in the bank and 20 more years to live.

The friendly and helpful staff was there to handle any questions you may have. When the fat weasel opened up the floor to let the mob sign up, at least a dozen people wandered to the back of the room to talk to the lovely staff of helpful and honest professionals. I think they were a church group or something.

I can only hope those dozen were plants. I have no way of knowing, though.

Me? I checked my phone. A simple application of some rudimentary Google-Fu showed me what I needed to know. Dozens of complaints of this exact scam on the bigger pockets forum. Nightmare tales of the weekend seminar being a gateway drug to something much worse. Conning you into an even bigger scam - maxing out your credit cards to pay for their mentorship.

The horror. A truly life altering event, and not in the positive way.

Amongst the din of the old folks begging the lackeys to circumvent their logic, the fat weasel spoke up: he reminded us that there was another speaker, with another offer. If you stick around to the end, you get a free mp3 player. What an offer.

Part of me wonders if I should have clued in the geriatrics. But... who am I to run interference in a perfectly legal and legitimate scam, anyway?

Nah, I took my free legal pad and granola bar and left. I got a world class education in con artistry. How to fleece a crowd of gullible and desperate people.

The geriatrics? I have a feeling some of them ended up lighter a couple grand. I can only hope they learned their lesson there and didn't get the full works.

Statistics and the principles of logic tell me I'm dreaming about that, though. A man can dream, can't he?

 

[obrian]

Story time:

I attended one of these Flip or Flop free seminars right after I got laid off. My wife saw the ad on facebook and signed up, sent me in her stead (thanks, babe). I had never been to anything like it, was naturally skeptical, but didn't know any better. Hell, I was laid off. Not like I had a job to go to. Besides, there were going to be free snacks.

It was funny, they advertised the event as if Mr. and Mrs. Scammer would be there in the flesh... but alas, it was just a bunch of slack jawed lackeys. The Scammers in charge couldn't be there, the lackeys said. Something about counting their stacks of cash, er... attending to their new baby.

Undaunted, I figured what the heck. They're giving me some free shit. Might as well stay for the snacks and the free legal pad. Who couldn't use more legal pads?

Looking around at the forming crowd, my suspicions began to grow. It was predominantly older folk. 55+, retired... barely any money left in the bank. These were not people I perceived as money savvy. The smell of desperation hung heavy in the air. You could tell for some people, this was their last hope.

A short fat, bald scammy a$$ schemer looking weasel SOB came in and got the crowd of geriatrics all in a frenzy over the possibility of making some serious cash. Of course, it starts out with the mindset talk. Don't think in terms of spending money. Think in terms of making money. After all, if you could spend a few thousand to make tens of thousands, you would do it - right? That's just good business sense.

Then came the big promises of fat a$$ pay days and truck loads of cash plopped into your driveway with golden dump trucks. Tales of regular folks, just like us, who had struck it big with the system that Mr. and Mrs. Scammer had created. Experience? Capital? Who needs that. They've got you covered. Everything you need, baby.

Their team of hard money lenders would front most of the cash, and their team would help you with the flip because they're in the deal with you too. They don't make money, if you don't make money. Makes sense, right? How could you possibly lose? They take almost all the risk, and you keep the lion's share of the profits. How kind of them.

These people are right up there with Mother freaking Theresa. Saints.

What's that? Business people generally don't like to take all the risk and get minimal reward? Oh, they just want scale. They can't possibly parse all the deals out there, and YOU know your local market best. You live there, right? They need boots on the ground and are willing to pay a premium for it. All very sensible and totally believable.

then came the sales pitch - of course you can't learn what you need to know in a 2 hour seminar. Who would think that? I mean, the advertisement just said they were going to teach us how to make money in real estate, but I guess it was just a misunderstanding, right? Maybe my wife just misread. She just has a PhD in physics. She's no English major, after all.

No... the real big money secrets are in their weekend workshop. The price was deeply discounted, we were told. It typically ran for $4997. A bargain even at that price, if you asked the lackeys. Remember, don't think in terms of spending money... Think in terms of making money, right?

Despite the overwhelming value of the program at almost 5 stacks, if you signed up TODAY, they would part with their next level real estate knowledge for a mere $1997. We were practically robbing them.

In the grand scheme of things, that $2k is chump change, of course. Unless you've only got $20k in the bank and 20 more years to live.

The friendly and helpful staff was there to handle any questions you may have. When the fat weasel opened up the floor to let the mob sign up, at least a dozen people wandered to the back of the room to talk to the lovely staff of helpful and honest professionals. I think they were a church group or something.

I can only hope those dozen were plants. I have no way of knowing, though.

Me? I checked my phone. A simple application of some rudimentary Google-Fu showed me what I needed to know. Dozens of complaints of this exact scam on the bigger pockets forum. Nightmare tales of the weekend seminar being a gateway drug to something much worse. Conning you into an even bigger scam - maxing out your credit cards to pay for their mentorship.

The horror. A truly life altering event, and not in the positive way.

Amongst the din of the old folks begging the lackeys to circumvent their logic, the fat weasel spoke up: he reminded us that there was another speaker, with another offer. If you stick around to the end, you get a free mp3 player. What an offer.

Part of me wonders if I should have clued in the geriatrics. But... who am I to run interference in a perfectly legal and legitimate scam, anyway?

Nah, I took my free legal pad and granola bar and left. I got a world class education in con artistry. How to fleece a crowd of gullible and desperate people.

The geriatrics? I have a feeling some of them ended up lighter a couple grand. I can only hope they learned their lesson there and didn't get the full works.

Statistics and the principles of logic tell me I'm dreaming about that, though. A man can dream, can't he?

Very good story, I remembered my friend was motivating me couple years ago to join an MLM program(yuck!!!). It took him a week to stop bothering me about it and couple weeks after, I opened a news paper and they were reporting about that shady company. Forex trading is all the rage now, "Hey I will show you how to get 25% on your returns in a week!!!!!!!!!!!!" lol. I have also seen alot of those ads been running for over a month now so more than likely they have reeled in a lot of suckers on their net lol.

 

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[Andy Black]

Reminds me of this thread and my litmus test:

• This Secret CPA Method + Ninja Traffic Tactics = $1,000+/Weekly

 

[G-Man]

No... the real big money secrets are in their weekend workshop. The price was deeply discounted, we were told. It typically ran for $4997. A bargain even at that price, if you asked the lackeys. Remember, don't think in terms of spending money... Think in terms of making money, right?

Makes me think of a time my dad bought a huge packet of paperback books at one of those things and paid $500 in 1990s money. The look on my mom's face when he brought them in the front door and was trying to explain they "normally" sold for over $2,000.....

20 years ago and the mechanics haven't changed at all.

 

[becks22]

Reminds me of what happens in practically every episode of American Greed.... It makes my skin crawl- so slimy

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Story time:

I attended one of these Flip or Flop free seminars right after I got laid off. My wife saw the ad on facebook and signed up, sent me in her stead (thanks, babe). I had never been to anything like it, was naturally skeptical, but didn't know any better. Hell, I was laid off. Not like I had a job to go to. Besides, there were going to be free snacks.

It was funny, they advertised the event as if Mr. and Mrs. Scammer would be there in the flesh... but alas, it was just a bunch of slack jawed lackeys. The Scammers in charge couldn't be there, the lackeys said. Something about counting their stacks of cash, er... attending to their new baby.

Undaunted, I figured what the heck. They're giving me some free shit. Might as well stay for the snacks and the free legal pad. Who couldn't use more legal pads?

Looking around at the forming crowd, my suspicions began to grow. It was predominantly older folk. 55+, retired... barely any money left in the bank. These were not people I perceived as money savvy. The smell of desperation hung heavy in the air. You could tell for some people, this was their last hope.

A short fat, bald scammy a$$ schemer looking weasel SOB came in and got the crowd of geriatrics all in a frenzy over the possibility of making some serious cash. Of course, it starts out with the mindset talk. Don't think in terms of spending money. Think in terms of making money. After all, if you could spend a few thousand to make tens of thousands, you would do it - right? That's just good business sense.

Then came the big promises of fat a$$ pay days and truck loads of cash plopped into your driveway with golden dump trucks. Tales of regular folks, just like us, who had struck it big with the system that Mr. and Mrs. Scammer had created. Experience? Capital? Who needs that. They've got you covered. Everything you need, baby.

Their team of hard money lenders would front most of the cash, and their team would help you with the flip because they're in the deal with you too. They don't make money, if you don't make money. Makes sense, right? How could you possibly lose? They take almost all the risk, and you keep the lion's share of the profits. How kind of them.

These people are right up there with Mother freaking Theresa. Saints.

What's that? Business people generally don't like to take all the risk and get minimal reward? Oh, they just want scale. They can't possibly parse all the deals out there, and YOU know your local market best. You live there, right? They need boots on the ground and are willing to pay a premium for it. All very sensible and totally believable.

then came the sales pitch - of course you can't learn what you need to know in a 2 hour seminar. Who would think that? I mean, the advertisement just said they were going to teach us how to make money in real estate, but I guess it was just a misunderstanding, right? Maybe my wife just misread. She just has a PhD in physics. She's no English major, after all.

No... the real big money secrets are in their weekend workshop. The price was deeply discounted, we were told. It typically ran for $4997. A bargain even at that price, if you asked the lackeys. Remember, don't think in terms of spending money... Think in terms of making money, right?

Despite the overwhelming value of the program at almost 5 stacks, if you signed up TODAY, they would part with their next level real estate knowledge for a mere $1997. We were practically robbing them.

In the grand scheme of things, that $2k is chump change, of course. Unless you've only got $20k in the bank and 20 more years to live.

The friendly and helpful staff was there to handle any questions you may have. When the fat weasel opened up the floor to let the mob sign up, at least a dozen people wandered to the back of the room to talk to the lovely staff of helpful and honest professionals. I think they were a church group or something.

I can only hope those dozen were plants. I have no way of knowing, though.

Me? I checked my phone. A simple application of some rudimentary Google-Fu showed me what I needed to know. Dozens of complaints of this exact scam on the bigger pockets forum. Nightmare tales of the weekend seminar being a gateway drug to something much worse. Conning you into an even bigger scam - maxing out your credit cards to pay for their mentorship.

The horror. A truly life altering event, and not in the positive way.

Amongst the din of the old folks begging the lackeys to circumvent their logic, the fat weasel spoke up: he reminded us that there was another speaker, with another offer. If you stick around to the end, you get a free mp3 player. What an offer.

Part of me wonders if I should have clued in the geriatrics. But... who am I to run interference in a perfectly legal and legitimate scam, anyway?

Nah, I took my free legal pad and granola bar and left. I got a world class education in con artistry. How to fleece a crowd of gullible and desperate people.

The geriatrics? I have a feeling some of them ended up lighter a couple grand. I can only hope they learned their lesson there and didn't get the full works.

Statistics and the principles of logic tell me I'm dreaming about that, though. A man can dream, can't he?

Excellent write up -- you should take up writing.

 

[Scot]

Now that you write this all out, I genuinely think my parents have fallen for this crap a couple times. I remember as a kid, they would go to a "seminar" and come back with a business idea.

One time they were going to be an online cat furniture distributor. (Wtf?)

Another time they were a company that helped students fill lot student loan applications.

Another time my dad had a garage full of educational computer games and wire racks to sell them. This was mid 90's and we just had boxes of CD'S of games no one bought.

I kind of want to ask them about all of this, because I never really put 2 and 2 together.

 

[G-Man]

One time they were going to be an online cat furniture distributor. (Wtf?)

LOLed on this one

 

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[Late Start]

For $26,000, you could put a deposit on a real rental property.

In my neck of the woods that would *buy* a rental property that about $2-5k in repairs would make viable.

 

[Red]

...but I guess it was just a misunderstanding, right? Maybe my wife just misread. She just has a PhD in physics. She's no English major, after all.

This right here got my LOL of the day.

 

[lowtek]

Excellent write up -- you should take up writing.

thanks!

 

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[GMSI7D]

Human behavior haven't changed much as we would like to think. Those niche will forever be ever green. Lose 100 pounds in 2 weeks, get 5k in 2 hours etc. lol

keep in mind that you are in business to make people happy not to talk them into living for truth and logic

people really do stupid things like buying alcohool and tobacco and so on.

this is life

if they are happy with BS then why discussing whether BS are moral or not ?


just keep in mind that 50 % of people have an IQ which is lower than 100, this is math, not my opinion,

this means that only a small portion of the population can see through BS .


just look at this chart:





people can't tell anyway what truth is and they will argue with you while you are showing them the truth.

everybody on this forum, and i mean that, can tell a story about them trying to show the truth to someone and being critisized as a result

 

[MoreVolume]

Story time:

I attended one of these Flip or Flop free seminars right after I got laid off. My wife saw the ad on facebook and signed up, sent me in her stead (thanks, babe). I had never been to anything like it, was naturally skeptical, but didn't know any better. Hell, I was laid off. Not like I had a job to go to. Besides, there were going to be free snacks.

It was funny, they advertised the event as if Mr. and Mrs. Scammer would be there in the flesh... but alas, it was just a bunch of slack jawed lackeys. The Scammers in charge couldn't be there, the lackeys said. Something about counting their stacks of cash, er... attending to their new baby.

Undaunted, I figured what the heck. They're giving me some free shit. Might as well stay for the snacks and the free legal pad. Who couldn't use more legal pads?

Looking around at the forming crowd, my suspicions began to grow. It was predominantly older folk. 55+, retired... barely any money left in the bank. These were not people I perceived as money savvy. The smell of desperation hung heavy in the air. You could tell for some people, this was their last hope.

A short fat, bald scammy a$$ schemer looking weasel SOB came in and got the crowd of geriatrics all in a frenzy over the possibility of making some serious cash. Of course, it starts out with the mindset talk. Don't think in terms of spending money. Think in terms of making money. After all, if you could spend a few thousand to make tens of thousands, you would do it - right? That's just good business sense.

Then came the big promises of fat a$$ pay days and truck loads of cash plopped into your driveway with golden dump trucks. Tales of regular folks, just like us, who had struck it big with the system that Mr. and Mrs. Scammer had created. Experience? Capital? Who needs that. They've got you covered. Everything you need, baby.

Their team of hard money lenders would front most of the cash, and their team would help you with the flip because they're in the deal with you too. They don't make money, if you don't make money. Makes sense, right? How could you possibly lose? They take almost all the risk, and you keep the lion's share of the profits. How kind of them.

These people are right up there with Mother freaking Theresa. Saints.

What's that? Business people generally don't like to take all the risk and get minimal reward? Oh, they just want scale. They can't possibly parse all the deals out there, and YOU know your local market best. You live there, right? They need boots on the ground and are willing to pay a premium for it. All very sensible and totally believable.

then came the sales pitch - of course you can't learn what you need to know in a 2 hour seminar. Who would think that? I mean, the advertisement just said they were going to teach us how to make money in real estate, but I guess it was just a misunderstanding, right? Maybe my wife just misread. She just has a PhD in physics. She's no English major, after all.

No... the real big money secrets are in their weekend workshop. The price was deeply discounted, we were told. It typically ran for $4997. A bargain even at that price, if you asked the lackeys. Remember, don't think in terms of spending money... Think in terms of making money, right?

Despite the overwhelming value of the program at almost 5 stacks, if you signed up TODAY, they would part with their next level real estate knowledge for a mere $1997. We were practically robbing them.

In the grand scheme of things, that $2k is chump change, of course. Unless you've only got $20k in the bank and 20 more years to live.

The friendly and helpful staff was there to handle any questions you may have. When the fat weasel opened up the floor to let the mob sign up, at least a dozen people wandered to the back of the room to talk to the lovely staff of helpful and honest professionals. I think they were a church group or something.

I can only hope those dozen were plants. I have no way of knowing, though.

Me? I checked my phone. A simple application of some rudimentary Google-Fu showed me what I needed to know. Dozens of complaints of this exact scam on the bigger pockets forum. Nightmare tales of the weekend seminar being a gateway drug to something much worse. Conning you into an even bigger scam - maxing out your credit cards to pay for their mentorship.

The horror. A truly life altering event, and not in the positive way.

Amongst the din of the old folks begging the lackeys to circumvent their logic, the fat weasel spoke up: he reminded us that there was another speaker, with another offer. If you stick around to the end, you get a free mp3 player. What an offer.

Part of me wonders if I should have clued in the geriatrics. But... who am I to run interference in a perfectly legal and legitimate scam, anyway?

Nah, I took my free legal pad and granola bar and left. I got a world class education in con artistry. How to fleece a crowd of gullible and desperate people.

The geriatrics? I have a feeling some of them ended up lighter a couple grand. I can only hope they learned their lesson there and didn't get the full works.

Statistics and the principles of logic tell me I'm dreaming about that, though. A man can dream, can't he?

Was it a Than Merrill/FortuneBuilders seminar?

 

[lowtek]

Was it a Than Merrill/FortuneBuilders seminar?

Success path, same as in the OP story.

 

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[tonyf7]

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...im-flip-or-flop-stars-classes-misleading.html

Haha, they recently did this seminar in the town I live in at the local Marriot. I almost went. Had actually registered and invited a friend to go with me so he could help me escape after the seminar was over, since we knew a "free" seminar meant they were gonna try to sell us on something totally not free.

Never went though.

Think I had something better to do that day.

Marketing strategy was pretty good though. I found out about it through a Facebook ad and clicked to a quick and easy registration page.

 

[Papillon]

Story time:

I attended one of these Flip or Flop free seminars right after I got laid off. My wife saw the ad on facebook and signed up, sent me in her stead (thanks, babe). I had never been to anything like it, was naturally skeptical, but didn't know any better. Hell, I was laid off. Not like I had a job to go to. Besides, there were going to be free snacks.

It was funny, they advertised the event as if Mr. and Mrs. Scammer would be there in the flesh... but alas, it was just a bunch of slack jawed lackeys. The Scammers in charge couldn't be there, the lackeys said. Something about counting their stacks of cash, er... attending to their new baby.

Undaunted, I figured what the heck. They're giving me some free shit. Might as well stay for the snacks and the free legal pad. Who couldn't use more legal pads?

Looking around at the forming crowd, my suspicions began to grow. It was predominantly older folk. 55+, retired... barely any money left in the bank. These were not people I perceived as money savvy. The smell of desperation hung heavy in the air. You could tell for some people, this was their last hope.

A short fat, bald scammy a$$ schemer looking weasel SOB came in and got the crowd of geriatrics all in a frenzy over the possibility of making some serious cash. Of course, it starts out with the mindset talk. Don't think in terms of spending money. Think in terms of making money. After all, if you could spend a few thousand to make tens of thousands, you would do it - right? That's just good business sense.

Then came the big promises of fat a$$ pay days and truck loads of cash plopped into your driveway with golden dump trucks. Tales of regular folks, just like us, who had struck it big with the system that Mr. and Mrs. Scammer had created. Experience? Capital? Who needs that. They've got you covered. Everything you need, baby.

Their team of hard money lenders would front most of the cash, and their team would help you with the flip because they're in the deal with you too. They don't make money, if you don't make money. Makes sense, right? How could you possibly lose? They take almost all the risk, and you keep the lion's share of the profits. How kind of them.

These people are right up there with Mother freaking Theresa. Saints.

What's that? Business people generally don't like to take all the risk and get minimal reward? Oh, they just want scale. They can't possibly parse all the deals out there, and YOU know your local market best. You live there, right? They need boots on the ground and are willing to pay a premium for it. All very sensible and totally believable.

then came the sales pitch - of course you can't learn what you need to know in a 2 hour seminar. Who would think that? I mean, the advertisement just said they were going to teach us how to make money in real estate, but I guess it was just a misunderstanding, right? Maybe my wife just misread. She just has a PhD in physics. She's no English major, after all.

No... the real big money secrets are in their weekend workshop. The price was deeply discounted, we were told. It typically ran for $4997. A bargain even at that price, if you asked the lackeys. Remember, don't think in terms of spending money... Think in terms of making money, right?

Despite the overwhelming value of the program at almost 5 stacks, if you signed up TODAY, they would part with their next level real estate knowledge for a mere $1997. We were practically robbing them.

In the grand scheme of things, that $2k is chump change, of course. Unless you've only got $20k in the bank and 20 more years to live.

The friendly and helpful staff was there to handle any questions you may have. When the fat weasel opened up the floor to let the mob sign up, at least a dozen people wandered to the back of the room to talk to the lovely staff of helpful and honest professionals. I think they were a church group or something.

I can only hope those dozen were plants. I have no way of knowing, though.

Me? I checked my phone. A simple application of some rudimentary Google-Fu showed me what I needed to know. Dozens of complaints of this exact scam on the bigger pockets forum. Nightmare tales of the weekend seminar being a gateway drug to something much worse. Conning you into an even bigger scam - maxing out your credit cards to pay for their mentorship.

The horror. A truly life altering event, and not in the positive way.

Amongst the din of the old folks begging the lackeys to circumvent their logic, the fat weasel spoke up: he reminded us that there was another speaker, with another offer. If you stick around to the end, you get a free mp3 player. What an offer.

Part of me wonders if I should have clued in the geriatrics. But... who am I to run interference in a perfectly legal and legitimate scam, anyway?

Nah, I took my free legal pad and granola bar and left. I got a world class education in con artistry. How to fleece a crowd of gullible and desperate people.

The geriatrics? I have a feeling some of them ended up lighter a couple grand. I can only hope they learned their lesson there and didn't get the full works.

Statistics and the principles of logic tell me I'm dreaming about that, though. A man can dream, can't he?

NICE POST!

Maybe if the geriatrics watched this video ...(fast forward to 3:46 for the FUN) then maybe just MAYBE they would of suddenly woke up...

 

[Chazmania]

NICE POST!

Maybe if the geriatrics watched this video ...(fast forward to 3:46 for the FUN) then maybe just MAYBE they would of suddenly woke up...

That's how you build a sales funnel

 

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[fhs8]

Quick Cash System has the best video ever. Wow I'm gonna be rich!!!

They've already moved on to another scam called Push Money App. They must've laughed HARD making these videos.

http://thepushmoneyapp.com/privateinvite.php

 

[lowtek]

Quick Cash System has the best video ever. Wow I'm gonna be rich!!!

They've already moved on to another scam called Push Money App. They must've laughed HARD making these videos.

http://thepushmoneyapp.com/privateinvite.php

wow lol