If you get a call from any company that makes an offer to guarantee something like 26 million hits with your choice of keyword/s for an exorbitant amount of money - something like $1000 per keyword, do yourself a favor and hang up the phone. There is a DBA company that goes by s4tn.com or SolutionsForTheNet.com (they have other aka's) located in Las Vegas NV that have one objective - separate you from your money... They really don't care how they do it either. They are polished and professional scam artists who use smoke and mirrors, bait and switch and other tricks that will make a used care salesman look like a Sunday school teacher... How do I know, I am ashamed to say - but yes they got me, just another old "geezer" not real computer savvy and all to trusting... I even thought I would have some protection from the only credit card these scam artists accept, American Express... I soon found out why this is the only card they accept... American Express is a 24-7 company, which means they process payments over the weekend and nights - you won't have time to call and stop payment and once the scam artists have the money, they will not give it back...
Here are just a few of the particular scams the put over on me.
- They claimed to belong to the better business bureau and even showed me their record online... It was not their record at all - They are not members of any BBB...
- They showed me how my web site would appear as #1 on a search in 14 different search engines... This only works on computers with webmenu software installed and it does not work on all the search engines they advertise.
- I was guaranteed 10000 hits over a 6 month period or I would receive another 6 months free. They even calculated my earnings at $15,000 if 1/2 of 1 % of the hits joined my organization.
- I was shown a set of terms and conditions which I had to agree to, but when I received the supposed order, the terms and conditions were different. The set I had not seen stated that these were not hits but rather impressions, not even a good probability for a page view...
- I was asked to sign a statement that said that they could discontinue my "advertising" at any time, with or without cause and there would be no refunds of any kind. When I refused to sign, they called me names and then assured me that they would get my money one way or another... This was from their so called operations manager...
What they got was money from a disabled man, confined to a wheelchair and on a fixed income... What I received in return "000000".... Please, whether you like what I post or not, help me get the word out on these guy's -- this company and all their "aka's" need to be put out of business... They claim to be partners with webmenu.com...
If you have been on the receiving end of their scam, please contact me so we can add your name and information to the current 20+ people who have lost their money on this scam!!!
11 comments:
I too was taken by s4tn.com
Any chance of a class action suit? I am just wondering how many of us took the bait.
thanks,
Fern
bridgerfern@yahoo.com
Stay away from S4TN and WebMenu, they are absolute frauds and crooks. They have no conscience and lie to get your money. They will not let you listen to your supposed recorded call after you have bought their fake advertising as they know what the said and what their contract states are two totally different things. You will not make one cent from this advertising, you will only lose thousands.
Man!! I thought I was the only one that fell for this company s4tn scam. Lets get together and do something to get rid of this company.
Hey Friends:
I wish I had found you guys before s4tn contacted me. Because I fell for the bait as well.
Don't know if anything will come of this post. But if it will help someone avoid the mistake I made then It would have been worth it.
Regards; James W Vernon II
Thanks. I was on hold with these guys waiting on a manger, when I did a quick search. You saved me!!!! Thank you
I fell for it yesterday. The guy seemed so nice and was talking about where he went to school. The moment I saw your blog today I called s4tn.com and asked to cancel and they said they had a no cancellation policy. I called American express and they said I would have to wait till it shows and then I can dispute it. So do you think the testimonials on their website weren't real? So totally freaking out! Sarah
Then 2 other B2b people have called today trying to sell me the same thing. Sarah
sarahfk.s@gmail.com
Hey Rob, Your I.Q. is showing!!!
ANYONE WANT TO SEND DOTLESSDOMAIN A NICE CARE PACKAGE "ON THEM"
JUST ABOUT SENT IN MY $3000 WHEN I GOT ON GOOGLE AND CHECKED THEM OUT!!
HERE IS THERE fedex account number think they might need a few care packages!!! (DOG S___ MIGHT BE NICE!)
they couldnt get the FEDEX truck out to me on a fridaynight so advised me to "dropoff" my check at the local FEDEX.
bill to recipient- dotlessdomain-352289060
Please go to the ftc webpage Laws regulating telemarketers
Federal laws
There are two major federal laws that regulate telemarketing. They somewhat overlap and are discussed below in more detail.
· The Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud Abuse Prevention Act, also called the Telephone Sales Rules (TSR), is overseen by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). (15 USC 6101-6108; 16 CFR 310). For the latest version of the TSR, see
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/01/tsrfrn.pdf
· The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) focuses on the uses of telephone lines, and is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). (47 USC 227; 47 CFR 64.1200). For the latest version of the TCPA, see
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-153A1.doc.
Federal laws, also known as the U.S. Code, can be found online at www.law.cornell.edu/uscode. Federal regulations, known as the Code of Federal Regulations, or CFR, are found online at www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html.
Chapter 598 — Deceptive Trade Practices - Nevada Chapter 598 ...
NRS 598.250 Seller to furnish buyer form for notice of cancellation. ... trade practice" if, during a solicitation by telephone or sales presentation, he: ...
law.justia.com/nevada/codes/NRS-598.html - 310k
Client Placement Services SCAM
Yes, they are a scam, and also use several other company names such as One Top Firm and Portal Response Technology. This is a post excerpted from a good thread over at webproworld:
The scam began with a guy named John Sloatman, who first appears after being dismissed from Skybridge Wireless. He files a wacky lawsuit which the court dismisses.
http://www.secinfo.com/d118et.59n.htm#sb4
(Page 17)
So already we are dealing with a dubious individual. Then he created this I-frame banner ad technology. Not a bad idea. All he has to do is come with ways to get people to download toolbars. If he can sell keywords, he can make a fortune. Even better, he also gets the bright idea to license the technology to other people.
He licenses it to a lot of folks. He also claims that some guy named Eric Jarrett steals the technology from him and sues him.
Charles Lloyd either licenses Sloatman’s technology or is in business with him. Alas, Lloyd has been in trouble with the FTC:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/08/meddata3.shtm
That would be the same Charles Lloyd who is mentioned as being directly connected with the MySpace Guardian:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...4406992&EDATE=
So right away we have a dubious person behind this business.
From here, I have to say, that YouCannotFoolMe has done his research. You can do it, too. All of the following companies are linked, either because they share a business address, share a “dba” listing (That’s “Doing business as”), or share phone numbers. They also share an “F” rating, except for PRT which is still nonetheless linked to the other companies via a “dba”” This can all be found very easily at www.bbbsouthland.org and the CA secretary of state website:
Portal Response Technology
One Top Firm
Surfspeak
Simply Voice
Key Windows
Other companies licensing the technology include:
www.s4tn.com
www.starposition.com
Cyberphrases
SearchClimbers
Rocketpositions
REalKeywords
Keywords LLC
American Keywords
Links regarding the dubious nature of this technology are abundant. Here are the best ones. This first one, in particular, is awesome. Some guy named Richard Sexton representing StarPosition is embarrassed by a poster named “myandemar”.
http://www.seorefugee.com/forums/sh...p?t=1677&page=5
http://blog.retailblogmarketing.com...ardian-toolbar/
One Top Firm - Portal ResponseTechnology
http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/...0&page=2&pp=20
This other one demonstrates how the scam has been around for a long time and also on the East Coast.
http://www.inluminent.com/2002/09/12...ue-yeah-right/
The bottom line: the technology has clearly been used to scam people. Is PRT/One Top Firm (yes, they are the same) doing the same thing? My guess is they are trying to legitimize the service by creating the MySpace Guardian toolbar. If they truly could get an installed base of 10 million then, then they’d be on to something.
So it’s pretty simple. Either they are lying about the number of downloads or they are not. If they are, it’s fraud. If not, it’s legal.
Either the hits being generated are real ones or they aren’t. If they aren’t, it’s fraud. If they are, it’s legal.
Both are extremely difficult to prove or disprove. Hence, if it is a scam, it’s pretty brilliant.
The woman claiming to be Vicky Brink either is her or it isn’t. If it isn’t, it’s fraud. If it is, it’s legal.
If she is a shill, then we should not be surprised.
If she isn’t, and sold some homes because clients said they saw her banner ad, then good for her. Maybe the installed base of the Guardian is large enough to have generated business.
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