Ethics in business
Doing the right thing even when it's tough.
by Andy Anderson Owner Yuma Bloggers
Andy Anderson 
Owner Yuma Bloggers
Recently I paid a hefty price with some very personal attack by the victims of a scammer. Not for putting them in the scam or being involved with it but for bursting their bubbles and showing them it's a scam in black and white before they lose their money.
You heard me. I showed iron clad proof where the scammer is facing jail and multiple lawsuits if anyone can catch them and these folks got mad because I was ruining their business.
My reply was you need first have a business to ruin a scam is no business to be in and thanks for making me the villain because you would rather continue promoting until it's belly up than to accept that this program is a fraud and will destroy lives.
Now the sad part is I am guilty of the apathy I am now advocating against.
I have been online since 2003 and am very well respected in this business by a great number of people. I have counseled many on opportunities before they went in and helped them avoid scams and fraud, but only when asked for the help. I had only once before spoke out on a online scam publicly and had a bit more success that time in saving folks some hardship.
I have kept my mouth shut because of the exact things i was accused of this past month. I didn't want to destroy a business and speed up people losses and get a reputation as a whistle blower that ruins programs even illegal ones that some folks are profiting in now.
This one though is much different. One I lost money when the Search Big Daddy scam went down, it was good for 2 years but I put my earnings back in and more cash out of my pocket. This time the scammer also attacked to our 2 year old search engine Kooiii and named it well you know the name. This time our very first logo was stolen from when it was still a directory only and those eyes look at me 100 times a day. This HYIP -AKA- Ponzi scammer with 3800 legal complaints and victim accounts to the havoc he has levied on victims for years though is making a fortune destroying people, and as I said earlier. Instead of slamming the scammer the people I warned slammed me for ruining their hopes of recouping their losses by continuing to promote the SCAM.
Doing the right thing may cause loss at times, I have friends who wont speak to me because they wont listen to the warnings and are continuing to promote. Other though are thanking me for the task and are now sharing an even stronger bond. Fact is telling of these things was the right thing to do and the ethical thing at that.
A person knowing of a crime first hand who does nothing stops being a witness and becomes a accomplice in the eyes of the law. Had I been silent I would have been a accomplice after the fact to the crime. By these folks who have seen the 100% proof of the scam and are still promoting they have themselves now taken the legal role of co-conspirator. Myself, I have reported the scam to authorities already seeking this individual in relation to the two other programs that made him notorious on Google.
Have you had a similar challenge and how did you handle the short term PR?
Andy
P.S.
Please note there are some big name folks around these parts who have fallen for the program in question. The folks that I have told all named you and said they trust you and that you would not be in this program if it was a scam. That leads me to believe that they never looked at the proof you obviously didn't look at and will now loose because of following you blindly. If you are a program owner or Guru, please research the programs you put your name on.
Aug 30th 2010 17:29
Owner Yuma BloggersRecently I paid a hefty price with some very personal attack by the victims of a scammer. Not for putting them in the scam or being involved with it but for bursting their bubbles and showing them it's a scam in black and white before they lose their money.
You heard me. I showed iron clad proof where the scammer is facing jail and multiple lawsuits if anyone can catch them and these folks got mad because I was ruining their business.
My reply was you need first have a business to ruin a scam is no business to be in and thanks for making me the villain because you would rather continue promoting until it's belly up than to accept that this program is a fraud and will destroy lives.
Now the sad part is I am guilty of the apathy I am now advocating against.
I have been online since 2003 and am very well respected in this business by a great number of people. I have counseled many on opportunities before they went in and helped them avoid scams and fraud, but only when asked for the help. I had only once before spoke out on a online scam publicly and had a bit more success that time in saving folks some hardship.
I have kept my mouth shut because of the exact things i was accused of this past month. I didn't want to destroy a business and speed up people losses and get a reputation as a whistle blower that ruins programs even illegal ones that some folks are profiting in now.
This one though is much different. One I lost money when the Search Big Daddy scam went down, it was good for 2 years but I put my earnings back in and more cash out of my pocket. This time the scammer also attacked to our 2 year old search engine Kooiii and named it well you know the name. This time our very first logo was stolen from when it was still a directory only and those eyes look at me 100 times a day. This HYIP -AKA- Ponzi scammer with 3800 legal complaints and victim accounts to the havoc he has levied on victims for years though is making a fortune destroying people, and as I said earlier. Instead of slamming the scammer the people I warned slammed me for ruining their hopes of recouping their losses by continuing to promote the SCAM.
Doing the right thing may cause loss at times, I have friends who wont speak to me because they wont listen to the warnings and are continuing to promote. Other though are thanking me for the task and are now sharing an even stronger bond. Fact is telling of these things was the right thing to do and the ethical thing at that.
A person knowing of a crime first hand who does nothing stops being a witness and becomes a accomplice in the eyes of the law. Had I been silent I would have been a accomplice after the fact to the crime. By these folks who have seen the 100% proof of the scam and are still promoting they have themselves now taken the legal role of co-conspirator. Myself, I have reported the scam to authorities already seeking this individual in relation to the two other programs that made him notorious on Google.
Have you had a similar challenge and how did you handle the short term PR?
Andy
P.S.
Please note there are some big name folks around these parts who have fallen for the program in question. The folks that I have told all named you and said they trust you and that you would not be in this program if it was a scam. That leads me to believe that they never looked at the proof you obviously didn't look at and will now loose because of following you blindly. If you are a program owner or Guru, please research the programs you put your name on.
Aug 30th 2010 17:29
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Comments
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Cheryl Baumgartner
 Medical Billing/Coding/Insurance"A person knowing of a crime first hand who does nothing stops being a witness and becomes a accomplice in the eyes of the law." That says it all in a nutshell. Every person promoting the scam in an effort to recoup their losses is causing someone else to be defrauded and that IS a crime. Every state and the Federal Government has statutes on the books specifically addressing theft by deception and fraud. I don't care what anyone says it's much tougher doing time than speaking up. Oct 11th 2010 18:07 |
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Andy Anderson
Owner Yuma BloggersStrange I have 2 missing comments Dawie and one other I received a message on but came here to find no comment. Regardless thank everyone for the kind words and help bringing these matters to attention. Oct 12th 2010 21:33 |
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Dawie Bezuidenhout
Systems Engineer I.T.Hi Andy, i posted my comment on the wrong discussion by you. I copied it to your discussion "Leadership has it's privileges". Sorry about that. But on this subject i can just state this. I will never keep quiet if i see a SCAM, i don't care if it is a respected guy running it or the head of a Mafia family. I will expose them, i have a real HATE towards people stealing from other people, these scammers have no balls in real life, to put it bluntly. Oct 13th 2010 05:55 |
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Andy Anderson
Owner Yuma BloggersFact is scams are theft as you say Dawie. Theft is one of the lowest forms of crime as it doesn't just steal things or cash it steals someone else's life. A thief is a lazy piece of human garbage that supports themselves by taking what they haven't earn. Regardless of the corporate investor making their money with their mind, or the waitress breaking down her knees, feet, and ankles on a hard floor for 8 hours, each has invested a piece of their life into creating them money that is take. A thief has invested nothing to rip life from you hands and deserves your hatred. Oct 13th 2010 14:57 |
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Dawie Bezuidenhout
Systems Engineer I.T.The sad fact about SCAMMING is also that the people that get sucked into these programs, usually can't afford to loose any amount of money. The SCAMMERS prey on the poor, and sometimes the rich get caught as well. People under estimate the SCAMMERS intelligence, and they keep honing their skills and change their tactics. For my sake they can put all the SCAMMERS that get caught on a rocket on a collision course with the SUN. Oct 13th 2010 15:19 |
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Cheryl Baumgartner
Medical Billing/Coding/InsuranceYes the do prey on the poor because the scammers biggest tactic is selling not the scam, but the dream. That waitress on her feet all day working for a few tips would nothing more than to be comfortable financially, the scammer taps into that convincing her that he has the way to make that dream a reality. Oct 13th 2010 15:29 |
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Warren Day
 I'm not sure what price I've paid online but I've been told many times offline that I should be more politically correct or reserved or quiet, etc. Oh well, I don't have ulcers and I don't mind looking in the mirror. I hope fighting the good fight pays off in this life and though we don't share the same beliefs, I'll just say - It should pay off for you eventually so keep fighting the good fight Andy Oct 24th 2010 01:04 |
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Andy Anderson
Owner Yuma BloggersI have never been know as politically correct and the last person to tell me I needed to be knows exactly how not politically correct I am so I guess we have these things in common. Oct 24th 2010 02:37 |
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Muriel & Graham Legg
Make your website mobile friendly$$$$$????? - that is what people look at. If some one tells them that they are going to earn XX anount in two weeks - that is what they look at. Due diligence goes out the window, if it was ever in there. While there are people desperate for money then you will always get the scammers. Yes you will get groups telling them otherwise but their desperation always wins out. Oct 27th 2010 03:23 |
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Dave Gilbert
Web Entreprenuerthere are some warning signs though that you can watch for these are : 1. you are asked to convert real dollars in the fake dollars in order to participate. This is an open invitation for the organisers of the opportunity to cheat members by creating their own wealth in fake dollars then forcing the product price up using play money while cashing in from member real dollar funds. 2. Lack of company information or verified contact details this can be an oversight on part of the opportunity organizers however it should be quickly rectified once pointed out if not it shows they have something to hide. 3.Non conformation with legal obligations such as tax reporting. Again possibly an oversight but once more should be fixed as sson as the opportunity is queried, failure to publically state these requirements again indicated possible illegal activity. 4. Support is non existent or very slow to react, support answers are ambiguous and do not directly address the support query. Good support is so important for member confidence ignoring or stepping around issues again shows they have something to hide. These are just a few of the indicators we look for when reporting scams. Oct 27th 2010 23:25 |
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Andy Anderson
Owner Yuma BloggersOn the fake dollars more often than not though the scammer thinks that trading in the converted points for the ponzi scheme will no longer be illegal. They seem to believe the judge will buy " They bought credits for their money and no real money was used to purchase positions only credits which per our terms hold no real value until converted back to cash or spent on site". They're wrong and go to jail but that's the defense they have tried in court. Oct 28th 2010 00:00 |
As long as people focus on AVOIDING PAIN (taking the Easy way) and do not concentrate on SEEKING PLEASURE (being in Control of Your success) they will continue to FALL for the SCAMS
Have no Fear about speaking YOUR mind, as long as the FACTS are presented
Oct 11th 2010 10:27