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Google Profit Kit - Not

The FTC regulates the "buy a job" schemes in two ways: under Section 5 of the FTC Act which regulates misleading advertising.  The FTC focuses on proving deception in a Section 5 action.

The second way the FTC regulates a "buy a job" scheme is through required disclosure, and some 26 other states also do this, known as Business Opportunity Laws.

Section 5 actions by the FTC are lengthy and involve a lot of resources; whereas Biz Op actions are relatively easy: You are Biz Op, but you have no mandatory disclosure document so the FTC simply shuts you down.

The Google Money Tree was a Section 5 action, and we should expect that minor differences from the Google Money Tree scheme  will not result in immediate action from the FTC.

Some of the changes in the clones I have seen, which would defeat the pleading in the Google Money Tree action, are as follows:

1. The terms and conditions, the automatic enrollment, are disclosed better.

2. The telemarketers are offshore, one group is in the Philippines which makes the enforcement of the Telemarketing Rule that much more difficult.

3. The squeeze page has been designed to overcome the Telemarketing Rule, in establishing a prior relationship with the marketer, in that "You agree to be called at the # above & emailed information about your free trial (ie: order info)"

4. There is not the same space given over to "free".

5. They continue to buy slots on Alexa, which is probably not a clever idea for Alexa to be allowing this.

6. The landing pages are being rotated, here is one from the Alexa ad.

http://www.googleprofithouse.com/offer/googleprofithouse/aoffer/default.htm?mid=319&subid=31287-2653550, apparently operating out of 625 Main street West Indies Nevis. An unlikely address!

The website was created by

Registrar of Record:

TUCOWS, INC.
Record last updated on 03-Aug-2009.
Record expires on 31-Jul-2010.
Record created on 31-Jul-2009.

7.

Because they haven't done the redirect of the  domain correctly, you can find that the original website is:

http://www.orderconformation.com/offer/googleprofithouse/aoffer/default.aspx

8.

Which a whois reveals as something called Ad Ventures UK

http://whois.org/whois/orderconfirmation.com, and the UK incorporation details are here.

9. All of which makes enforcement far more difficult. 

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Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on August 12, 2009 (boomark / email).