Income at Home 55 is a Scam! (maybe)
Posted: August 1st, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Scam | Tags: income at home, pyramid scheme, Scam, work from home | 31 Comments »Income at Home has been saturating the air waves lately. Their commercials are long on promises of $1000 giveaways, but short on details. Scams are often promoted with similar techniques.
Income at Home is one of those thoroughly obnoxious radio ads I hear day in and day out during my commute, so I thought I sign up and check it out. But first, the ad.
The Radio ad:
“Financial Freedom Awaits You!”
“A simple way to earn ‘quit your job’ kind of money”
“One of the few work at home companies with an A+ BBB rating”
Here’s the details (such as they are) on Income at Home:
The Income at Home commercial mentions being an A+ BBB rated company, but it doesn’t specify what that company is or what the affiliation is – not even on the website they direct you to.
Speaking of the website, incomeathome55.com (and its variants – incomeathome30.com, incomeathome22.com, etc..) redirects you to: Premier Team Online Home Business System website https://leadingincome.com. Incidentally, Premier Team Online Home Business System IS listed in the BBB, but they are not accredited and have an F rating.
Anyway, the Premier Team Online Home Business System website provides additional flashy, marketing type logos and text proclaiming the multitudes of people who now make 6 figure incomes with their “system.”
About 23 pages down, at the very bottom is a form section that asks for your personal contact info so they can “rush your free kit” out to you.
The Income at Home / Premier Team Online Home Business System signup experience
On June 29, I singed up for :
Free Online Package – Video, Workbook, and Audio
Package $0.00, Shipping & Handling $0.00
(the DVD package required $9.95 shipping, and I wasn’t down with that.)
Within a few minutes I received an email:
“Dear George, (I never use my real name for these things, until I’m sure it’s a real deal)
Congratulations for ordering the Home Business Information Package! Your Personal Mentor will be contacting you soon to send your Free Online Package. You will also receive a confirmation email. Be sure to check your screened mail if the confirmation does not show up in your email inbox.
For fastest service contact your Mentor now. Below you will find their contact information.”
A couple hours later I received a follow up email, containing a link to a 30 minute video title “The 5 Key Elements to Financial and Time Freedom in a Depressed Economy.”
The video was really nothing more than a number of testimonials from people who got rich using the system – with the following phrase floated at the bottom on the screen:
“Income applicable to the individuals (in examples) depicted are not average”
No doubt.
Anyway, the Income at Home video opens with a guy on the beach talking about how great and wonderful and transformative the system is. Still no mention of what the system is. It then goes into more glitz and glam about being wealthy and free, and ends with the obligatory testimonials.
The testimonials are filled with the usual stories of everyday people who were fed up with their mundane and stress filled jobs. They were tired of working to “make somebody else rich” and went off on their own. Within 6 months of using the Income at Home system, they were able to quit their day jobs.
So the video references these “Five Rules of Financial and Time Freedom”, and asks if they really work, but takes forever to actually outline what they are. Instead, they talk about the “rewards for playing by the new rules” and show lavish lifestyles, big houses, SUVs and yachts. – they even threw in some women in bikinis and island resorts! Again with the caption “Income applicable to the individuals (in examples) depicted are not average.”
Eventually they do get to the Five Rules:
1. Find a large and growing industry
2. Have a consumable product that people need.
3. Create income leverage (get paid for other people’s time)
4. Follow a proven model for success.
5. Associate with successful people.
In short, Income at Home seems to be a complicated, maze-like pyramid scheme designed to keep stringing you along with abstract promises of a better life and vague references to “the new rules” of wealth, retirement and so on. I suspect that all roads eventually lead to a collection point where you sign up and fork over your hard earned money to get a video tape of how to make your own “Income at Home” sites and string unsuspecting people along to buy a similar kit from you, and so on…
The large and growing industry is a pool of suckers who are disgruntled with their 9-5 jobs and dream of getting rich quick with some new method or technology (like a work at home kit on the Internet!).
The income leverage is the pyramid scheme. You likely get more residual income (commission) for signing up a certain number of people on the Income at Home system and have them work for you signing up ever more people.
The proven model of success is the “system” that you follow. Sites like these give you a template or pattern to follow. You create some unique branding to make it look just different enough, and the more unique and different it is the more suckers you will likely attract.
Associating with successful people ties back into the pyramid scheme. You want to stick with the person who signed you up (your “mentor”) because you view them as successful. That means they get to keep a higher number of suckers under them, and hence earn more money.
UPDATE: Since originally writing this post, incomeathome55 now redirects to http://radio.theonlinebusiness.com/goland45/CITADEL-STRM-45. The mere fact that the site keeps changing is a major red flag!
Thanks for posting this… I have pointed my mother-in-law to your posting because she has fallen for several such “systems” that offer riches for little work.
Things like Herbalife, Excel Long Distance, etc… She bought into many of them.
Thank you for stopping by. I’m glad to be able to help people whenever I can. I can’t believe such companies do as well as they do, and educating and exposing them is about the only thing the everyday person can do to combat them.
I fell for it also. Paid $9.95 for a ‘fluff’ brochure with no hint whatsoever as to the opportuniy or a product. Two weeks later I’m billed aother $39.95 for the same brochure.Contacted my ‘coach’. given return instructions to a Merelle Worldwide. Grapevine, Texas. No phone, no email. Bogus!
Suppose I should just accept my gullibility, but plan to contact the local advertisers and make them aware of this scam.
I appreciate your thoughts on this. This company must be making money hand over fist to afford the number of ads that have proliferated on the radio.
I would laugh if it wasn’t so nauseating.
These shysters (probably in Florida where most of the other shysters are) I am sure, hired a group of marketing psychologists with PHDs to write the perfect spiel. Then they hire perfect studio “actors” with just the right kind of inflection and excitement in their voices to hook the target audience.
PT Barnum really was right.
I just heard about this on talk radio and I thought well they would not promote a scam, so I was on my way to get the CC and pay the $9.95 from the incomeathome55.com site and something, call it an internal flag, said check it out. Found this site so glad I didn’t pay for it.
Happy to be of help Francis!
This just shows why it’s important to remember that people pushing a product are doing so to make money. Sometimes, the product is beneficial and makes our lives easier, and sometimes the product is junk and only takes our money. Often, the people pushing the product haven’t actually used it or researched it.
Buyer beware!
In the end, you did your own research and came to your own conclusion, which is the way it should be.
There are ways to make good money for little work… but it all depends on what you call “work”. If you start a business that you thoroughly love doing, even as a hobby at first, then like the old saying goes… you will never work a day in your life. It is all a matter of perspective. Now… will you get rich quickly doing it? Maybe not, unless you are lucky with a niche business that no one thought of. But in many cases, money made quickly, disappears almost as quickly.
Glad I saw ur ad on how big of a scam this was ..”I listen to a lot of talk radio and head this ad.. hoping to find a way to get a second income flowing …my sixth sense felt it was just another bogus skit ..and guess what I wa right thanks for confirming that for me and a whole lot of others keep up the good work ….!!!!
two sayings ring through my head whenever i see shit like this. 1) if it sounds too good to be true… 2) NOTHING in life is free, few things are easy.. if you need someone to tell you this, put your money in a C.D. that you cant get out of early, or put it in a credit bureau. (I heard its really hard to get your money back out of) COME ON PEOPLE, use your head!
I fell for one a couple years ago having to do with rebates and they suddenly vanished when I needed the mentoring part. Thanks for posting this info because it just goes to show, this sickness out there doesn’t seem to be going away. “Once bitten, twice shy”.
First, great article on the IncomeatHome system. I usually like to check out the “At Home Businesses” but I always find myself facing another scam even though radio stations and TV shows are announcing it and saying it’s the real deal. The first time I typed in the IncomeatHome I could tell it was going to be a scam. A good rule of thumb is whenever people claim to be making money hand over fist, yet offer no indication of what the business is…it’s a scam.
Second, I really like your format and your other postings. I just started posting/blogging on blogger.com and have gotten approved with Google AdSense as well. How did you get this post to be found in the Google search engine? Do you have access to its HTML code? I don’t with blogger. I would like to earn extra income w/ Google AdSense; however, I need to get people to view my blogs/postings. I am currently only writing about being a Stay at Home mom and an Avon Consultant; however, I am a Certified Financial Planner and Budget Consultant. Email me if you can provide me with tips.
I appreciate it and great posting!
Sandy F.
I just heard this ad on the radio. good thing i came across this site. i have been looking for a work at home job for a few months now and no luck.i even looked up that google and come on im not stupid i have to pay for a kit and all. no job will make u pay for something in order 2 work for them. does any1 have any sites that i could search on?
Its nice to hear some straight talk on the subject. Thanks for taking the time to put this information out here for us. Too bad more people don’t do research before spending $$$.
MyEx-Wife fell for one of these a few years ago when I was in the Middle East. It was called Excell! Selling long distance for pennies. Funny thing was to make money you had to sign up people under you. She wasted many dollars on this. It was a sad deal because it prayed of the home sickness of the Marines on base. Telling them for a sall fee you only pay 2 cents a minute, and if your call recipient signed up they could call you as much as they wanted. SAD SAD SAD!
Why do radio stations play these scams? I listen to WMAL in Washington DC and hear these all day. I guess these scammers play good to advertise.
Thank you for the heads up. This site saved me countless hours, I would imagine.
Thanks for the information. Are there any REAL work-from-home opportunities out there? Why do stations play this junk?? What about reputation?
Thank You….
I believe this is a scam by all means but I looked up Premier Team Online Home Business System aka Premier Team International, on BBB and turns out they actually have a c+. By exaggerating their BBB rating so much you are doing the same thing this business is doing- lying.
http://www.bbb.org/central-northern-western-arizona/business-reviews/marketing-programs-and-services/premier-team-international-in-scottsdale-az-1000003827/
I hear this ad several times a day on talk radio & thought that it would be reputable because of the station it was being advertised on. I decided to do some research on it before I actually went to the site & I’m very happy that I did. Thanks for your info
I have a proven method for success. It’s called WORK & if you don’t do it, you will NOT be successful at anything, ever. There is no easy way. I’m constantly amazed at how many people throw their money at crap like that.
Realistically 99.999& of these “work at home” schemes are scams, whether it be starting your own business, mystery shopping, or filling out surveys online. Radio and television stations, no matter how reputable one would think they are, only care about the money they get from these advertisements.
There was a segment on 20/20 or Dateline several months back, exposing these scams. Apparently many of these companies disappear or change names every few months as if they were on the run.
The BBB should really get on these companies that use their seal of approval fraudulently.
All in all, if one is dumb enough to spend money on these types of things, they probably deserve to lose. I’m only 23 years old, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that these things are too good to be true. Being successful takes hard work and dedication.
I am one who just heard the ad on the radio and hey that sounds good but then i said maybe ill just check it out more and i typed in the web site andjust below the web site was this web site tha said it was a scam andi said how can that be it on the radio and i said no way so i was going down the page and the more i got into it the more i said holly cow it is a scam but how can that be why do they let them say things like this on the radio nd get away with it berney madoff is doing 150 years for a scam these people should be i jail for what they are doing the goverment went into bank business and the car business and the FBI lets hijackers go through skyscapers but they let people do thigs like this and get away with iti just heard an add on this website when i was puttin this comment in an it said they will give you $1000 just for checking the web site out that would take a lot of $9.95′s to get that im glad i seen this web site as you can tell im not one to hold back my words i say what i think and i think those people s..k well you know what i mean thank you for your site and letting me say my peice .
What I don’t understand is why the FTC doesn’t shut them down. These are big time outfits.
When you advertise like they do, this is a big deal.
I consider it blatant false advertising on a grand scale.
They’re having a heyday in this bad economy too.
I heard this ad on the Sean Hannity show and thought I’d check it out… glad I did. Hannity doesn’t try to scam his listeners, but there are just too many bad experiences out there for me to try this now.
Just heard the same ad on the radio…. soooooo glad you have all this “scam” info available for us… just like the others I was wondering how could this be a scam if it’s on the radio. In short, just want to thank you for taking the time to educate others…
Here is a simple rule that I use to figure out scams if a company is going to use you to generate income and they are going to charge you a fee for doing it …run
the name of the company advertised on KPDQ in Portland, Oregon is incomeathomeUSA.com. The fee they are asking for their “kit” is $39.95. It was required to fill in their form before they release any of their information, but, when I came to the line where they wanted my credit card # so they could bill me $39.95, I quit and didn’t submit my information. In spite of that, a few hours later a woman called and tried to reel me in. I told her I didn’t want to pay their fee and hung up. Have not heard from them again. I have been bitten before, so lesson learned. Thanks for your site.
who would i have to contact to cancel the charge? my stupid ass got reeled in just now.
Jackie, call your credit card company and dispute the charge. Explain that you were “mislead” or not provided enough information about the “home business” and that once you found out what they really were…you wish to dispute the charge. You can get a refund for something you bought at a store…you should also be able to for this purchase as well. Be persistent. If these bozos try to contact you…say “no thank you, I want a refund”…a truly “honest, Christian business” as some of their reps claim….would be happy to refund your money for a misunderstanding…good luck. Im so sick of businesses such as these pushing how “Christian” they are…another ploy to suck you in…Jesus chased out the money changers…didnt do MLM for them. Have a nice day!
Very glad this was here I heard the ad on fox news talk radio and thought why not I trust them but even on the incomeathome site it says they were paid for their endorsement. What does that say about them.