How To Fake an Income Screenshot in Under 5 Mins

49 replies
Income screenshots really help people selling IM courses make more sales.

However they are easily faked:

How To Fake an Income Screenshot in Under 5 Mins | Brad Gosse

Even if they are not faked it is common for some scammers and unethical promoters to show screenshots that do not apply to what they are selling.

For example, they may show you how much they have earned from Clickbank when selling a product that teaches you how to advertise on Facebook.

However, those earnings are actually from something completely different, something they don't want to share or can't sell a course on. This seems to be very common among the IM scene.

If you see an income screenshot you should ignore it - it proves nothing, other than the person selling you it knows that income screenshots and videos make you more likely to buy.
#fake #income #mins #screenshot
  • Profile picture of the author Owen Smith
    Its like a like of marketers they show their clickbank earnings from the product they are actually selling to the customer. Sickening, I know I noticed that on one for George Browns sites, that it was blurred out and really said something like Gsniper on the Traffic ultimatum sales page. It may have been changed now.

    Regards
    Owen
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  • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
    There is a super easy way to fake ClickBank income pictures (which I won't post). Could be why many claiming to make thousands using their "system" shows ClickBank stats. One would think ClickBank was the only way to make money given all the ClickBank "earnings proofs" being used.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
      Originally Posted by kindsvater View Post

      There is a super easy way to fake ClickBank income pictures (which I won't post). Could be why many claiming to make thousands using their "system" shows ClickBank stats. One would think ClickBank was the only way to make money given all the ClickBank "earnings proofs" being used.
      If you're talking about what I think you are talking about, that works for Paypal and probably every other payment processor too.

      In fact, there are multiple ways to fake static screen shots; and videos can be easily faked too.
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      • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
        Slightly off-topic, but soon Photoshop may have a plug-in for this very thing if enough of us get together and demand the ability to have one-click sproofs.

        Here's a video of their newest app for those of you who love photobombs...




        Of course I'm only jesting here, but you never can tell...

        ~Bill
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      • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
        Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

        If you're talking about what I think you are talking about, that works for Paypal and probably every other payment processor too.

        In fact, there are multiple ways to fake static screen shots; and videos can be easily faked too.
        Yep. Even works in Yahoo fantasy football. I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to have some fun with my league.
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        • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
          I want to pose a thought here that might get shot down, but it's something I couldn't help thinking as I was reading these posts.

          It's very true that screenshots can be faked, no doubt about it. But isn't establishing yourself as a reputable seller a big part of internet marketing success?

          What I mean is, if you have established your online entity as a reputable one, and buyers can see that manifested in other places, either through testimonials (which also can be faked), videos, recommendations, awards, etc., wouldn't you be safe in posting a screenshot? After all, if you've proven your reputation and your buyers trust you for everything else, wouldn't they be more likely to believe your screenshot?

          I realize this doesn't apply to everyone, especially those who are just starting out and to new buyers who don't know any differently. But it's just a thought.
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        • Profile picture of the author AFI
          I never thought of this way of faking, I've always thought it was just Photoshop manipulation (which is just as easy if you are a designer).
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          • Profile picture of the author Karen Blundell
            I hate those screenshots. Not only are they more than likely fake, but to me it's always felt like the marketers are bragging.

            In my humble opinion, it's no one's business what you make and if you can't sell a product without a screenshot, fake or not, then maybe you shouldn't be in the "make money" niche at all, or you need to re-evaluate your sales copy.
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            • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
              Banned
              Originally Posted by Karen Blundell View Post

              I hate those screenshots. Not only are they more than likely fake, but to me it's always felt like the marketers are bragging.

              In my humble opinion, it's no one's business what you make and if you can't sell a product without a screenshot, fake or not, then maybe you shouldn't be in the "make money" niche at all, or you need to re-evaluate your sales copy.
              So, if I'm teaching you how to build a house, it's bragging to show you a house I built using the methods I am selling you that teach you how to build a similar house?

              By the way folks, you know what's even easier to fake than screen shots? Copy. Therefore, following the same logic, we should also just assume all sales letters are fake too, and probably the product as well.
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              • Profile picture of the author Karen Blundell
                It's not the same, in my opinion. I just find disclosing your income to total strangers, distasteful and crass. It's just my opinion. No need to go on the defensive here, Black Hat Cat.


                Originally Posted by Black Hat Cat View Post

                So, if I'm teaching you how to build a house, it's bragging to show you a house I built using the methods I am selling you that teach you how to build a similar house?

                By the way folks, you know what's even easier to fake than screen shots? Copy. Therefore, following the same logic, we should also just assume all sales letters are fake too, and probably the product as well.
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              • Profile picture of the author George Chernikov
                Originally Posted by Black Hat Cat View Post

                By the way folks, you know what's even easier to fake than screen shots? Copy. Therefore, following the same logic, we should also just assume all sales letters are fake too, and probably the product as well.
                Yup, just read the titles in the WSO section - one should be able to make $100,000 in a day (on autopilot! With zero investment! And no skills! And quadruple your money back!) just with any ten posts or so...
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  • Profile picture of the author 3Infidels
    I'll never trust another earning screenshot again.
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  • Profile picture of the author mld_publishing
    I am happy that you posted this for the newbies who don't know any better. I've had a few copywriters offer to put earnings screenshots on my pages before. They automatically get disqualified for the copywriting job.
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  • Profile picture of the author GoogleWarrior
    That Article is GREAT! And let's be realistic - most Internet Marketers use tactics like this!
    In fact... if you are not using these kind of tactics... you probably arent making any money, are you?
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    • Profile picture of the author secrets2010
      I think that faking an income screenshot and make big claims (that are not true) about how much you make can really get you in some big trouble...if the FTC finds out about it...
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  • Profile picture of the author HarveyDanger
    Thanks for sharing this, it just proves how manipulative some people are. If someone is making really good money from a method that is seldom used or known about in the IM world, why would they want to share this method with others? It will just bog down their niche, and most likely cost them money in the long run. Don't get me wrong there are a few IMers who have released quality methods, but most are just releasing crap to the public just hoping to make an extra few bucks.
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  • Profile picture of the author sparckyz
    I never trusted those screenies anyways (DP is flooded with them)
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  • Profile picture of the author jazbo
    I cant believe anyone takes any notice of earnings screenshots.....do they? really?
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  • Profile picture of the author Godaxe
    This is one of the reasons why absolutely hate showing screenshots of proof of income. It makes me want to say hey you either believe me or you don't but I always saw myself obliging when somebody asks.

    The thing is basically everybody knows that this or that can be faked but everybody wants a little bit more reinsurance.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary King
    Nice share...

    Good write up by Brad too (Bravo Brad!)

    Seriously folks, step back an look at it with a little sanity. As demonstrated, it's easy to fake stuff like this, so keep your head on straight when you're reading those sales letters. ;-)
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  • Profile picture of the author JackTriggs
    I always knew that screenshots could be faked but was unsure about certain video proofs...then I read this

    Internet Business - Truth About Scams and How Easy It Is To Create Fake Proofs

    will never trust a video again
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  • Profile picture of the author Clear Seven
    Thank you for the information Chris, rightly so I agree with mld Publishing (Sorry I dont know your name) its the newbies who get caught out looking for there first get rich quick scheme.
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  • Profile picture of the author freedumb
    I think the earnings claims are tacky at best, and many of them are fake or the person is showing you their earnings from the product they are selling you, not the method they are teaching you, heh.

    However, some earnings screenshots are very real. Their are very real people making very real money in this here IM industry. Just saying...
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  • Profile picture of the author iamsuneel
    I fell flat on my face several times when I started in IM 3 years ago. After getting distracted by the earnings screenshots, I would imagine my bank account with that kind of cash and buy the app or ebook without any second thought to implement it.

    But, many a time I found that the book taught what I already knew from several other free blogs. Many were good enough to offer me a refund when I pointed out the source of the info where I read it first. But, others just didn't reply to the refund mails.

    Now, screenshot or no ss, it does not affect my judgment. Read the entire sales page, even if it takes 2-3 hours, analyse what I have read and then decide to buy or not.
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    • Profile picture of the author AprilCT
      I don't believe the screen shots, those always seemed suspicious to me. They might be very enticing, but then again, so is the lottery and I don't play that either. Perhaps if I'd done an excel sheet showing all the money I've saved over the years by not playing, that would look pretty good too if it was posted.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kevin_Hutto
    How many threads are there about this? Tons. Yes everything can be faked. But, in most cases it is a clickbank product that is being promoted. If they are scammers, just get your money back.
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  • Profile picture of the author phpnetpro
    I agree. I consider myself a good-guy marketer. I have a family and I like to sleep at night. Yes, I see a big difference in the amount of money that can be made in the two techniques, but I still refuse to change.

    It seems like nearly every top selling product on ClickBank is loaded with the income screenshots. I know that at least some of them are fraudulent. I've seen a course talking about you making money as an affiliate on ClickBank with their system and I could tell from their blurred screenshot video that the income they were showing was from people selling their products!

    I can honestly say that I have NEVER purchased an online ebook, money making system, automated traffic tool or any of that sort of stuff - not a single one. It's just not really my style going along with the flow. I'm more of an entrepreneur.

    It really is hard to say what a good product is these days without actually having someone you trust tell you that they have seen it with their own eyes.

    I was recently selling an ebook that I knew could produce the results I was promising. I promised traffic that someone should be able to convert, but wouldn't make any promises of money. I did make some sales but I just wasn't happy with the results. IMs didn't want to help promote it, etc.

    Anyways, I ended up just giving the ebook away for free and think I'm happier with these results! Plus, I hope some people actually do make websites like the one I guide them to make. Even if I'm not making a ton of money with the book, it would be nice knowing that I created a particular trend.

    And back to my point - stop pushing this fake crap please!

    You guys are killing this business, one fake promise at a time.
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  • Profile picture of the author aspiepower
    Everything's electronic for me - I receive no cheques. Everything goes directly into my bank account.

    Those darned CB cheques I used to wait until I had about $500 or more before adjusting the payout threshold so I'd get a cheque. By the time it arrived in the UK and I'd paid it into my bank, then had to pay £8 ($12-13 or so) for the privilege of banking it .... not worthwhile.

    But now they do it direct, which is great.

    Free money ..... automatically. You can't beat it.

    I hate banking cheques... especially foreign ones.
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  • Profile picture of the author aspiepower
    There used to be a website where you just had to type in an amount and it produced you a CB check instantly with that amount written on it. Can't remember where that was now, going back 2-3-4 years it was.
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  • Profile picture of the author Trent Brownrigg
    Wow! I knew you could fake screenshots but I didn't know it was that easy. I always thought you had to be a techie type of person or at least have some sort of program to do it. Anyone could do what is explained in that post. I will be even more skeptical of them now.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hanz
      You can also fake testimonials. Simply give out a handful of review copies to your friends and they'll do you a solid just for giving them a free copy. So with the income 'proof' along with the grand 'testimonials', you have a winner.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alfred Shelver
    Is there any way to give a non fake proof of income? If I ever had to do an IM product I would love to prove myself legitimately is there any way?
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  • Profile picture of the author aandersen
    Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver View Post

    Is there any way to give a non fake proof of income? If I veer had to do an IM product I would love to prove myself legitimately is there any way?
    I think the real trick is to put yourself in a position where you don't need to. There are many marketers that refuse to discuss income and they do just fine. When your not making insane claims, throwing too much hype around, or trying to sell a miracle plug-n-play money maker, people are less likely to bother you about proof of income.

    That being said, there is no harm in trying to show proof. Of course anything involving a compuer can be faked, but if you present it in a way that is less likely to be fake than it is to be real, people will probably not question you.

    if your income proof was realistic, and i saw a video of you opening new browser, typing w w w... in to hte address bar, then logging in and navigating to your stats, i would probbaly not question your legitimacy
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  • Profile picture of the author aandersen
    oh yeah, faking some stuff can be even easier. just copy and paste this in your web browser and then press ENTER (you can do it righ now) :

    [CODE DELETED PER REQUEST]

    now you can edit any text on the screen. some other stuff, like tables and images, can be resized as well.


    of course i am not for this, just saying that it's that easy
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Barrs
      [DELETED]
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      • Profile picture of the author aandersen
        Originally Posted by Paul Barrs View Post

        Alan, PLEASE, remove that code. There are way to many idiots around who will take advantage of this. Aargh!
        yeah, good call. It has been done

        -Allen
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  • Profile picture of the author kenny5
    I hate how dishonest people are giving this trade such a bad name. I can't say it surprises me though, it's so easy to be dishonest and scam people.

    Hooray for honest internet marketers!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author sarahberra
    Scary stuff! So is this what those marketers are doing? It's so hard to find a "real" review for a product. It always seems like the reviews are just snippits of what's on the sales page.
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  • Profile picture of the author Regional Warrior
    I was looking for this to show how its done , funny I only watched this 3 days ago

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  • Profile picture of the author bestitrix
    Wow, that is so wrong. I really have to keep my eyes peel open for these types of scam. I have to agree that some of the videos that accompanied their product have good selling pitch and very convincing.
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  • Profile picture of the author cooler1
    How about when you see them in a video actually logging into their account then show the earnings. Is that likely legit?
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    • Profile picture of the author Chris Munch
      Originally Posted by cooler1 View Post

      How about when you see them in a video actually logging into their account then show the earnings. Is that likely legit?
      It can be faked, it is just a bit harder.

      They can create a fake login page, they can create a fake version of the page and switch tabs without it being seen, or they can just show you earnings completely irrelevant to what they are selling (the latter probably being the most common).
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  • Profile picture of the author LegitIncomes
    This is why I don't use income screen shots or videos any longer.

    If someone asks for them (seems to always be a newer/low post count member), I explain how easy they can be faked, and that they either believe me, or they don't.
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  • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
    I'll say this:

    I have a button that I found online, that we use at school to play around with Google, and make Google say random stuff. I call it "my fave link", and it sits on the bookmarks bar. I checked one time, and it looked like I could make easily a video of me logging into PayPal with those changed numbers. And guess how long it would take to screenshot it?

    Under a minute.

    I think it's flipping easy, and insane that it's so easy. There really is no definite way of saying, that "that's" a legitimate screenshot or video, without sitting behind them watching them go on paypal. I wish we could have more trust!

    Caleb

    PS. I do not make fake screen shots/video's using that bookmark, and I meerly have it for fun purposes. I am an honest guy, and don't do things like that
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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
    Banned
    I made a vid on this about 18 months ago - but using a line of javascript in your browser - you can not only fake PayPal but Clickwank and other programs. Do You Really Believe Those Clickbank Earnings*Screenshots? - Journal - Your Internets
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  • Profile picture of the author Mangozoom
    YOU'VE RUINED IT FOR ME ... WAS ABOUT TO RUN WITH THIS ON MY SALES PAGE



    It's real .. honest

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author RogerDodger
    Well that was eye opening holly crap!
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  • Profile picture of the author timer
    I always wondered why blokes making so much money could be bothered with all the messing about involved in producing courses. It seemed against basic human nature. IF or when I stumble upon THE SECRET FORMULA OF INTERNET SUCCESS I'll keep it to myself, make millions and be laughing all the way to the bank.
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  • Profile picture of the author kbs
    OOps, I just posted a thread about this exact same thing. Oh well repetition just means it's important.
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