ClickBank Scams

An interesting question indeed.

I don't see scams everywhere I look, because I guess I don't look for them to be scams.

But if I see fishy income claims, faked screen shots, unverifiable bull**** claims, etc., then my "scam alert" goes off.

One such example that I saw was a ClickBank product that said, "Our programming team won the coveted Ebay Automotive Award for Exceptional Software Design"...

My B.S. Meter peeked in just those few words.

The only place online that the "coveted award" appeared was in that sales page and its affiliate's pages.

Interesting question, Will.

I think it's more or less "apparent intention to deceive".

The sort of things that vendors copy from other vendors assuming that it must work, and people pretending to be copywriters copy from other people pretending to be copywriters assuming that it must work, which in fact most customers see through straight away and by which they're alienated. That's more or less my own description of "scammy stuff on a sales page".

So, according to that definition, red flags for prospects would include ...

(a) "Fake imprimatur": the kind of "As seen on MSN, Yahoo, MNBC, Google, Whatever" which prospects with a braincell know is typically a crooked attempt to create an air of authority that isn't actually warranted;

(b) "Fake urgency": ticking clocks and "You have only until midnight tonight to buy at this price" and all this sort of nonsense which understandably makes so many people walk away;

(c) "Fake scarcity": things like "only 9 copies remaining" - there are sales pages which have said that for 3 years (while their gravity goes up and down a bit showing that some sales have been made - the customers don't see the gravity but they know they're being lied to, when it's a PDF);

(d) Other "obvious lies": anything that tells/shows the customer that the vendor's lying to him/her. The overall standard of vendor on ClickBank isn't too high, and some people really are naive enough not to realise that potential customers can ever tell when someone's trying to deceive them, and that that's a bad thing to do when you're trying to sell something to someone.

It appears that at the moment ClickBank are about to clamp down on all these things (wisely, because most are illegal as well as stupid), which is both enormously welcome and long overdue. Let's wish them every success in doing so. They're actually helping these vendors, who are at the moment losing not only potential customers but potential affiliates, too.

The ones that set of my alarm bells is the ones that offer a cure to something. I hate the fact that these people offer hope which is false.

Being a type 2 diabetic I keep getting offered various products in that niche. One that has sprung up a few times is some recently discovered plant deep inside a rain forest that will if taken for x amount of months cure you completely of diabetes.

It hurts to think that someone who feels ill somewhere in the world is being conned right now.

all of those video sales pages that ramble on and on about how the sales person is fed up with scams and hype and how they are raking in cash by doing something else... blah blah but never tell you what

as far as I am concerned they are all scams! at least CB is tightening up on that now and vendors will have to explain what their product does and what you need in order for it to work

Before I got into IM, I hated and distrusted all traditional Clickbank type, or more commonly referred to as the long sales letter type of pages.

They instantly set off alarm bells in my head. Big red letters and yellow highlights and a sales page that went on forever was, in my mind, a scam.

Since I've been in IM and have grown accustomed to them and have purchased stuff that I like from them, that's no longer the case, although there's plenty of them that still do inspire distrust.

1. Fake scarcity. This offer will increase by a huge amount of money in 2 minutes, or 1 day or whatever. I've gone back to see the same crap there days later.

2. Fake testimonials. So common that I don't read testimonials.

3. Guaranteed income claims accompanied by probably fake screenshots

4. Photos of an estate, hot women and hot cars in header or copy to imply that this is what you'll get if you buy this.

Those are a few of the major things that scream ... go away, don't buy ... to me, but then I am not in the market for the type of product that is usually being sold on those pages.

now this is an interesting post after so long :-)

Well, let me share my thoughts:

1. Written testimonials from the same "gang". You can spot this across industries in CB. I don't trust none of the products that has "glowing testimonials" from this gangs.
--Sometimes, i prefer USP driven testimonials that is on a clear video with reference (minimum a website address)

2. Stock photos...

3. "Stupid" sales page themes that is used repeatedly.. The current one are the "mission impossible", "zeus" , "i am anti-guru".. Before that was some "strippers", "garbageman"

4. I dont trust a website when there is no address of the owner or contact details..

Ok, gotta go for dinner.. Gonna come back later and add to this..

I dislike the sales pages that consist solely of a video (and no way to skip forward or tell how long it will play). I'm referring to the type where the actor plays up his sad story or plays on the viewer's desires (i.e. if you've never made money online my product will solve your problem with one click of a button) but never actually describes what the product/solution he's hocking does. You've got to buy to find out.

Also, a million expensive upsells after purchasing a low-cost product breaks down the trust factor for me.

Oh yeah, and if the sales page promises a miracle product/solution – regardless of the niche – but it's only $17.95 I quirk a questioning eyebrow.

I think many of the 'Make Money' internet sellers are primarily focused on selling to the extreme newbees...

These sellers don't care that the shady techniques are overused and are signs to avoid the offer (by more experienced buyers)....

If the sellers were successful selling an upfront, honest, fully disclosed offer, no upsells, no video, no scarcity, no 'heart-pulling story", no income claims, no testimonials.......then I suppose they would do it.

I think they mostly copy what appears successful on other make money sites, and that produces more of the same.

Personally, if I see "This Is Not A Scam" in bold print on the sales page, I prepare for a wallet-ectomy. :-)
_____
Bruce

I remember the first time I bought a product on TV a super duper abs 2000 (or something like that from the past century...) When I open the box, it was smaller than the picture, lighter than the picture and it broke the first day... That was a scam.

When people ask money for poor little Timmy that fell down to a well... that's a scam

I don't know if can call scam to this CB products because I'm still naive and think that people do things on good will and his only sin is to follow the trend that convert better... but perhaps I can call them tricky or misleading

Normally when a sales copy focused its efforts on "sell a dream" instead of selling the product, is a big red flag for me.

To pay X money for a money maker machine that will fill your pockets with money like your personal ATM and is nothing but a wordpress installer with some free plugins on it.

The incredible super secret software that will bank thounsands a day with a push of a button and is nothing but an rehearsed article submitter.

Scarcity, urgency, only two copies remain, just four minutes to close! just 400 lucky fellows will be buy! OMG the fear of loss!!!

earning proof Screenshots (even those with the Click bank certified seal on them), rented mansions, rented cars, rented planes, rented yatch, actor with the french riviera on a blue screen, Gazillionaires, Guru Haters, stripers, coach surfers, marines, short people, tall people, renegade employees, Stolen software, sneaky east european programmers, underground hackers, secret societies, misterious pendrives delivered at your door, dead super affiliate last will, rockbottom stories, rags and new riches, bad craiglist actors, really bad actors!!!...

Finally Words like auto, push button, 1 click, instant, secret, no work, no experience, no money smell fishy to me...

And other thing that perhaps is not scammy (er... misleading) but it really get into my nerves... the long video sales letters without the ability to fast forward or rewind... I would hate to be tied spending 20 to 30 minutes watching a video saying the very same thing that appears in the sales copy below... and if you want ot skip it you have to deal with endless exit popup messages!

Sadly if Clickbank ban these kind of offers they move to Plimus or other affiliate network...

OK rant off...

I can't stand marketers that use the fake scarity. It does work but I hardly end up buying from them again.

Ed

I always like seeing those Over-Hyped products, and I also like to run away from them when I see them. Over-hyped meaning "sounds to good to be true" because as we all know, it probably is(and I know of some overpriced stuff on clickbank that you could get for free if you search for it).

Internet scams are no longer new! They have crossed the threshold in our lives.

Hi Chris

It is a condition of trading on Clickbank though i.e. that you offer the 8 week money back guarantee.

Will

Here are the things that sets off the warnings bells in my head whenever I see a Clickbank sales letter.

1. Fake screenshots.
2. Promises that you don't have to work hard to earn.
3. Those rehashed photos of cars, houses, etc.
4. Fake sounding name.
5. Fake urgency, those big countdown timers.