a must read to all: scammer caught by a newbie

hi fellow warriors,

i never thought that that being a newbie in this forum, i would see and resolve a scam that is going on. its sad but true that things like this are still happening and the mods dont have any control in kind of situation.

anyway here is the story.

being a newbie in the IM world is very frustrating at times. i do not know where to start, i do not know who am i going to approach, i do not know what materials i am going to use, and stuffs like that which can help me get started. these are the primary reasons why i thought of finding a mentor.

i am not that kind of a person who relies on spoon feeding. i believe that for me to become successful, i need to do things on my own. i need to work hard and be smart. but at the back of my mind, i always i wanted to have someone who can help me get started, for me to be able to get on the right path.

yesterday, while i was browsing, i saw a one-on-one coaching ad that was posted by our fellow warrior. it was about making $8000 in a very short time. he even said that six figure earnings would be achieved by the end of this year. i was amazed and of course i got very excited by what i saw. but i didnt sink in right away. by the way, he was running this ad for just 24 hours and asking for a $497 fee. (now i realized that not having enough money could also be an advantage LOL )

i am always aware of the scams that are going on for a very long time. so what i did before joing in (as i planned to be one of his students) was i did a little research. he had 10 friends (not a huge following for a mentor), he had 400+ posts (which means he's an active warrior), had 90+ thanks in 20+ posts (which is good in a way), but what really caught my attention was the thread that he started a few days ago or a month ago regarding $2000 in 14days. this is also a one-on-one coaching program which is very much different from his most recent coaching program.

i read the posts in the "$2000 in 14 days" thread and to my amazement i saw that this coaching program didnt push through and the warriors who paid for this program were asking for a refund. the thread starter, clint, was saying that there has been a family problem and i think if i am not mistaken, his wife or his mom was sick thats why there was a delay. in my confusion, i posted in his most recent thread ($8000 in a very short time) asking why was he starting a new coaching program if the prior coaching coaching has been started yet.

he messaged me thru PM requesting me to delete that post. i was confused why he was asking that (i was not hijacking,i am just asking). i know that i can post anything in any thread. ive seen post like "scam alert" in some of the ads here which are not being deleted. i replied back asking him why was he requesting me to do so and i demanded for a clarification why was he starting a new coaching program if th other other program didnt push thru before i delete my post. he told me that it already started and to my stupidity i believed in him so i deleted my post in that thread because i somewhat believed in him. by the way, he branded himself as a "senior warrior" so who am i, just a newbie, to question him. my bad. my mistake.

i was still in doubt though so i contacted one of the persons who paid in the "$2000 in 14 days" coaching program and asked him if it pushed through. to my amazement, he said that it didnt pursue and he was asking for a refund but clint, was not answering his PM. i told him that a new coaching program was being started by the same person and he was surprised at that. i told him to post in that "senior warrior"'s recent thread to get his attention.

he did what i said. i even quoted his post and i said "this was what i was talking about. i am now confused. whats the story? i am not hijacking this thread. i am just asking for clarification"

to my surprise, i got an infraction message from a fellow warrior. he was acting like a moderator and branded himself as a "veteran warrior". my heart started beating fast coz i was afraid that i might get suspended. i was new in this forum so i really dont know what kind of consequences will i receive due to that infraction.

i stayed composed though and exchanged messages to both of them thru PM asking why i was reported and why did i get an infarction. both of them said that i was breaking a WSO rule. i was like "huh? i was breaking a WSO rule for making a clarification coz i did see something wrong? and it was wrong to protect my fellow warrior to fall in his kind of trap?"

we exchanged a few more messages. and to tell you honestly, as a newbie who is desperate to find a good coach, i still thought that this "senior" warrior was genuine. i also thought that this "veteran" warrior was a moderator in this forum. i said sorry for the mistake that i did and i logged off.

to my surprise when i logged in today, both users are BANNED!!! LOL..i dont know why but maybe, a lot of people read my clarification and checked out the "senior" warrior's other coaching program that didnt push through. maybe it reached the moderator so he got banned. in regards to that fake moderator, i dont know how the true moderator caught his involvement with this "senior" warrior. but any how, a job well done

i hope all warriors learned from this experience, especially to the newbies like me. just a piece of advice, before joining in any coaching program, checked out the credibility of that person. check his profile, read some of his posts and the posts that he started, checkout his followings and how many thanks that that warrior received from his/her fellow warrior. in that way, the chance of being scammed is next to impossible if not lesser.

to all scammers out there. beware as i keep my eyes on you.

peace