Lies, Scams, & Snake Oil — The promises of Easy Money
If you thought my last article on Bitcoin and the ICO shenanigans was controversial, this one is going to expose jaw-dropping, stupid and incredulous behaviour.
I didn’t expect to have to write this, but it makes me furious that actions like these still go on.
Well, at least it’s a testament to what I promised from my first post when I wrote:
So, what am I referring to?
Well, the so called “Experts” on the Internet who promise riches and easy money. The modern day, Snake Oil sales person.
So, whom am I referring to?
I’m glad you asked. Let’s begin with this guy:
Simon Black of Sovereignman.com (And no, I’m not going to link and send traffic to his B.S website)
Maybe two months ago, I signed up to his email list. I often look at stocks and companies in emerging markets*, so I figured there’s no harm in reading an extra blog article a week.
I was wrong.
This guy must send out a fear-mongering email EVERY single day. And it’s the same rhetoric that all our countries have debt and the world will come to the end, blah blah blah.
Truth be told, I have let all this noise pass. After all, we are each entitled to an opinion and there is no direct harm in crying “Wolf”.
But, this week where EVERY single day, he has sent a promo email featuring, how he makes money using “The 4th Pillar”: (If you really want to read this junk, the link is here)
One would have thought, con artists would design things differently. But no, in all these marketing type garbage, you come to a website that is 1 massive long page, that takes 20–30 min of time to read, and of course ends with, “Today is your lucky day” — and “there’s a discount” — “for a limited time only” — 50% in this case.
Whatever exactly is the investment strategy it reeks of a Pump and Dump scheme:
I’m furious that these marketing ploys and promises of easy money still exist.
If investing was easy, Everyone would do it. And Everyone would be rich. Obviously, not the case! Marketing ploys like this propagate easily online and prey on innocent people.
Lesson 3:
Investing is NOT easy. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
[I know, a lot of people of medium may not come across this themselves, but I would appreciate support in getting this message out there so others’ are not harmed. Clap below. Re-link. Re-tweet.]
Next up continuing the finance theme is James Altucher of Jamesaltucher.com.
If you read his wikipedia entry. There’s a lot of positive to say about him. For instance, he apparently had a company called Reset Inc. that he sold it for $10M. He later started another company called StockPickr, which he sold to TheStreet.com, again for $10M.
So I can’t criticise his entrepreurial endeavors. Even if some fail:
Failing 17 out of 20+, doesn’t concern me. As I stated above, Investing is not easy. Whether that means investing your capital in someone else’s business or investing your time and savings into starting your own business. It’s tough.
Also, paraphrasing George Soros:
“It doesn’t matter how often you are right or wrong, what matters is how much you make when you are right than when you are wrong”
So why am I calling out James Altucher. Well, he recently sent this email to his subscribers:
And then ends with a link which leads to this website:
In his video, which must run for approximate 30+** minutes, he actually uses the words “magic secret” and emphasises how little time it takes to generate cash of $647 and then a further $1000 (I forget) from two further “victims” (my words not his).
Given this guy used to run a hedge fund (or still does), and has made over $25M himself (he says in the video), it boggles the mind, that he comes up with such B.S. He uses language like:
- this trading strategy an “instant cash loophole”,
- “secret income trades”,
- “income instant trades”, and that
- “this, is something else”,
- and the videos are “proof”.
It’s just ridiculous! In my last post, I wrote:
Well, in addendum:
Run when James Altucher gives a secret formula.
Investing is hard. There is no secret formula. Do not go near any of this junk.
Last but not least, is something controversial by Goatsontheroad.com.
Some context: I’m taking a vacation to Thailand next week. Some (hopefully, well deserved) R&R after a challenging year. So, in the midst of planning, I started googling, visiting tripadvisor.com and some travel blogs, for some ideas on things to do.
At some point I came across “The Goats” (they like to be known as Goats) website. Anyway, they have a delightful post on:
I don’t have anything against Travel bloggers or the Goats website. Their content is useful and I’m sure they have thousands of happy readers. There is even “some” useful information in this blog post I cite.
But, my issue is the B.S that comes from making it sound like Travel blogging (and any blogging for that matter) is easy:
They write “The sky is the limit” and:
The absurdity of such claim is frustrating. The types of blogs that earn $30,000 a month are in the 1%.
I’ll mention again, I have nothing against the Goats personally. But, they are my scapegoat (pun intended) in this instance.
Like all content producers, they are trying to provide a service to people. But, what I don’t get is when these Experts make a claim that “Everyone can do it” and “it’s Easy”. The truth is, not everyone can and it isn’t.
What the Goats also miss, is that they’ve got to where they are based on 3 things.
- When they started the competition was low. This results in not only you being early and able to attract an audience (your customers if you run a blog), but the acquisition costs and therefore total capital needed was low.
- They’ve been doing it for a long period of time. Let’s say it’s 5 years. So if they are now earning $30,000 a month. Good for them, but realistically, it will take a new person starting today much much longer, to fend off the existing competition (The Goats), survive and thrive. This game is zero-sum.
- Luck. There is inherent luck in all success stories. And weighing up how much it contributes to success is not easy. The popular blogs we read today are a product of Survivorship bias and some gain popularity because of 1 hit piece which becomes a Tipping Point.
Anyway, you can see why I’ve reluctantly put the Goats beside Mr. Black and Mr. Altucher. — They are either all intentionally deceiving the public, or are so damn stupid/ignorant they don’t realise they are doing so. Either way, I’m calling it out.
I’ll remind you, I didn’t go out looking for this stuff, all three came across my desk this week independently. And, I’m using these three as examples of the dozens of others giving ill advice, selling products which are essentially Snake Oil, and taking advantage of innocent people.
My only mission here is to get the word out and draw attention to bad actors and B.S when I see it. My goal is to protect people from harm. Please support the case by showing some support by Clapping below. Re-linking the Story. And Re-tweeting on Twitter.
Sincerely,
The Protagonist.
https://twitter.com/protagonistblog
*Specifically, he had a pdf presentation on Puerto Rico opportunities, which wasn’t all bad. Just not very in depth. Not surprisingly, he is trying to promote his seminar there, where you can “learn” more. Sure. LOL.
**It appears, his video is the video version of the ridiculously long marketing crap that Simon Black puts out. I honestly can’t believe this shit.***
***Incredibly, this video is still going on. I swear it’s still playing after an hour. And no, there is no rewind/fast-forward bar.****
****And now he, is trying to “sell” his “Altucher Secret Income” service but you get a Free laptop. LOL. After 75 minutes, a “Secret Link” appeared, where you finally see the price and the usual marketer’s discount:
What a load of hogwash.
