Of course, there’s a mathematical formula behind the score they sell but the number you receive bears no relationship to the real number the exact same credit reporting agency will sell to actual and prospective creditors.

What does this mean to you in the real world?

Let’s say that you buy your credit score online and the number you get is a 680. The number sold to a credit card company, an auto dealer, a prospective mortgage lender, or even a potential landlord might actually be in the 500s. That’s the difference between getting a decent rate on a loan and not even qualifying for one!

Like 3-card monte, you’re being played by credit reporting agencies.

The real number that you want to look at is your FICO score, but as explained by Aleksandra Todorova in Not All Credit Scores Created Equal, even your FICO score can vary depending upon the type of creditor buying the information.

Quite frankly, it is amazing that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hasn’t stepped in and made these clowns actually report your real FICO number, including any variations of it so that you know what you’re dealing with the next time you apply for credit.

In fact, if you’ve been deceived when buying your credit report online, be sure to file a complaint with the FTC about it.

Who is Perry Belcher? A look at Perry’s Linked-in profile will give you some idea of his prior successes online. From what I can tell, he’s a very talented individual who made some poor choices.

Perry has been charged with computer fraud, imitation of a licensed professional, and deceptive business practices. This was the result of an investigation by federal, state, and local government agencies. You can read about it in the press release issued by the sheriff’s department after his arrest.

Sadly, there are many Internet marketers pushing the envelope with conduct as illegal as what Perry is alleged to have done (remember that an arrest alone doesn’t mean he’s guilty).

Shady small-time operators think they’ll fly under the radar and won’t get caught. Many act out of desperation when their online businesses aren’t making any/enough money.

Large marketers listen to their egos and believe they’re invincible because they’re better at screwing people over than those who do get busted.

If you have a friend who has crossed the line with their Internet marketing practices, share the story of Perry Belcher with them. Maybe you’ll get them to stop in time before they get caught. Don’t accuse your friend of wrongdoing. Just pass along the story and let them draw their own conclusions.

If you’ve ever dealt with Perry, please post a comment here describing what happened (good or bad).

Don’t accept unethical conduct by rationalizing that “everyone is doing it” or that it is the “key to becoming wealthy online.” Both are false. There are plenty of successful Internet entrepreneurs who run honorable businesses.

Here are 4 warning signs that an Internet marketer is a filthy pig that you should avoid.

1. The Internet marketer uses deceptive sales practices. Although intentional spamming is a great example, there’s a new one on the block. Some marketers are hiding their continuity programs in the fine print of their sales letters, and you’re suddenly getting billed monthly after making what you thought was a one-time purchase.

2. The Internet marketer treats his customers like dupes instead of people he wants to see succeed. Instead of trying to help, he’s trying to see how he can con his list yet another time.

3. The Internet marketer believes he is a celebrity. Although unknown outside of the info product arena, the Internet marketer gets an inflated ego after 1 or 2 product launches. Behavioral changes include wearing gaudy jewelry, leasing luxury sports cars he can’t afford, mistreating the “little people” (anyone he doesn’t know) because they don’t matter, and insisting on special perqs because of who he is (a legend in his own mind).

4. The Internet marketer abuses religion as a sales tool. Marketers who are ethical don’t make a big deal about their religion while speaking at events. They believe that actions speak louder than words. In contrast, pig sty marketers typically shroud themselves in religion, making repeated references to their church, mosque, or synagogue as a way to deceive you into thinking they will treat you right.

I’m sure there are more warning signs that you’re dealing with a pig sty marketer, but these are the ones that came to mind. If you can think of any, please add them as comments (don’t use the names or URLs of particular marketers in the comments).

But what about liability for ads that encourage others to engage in crimes? For example, an Oregon man had many of his belongings stolen from his home because some prankster posted two listings on Craigslist that essentially said that the house was abandoned and that anyone could come and take what they wanted. Even when the owner appeared on the scene to stop the theft, those who were there showed him copies of the listing, ignored him, and took stuff anyway until the police arrived.

My hunch is that this these hoaxes will continue until a prominent politician becomes a victim. At that point, you will start to see state or federal legislation passed that requires Craigslist and similar sites to impose rigid screening processes for listings. That’s a shame because it will fundamentally change what Craigslist is about. Too bad there are people evil enough to post these hoax listings and others stupid enough to use them as a reason to commit crimes.

Hat tip to KGW.com.

It appears that USCR has harvested contact information for domain name registrants from the WHOIS registry. The information is plugged into the official-looking notice to add credibility to the sales pitch.

I have nothing against a company earning a buck or even clever copywriting. However, I do object to spam, particularly when it is designed to fool Internet business owners into thinking they should pay money to this company as part of complying with U.S. law as the company goes out of its way to make itself look like a government agency in its sales pitch.

Here’s a sample e-mail from USCR. Read it for yourself and warn others.

For information on how to protect your website’s content using U.S. copyright law, consult with your Internet lawyer to address specific legal issues. If you want to do-it-yourself, go to the U.S. Copyright Office’s website and learn more.

When I provided the PayPal receipt to DotRegistrar, they explained that Speedy had been doing this for months, collecting fees, not passing on funds to DotRegistrar, and that DotRegistrar was unable to contact Speedy. A scam?
As you can see at this link, it is apparently a common problem for those who used Speedy for domain registrations.
Here’s what I did.

1. Attempted to e-mail Speedy. All e-mail bounced back as undeliverable. Left a voice mail message at the contact number. No response.

2. Faxed the info for all my domains registered through Speedy to DotRegistrar together with a copy of my ID to prove ownership.

3. Renewed the domains directly through DotRegistrar at www.MyDomain.com.

4. Disputed the PayPal payment to Speedy based on fraud.

According to WHOIS, Speedy’s domain is registered to:

Tom Sonsuwan
269 N Slate St
Gilbert, AZ 85234

Tel: 866.515.8191

Fortunately, most of my domains were registered elsewhere and DotRegistar was helpful in fixing the problem.

If you’re in a similar situation consider following the steps that I did.

If you’re considering using Speedy for domain registration, at least you know the risks.

Here’s an example.

Johnny Six-Figure is a one-hit wonder posterboy. He’s touted as an Internet expert after making over a hundred grand in just days as a newbie. What isn’t told is that (a) Johnny had a bunch of big name marketers who e-mailed to the hundreds of thousands prospects on their lists to pitch his product or (b) that the affiliate commissions paid to these marketers and other costs took the bulk of the money Johnny claims to have made. Since Johnny hasn’t repeated the process, let alone do it on a monthly basis, sales letters pitching Johnny’s product and methodology without making key disclosures or disclaimers are in fact misleading you.

Why is this important?

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the states’ attorneys general want to shut down fraudulent and deceptive trade practices online. They want consumers to receive fair and full disclosure of all material facts necessary to making an informed buying decision.

What does that mean to you?

If you’re pitching a biz opp for yourself or as an affiliate, you should discuss with your business lawyer whether an earnings disclaimer should be posted on your website. A good earnings disclaimer can provide some legal protection by making it clear that your customers will not necessarily become the next Johnny Six-Figure.

You can learn more by getting your free FTC legal guide and by talking with your business attorney.

Too often, one reads advertisements or views websites that contain trophy and ribbon logos with words like “Voted Best Widget 2007″ and “Top 10 Website.” If a legitimate third party actually bestowed that honor on your business or website without you paying compensation for it, then by all means use the award to market your business. If money changed hands or something else shady led to your being the recipient of the award, don’t jeopardize your reputation for honesty and integrity. It only takes one prospect or client to discover what really happened. The risk isn’t worth the reward…plus you’ll sleep better at night.

Hat tip to Jeff Carlton at the Associated Press.

Take a look at it and see how you can protect your business and your family from being victimized.

Hat tip to David E. Kaplan at U.S. News.

The companies that handle the transactions claim that it will cause FICO scores to increase when the credit reporting agencies add the credit card information to the credit purchaser’s credit report.

Although it appears to be primarily a mortgage fraud issue for borrowers with poor credit history, the same scam can be used to fool any vendor who sells based on credit scores.

In other words, don’t take FICO scores at face value. They can be rigged by the person with whom you’re doing business.

Hat tip to Kenneth R. Harney at the Washington Post.