Day 27: Scam Alert!

Yes, I took a day off yesterday--largely because I had nothing new to report and also I had better and more productive ways to spend my time. But today's different: last night and earlier today I decided to investigate the site I was telling you about (Richgo PTR) that was hinting at a large paycheck very soon. I've been suspicious of it from the start, which is why I never overly encouraged any of you to sign up. The English was horrible, there were parts of the site that seemed less than professional, there weren't any forums to see what other people were saying, and I couldn't figure out how they could afford to pay $150 per click.

Be that as it may, I've been optimistic as ever and put a lot of effort into making the required amount of money to withdraw. Today I reached that amount and requested payment, but let's go back to my research itself. I looked up reviews of the site in several places. It's been listed as a scam on several different sites (never a good sign), though it is also a secure site--no viruses or x-rated content that will suddenly leap out at you.

What did people say themselves? Most people were asking whether or not it was a scam, and some people said it was. The best odds I could find were that they pay half their people. Some claim to know people who have gotten incomes, or that they got money themselves once or twice before suddenly being cut off (usually after being upgraded). There were some horror stories of people being told that they had to upgrade before they could take money out, and then after they upgraded they kept getting the same message. Fortunately, that didn't happen to me.

My payout request went very smoothly and simply. RichgoPTR did not ask me--or even suggest to me--that I upgrade, nor did they make the payout requesting process any more confusing or hassling than it needed to be. Just a few clicks and that was it! Now, the question is: will I get paid? According to the site, free members should get paid within thirty days if the member remains active in the site and "in good standing." I've heard that they push it out to four months (though so far they haven't done that) but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. They did say that they would be in touch with me shortly, hopefully within the thirty days. If in a month they haven't contacted me or anything, I'll write them and see what's up.

Ten thousand dollars would be awesome, even if I didn't get it till fall. It seems that most of the people complaining about it being a scam are the people who paid $166 for an upgrade, so I'm hoping that that's the ploy--they take your money and run. Sure enough, I had been planning on buying an upgrade first thing if I got paid, but now I wouldn't dare.

My verdict? RichgoPTR is almost certainly a scam. At best, it's unreliable and unstable, and you can only hope that the instability works out in your favor. Don't invest a penny in it, and don't assume that the money you earn is anything more than numbers on a screen.

In the meantime, Clixsense still reigns as the absolute best PTC. I've gotten two checks from it already, and I highly recommend it to any of you who are thinking about generating an online income. But my search isn't over! I still have three days remaining in this study, after which I'll write down everything I've learned and every conclusion I've come to. Follow me on Twitter for more tips and updates, and beware of scams!