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Is Indiegogo a Scam or Legit? – Indiegogo Review

Is Indiegogo a scam or is it Legit?

Yes you can be scammed due to the lax rules, on the other hand you could fund a very legitimate and worthwhile cause or project. In return you may receive a discount if it’s a product, public acknowledgement or credit for your donation.

For non-profit organizations the rules are a little more strict. However for individuals wanting donations the site works partly on faith that the other person is honest and that they are who they say they are.

However in this article I will provide a review based on my own and others experience and show you how not to get scammed. I also explain.

  • What is Indiegogo and how does indiegogo work
  • The Pros and Cons of Indiegogo
  • How to tell if someone is legit
  • Tips & Tricks to Increase funding if you’re crowdfunding yourself
  • Some Indiegogo scams
  • Indiegogo Alternatives

How does indiegogo work?

Indiegogo is a crowdfunding site and is designed to be a launchpad for entrepreneurial ideas. It allows you to fund a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people who each contribute a relatively small amount.

Because there are millions of visitors to their site every month there’s a lot of potential visitors who could donate to your campaign.

Indiegogo was founded in 2008 in San Francisco and was one of the first companies to offer crowd funding. It’s designed to provide a quick and easy method to give people the resources and power to bring their ideas to life.

It can be a great platform for entrepreneurs, inventors, activists, artists and those who need charitable help. And yes, sometimes you also get the less worthy personal causes and the occasional scam. However there are ways to reduce the likelihood that you’ll become a victim.

Indiegogo doesn’t just offer crowdfunding, but also help with marketing and promotion. This helps you build a fanbase, collect feedback and promote your story.

It also offers fulfilment and manufacturing support — including partnerships with Amazon and Brookstone. You can also track your campaign performance in real time and communicate with contributors via the Indiegogo mobile app.

While they don’t provide as many safeguards against fraud as some crowdfunding sites, they do claim to provide fraud-detecting algorithms and community reporting tools.

Generosity

Generosity.com is also owned by Indiegogo and is targeted towards individuals and non-profit organizations, for charity, medical treatments and expenses, through fundraising.

However they don’t have any platform fees which means a larger percentage of your money goes to the cause. It’s been used from everything from helping cancer patients to pay bills to helping students with tuition.

However there’s also going to be a higher number of less worthwhile causes and scams.

For non-profit organizations they at least require legitimate information such as the non-profit’s official business name, Tax ID, Social Security Number.

All this information must be consistent and match and cannot be changed after donations begin. This at least makes it a little harder for fraudsters to scam you than individuals posing as people who need help.

The Pros

Flexible Funding

Unlike some crowdfunding sites that allow all-or-nothing, indiegogo offers two funding types: Flexible Funding (keep what you raise) and Fixed Funding (all-or-nothing). I recommend Flexible funding as you get to keep whatever you earn even if you don’t reach your goal. You can always create another goal or milestone later.

PayPal Security

While you don’t have to use PayPal funding, a project funded via PayPal is usually less risky as they’re more likely to offer refunds than other payment methods. This can give you peace of mind if you’re worried about funding a project that isn’t legit or wasn’t worth it. PayPal tends to side with payers rather than receivers of money. This means less risk for you.

Less Rules

If you’re the one receiving funds rather than providing them there’s fewer rules you need to follow compared to some other crowdfunding sites. This can make crowdfunding quick, easy and more streamlined. However it can also make it more open to fraud.

The Cons

Scams and Frivolous Causes

The Indiegogo site itself is not a scam, just some of the people who use the site. Some of the campaigns created will be for frivolous causes and illegitimate. You need to do a little research before funding a project.

Paypal Fees

If you do fund a project via PayPal you will be hit with the PayPal 3% to 5% fee which adds extra costs. However this is offset by the benefits mentioned above.

Indiegogo Fees

Indiegogo takes a 5% cut from contributors donations whether the project or venture is legitimate or not. However generosity.com which is also owned by Indiegogo does not have any platform fees.

How to not get Scammed

Strong social media presence

Indiegogo provide social media integrations and onsite messaging. If the person asking for funds has a strong social media presence and plenty of friends, plus they’re the same people depicted on their social media page, this is a good sign they’re the people they say they are. You could befriend them on Facebook or message them. Ask them about the project or venture.

This still doesn’t mean their cause or project is legit or will work out, but at least you have a better idea of who they are.

Their Story

Indiegogo allows people to tell their story and explain why they need funding – the problem and the solution. This is where you have to use some common sense and determine for yourself whether their story is credible. Someone who’s genuine will usually take the time to fill out this part explaining the why, how, where, who and when. They will provide details about themselves, their team and important events or people that shaped their project.

If they provide enough details, this can be used by yourself to do some extra research and discover whether it’s truly genuine or not.

Always try to find out who is running the project, campaign or business idea, because at least then it’s easier to hold them to account.

I will give you some specialized knowledge on how to do some quick research on a project or person before funding them. It’s a technique I used to find out whether someone was using stolen images from an unrelated source.

Google Reverse Image Search

Do they have a profile pic of themselves or the product? If so there can be a quick and easy method of discovering whether they are using a fake profile pic or product image they’ve copied from another site.

If they are legit then chances are the same profile pic on Indiegogo appears elsewhere on the web and reconfirms who they are.

How to do a Quick Google Reverse Image Search

Copy one or more of the images that appear on their profile page:

Indiegogo image example

Go to images.google.com

Copy or upload the url of the image by clicking on the following icon:
Google image searchGoogle exact image results

Google will scan the entire web and find other sites that use exactly that same image. It’s a great tool.

Do they include a video and a prototype

If they have a video of the persons involved and they’re the same people depicted on their social media pages then this is a positive sign they’re genuine. Also does the video provide a prototype of the product explaining and detailing how exactly it will work.

How to Receive more Funding through Indiegogo

Make yourself Trustworthy

Indiegogo provide social media integrations. Add your social media account, even if it isn’t a business account related to the project or venture. Adding links to your social media account from your indiegogo profile page makes you appear more legitimate.

If you use Facebook don’t turn on all the privacy settings and let people know that you can message them via facebook. If you own a Facebook account that mentions the project or venture and you have plenty of friends or supporters this makes you appear more legit.

  • Campaigns shared on Facebook raise 200% more than other campaigns.
  • Sharing on Facebook is the most important thing you can do.
  • Friends and family will not only donate, but will likely help spread the word further
  • If your friend were raising funds for a project, wouldn’t you want to know?
  • Reach more people, faster
  • Your friends care

Write a Story

Indiegogo allows people to tell their story and explain why they need funding. This is the heart of your message and is where you explain exactly what the cause is for, presenting the problem and proposing the solution. It should be factual and come across as meaningful and authentic explaining right at the beginning who’s involved, what it entails and why you should support it.

Try and share a personal story that they can relate to. Make it compelling, engaging and explain the benefits of the business, invention, activity, event or cause. It’s also where you explain any perks or benefits to those who donate. For example a freebie, a discount when the product is released, or just credit.

At the end ask them to share your campaign with others using the social media icons at the bottom of the story and thank them for helping out.

• Put the most important information first.
• Tell a compelling story, and keep it short.
• Explain exactly why you are raising money.
• Share details about yourself, your team, and important events or people that shaped your project.
• Build trust with a specific budget breakdown.
• Spelling and grammar are important, so be sure to proofread.
• Break long text into sections with headings.
• Include pictures of your perks in the pitch text. They add personality and help break up lots of copy.

I recommend you get a friend or relative to read through your pitch and tell you honestly how it comes across.

Include Images and/and or a Video

Images paint a thousand words and can help quickly build a story and present a compelling reason to donate. It also ads authenticity. If you create a video consider including the people involved and make it compelling and entertaining. You could always pay a professional to help make it with you.

  • Be about 1 to 3 minutes long that gets to the point and expresses your goals and intentions.
  • Make the first ten seconds of your video count as first impressions are important.
  • Star in the video yourself to make it appear more genuine and personal.
  • Give contributors a sneak peek of the project, product or film.
  • Use a good voiceover and some music to set the tone for the video.
  • Invite your audience to join in your journey and make them feel a part of it.
  • End with a call to action as this increases conversions

Heres a good example:

Perks & Perk Strategy

• Make perk names and descriptions clear.
• Ensure you can fulfil perks and still complete your project.
• Call out the urgency of perk availability related to the length of your campaign. Use words like “limited edition,” “exclusive,” and “early-bird.”
• Consider your perk pricing strategy — offer a $25 perk and a $100 perk to incentivize funders with varying disposable incomes.
• Be reasonable with your perk prices. Offering a magnet and mug for $500 or a t-shirt for $1,000 wont encourage contributions.
• If you are running a Flexible Funding campaign, keep in mind perk fulfilment in the event you don’t hit your goal.
• Will you be able to fulfil backers even if you don’t meet your goal? If not, you should switch to Fix Funding
• Make sure to set clear Shipping Costs, by country and region, when creating your perks.

Update your Story if your Reach your Goal

If you reach your funding goal consider updating your story thanking those who have donated and post an update to reflect a new goal or objective and what the extra money will pay for

The Initial Funding is the most Important

The initial funding is most important because it gives you legitimacy. If new visitors can see that others have trusted you with their money they will be more willing to trust you with their money and donate themselves.

The initial funding gives your fundraiser campaign momentum and can be used for marketing and press releases.

Therefore you should try and raise funds from your existing community, friends and family first and you will then find it easier to build momentum and raise more money afterwards.

Break the project into smaller parts

If you have a large project or venture that requires a lot of funding consider breaking it down to more than one fundraising campaign. Proving your success with one will help build credibility for the next one.

Indiegogo Scams

Most of the scams you here about on Indiegogo didn’t set out to scam from the beginning but just didn’t succeed or were set back with so many delays the product never came to fruition.

Here are some of the most notorious and convincing scams to appear on Indiegogo.

Skarp Laser Razor

Originally started on Kickstarter it raised more than $1 million from thousands of backers, before moving to Indiegogo. It was supposedly going to revolutionize shaving by using a laser to remove hair rather than a razor.

This was until the company claimed that they didn’t have a working prototype and it appears that the project was based on pseudo-science and didn’t even have a working prototype.

Tip: Best not to fund a project if there is no working prototype

iBackPack

IBackPack seemed legit and maybe it was a real concept in the beginning. It was designed to charge, store and help provide hotspots for iPhones on the go and provide plenty of storage space.

They provided plenty of information, charts and diagrams and even plenty of videos. As a result it was very successful, raising more than $720,000 from Indieogogo alone, only for it to vanish, including their Videos.

Their excuse was that they ran into problems such as finding safe charger batteries but others claimed this was a lie.

FDN Films

FND films was a popular comedy group from Chicago who raised more than $75,000 from hundreds of investors. No Film was produced except ironically a movie called “It’s All Good” about Indie filmmakers who scammed money through crowdsourcing and blew it on partying.

Triton Gills

Triton Gills is another product funded through Indiegogo that was supposed to allow users to breathe underwater, by extracting breathable air from water. However this sounds too good to be true and it was. The creators admitted to misleading their backers after Digital trends exposed the pseudoscience behind the product

The good news is that Triton have re-funded around $900,000 to Indiegogo backers and admitted that they mislead their backers. However they still claim that they will eventually deliver on their promise.

Indiegogo has a 3 star rating from consumeraffairs

This isn’t bad considering that it tends to be those that are scammed who are most likely to write a review in the first place. If you still don’t trust indiegogo here are a few Indiegogo Alternatives.

Indiegogo Alternatives

GoFundMe
CrowdRise
Kiva
Kickstarter
Peerbackers
RocketHub
Giveforward
YouCaring.com
DonorsChoose.org

Please provide your own experiences below and any alternatives you recommend.

Indiegogo Summary

Name: Indiegogo
Website: https://www.indiegogo.com
Price: Free to sign up and create a campaign
Owners: Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, Eric Schell
Overall Rank: 7 out of 10

Filed Under: Scams Tagged With: indiegogo, scam, scams

Western Union Money Flip Scam Advertised on Instagram

Should I try Money Flipping on Instagram?

No, this is a scam that’s going around on Instagram and other social media sites. It’s hard to believe people fall for this obvious scam but people do. It’s sometimes called the Money Pak Scam.

You will find a variety of pictures on Instagram that claim you can turn a small investment of $100, $200, $300, $400 or more into sums of $1,000 $2,000, $3,000 and so on using a simple hack or by exploiting a quirk in the monetary system .Money flipping scam

They may even provide so called “text proof” that the Money Flip Works. It’s not exclusive to Instagram and has seen on Facebook. The scam goes a bit like this.

The scammers claim that they use special software to hack into the servers of Western Union, Green Dot, or MoneyGram and then they manipulate the amount of money in their computer system. They will then ask for a few minutes to “hack into the system” and flip the money you invested.

One such message read:

I am Debby from Abuja Nigeria. I work at Western Union and money gram flip cash Investment tip (Flip cash) is the process whereby the amount you flip is multiplied by 3 through the process of crypto currency. If you invest with us 30% we be yours while 30% we be mine and the 40% we be for the investment company.

For example if you flip(10k) it will be multiplied to 100k, 30k will be yours and 30k will be mine and 40k will be for the investment company….. for more information contact the management on this No +2347057440973or message me on whatsapp.

Thanks for your cooperation
Best regards…

What they ask you to do is send money through Western Union, Green Dot, or MoneyGram. Right there you need to stop. You cannot just manufacture money out of nothing.

If you send money throough any of these money transfer companies and don’t notify them before they pick up your money, you’re out of luck. They will then take your money and claim they will flip it and make more, then they will just block you and delete all of your comments trying to warn people about this scam.

As one commenter put it below “Wire transfer companies don’t manufacture money out of thin air. Even if it were possible to modify the amount of the transfer (it isn’t, there are too many safeguards), it would be a crime!. People who fall for this and then call the transfer company asking for help are basically saying, ‘Hello, I tried to defraud you and it didn’t work, will you give me back my money?’

If you were scammed or came close to being scammed by money flipping please comment below:

Filed Under: Scams Tagged With: Instagram, scam, scams

No Red face Formula Review – is it a Scam?

Is the no red face formula a scam and does it work?

No, red face formula is not a scam for the simple fact that you have a 60 day money back guarantee which is honored by the vendor clickbank.

The company that sells the no red face formula product does not even handle the payments and refunds. This is handled by clickbank – an independent third party payment processor.

Another reason to believe they’re not a scam is the fact that they’ve been in business since 2006 according to whois records which can be found by doing a simple whois search.

The following information you’re looking for is when the website date was created and it’s expiration date. The older the website is, the better. The further away the expiration date the longer they are likely to be in business

No red face formula review

It should be noted that the company does not make far fetched claims that they claim to cure your Asian flush, just that their product helps reduce the flushing response to more manageable levels. Also that their formula helps reduce other symptoms of Asian flush such as the nausea and dizziness while providing the liver with anti-oxidants.

The first thing that I noticed is that they don’t claim to ‘cure’ your Asian flush. In fact, they emphatically state that their product is not a cure, instead that it helps to reduce the flushing response to more manageable levels. Not only that, they claim to reduce other symptoms of Asian flush such as nausea and dizziness while also assisting the health of the liver with a range of powerful anti-oxidants.

Perhaps more importantly they claim that their formula has been clinically proven to reduce acetaldehyde levels and in turn protect sufferers from some of the cancer risks associated with alcohol consumption.

According to reviews online the no red face formula does help. However I wouldn’t take these reviews too seriously as they may have been written by affiliates who earn commission as clickbank members for selling their product.

The only way of finding out whether no red face formula works is by trying the product yourself. If you do please provide a review in the comment section below. I would be interested in getting your feedback.

[author-details=Emma Wilson]

Filed Under: Scams Tagged With: asian flush, flush, scam

What is SFI affiliate and is it a Scam?

Should I join SFI Affilaite or is it a scam?

It isn’t a scam but I wouldn’t recommend joining SFI Affiliate. Its both an affiliate program and a MLM (Multi Level Marketing) program who sell over-priced products.

The reality is that SFI is partnered with TripleClicks.com and the main purpose of SFI is to train you to become an effective affiliate and referrer.

While SFI Affiliate is free to join, it’s hard to earn money unless you’re buying products yourself every month or referring others to the program. This gives you EA status.

According to another review, once you purchase a product, you’re awarded Versa Points (VP) so you can upgrade to EA status. The alternative is to refer others to join the program who purchase products, allowing you to upgrade to EA status and earn commission from sales that they make, or their referrals multiple generations down the line.

They claim to provide a signup bonus of $20 just for signing up. However you only get that after making your first internet sale and it’s hard to make sales.

And here’s the reason why.

They claim that each time someone clicks your link (or banner) and buys the product, you earn a handsome 45% CV commission.

However in order for their affiliates to earn 45% commission they charge outrageously high prices to customers who buy their products.

For example I did a search for iphone at TripleClicks.com and their iPhone 5S 16 GB Silver is selling at $495.00. Compare that to Amazon who are selling exactly the same product for only £294.41, around $200 cheaper.
tripleclicks amazon comparison

That’s why they can afford to pay 45% commission. Because they charge prices much higher than other online stores.

The problem is that few people would buy their products at this price when they can buy them much cheaper from other online stores.

They also claim that TripleClicks.com sell 90,000 products from around the world. However Amazon sell 480 million products.

The affiliate earnings for Amazon are much lower than TripleClicks and only in the single digits. This is what you would expect for tangible, physical products, rather than downloadable products.

However you’re more likely to make a sale as an Amazon affiliate as the products are more affordable and people trust Amazon. Also with Amazon it’s not necessary to purchase products yourself or refer others to earn decent money.

Another disadvantage of TripleClicks is that their products are often shipped from overseas. For example the example I gave, the iphone 5S is shipped from India whereas Amazon’s products are usually shipped from the same country. Amazon has many warehouses and so the delivery time is significantly reduced.

When signing up for any affiliate, you have to ask yourself this question. Would you buy the products sold from that affiliate? If the answer is no, then you’re better off finding another affiliate.

The success of an affiliate or MLM company is dependent on whether people will actually buy the products. Are they affordable? Can you buy the same product somewhere else much cheaper? How long will the product take to ship. What is their returns policy?

Is there a better alternative to SFI Affiliate

For a much better alternative I would recommend Wealthy Affiliate which is Free to Join. I’m with Wealthy Affiliate myself and I believe it’s the best program out there, hands-down. It actually shows you how to do affiliate marketing the correct way so you can create profit straight from home.

Kyle and Carson are the owners and have years and years helping newbies get started and pointed members in the right direction.

WA is here to stay and is just improving every single month. It does work, but only if you’re willing to put in the work yourself! The reality is that it isn’t easy to earn a living online unless you have the right knowledge.

Click here for Wealth Affiliate

Filed Under: Scams Tagged With: affiliate, scam, sfi affiliate

Can you Get Paid to Read Articles Online?

Can I Get Paid Money to Read Articles Online?

The short answer is no, these are all scams. You cannot earn money reading articles online. Any company that says so is simply trying to scam you.

At best they’ll harvest your email address so they can spam you; at worst they’ll try to obtain username and password information to access Paypal or Payza.

One such company was All News Round who claimed to pay up to $5-$9 per each news article and multiple articles a day.. To earn the $9 per article, you had to grow your account from a ‘beginner status’ to a ‘professional status’. This involved referring people such as friends who also join in on this scam where you supposedly earn $38 extra when they sign up plus 20% of their earnings.

read articles onlineThey said that when your account balance reaches a threshold of $800, you can withdraw the money. However as soon a you try to cash your earnings you’re going to be asked for your payza or PayPal account information, which will include both your username and your password! This will give them access to your online bank account.

Thankfully it appears that All News Round no longer exists. But you can bet that other similar sites exist, possibly owned by the same person.

If you have already given them your Paypal or Payza account information I recommend you change your password as soon as possible by going directly to the Paypal or Payza websites. Also check your Paypal or Payza accounts for any suspicious or unauthorized activity.

There are ways of earning money online, but it takes hard word and knowledge. I’m a member of Wealthy Affiliate which is an online training program that provides comprehensive training to show how you can work online from home and build an online business that will make you money.

You have access to video tutorials, a friendly help desk and discussion forum with other users such as yourself, where you can exchange ideas and learn from others. Join Wealth Affiliate for Free today. Click here to sign up

Filed Under: Scams Tagged With: get paid to read articles, read articles, scam

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