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BOZO Alert - CashOffers.com

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Virtual Pictures Corp. (VPiX)

Whenever a child is kidnapped, we have an AMBER Alert.  When a scam is found, I created a similar system called BOZO Alert. 

It works like this. Read this and judge for yourself. If you feel as I do, then copy this link and post it to Facebook and Twitter.  Inform as many people as you can. 

Marketing Bozos can hurt people. So the more information we can tell people about them and warn them in advance -- we teach them how to spot the Bozos before they can do their damage.  

Marketing Bozos in the real estate market can hurt you financially if you are not up-to-date or aware of predatory practices in selling your home.  Because there's no shortage of sharks out there willing to take advantage of you if you're upside down on your mortgage, or are considering pre-foreclosure advice, etc. 

The site CashOffers.com is raining down on me with gazillions of banner ads popping up everywhere online. In YouTube videos, on my iPhone and various sites.  It's like those Zappo's ads that seem to follow you from one website to another.  It's pretty creepy.

I click the banner and I'm not really impressed with what I see. As I started to dig around the site, it had poorly formatted CSS tags.  There was a few HTML errors and I tried the site on several browsers.  If this company has done over $75 million in sales volume as they had claimed, why then did they only spend $29 dollars on their website?

RED FLAG #1: I suspected a few things might be "amiss" when I didn't find any Fair Housing Logo, no REALTOR designation nor any affiliation with a broker.

RED FLAG #2: The claim there's some press from CNN, which to me seems odd.  I used to be a card-carrying member of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). The boast: CNN called us "The Short Sale Experts." Okay. Why isn't there a video about that story linked to your claim? If it were me, I'd link the CNN story to my claim.  Why can't I find one on this site? 

I've sent an email to video desk editor asking them if they ever ran a story on this company in the past.  We'll see. I'll post the results when I learn if they were ever covered by CNN or not. 

RED FLAG #3: Fox News and Forbes are also listed on the site. Okay, impressive. But where's the news story?  I cannot believe a company who claims to be in business since 1996 has zero mention of anything in the press?  Really?  

My company has been in business for over 14 years and you can find my work and my company listed in a lot of news articles and trade rags over the years including: Inman NewsRealtor MagazineBusinessWeek and Advertising Age

The top right side of this site has Fox News and Forbes here. I clicked but there's no link to any news article or video here, either.

I sent letters to Forbes and Fox News today. I'll post what I learn here in a few days time once I get the answers back.

FED FLAG #4: Contact Us. No mailing address. No Google map.  No list of staff, or management team. Just a toll-free phone number. Does any of this seem odd to you?

RED FLAG #5: No matter what page you go to, its the same testimonial for a couple in South Carolina.

They are NOT A REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE. But somehow, there is some tie in with an agent that gets the leads. And I can't choose who that's going to be.  

The explanation went on with lots of boring, "Blah, blah, blah, homina homina..."  

I read enough. This looks like the same crap invented by real estate bottom feeders and sharks that helped tank the real estate market in August 2008 -- the day the real estate market crashed.

Nobody called me until yesterday.

Jeff calls me from some company I never heard of in Colorado.

I tell him my background and that I'm not really needing to sell right away, and I started asking questions of his firm, commission structure, how closing works, is this going to be an attorney at fact kind of transaction...  and this is when I think he hangs up on me.

I give the dropped call the benefit of a doubt. I call him back. 

Ring --- Ring --- Ring ---  I get a voice mail.

If it looks like a bozo, if it smells like a bozo, if it hangs up the phone when you ask legitimate questions about how the financial part works... then it's a BOZO. 

Okay, suspicion confirmed. 

 

Posted by

Bart Wilson | CIO
..................................................................
Virtual Pictures Corp (VPiX®)  
iPhone: (719) 645-9940  |  Skype:  vpix360 

Comments (3)

Pamela Seley
West Coast Realty Division - Murrieta, CA
Residential Real Estate Agent serving SW RivCo CA

Thanks for the BOZO alert! I too become enraged with BOZOs, and when times get tough it seems to bring out the frauds and scammers. Good point about the contact information, as many of these scammers do not post a mailing or physical address on their websites. Even if they do post an address doesn't mean they pass the not a scammer test. I look forward to your future update. Good job calling out the BOZOs!

May 28, 2014 09:00 AM
Norma Toering Broker for Palos Verdes and Beach Cities
Charlemagne International Properties - Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Palos Verdes Luxury Homes in L.A.

Fortunately, my Gmail account is so smart it filters out most of the BOZO scammers but once in awhile one sneaks through.  I've become an expert at saying no and deleting--whichever is more appropriate.

May 28, 2014 09:11 AM
Pete Xavier
Investments to Luxury - Pacific Palisades, CA
Outstanding Agent Referrals-Nationwide

Marketing Bozos hurt millions, setting up a Bozo alert system is a great idea!

May 28, 2014 09:37 AM