I have received several emails asking for my opinion on JustBeenPaid. All of them ask, "Is JustBeenPaid a scam?" ( Or "Is JSS-Tripler a scam?")

Let's start with the most obvious red flags:

Company is operated outside the US.

I firmly believe that if this company was operating within the US, State Attorney Generals would already be either investigating this company or freezing assets. There are many threads online referencing the relationship between this company and its primary particpants and the ( now defunct ) AdSurfDaily ponzi case. ( The principle, Andy Bowdoin, just pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the case on May 18th. 2012 ).

JustBeenPaid is structured like many new companies in this particular niche - labeling themselves as lead generation programs, when the leads are all generated by new enrollments and lead forms and commissions are paid on new 'members' but not on any 'product' -- which is the definition of a Ponzi or Pyramid scheme. If there is no product other than the exchange of currency when someone enrolls, it definitely seems to fit the definition. Sites selling replicated pages as a product have failed that sniff test time and again. The list of those closed by the FTC or AGs or just plain folded up and disappeared with member fees is sadly a long one.

The JustBeenPaid program looks almost like a hybrid between a Ponzi and a Gifting program and a Lead Generation gimmick.

Owners and Executives with a history of failed companies

Fredrick Mann is the alleged owner of JustBeenPaid:

Domain name: JUSTBEENPAID.COM

Administrative Contact:
Mann, Frederick tech@bigbooster.com
Suite 88
Private Bag X12
Roosevelt Park, 2129
ZA

Also, this quote on the "About" page: "My name is Frederick Mann. I'm the main designer of JustBeenPaid! (JBP) and I'm glad to be able to provide you with the means to become a Successful Online Moneymaker!"

The enrollment terms and conditions begin with an unusual disclaimer ( paraphrased rather than quoted verbatim): JustBeenPaid! and its various sites constitutes the dissemination of information in accordance with the right to free speech"... and more noticeably: "ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE VARIOUS ACTIVITIES FEATURED HERE ARE VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LOCAL LAWS"

Read that again and think about what it says. Basically, if what we are doing is illegal whereever you are, anything on the site you might think of as a suggestion that you join in our little carnival of fun and games is void.  To butcher the famous Princess Bride quote by Indigo Montoya, "I do not think that disclaimer means what you think it means."

To me it's sort of like a thug on the corner saying, "Hey, want to go rob that liquor store?  First I must advise you that my suggestion that you become an accessory to armed robbery is void if it happens to be illegal in this area. "

More terms and conditions that just strike me as odd and completely ridiculous. I'm going to paraphrase them here, so as to avoid any absurd copyright claim by JustBeenPaid:

I agree that I have read the General Disclaimer above. I understand it, agree to it, and swear almighty allegiance to it.  ( okay that last bit isn't exactly true ).

But it does say in essence, "in case you missed the part where we say that if we do happen to be illegal wherever you are, and you do participate, our suggestion that you do so is void so we are somehow not responsible for offering you a potentially illegally activity just because we have a nice circular logic loop for you to follow"

You also, as part of terms and conditions, agree to the following!

That you are not an employee or official of any government agency, nor acting on behalf of or collecting information for or on behalf of any government agency.

That you are not under contract or otherwise employed by any media or research company, and are not reading any of the JBP pages in order to collect information for someone else.

These two clauses absolutely made my jaw drop. You have to affirm that you are not gathering information on behalf of a government agency? That would be like a police officer walking up to the above mentioned hypothetical liquor store robber and the robber saying, "I'd love to tell you about how I robbed that store, but before I do so, you have to agree that you are not a police officer."  Do they really think these clauses will protect them if and when this entire JustBeenPaid lead gen scheme gets labeled a ponzi scheme by a government agency?

Fredrick Mann: "But your honor, they AGREED they weren't employed by a government agency before the logged in to investigate our funky little scheme."

Federal Judge: "Ah, I see that right here Mr. Mann. Very clear and in perfect legaleze. Case dismissed. Be on your way now."

You also agree that any information about or related to JBP (other than that on the pages available to non-members and the marketing materials authorized for public use) is proprietary and confidential and that you will not reveal said information to anyone else.

The first rule about JustBeenPaid is don't talk about JustBeenPaid. The second rule about JustBeenPaid is don't talk about JustBeenPaid. ( Tyler Durden ).

Can they be serious? ( And by the way, JustBeenPaid, I didn't personally agree to these terms and conditions. Someone emailed them to me. From a blind email address under the name "Frodo". With a mysterious IP address in the header that when researched resolves back to someplace called Middle Earth. )

There is almost too much shadiness, ass covering and sheer comedy in these terms and conditions ( assuming they are real of course, since I've never been to Middle Earth to verify the sender or the IP address ) to address in one post.

You also agree that JBP managers may change virtually any aspect of the JBP program at any time without notice ( except the privacy policy, which I'm sure is just as entertaining to read. Unfortunately, I didn't receive that from MiddleEarth.net )

In other words, if Fredrick Mann and company decide tomorrow that every member must show up within five minutes at a coffee shop near their purported headquarters in South Africa, wearing cheese hats and the exact pair of bellbottom pants worn by Prince in the "Purple Rain" video in order to collect their commission ( paid out in Tofu cubes ) then that's exactly what the new policy is and you must abide by it.  Or even better, if Fredrick Mann and Co simply decide there will be no more commissions and they are taking all of your personal info and reselling it to the highest bidder, that's the new terms and conditions of the program.

And as you may have expected, there are NO REFUNDS:

You also agree that that all payments to JBP Admin are final and understand that JustBeenPaid a strict no-refund policy, except in cases where JBP expressly allows refunds.

Why would anyone in their right mind join a program like this?  The very first condition you agree to is that you are of Sound Mind and Legal Age, so basically the fact that you agreed to any of this BS demonstrates you are NOT of sound mind and voids the whole thing anyway.

Think your way out of that conundrum, JBP.

Great analysis WatchDog. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on JustBeenPaid and waiting for them to get shut down. This all reminds me of WorldVentures, which I almost got sucked into, and sadly a lot of people I know did. Most people probably look at all the fine print, say "Too long to read." and sign their souls away. 

You know I have really started to notice the overall trend with defunct "companies" (no offense to legit MLM companies) recycling themselves once all credibility has been depleted. They burn down, only to rise again like a phoenix. I'm not sure if its that I'm surprised there seems to be no laws that prevent bogus products, or bogus individuals from building their pyramids after being forced to shut down a previous endeavor, or the resilience of those behind them to have the tenacity to try it again.

In any event, this is obviously as Watchdog pointed out; another scam.

I actually remember seeing a series of Youtube videos from AdSurfDaily a couple years ago, in fact here is one now... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0bH45ghVFI . Having a bit of charisma and communicating affectively can be a bit of weapon for those that wish to prey on others. If you didn't know better, you might actuaslly trust this guy. I don't know what his position was in the company, or if he was just a rep, but I can't seem to find much info on him personally.

Couldn't agree more about operating outside of the US. Though that goes for many things, if you are not covered by your own country's laws and regulations when it comes to any type of business, I'd go ahead and stay out of it.

 "labeling themselves as lead generation programs when the leads are all generated by new enrollments and lead forms and commissions are paid on new 'members' but not on any 'product' -- which is the definition of a Ponzi or Pyramid scheme."

The "Crux of the biscuit" right there.

I had to laugh at the disclaimer, and honestly its hard to miss unless an individual is lazy. Most of us have to work pretty hard for our money, and there are too many people that are, or are trying to become financially consciencious that are too blinded by the hype to find some gleaming little bits of essential information when considering getting involved with an MLM company. Even if you're just kind of casing the company, checking out its website etc... that line alone gives you an idea of what you'd be getting into.

I go back to what I said before that the more of these scammers I see just doing the same thing over and over, I fail to understand (or perhaps I have not looked hard enough) how the industry doesn't evolve in this area. Its not like the crooks' methods are changing much.
Love the Tyler Durden reference lol....very good analogy.

As far as them changing the policies without notice is pretty standard now, in fact I'm surprized its not posted on a Walmart bulletin board lol.

"You also agree that that all payments to JBP Admin are final and understand that JustBeenPaid a strict no-refund policy, except in cases where JBP expressly allows refunds."

HAH, what exactly could I say to that, other than "lol".

Your final question is the main idea of this scrambled reply.... Why indeed?

I just posted a followup, this one specifically about JustBeenPaids primary product, the JSS Tripler Scam.