The ubiquitous ads for teeth whiteners can be found on popular sites such as FoxNews.com, CNN.com and ABCNews.com. The ads typically link consumers to phony blogs and fake news sites that are designed to look like impartial 3rd party endorsements of the products. The phony endorsements then direct the consumer to a main Web site that claims the product sold is “as seen on” ABC, Forbes.com, CBS News, CNN, and USA Today�and includes the logos of these news outlets.

“From the complaints we’ve received, it’s obvious that many consumers are unfortunately letting their trust in respected news outlets influence their level of trust in the products being advertised on their Web sites,” said Edward Johnson, BBB President & CEO. “While it may be true that advertisements for the teeth whiteners were placed on major news Web sites, reporters for USA Today or CNN did not write stories about the efficacy of the specific products being sold.”

The countless Web sites for various teeth whitening products claim to offer a no-risk, money back guarantee, free trial of the product. To sign up, customers must provide a credit or debit card number to cover shipping. Complainants to the BBB state that they are billed before their trial ends and continue to be billed after they have told the company they want to cancel. Complainants also may find mystery charges for other companies and services that they did not realize they were signing up for with their “free” trial.

The BBB has identified several companies that are behind the teeth whitening ads and Web sites online including:

Dazzle White, White Smile, Teeth Smile and Dazzle Smile – The BBB system has received 450 complaints. Complainants report being billed as much as $79 for the free trial and are charged for several other services such as a weight loss program.

Ivory White – The BBB system has received 611 complaints. Complainants say they were charged as much as $78 a month for their free trial. Other related companies include Ortho White and Bella Brite which are mounting complaints as well. All three companies have been asked to add more disclosure to their Web sites regarding the free trial offer. The BBB has not yet received a response to these requests.

Advanced Wellness Research – The BBB system has received thousands of complaints from consumers regarding Advanced Wellness Research’s acai berry supplements and has begun to receive complaints from consumers about their teeth whiteners sold under the names of Max White, My Whitening, Gleaming White Smile and many others.

The BBB offers the following advice to consumers on purchasing teeth whitening products online:

• Beware of supposed third-party endorsements. Be extremely cautious of any ad that links to a blog or Web site news articles. The blogs and supposed news articles were likely created by the company and are not the unbiased endorsement of real consumers or reporters.
• Always read the fine print. Many Web sites offering a free trial of a teeth whitening product do not disclose the billing terms and conditions or do not have such details prominently displayed on their Web site. Before giving the company any credit or debit card information, review the Web site fully and be aware that free trials typically result in repeated billing.
• Check the company out with your BBB first. Before signing up for any free trial, review the business’ Reliability Report online at www.bbb.org to see if the BBB has identified issues with the company.
• File a complaint with the BBB if you feel you’ve been ripped off. Consumers who feel they are being deceived by a business selling teeth whitening products online can file a complaint with the BBB at www.bbb.org.
• Check with your Dentist. Most dental professionals can recommend whitening products.

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Multi-level marketing is one form of compensation often employed by direct selling companies, whereby sales agents recruit other sales agents and receive a cut of their sales for products. Pyramid schemes, which are illegal, promise that participants can make money primarily by recruiting people who then pay for the opportunity to recruit more people. The money is then filtered up through the pyramid.

“Millions of people earn honest money by selling products through multi-level marketing; however, some money making opportunities blur the lines between MLM and pyramid schemes,” said Edward Johnson, BBB President. “iJango is making big promises about its earnings potential for people who buy in on their idea, but based on our investigation, the BBB believes the potential to generate revenue may primarily depend on the ability of participants to recruit additional representatives.”

More than 3,400 people nationwide have contacted the BBB to check out Austin, TX-based iJango since August 1, 2009. iJango is being marketed heavily on web sites, including YouTube and Twitter, through spam e-mail campaigns and at in-person sales presentations across the country.

In the company’s promotional materials, iJango is described as an interactive web site “portal” for customers to access social media and interact with online merchants. iJango claims that their representatives can make money by inviting “friends, family and associates to use iJango…for FREE!” The business claims that this portal tracks individuals’ web traffic and e-commerce, thereby generating commissions payable to iJango based on web page views and purchases made by the user.

iJango says participants can pay an upfront fee of $50 to join the program, but recommends purchasing a package for $149.95 with a monthly maintenance fee of $19.95. The company further claims that consumers participating in the program will earn income in two ways:
• The recruitment of other individuals to purchase the opportunity and the recruitment of registered customers.
• Commissions that are generated by Web site traffic and purchases through iJango web site “portals.”

The BBB has an “F” rating on the company. BBB file information shows that Cameron Sharpe is one of the co-founders of iJango and has traveled the country presenting the iJango concept. Cameron Sharpe also co-created Ultimate Introductions, a.k.a. Ultimate Singles, a supposedly Christian dating service that generated complaints from customers by charging thousands of dollars and failing to deliver on promises. Ultimate Introductions was sued by another company in 2004 for theft, fraud and unfair competition; as part of the settlement it was required to go out of business.

The BBB recommends consumers exercise extreme caution when evaluating any business opportunity and consider the following advice in order to make an informed decision:
• Avoid any plan that places primary emphasis on commissions for recruiting additional distributors. It may be an illegal pyramid scheme.
• Beware of plans that require purchase of expensive products and marketing materials upfront. These plans may be pyramid schemes in disguise.
• Beware of plans that claim to sell miracle products or promise enormous earnings.
• Don’t pay or sign any contracts in an “opportunity meeting” or any other pressure-filled situation without first taking time to think over the decision. Talk it over with a family member, friend, accountant or lawyer.
• Remember that no matter how good a product may be or how solid a multi-level marketing plan appears, an investment of time, as well as dollars, may be needed for your investment to pay off. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Currently over 14 million Americans are out of work and looking for a way to bring home a paycheck according to the most recent jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Work-at-home schemes have often preyed on unsuspecting job hunters and now Twitter is being used as a way to convince cash-strapped individuals that they can make quick and easy money.

“Twitter is the newest, bright, shiny object online and a perfect hook for yet another work-at-home scheme,” said Edward Johnson, BBB president. “The pitch used to be about making money by sending e-mails or by placing ads on Google but now cash-strapped job hunters need to be wary of shelling out money for a dubious scheme that revolves around Twitter.”

Unfortunately, such “Make Money With Twitter” schemes may sound risk-free but bear many red flags prompting the BBB to advise job hunters to be extremely cautious.

One e-mail picked up by the BBB stated: “Twitter Workers Needed ASAP, You’re Hired! Make Extra Cash with Twitter; As seen on USA Today, CNN, and ABC… Apply Now!”

The e-mail links to EasyTweetProfits.com, a company based in Surrey, England. EasyTweetProfits.com claims you can make $250-$873 a day working at home with Twitter. The Web site offers a seven-day free trial of their instructional CD-ROM for $1.95 to cover shipping. Buried in the lengthy terms and conditions are the details that the trial begins on the day the CD is ordered—not when it is received—and if the consumer doesn’t cancel within seven days of signing up, they’ll be charged $47 every month.

Similar to other work-from-home schemes, phony blogs by made-up individuals have been created as testimonials to the success of Twitter-money-making programs. Make-money-on-twitter.com is one such phony blog —supposedly by a Derrick Clark of Virginia— where the author brags about making up to $5,000 a month posting links to Twitter. The blog also includes an image of the supposed check Derrick received for posting links on Twitter, but the exact same photo of the check has been used countless times on other phony blogs for various suspect work-at-home jobs.

The blog links to TwitterProfitHouse.com which, similar to EasyTweetProfits.com, claims you can make $250-$873 a day working at home and offers a seven-day free trial of their instructional CD-ROM, for $1.99 shipping. Again, however, reading the fine print shows that the trial period starts once the CD has been ordered and the consumer will be billed $99.99 every month if they don’t call the company to cancel.

“These Web sites have not been up for very long so, if experience has taught us anything, we know that it’s only a matter of time before the complaints start coming in,” added Johnson. “We also know from experience that the offers are pure bunk.”

* The BBB wants job hunters to be aware of the following red flags when searching for a work-at-home job online: The “job” is actually a money-making scheme and doesn’t provide actual employment.
* The work-at-home scheme claims that you can make lots of money with little effort and no experience.
* You have to pay money up front in order to be considered for the job or receive more information.
* The exact same tweet touting the program is posted by many different Twitterers. The links in such tweets could lead you to scam sites or install malware onto your computer.