Tuesday, July 1, 2008

A Bit About Me, and the Objective of This Blog

Finishing up College in your early 20s and looking for a job should be one of the most exciting points in a young person's life. Finally you will have the chance to get out of the classroom and get a real professional job! That is, if you don't become the victim of a very common fraud that has spread in the manner of a plague all over the country and especially the Internet in recent years. Those unlucky enough to be infected by this plague will have what should have been one of the best times of their life turned upside down into a state of being too bizarre and surreal even to serve as a script for an episode of the Twilight Zone.


I recently became a victim of this plague. The plague I speak of is a so-called multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme, known is less polite terms as a pyramid scam. The shysters who run this "business" go by many different names--DS-Max, Granton Marketing, Smart Circle International. Their local "branches" where unsuspecting job seekers are sucked in bear scores if not hundreds of different names that change quite frequently to avoid prosecution.

Using dishonest techniques and outright lies that would make even the most lowly, thoroughly corrupted politician blush, these companies claim thousands of victims each year, and so far they have avoided any responsibility for their actions.

But this will change. In the next few months these fraudulent businesses will be exposed for what they are, and at least in the Washington Metro Area where I reside, thoroughly exposed and embarrassed if not totally shut down.

But I cannot do this alone. If you or someone you love was a victim of these scams, I need your help. If you are a consumer advocate, I need your help. To the members of the local national media, I need your help as well.

To those of you currently working for these shady, lowly, professional rip off artists, you have two options if you want your life to return to any small semblance of normality. The first option is to get out now and don't look back. The second is to stay within the company, but only to help undermine and destroy it from the inside out. The third option--to stay with the "company", to continue to lie to people, to continue to believe the B.S. they throw at you, is to slowly have your life crumble into nothing. The choice is yours.

As to those low lifes at the top of the pyramid of deceit, your days are numbered. You're no better than common drug dealers, and I'll do my best to make sure you meet the same fate.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Similarities on how Smart Circle offices operate vs. how cults operate is a subject worthy of some consideration.

1. Subject the member to fatigue and or stressful conditions.

Like a cult, fatiguing a new rep is very important to Smart Circle. Generally speaking, a rep/leader in the Directv program will arrive at the office around 9:30 or 10:00 am. They are then subjected to the brainwashing of "atmosphere" before they get to go out into the field and sell. They will be on their feet all day long playing the game of abuse for cash also known as sales. This lasts till about 7:00 pm when they get to go home. Between the time that they leave their house to go to their job and get back, they have worked the better part of 12 hours with a handful of peanuts to show for their efforts. A rep will do this for six days a week and when they do get their day off, they are too tired to do anything but the chores that they have neglected during the week. This unrelenting schedule leads to..........................

2. Social disruption and isolation.

The rep will naturally be isolated from friends and family due to the grueling work schedule. Later, reps are pressured into eliminating influences and people who are not sold on the business because "they will hold you back". It's not uncommon for reps to live with each other or even with their manager and is sometimes the only way to make ends meet. There are also team building nights and conventions designed to keep you cocooned in the shell that Smart Circle has created.

3. Control of information.

The owner uses the tools that were given to him by Smart Circle to keep a steady stream of propaganda directed at the rep. It all starts with the morning routine where a rep enters a room with upbeat music and "positive" people. This is where they will brainwash you on their "opportunity" and get you to bond with those that have just been recruited. Information is carefully controlled in this setting. If someone is being negative or has objections, they are isolated and leaders will bombard this person with memorized rebuttals to counter their concerns. They will also insure that this person is not left alone to infect the rest of the group. This is a choreographed meeting where the owner is treated like a rock star and reps are meant to look up to him and hope beyond all hope that one day they will have their own office.

4. Escalating commitment.

As you progress, you must show that you are willing to go the extra mile. As mentioned above, you might end up living with other cultists. You will be flown all over the country to meet the indoctrinated. Your phone will ring at all hours of the night with cult members wanting to have a "chit chat". This is done so that you eat, live and breath Smart Circle. The last thing that they want is for you to have a moment to yourself because you might remember who you are and realize that you are being conned.

This country has had it's fair share of cult leaders. David Koresh, Charles Manson and Jim Jones are just some of the devils that America has had to deal with. Why do we allow Smart Circle to keep operating? If the propaganda of Joseph Goebbels ran contrary to the values promoted by this country, isn't it an insult to those who defeated the Third Reich to have a outfit like this do business in the U.S.? Go back to Canada already.

frank said...

If you go to Ripoff Report and search for DEVILCORP, you will find a plethora of links to news reports, government rulings, lawsuits and video footage showing how these people do business. They are corporate Nazis.

Anonymous said...

Smart circle is just one tentacle of the global direct sales cult known to some as Devilcorp.

If you go to http://thedevilcorp.wordpress.com/
you will find a wealth of information.

Anonymous said...

Good site.