TurquAds refback from Onur

My upline at TurquAds has sent me my refback for the week. He currently runs a refback deal at EMS under this thread:
http://www.earnmoneyspace.com/../../topic,16680.0.html

QualityBux loses quality!

Url: www.qualitybux.com

Early in August, this site landed on our Suspected Sites List for reasons of probable scam. Even earlier, while still in its prelaunch phase, this site already boasted to have paid its members. However, when they knew that some standard members were building up referrals quickly, they started to ban some accounts and accuses them of multiple accounts. Later, they started to ban more accounts and announces that they are no longer accepting members from Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Korea. The announcement was so sudden and the implementation was so quick that they didn't even change the TOS yet.

Later, we heard reports that the site is owned by the former admin of PerformanceBux, which is one of the PTC sites that had been listed as scam.

QualityBux had also been reported to have poor customer service. Members complain that the site's staff seem to be avoiding them and is not responding. There had also been issues of refs not received, and dead refs.

Actually, we had been expecting this site to turn scam, and it didn't fail our expectations, only its members. We didn't included this site on the scam list before because they were still paying at that time, but now, payments have stopped! It was reported that the last payment proof was posted on August 31st. Forum had also been censored. They probably done this to prevent complaints to appear on the forum. Below are the quoted words of the Forum Administrator.

Topics and Post need prior approval
Postby pedroxe » Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:08 am

From now on new topics and post need prior approval of anyone of the mod or admin staff.

We had to place this modification due the huge number of new topics create to discuss something already being discussed in another topic.

the reason for disaprove is stupid? usually we select the first choice to avoid any loss of our precious time...

we haven't answered to you? well we don't work 24 hours straight and not even at weekends! its a support forum not a live respons support!

Don't create a topic such "why my account is suspended" "why i can't cashout" etc. there are already topics about that same matter! you can't cashout because your country is blacklisted or you even didn't respect our terms of service. your account is suspended for the same reason and decision like that are final!

Your order has been unprocessed? Thats because we make a manually veirifcation of the first purchase.

I haven't received the earnings from my refs, that because you haven clicked a day, this might be because you forgot it or you even click twice yesterday.

everyhting can be solved very smoothly if you don't threathen us etc.. etc..

SEARCH. USE FAQ. USE A TOPIC ALREADY OPEN ABOUT THE SAME MATTER. GIVE US TIME.

As you can see, this bad English administrator is not only a bad scam artist, but is also rude!

We had also found one report about member who was terminated before filing a dispute. It appears that the site delays its response on purpose so that members wouldn't have enough time to file a complaint with Paypal in case something bad happens.

We had also been a member of this site, and was also suspended for unknown reasons. The only lame reason they could give is that we were using multiple accounts; an act we didn't committed. Obviously, this is just their excuse after finding out that we were halfway to cashout. Avoid this site if you don't want to be next in line!

12th Payment from PaidtoClick.in

We received our 12th payment from PaidtoClick.in (see payment proof above). This guarantees that the site is still paying.

SupportingFriends Scam

Url: www.supportingfriends.com

SupportingFriends is another domain name for MyHPF (My Homepages Friends), which is a British Paid to Search scam site.

They offer to pay their members to use the Yahoo Search Engine, but couldn't honor it. Note that SupportingFriends and MyHPF shares the same database, so if you're a member of MyHPF, that means you are also a member of this scam site. Some people believe that this scam gathers your browsing habits so they could sell the information to interested companies. Others say that they are using a Pyramid model. There are also complaints against MyHPF of non-payments, non-credits, and termination of accounts without good reason. And as you can see, any complaints directed to MYHPF is also a complaint against this site, that is since they share only one company and only one database. So, if MyHPF is a scam.. the same goes with this one.

Myhpf.co.uk is a Paid to Search Scam

Url: www.myhpf.co.uk

MyHPF or My Homepages Friends (a.k.a. SupportingFriends.com) is a Paid to Search scam site that earns from your yahoo searches and purchases, while not earning you anything. This site was said to had been formerly known as MySearchFunds, then it changes to MyHPF, and for the third time, they change again to the name SupportingFriends. We don't know why they keep on changing names, but one of the reason could be so that they could hide their previous bad history.

This site is hosted on a British server, and most probably owned by British scammers. There are already numerous complaints against this site, including none payments, and termination of accounts when they are close to cashing out. We had also our bad experience with this site when they neglected to credit our account for our searches.

We do not recommend this site to anyone, so if you wish to earn online with Paid to Search, look for other sites. This site will only leech you, and it will grow from your yahoo search and purchases only to scam some more.

Is it wise to Cashout 401k early?

In the U.S., a 401k is a plan that allows a worker to save and invest savings for retirement while deferring income taxes on the saved money and earnings until withdrawal. In a 401k plan, a portion of the employee’s wages are paid directly into his or her 401k account. This payment or deferment is also called as "contribution".

401k plans are mainly employer sponsored plans, in which the employer can optionally choose to match part or all of the employee’s contribution by depositing additional amounts in the employee’s 401k account or offer a profit sharing contribution to the plan. There are a number of 401k plans to choose from, one of it is the participant-directed plan. In this type of plan, the employee can select from a set of investment options that are usually an assortment of mutual funds that emphasizes money market investments, stocks, bonds, or a mix of these.

A 401k is said to be an excellent investment vehicle because of the fact that it allows a person to save for retirement. However, there are situations that arise where an individual must cash out his 401k to pay other financial responsibilities. This process is relatively straightforward, but serves as a last resort due to the penalties incurred during this transaction.

In a 401k plan, one of the options includes cashing out the 401k and taking a loan from it. When cashing out the 401k, an individual doesn’t take a percentage of it; he or she takes it all. This may seem like a good option for someone who wants to buy a new car and pay for it in full. However, that person may be charged for penalties, which is usually around 10%.

An individual engaged in this plan can not be charged this penalty fee when accessing his or her retirement at the age of 60. Moreover, 401k contributions are tax sheltered at first. However, the person may be taxed when he or she accesses the money for an early withdrawal.

Having the retirement savings in your hand to be used at your disposal may seem like a good idea, but it is important to think for the long-term. Starters lose money due to the 10% penalty; say for example, you withdraw $20k. After the 10% penalty fee, federal and state taxes, you are left with an average total of $16k; needless to say, you no longer have that money for retirement. This could be bad if you don’t have a backup plan in place as you could be homeless or working until you are 70 to make ends meet.

It is also said that not all employers have the option to cash out 401k early. Most even advice against it. One of the cases that opts an employer to cash out early is when they undergo extreme financial problems or terminal medical conditions. Job switching is also another case. If a person switches job, he or she can leave his or her 401k as is and pay management fees or rollover to an IRA or his/her new company’s 401k plan. However, there is also the option to cash out early. For a person who is at his or her 20s, they do not have a lot of money invested, so they don’t have much to lose.

Is Twitter worth a Billion Dollars?

Twitter's home crowd can be pretty tough. When reports emerged on Sept. 24 that the microblogging service was close to securing $100 million in funding that valued the company at $1 billion, flurries of 140-character jeers flooded the service. "Nutty valuation," wrote @Nicklippis. "I've seen this movie before," twittered @ericclovesbacon. "It starred eToys.com and ended in fail."

True, a billion dollars for a company with virtually no revenue recalls the excesses of the dot-com era. The logic behind Twitter's valuation comes straight from the very same school. It views Twitter less as a single company than as the base for a whole realm of communication and data. "It is an increasingly important platform for business and consumers," says Seth Levine, managing director of Foundry Group.

The bet, quite simply, is that Twitter can become enormous—a rich new source of business intelligence, a channel to reach targeted consumers around the world, and a hothouse for marketing and news startups. The risk, of course, is that Twitter may stall along the way and be remembered in a couple of years as a quirky fad. Or it may end up in the belly of one of its neighbors, Facebook or Google (GOOG).

But for investors eager for a chunk of the next great thing, how many other possibilities are out there? "Once every five years or so, a company comes along that has nearly unlimited potential in terms of worldwide users," says Paul Holland, a general partner at Foundation Capital. "Five years ago, it was Facebook. Today, Twitter appears to be the 'next big thing' in social networking."

With the $100 million in new investments, Twitter has plenty of shopping money to extend its reach. Acquisitions, observers say, are likely to focus on two hot spots: search and marketing intelligence that companies can use to learn more about customers and potential markets. Twitter's funding was reported on Sept. 24 by The Wall Street Journal.

Even though Twitter has only one-tenth the population of Facebook, Twitter Search is becoming a vital source for a minute-to-minute read on what people are thinking about, and how they're responding to products and messages. As Twitter expands, it could provide increasingly detailed analytics about what different groups of people are saying and doing, industry by industry. "There's a perception that Twitter will have a grip on the real-time Web, which connects customers to brands," says Eric Porres, co-founding partner at New York's Underscore Marketing.

Speaking at a conference in Los Angeles this week, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said plans to build up advertising in the service are on hold. Jeremiah Owyang, a partner at Altimeter Group, a California consulting firm, says that it will be difficult to make money on the service itself. Still, he says, Twitter eventually could become a communications protocol, like e-mail, and "fade into the background." In his view, the service could be linked to a series of new sites and services, with everything from travel services to music updates—each one a destination for Twitter-mediated ads. "They could do an advertising network," he says.

The tricky part for Twitter, says one venture capitalist (with no stake in the company), will be to nurture a vibrant and prosperous community linked to its system while, at the same time, making money for itself. If they misplay it, Twitter executives could find themselves competing with application makers and Twitter-based services for the same streams of revenue. "It's a delicate balance," the investor says.

As the Twitter service becomes embedded in more smartphones, the company will also get an ever more detailed look at the movements of millions of users—and what they twitter about on the go. Like New York startup Sense Networks, Twitter could divide its users into behavior tribes and begin to target them with tailored ads and services. "They could single out business travelers," says Sense CEO Greg Skibiski. "They could sell college students. And they'd have a direct channel to the customer."

For now, it's mostly froth and speculation. Facebook and Google, among others, are angling for many of the same treasures. And they've demonstrated an ability to scale their technology — a vulnerability for crash-prone Twitter. But, if Twitter makes good on its promise and manages to become a leading platform of the real-time Web, a billion dollars could end up looking cheap.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/