Sometime around 1994 give or take a year or two, I fell hook, line, and sinker for Mr Lapre's late night "Making Money" infomercial selling an information package for $39.95(originally $79.95) of the same name.
In this infomercial Don told the viewer how by placing 100's of "tiny classified ads" in newspapers in his one-bedroom apartment he made over $50,000 a week. He and his company, the now defunct New Strategies, over and over again suggested that by simply following Mr. Lapre's words of wisdom for starting a business, $50,000 or more a month could easily be made by anyone.
This sounded extremely appealing to me, barely making ends meet at a measly $8.50/hour, slaving away cooking in a hot kitchen. Hey, if anyone could make a minimum of $50,000 a week, than I was certain I could make at least $50,000 a year. So away I went and dialed the 1-800 number to order the Making Money package with $39.95 US of my hard earned dollars. A small price to pay for a jump start to my road to wealth and happiness. Well, so I thought anyways.
Shortly after receiving Mr. Lapre's "Making Money" package I received a phone call from a salesperson representing New Strategies. Now, all I had to do to be wealthy like Don Lapre and his army of followers was to purchase just one or several 1-900 numbers(psychic, dating, entertainment, and chat). Since I'd personally seen the most classified ads for 1-900 dating lines, I thought that I'd make the most money by owning and promoting one. Easy, huh? I racked up several hundred dollars that I didn't have on my Visa to be the proud new owner of a dating 1-900 number.
I than went on to spend an untold amount of money(I can't remember the exact amount anymore but I am sure it was a few hundred dollars) on "tiny classified ads" in several newspapers. "How much money did you make?", you ask. Thousands of dollars? Oh, too much..."After all you were just a newbie so perhaps you just made a few hundred dollars." Well, no my friend, not even hundreds of dollars or any number with three digits for that matter. Once again my memory is wavering, but if I think I made not more than 20 bucks. That convincing and likable Don Lapre scammed me out of hundreds of dollars, never to be seen again. My naivety and desire to get out of poverty caused me to fall for a Get Rich Quick Scheme.
What have I learned from this hard lesson on scams? Tomorrow I will share with you some ways to avoid becoming the next victim of a Get Quick Rich Scheme. Back than, if I had known and practiced a few simple things I very well might not have fallen for Mr. Lapre's empty promises of prosperity.
1 comments:
i tom fiorillo made 10 thousand dollars a week every friday i got my check i am sick and tired of people knocking don lapre i just wish he took credit cards and checks by phone iwould have made more money in the psychic bussiness i have other friend who did psychiclines with don and they made plenty of money ps i was on his show and gave a testimonial
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