My Journey into the Rabbit Hole of Scammers, Scoundrels, ALOA Security Professionals Association & Britney Spears? Part #3 - Truth in Advertising

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Please Read Part #2 if you haven't already - Click Here

Flying Fickle Finger of Fate

According to the Federal Trade Commission regarding Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices we find the following.

Deceptive Acts or Practices
An act or practice is deceptive where -
• A representation, omission, or practice misleads or is likely to mislead the consumer;
• A consumer’s interpretation of the representation, omission, or practice is considered reasonable under the circumstances; and
• The misleading representation, omission, or practice is material.

Some acts or practices may violate both the FTC Act and other federal or state laws. If a possible violation of the FTC Act is found, the examiner should consider whether other statutory or regulatory violations have occurred. Many statutes forbid unfair and deceptive acts and practices, others use the terms "false and fraudulent" or "misleading".

Originally, I was going to title Part #3 of our journey - The FTC & Banjoman15, Tuneman & Screamingfinger, but I wasn't sure I could explain what a ScreamingFinger was to the reader without laughing out loud. In Part #2, we introduced Rain Barclift, General Manager of L&L Lead Service. Rain struck me as a Paul Finch type from the movie American Pie. With a name like Rain Barclift, I was expecting to find him at a local country club with an air of sophistication around him. Sadly, things didn't turn out this way as I took another turn down the rabbit hole.

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Rain Barclift, General Manager L&L Lead Services

Paul Finch, American Pie the movie

During our travels in Part #1 & 2 we pretty much come to the conclusion that parties mentioned are all connected to each other as well as all the company names referenced. In short, the finger is pointing at them and it isn't so much the screamingfinger as much as the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate. The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate is an award, saluting actual dubious achievements by the government or famous people. Dubious, what a word! Just the way that it sounds and rolls off your tongue makes you think of something special, but it is more of the opposite. According to Websters Dictionary the Synonyms for dubious are, debatable, disputable, dodgy, doubtable, dubious, dubitable, equivocal, fishy, problematic, queer, questionable, shady, shaky, 

Rain Barclift has a name so unique that the odds of finding someone on YouTube using the name "Rain B" and having videos which are directly related to 911 Locksmith or any locksmiths service would be virtually impossible. But sure enough we see a YouTube channel for Rain "B", and we already have seen his coworkers who go by the names, Jessica K, and Liz T, so why not Rain B? 

In the darkness of the rabbit hole we find glowing testimonials from consumers speaking about services they received from a locksmith company. These appear to be directly connected to L&L Lead Service by nature of the fact that the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate is pointing to how they all seem to be connected is some way. In Rain B's YouTube channel there are videos for Locksmith Charlotte, Locksmiths Little Rock,  Locksmith Greenville, Locksmith El Paso and then there is a guy who calls himself "George Willingham".

Georgie Boy is giving a shout out testimonial to "Mark" praising him for "great work" on the door in his home. George also states he found Mark on www.LocksmithLocal.net and sure enough, Rain B's video is on their webpage. Can you say Dubious? If we look back at www.911locksmithservices.com we find another testimonial from Georgie Boy, a "customer" no less. He sure does get around and needs a lot of lock work on that house of his, ya think?

www.youtube.com/channel/UCPtzcG4P5GwaRlJt2lbgdxQ/videos

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www.locksmithlocal.net

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www.911locksmithservices.com

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BanjoMan
Will the real George Willingham please stand up!?!? Georgie Boy is not who he claims to be. He is a paid "actor" so to speak. A guy who for $5 (gig) will do things for you like create real looking testimonials.

George Willingham is otherwise known as "Banjoman15" on www.fiver.com which was founded by Micha Kaufman of New York. Fiverr is a really cool website and there are some very creative opportunity's to be found there. We find in our journey Banjoman15, AKA George Willingham whose real name is "Chuck" from best I can tell and he appears to be popular!

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Tuneman
As we examine more of what "Rain B" is sharing on his YouTube channel we find "Tuneman" representing a customer testimonial for /www.locksmithgreenville.net/testimonials

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SreamingFinger
If all this is not enough, we finally come to learn just what is a "ScreamingFinger"! It is yet another Fiverr actor for hire, however he is simply providing a paid advertisement for www.locksmithsincharlottenc.net.& http://www.locksmithgreenville.net. However, "Brian" as he is identified in the video is listed as being the General Manager. Hmmm, B-RIAN & RAIN-B.....very interesting!!

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Unfair and deceptive acts or practices in commerce

Article by Tony Janish  
Bogus testimonials and reviews violate Federal Trade Commission guidelines (effective Dec. 1, 2009) that limit what can be done with endorsements and testimonials. The FTC Act prohibits unfair or deceptive advertising in any medium. Advertising must tell the truth and not mislead consumers. A claim can be misleading if relevant information is left out or if the claim implies something that’s not true. Testimonials and endorsements must reflect the typical experiences of consumers, unless the ad clearly and conspicuously states otherwise. A statement that not all consumers will get the same results is not enough to qualify a claim. Testimonials and endorsements can’t be used to make a claim that the advertiser itself cannot substantiate. Connections between an endorser and the company that are unclear or unexpected to a customer must be disclosed, whether they have to do with a financial arrangement (aka $5) for a favorable endorsement, a position with the company, or stock ownership.

What Constitutes False Advertising In The United States?

Article by Aaron Kelly
“a means of advertisement other than labeling, which is misleading in a material respect; and in determining whether an advertisement is misleading, there shall be taken into account (among other things) not only representations made or suggested by statement, word, design, device, sound, or any combination thereof, but also the extent to which the advertisement fails to reveal facts material in the light of such representations or material with respect to consequences which may result from the use of the commodity to which the advertisement relates under the conditions prescribed in said advertisement, or under such conditions as are customary or usual.”

Lastly, we regularly see people utilizing paid testimonials from fiverr.  Be careful.  While you may think that your properly disclosed “paid” video testimonial from a “real” person on fiverr is compliant, be warned that unless the person has actually used the product in question you’re just toeing that line.  A testimonial from a person who is not actually a bona fide user of the product, but is making claims about it, may land both you and that person in trouble.  It is, however, a legal gray area if the person is a bona fide, actual user, of the product and is making statements about their actual experiences of the product (so long as you disclose this fact).  Nonetheless, you should still only use actual users of the product who have signed testimonial affidavits and where you have made proper disclosures.

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Well our journey in rabbit hole for Part #3 is over and we will soon be departing into Part #4 and we may find more than a ScreamingFinger or a Flying Fickle Finger of Fate. I wonder if the locksmiths are "giving their finger" to those Locksmiths You Can Trust, in Part #1 of this journey. 

Dubious, as Artie Johnson would say.....Very interesting!

Part #4 Coming Soon!
My Journey into the Rabbit Hole of Scammers, Scoundrels, ALOA Security Professionals Association & Britney Spears? Part #4 - The House of Cards