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Autosurf

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An autosurf is a type of online advertising program. Autosurfs are traffic exchanges that automatically rotate advertised websites in one's Internet browser. They are capable of bringing a large amount of traffic to the advertised websites. Members earn credits for each site that they view, which can then be spent to advertise members' sites by adding them to the autosurf rotation. Sites may additionally be added by external advertisers who pay the autosurf operators.

Autosurfs differ from manual traffic exchanges in that the site rotation is automatic; an ad viewer need not respond or even view the sites. Many autosurfs also pay their viewers a percentage or hourly commission to view the advertised sites; this concept can be likened to a paid to surf site. However, a large number of autosurfs are investment autosurfs: to earn money surfing, members must pay a fee and are then promised a certain return on their fee. The "investment" is claimed to be (usually disguised as) a membership or upgraded membership fee and the "return", a per-site commission. There is a strong possibility that most investment autosurfs are Ponzi schemes, and thus breaking the law and/or deceiving their users; whereas paid to surf sites usually had a viable business model where advertisers would pay for the site to be viewed but not earn money in return.

Concept

Autosurfing is in some ways similar to the concept of advertising on television. Advertising companies pay large amounts of money to TV stations to run commercials, and in return TV viewers may watch programs for free, in exchange for commercial breaks during programs.

In comparison, autosurfers are paid to view pure advertising (that is, advertisers' websites) for a certain amount of time (usually less than 30 seconds). Interested viewers can pause the surf timer or open any site in a new window, giving themselves more time to peruse an ad. If the viewer is not interested and does nothing, the surf timer will simply restart after the specified period of time and a new site will be loaded into the browser.

One flaw in the concept from an effective advertising standpoint is that the viewer need not actually watch the rotation. Most sites contain code to re-maximize the web browser window every time the page rotates, preventing the viewer from using their computer effectively, but an autosurfer can walk away from the computer, or disable the relevant script actions in the browser. The surf rotation requires no feedbacks of any kind; in contrast to manual surfs, paid to read email or paid to click site.

Benefits

Autosurfing allows members to promote websites of their own choice, according to a system of credits earned by surfing. Members usually earn credits in a fixed ratio to the number of sites they view; for example, for each 4 sites a member views, he or she may earn 3 credits, which can then be allocated the member's own site, which will cause three other members of the autosurf to visit the site at some point in the future. Of course, as the member may not actually be viewing those 4 sites, the 3 visitors to his site may also not be viewing the member's site but just logging a hit from their IP address.

Member-promoted websites may or may not be their own websites. If not, they are most often the members' referral page at another autosurf or an online money-making program. This is because most autosurfs are structured as pyramid schemes - members may earn a commission for each site that their referrals view, and are therefore encouraged to build a downline; the most obvious place to advertise is on other autosurfs. Also, most members do not have their own sites.

In the case of investment autosurfs, members either pay a fee to join and/or to upgrade their account level. This fee can usually vary from a few cents to thousands of dollars, and the minimum and maximum is set by the site operator; as such it is more like an investment because the member chooses how much to risk. The program then offers a commission based on the member's account level for viewing a minimum number of sites, for example, for a period of X days, every day that the member views Y sites, Z% of the upgrade fee will be credited and can be withdrawn from the site. The product of Z% and X is always over 100% to ensure that the member makes a profit. Members also have even more incentive to build a downline because further commissions are received based on the amount of money that referred members put in or earn.

As autosurfs are run from websites, online payment processors are used for members to upgrade and withdraw their profits. The most common processor until February 2006 was StormPay, but after it converted to an auction site, the most common processor is now e-gold. The investment autosurf concept is against PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy[1], however, so sites using PayPal are few and usually do not last long before PayPal blocks their account.

Many people have used autosurfs to earn extra income, sometimes up to hundreds of dollars daily. In this regard, they are similar to HYIPs that can give a very high return.

Controversy

A large amount of controversy is concentrated over whether autosurfs are inherently structured as Ponzi schemes. Traffic-only autosurfs that involve no monetary transactions can also be Ponzis if more credits are earned than page views available; older members are promised a certain number of website hits which can only be fulfilled by newer members joining, because when older members view sites, using up others' credits, they earn more credits.

On the other hand, autosurfs which require an investment and promise to pay a profit must, to not be a Ponzi, have other sources of income which can yield the high percentages they offer. Therefore, they often come under attack for failing to reveal their income sources or not registering with the proper authorities as a legitimate investment company. Ponzi schemes will end when no new investors are found, and it follows that autosurf sites have rather short lifespans, existing from one week to a few years depending on the popularity and "investment plans" offered. Also, if one pays a fee to join and receives commission for viewing ads, then it makes no sense that those who "invest" a higher amount are paid a higher amount for viewing the same number of sites a day.

Besides preventing these investment sites from using its services, PayPal has also blocked the accounts of "legitimate" traffic exchanges and autosurfs which do not promise a profit on investments.[2]. Many maintain that this is a mistake on PayPal's part, although PayPal is free to restrict otherwise legal programs.

12DailyPro

12DailyPro was one of the largest autosurfs in 2005. Promising a return of 12% daily for 12 days (44% profit), funds invested went into the millions. In February of 2006, autosurfs reached the United States national news when funds of members of 12DailyPro were frozen by payment processor StormPay [3].

Rather than focus entirely on StormPay, news organizations such as ABC4 (Utah) and WTOC (Georgia) investigated the autosurf itself. In a statement released by the Georgia Government Consumer Protection Agency titled "Pyramid Schemes Never Die; Just Evolve", 12DailyPro was closely scrutinized. Though it is the FBI's policy not to reveal whether or not an investigation is pending, StormPay claimed in a statement that they were indeed working with the government. Media calls to 12DailyPro owner Charis Johnson went unanswered.

Later in February, 12DailyPro was given a cease and desist order by the SEC, who claimed that 95% of the program's funds came from new members. On February 28, the SEC filed a proposed stipulation, agreed to by the attorney for Claris Johnson, LifeClicks, and 12DailyPro, that these parties would turn over all assets and records to a permanent legal receiver. [4]

Current situation

After the demise of 12DailyPro, many other autosurfs collapsed as well; this is widely assumed to be because they invested member funds into 12DailyPro, causing a domino effect. Subsequently, autosurfs have become less popular and are more widely believed to be ponzi schemes. However, many still autosurf, either refusing to accept that they are ponzi structured, or knowingly using this to profit (through attracting new investors to prolong the life of the program). Also, some autosurfs have begun to focus on the advertising side of their business model, by, for example, converting to manual surf or by paying members bonuses that are not dependent upon the advertising fee. They have introduced disclaimers on their sites saying that purchases are solely for advertising, earnings are payments for viewing advertising and that there is no guarantee of earnings. However, disclaimers do not override the law and thus do not legalize an otherwise fraudulent program.

The whereabouts of money invested in 12DailyPro are currently unknown. Believed to be approximately $50 million, the majority was last held by StormPay and many believe they will never be recovered. StormPay has sent numerous emails to clients trying to prevent them from recovering their funds. It is unknown if a government investigation will be pursued against StormPay for their role in this matter.

External links

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