The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently reported a disturbing case in which promises for “passive income” from Amazon storefronts led to death threats when it posted a poor online review. A victim of this scheme, Jamaal Sanford invested $35,000 into an e-commerce automation service called Ascend Ecom, which he was promised would bring in a substantial amount of passive income for him by managing his Amazon storefront.
Still, when there was nothing to gain but a growing debt over the money he had lent, he took it upon himself to leave his bitter experience of Trustpilot services in writing, through their very own review platform: Trustpilot.
However, things took a dangerous turn when a shadow team claiming to be Russian sent an email to Sanford, revealing his home address and the school that his daughter attended with the caption “Remove the text or we will kill you.” This underlined the dangerous nature of the scams in that people not only lost monetary value but were also subjected to severe threats to their security.
But apparently, the Commission has cracked down on Ascend Ecom and companies of this kind due to, as the commission put it, deceptive marketing that has deceived thousands of customers by promising them “risk-free” passive income opportunities.
There, especially on social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, such schemes promise returns that never materialize. The investors are eventually left with zero money in their bank accounts and mounting debts.
Specifically, Ascend Ecom, in its solicitation materials to would-be investors, fraudulently claimed that it employed secret AI tools in order to identify the products that sell best, ensuring that all investors could not only earn significant returns but buy back their investments if they did not break even within 36 months. Sadly, investors such as Sanford got caught in the trap of debt accumulation with no reprieve from the company.
This case shines light on the darker side of the booming e-commerce industry, where scammers are exploiting both the marketplace that Amazon has established through third-party sellers and the general demand for passive income opportunities. As these kinds of scams continue to multiply, intervening through steps such as this can only be a necessary pre-requisite toward regulation of the companies behind e-commerce automation services.
Victims like Sanford are not only seeking legal assistance but also accountability. So far, hundreds of people have come forward with similar stories regarding losing their savings and thus being incapable of affording even holiday gifts due to their losses. Now that the FTC has pounded on these companies that make use of this deceptive method to lure consumers and endanger them both financially and physically, the warning is evident.
In this case, it’s not a good lesson for somebody to read about investment in automation services or other easy passive income matters online. It is so alluring to benefit hands-free, yet it poses potential risks, which can be very detrimental both to financial stability and personal security. Consumers must do their due diligence, search for independent reviews, and be cautious of any companies that offer guarantees that sound too good to be true.
