Friday, September 30, 2011

ProFlightSimulator - the Scam Lives On

In this newest iteration of Whack-A-Mole, the ProFlightSimulator scam is back.  Now it's fronted by a website called GamerXtreme.  GamerXtreme gives you two scams for the price of one:  Pro Flight Simulator Suite (yes, that's right, Suite) and Flight Simulator Plus.  Um, don't worry, they're identical.  And they're still ripoffs of Flight Gear and its add-ons.  I don't thnk the two scams use duplicate screen shots, but they both contain screen shots stolen from websites of FlightGear and its fans.  You'll recognize every screenshot.

Dan Freeman, the sock puppet that flogged ProFlightSimulator, is flogging PFSSuite.  And FSPlus introduces us to a new sock puppet, Huge Miller.  Yes, that's right:  his first name is "Huge", spelled H-U-G-E.  Either English is not his inventor's native language, or his inventor is just plain stupid, or Huge is a real person and that's his real name and his mama didn't like him.  Hmm - which do you think is more probable?

Remember Ed Dale?  His testimonial is reprinted for PFSSuite (word for word), but his alter ego, Wayne Mayer, is gone.  Oh, both packages have some really beautiful bogus testimonials.  They're almost believable.  And there's no duplication.  Some of the pictures looked like they were harvested from the scam-the-Nigerian-scammer webpages.

And, as with the previous versions of this scam, there's page after page of breathless, in-your-face hype about the products.  Seriously, it's like reading a Ron Popeil script, complete with "NOW how much would you pay?", "But wait, there's more!", "If you order now, we'll give you a bonus", and of course "Satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back."  Don't believe a word of it.

It's still the same scam, mutated and bifurcated.  Don't fall for it.  If you're tempted to buy one of these packages, don't.  Instead, go and download the real thing, the original, the non-ripoff version:  FlightGear.

Also, please tell your friends about this.  Seriously, say something about it on Facebook.  Tweet about it.  Put something on your blog.  Click on the "X" in the upper right-hand corner of the Facebook ad, and report it to FB as "Misleading."  If enough of us do this, eventually it won't be worth "Dan Freeman's" time to continue the charade, and he'll drop it permanently.  Maybe.

3 comments:

Rev Deborah Lipsitz said...

I stumbled across ProFlightSimulator thanks to an ad on Facebook. It looked slick, claims to run on all my machines (except those with the Linux OS), offers "unlimited multi-system licensing," etc. It also looked oddly familiar, since I actually have FlightGear (which does run on Linux as well as Windows and Mac). Indeed, the only difference I can see between the two is the branding.

The one thing it never offers is what is required by the GNU License, a free copy of the source code. That takes it out of the realm of a simple scam, and into software pirating, which is illegal.

Also, they like to raise the prices while you are in the process of trying to purchase. The original price I was told was $49, which then went to $97, then to $175. I suspect they would have gone higher given a few more minutes on their web site, as they author claims he can "end all sale deals on a whim if he chooses." I guess he figures if one is dumb enough to pay for something they could get for free, they'll be dumb enough to pay through the nose for it.

Anonymous said...

have been trying for months to get my money back without much success. Below are communications from the company about getting my money back but with no luck??? As you can see I was told on November 17, 2011 by Lisa A. that I was going to get a refund since I was well within the time frame (60 days money back)???

Date:

2012-01-08 09:12:01

Name:

Richard Augustin

E-mail:

rickaug (at) yahoo (dot) com

Message:

I am submitting a new ticket because I do not have an existing ticket that I previously submitted. Here is the last conversations I had with the other person who doesn't seem to want to answer my questions about my refund after telling me Nov 17th, 2011 that I was going to receive one???


"Date: 2011-11-17 21:54:39

Name: Lisa A

Message:

Richard,


We are sorry that you did not like your purchase.


I will have this ticket number forwarded to the Refunds Department to process your request.


If you need further help, please add a reply to this ticket.


Thanks.


Lisa A

Customer Support

ProFlightSimulator.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 2011-12-09 17:19:39

Name: Richard Augustin

Message:

When do you think I might get my refund refunded to me? It is almost a month now since you said I would be refunded my money back? Thanks!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 2011-12-17 09:50:10

Name: Richard Augustin

Message:

I wrote you last week about when I could expect my money refunded but have not heard a thing from you? I bought this program in good faith that you would live up to your 60 Day Money Back for The ProFlightSimulatorc Program as stated: "ROCK YOUR WORLD" or 100% Money-Back Guarantee Promise. 6o days is in a few weeks and I still don't have a refund of any kind? Please let me know the status of this as soon as you can. Thanks

I would appreciate at least an answer to why I can't seem to get my money back???


Enter message:Enter message
For security reasons, you'll automatically be logged out in 14 minutes, 38 seconds. To avoid losing your message, copy it to a separate document before you are logged out.



More options

•Escalate this dispute to a PayPal claim
•Close this dispute

Back to Resolution Center



Transaction #5XN760479J4298641
-$97.00 USD
11/6/2011 12:41 PST
ClickBank
paypal@clickbank.com
Invoice ID: M24TEJYG

Learn more:
•PayPal protects your purchases
•Tips for online shopping
•Buying safely
•How dispute resolution works

About Us
Contact Us
Legal Agreements
Privacy
Fees
Site Feedback

Copyright © 1999-2012 PayPal. All rights reserved.
Information about FDIC pass-through insurance

Anonymous said...

Post #24

Airsick Passenger
Formerly Tommytailwind
*

Group: New Members
Posts: 1
Joined: 20-January 12



DO NOT PURCHASE PRO FLIGHT SIMULATOR!!!! THESE PEOPLE DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT AND WILL NOT HONOR YOUR REQUEST FOR A REFUND. THE GRAPHICS ARE CRAPPY AND THE SCENERY DISKS HAVE NO INDICATION OF WHAT SCENERY IS BEING LOADED, SO YOU HAVE TO LOAD EVERYTHING, ONE AT A TIME, FROM THE FOUR DVD'S TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY ARE. I HAVE REQUESTED THEIR ATTENTION ON THIS MATTER NUMEROUS TIMES AND AM BEING GIVEN THE RUN AROUND. THEY GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT THE MANUALS ARE PRINTED BOOKS, THEY ARE NOT! THEY ARE PDF FILES. MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIM 2004 IS MUCH BETTER AND A WHOLE LOT CHEAPER! SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED CASH!!