A few days ago I received the following email:
Hi my name is Jeff and I came across your page http://hype-free.blogspot.com/2007/03/month-of-php-bugs-started.html which would be great for a text link to my client, a web host certifier.
What I am looking for is a small text link, web hosting, and if you keep it for at least a year, I will pay you $40 up front by check or pay pal. Which would you prefer?
Jeff Watson
Marketing Manager
Fortitude Hosting
www.fortitudehosting.com
At first I thought “this is too good to be true! why are they asking for a link only from a specified post and not from all the posts?” but the thought crossed my mind that maybe, just maybe, I will get some money for blogging for more than two years now.
I looked at their page and it seemed reasonably well put together, but I couldn’t find reviews about their services. A little searching on domaintools seemed to indicate that they are a reseller for ipower.com. Searching for ipower reviews I found a lot of negative comments (although I’m not all that sure which sources are reliable in the web hosting review world). Finally, I did an other search with “fortitudehosting” and found this email thread. I’m now certain that this is a scam, although not really sure what kind of scam (probably a “money in advance” one).
Stay clear of them!
Here are some quotes from the email thread which indicate that the site is dubious:
Looking at his own web page, I suspect it’s a crock of shit. They offer three hosting plans, the ONLY difference between which is the number of
FTP accounts allowed, rather than increased bandwidth or and/or disk space? Really? FTP ACCOUNTS? Plus, the “more” buttons all go to 404.
Seconded. I’ve gotten them, too, and I haven’t done anything to my page in 3 years.
Did you read the paragraph on top of that chart?
“Consectetuer in, use a passage of Lorem Ipsum, you need to be sure
there isn’t anything embarrassing hidden in the middle of text.has been
the industry’s standard evatuate ever since the 1500s, when an unknown
printer took a galley of type and scrambled.”
2 responses to “fortitudehosting – an other “get rich quick scheme””
Hi, hope you don't mind me commenting?
I got this email just now:
"My name is Thomas Eaton. I'd like to purchase advertising on one of your pages; I'd be able to pay you for the year, upfront and in full through PayPal.
You can contact me at [email protected] for more details.
Thanks! Kind regards, Thomas Eaton
Customer Service Rep
Fortitude Hosting"
…and I'm thinking, Why!? and How much? So I went searching just like you and came to the same conclusion: Shyte. and if it is $40, it's not worth it.
cheers
ian
Just got this a couple days ago. Seems customized for a particular webpage but doesn't indicate what their "similar business" is supposed to be.
If it is only for $40, it isn't worth the time to do anything with it, and you can't be sure what is on the other end, legitimate or site-infection website.