Why We Fall for Obvious Red Flags- Course Scam Gurus?
The lack of a compassionate home, school, and community environment lead us in adulthood to the comforting arms of overnight rags-to-riches storytellers with no tangible proof.
“These are dark times, there is no denying. Our world has faced no greater threat than it does today.” - Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour
Lately, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit, and (even) Quora have been buzzing about the ‘rise and fall’ of a digital marketer/ freelancer/ ‘masterclass’ course seller guru with a #MillionaireMindset. [1]
One who promises their target audiences, usually between 18-24 y/o, “financial freedom in just 90 days” if they buy their courses. How? By including in the modules, curated at painfully low prices, a mélange of in-demand skills, like-
· Content & Copywriting
· Graphic & Web Design
· Digital & Social Media Marketing
· Virtual Assistant
· Sales Funnels
· Consulting
These skills are, apparently, “worth” (no one knows how they were evaluated, and yes, the language is ambiguous) INR 77K+ but are being ‘taught’ at around INR 11K. That’s just the half of it. This would further help the students, they claim, earn INR 50K- 1L+ “per” and “every” month by “working part-time or full-time as a freelancer”!
Gentle reminder- full-time creative professionals in any industry, with legit credentials- relevant degrees and/or work ex- toil for years, even a decade, before reaching this pay band. And freelancers, especially ones just starting out, generally do not have linear and consistent growth curves.
That is integrated in these claims too, if not directly addressed, by spinning it as “be your own BOSS and choose who you work with on your own terms”. Then, when someone signs up, the guru ghosts them! Or worse, ‘teaches’ one-click Google Search results! Source- NOT trust-me-bro. [2]
They promise democratic, non-judgemental, and affordable entry barriers. No previous experience or skills required. Not even portfolios or resumes- rather, the course will teach how to make it- to “attract international clients”.
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This is sold in the competitive Indian landscape of MBA degrees, Ivy League online certification courses, and growing un(/der)employment. Degrees and courses which cost the middle class anywhere between education loans, that take time, interest, and emotional toll to pay off, and good ol’ land sales and home mortgages. Or at least, a lion’s share of one’s savings.
Yes, I am thinking of that one cough Mr. Ponzi cough, too. But I digress. This isn't another exposé. Enough controversy has been sparked about the legitimacy of these gurus’ authority, and the overall ethics of it. So, I’ll give that a rest. What I want to explore instead is why we continue to fall for them.
In this series I will delve into the various individual and socio-economic factors that motivate us to want to "get rich quick", over the next 4-5 weeks. Meanwhile, if you have any reasons to add, let me know in the comments.
[2] Gathered from Reddit thread: Reality of Saheli Chatterjee's Scammy Business Empire : r/InstaCelebsGossip
Content Marketing Specialist by Day, Writer by Night.
2wConsider myself glued to this series. I’ve been sitting through 4 hours of meetings per week with a self-proclaimed “marketing guru” because the person responsible for an entire company relies on fairy tales and fluff words. The target audience for these gurus extends well beyond adolescent, unfortunately.
Regulatory Content Compliance | Amazon Prime Videos
2wEagerly waiting for more pieces to come up.🙌
Content Strategist | Marketing Content Writer For 5+ Years | Content Coach | SaaS | Ed Tech
2wNilanjan Das 🙂↕️🤌
Content Strategist | Marketing Content Writer For 5+ Years | Content Coach | SaaS | Ed Tech
2wWaiting for the next edition already! 🙂↕️ Even I am planning a fun post around this with a designer friend.
Content Strategist and Head of Content @Pipeline Velocity | Storyteller for Brands
2wDamn! Kobiguru must be rolling in his (proverbial) grave, seeing the "business acumen" of his countrymen. Chitto Jetha Bhoyshunno and all that