This morning while working on one of my new projects for this site, I stumbled across an interesting site. The site is called FacebookChatMLM.com and they embed a copy of Facebook’s homepage with a screencast embeded below the login form. It’s currently set up through simple domain forwarding but their homepage configuration is not the only thing sketchy about this application.

The application is essentially your basic pyramid scheme. In order to begin, you register for the application and then pay $6 using your PayPal account (as explained in the screencast below). You then invite your friends who do the exact same thing. The only problem with this system (well, aside from their sketchy homepage configuration)? It completely violates Facebook’s terms of service. On Facebook you are not allowed to incentivize users to invite their friends, and generating some “quick cash” is definitely an incentive. Shawn Pringle and Scott Messina, the clever developers behind this application (or so the video says), claim that it’s a quick way to riches, but ultimately they’ve developed the quickest system for having an application shut down.

If you read the comments on the application page, it’s pretty clear that the system isn’t working for those that have already signed up. So far, just under 2,000 people have registered for the application. I have no idea how many of those users have been scammed out of their 6 bucks but there’s no way the people that have spent their money are going to get it back. Not only were the developers of this application using spam techniques within their application but they are also spamming Twitter with thinks to the application.

Talk about social media spammers! Word to the wise: if you are looking to “get rich quick” you may want to go searching for the next gold rush because “ChatToText” surely isn’t it. I’m giving this application no more then 6 hours before they are off the platform and the developers behind this application less than 24 hour before they receive a letter from Facebook’s lawyers.