Do US mail-fraud penalties extend to internet fraud?

[n***@gmail.com]

justanswer.com claims to provide medical, legal etc. paid-for
answers from freelancing experts.

The 'samples' of answers to paying questioners looked good.
But they could be ficticious like their flowing letters of praise
from claimed-to-be clients.
So in order to find some potential criticism/exposure by
previous victims, via the internet, I did a google for:
"justanswer.com/legal"+scam

But all I got was justanswer.com's own self promotion.
And that not only for the first 10 hits.
I fetch hits 100-110, 220-230, 440-450....etc.
It's ALL justanswer.com's own self promotion!

How would you test this scheme, without being a foolish
Nigerian scam victim?

== TIA.

[richard]

Post by n***@gmail.com
justanswer.com claims to provide medical, legal etc. paid-for
answers from freelancing experts.
The 'samples' of answers to paying questioners looked good.
But they could be ficticious like their flowing letters of praise
from claimed-to-be clients.
So in order to find some potential criticism/exposure by
"justanswer.com/legal"+scam
But all I got was justanswer.com's own self promotion.
And that not only for the first 10 hits.
I fetch hits 100-110, 220-230, 440-450....etc.
It's ALL justanswer.com's own self promotion!
How would you test this scheme, without being a foolish
Nigerian scam victim?
== TIA.

to answer the subject question, no.
there are other laws, governed by the FTC that deal with the internet scams
and frauds.
if you feel a web site is practicing fraud, write to the FTC. They will
investigate and prosecute if need be.
but there are no laws concerning "self promotion". However, if you feel
that the site is giving legal advice without that writer being an actual
attorney, then you would need to be able to prove that is the case.

as I understand it, when you have a question, and are willing to pay for an
answer, then justanswer.com will put you in contact with a person who can
answer your question. You are then under a contract with that person.
Mostly, conversations are handled by email or may not necessarily show up
on preserved pages.

[n***@gmail.com]

Post by richard

Post by n***@gmail.com
justanswer.com claims to provide medical, legal etc. paid-for
answers from freelancing experts.
The 'samples' of answers to paying questioners looked good.
But they could be ficticious like their flowing letters of praise
from claimed-to-be clients.
So in order to find some potential criticism/exposure by
"justanswer.com/legal"+scam
But all I got was justanswer.com's own self promotion.
And that not only for the first 10 hits.
I fetch hits 100-110, 220-230, 440-450....etc.
It's ALL justanswer.com's own self promotion!
How would you test this scheme, without being a foolish
Nigerian scam victim?
== TIA.

to answer the subject question, no.
there are other laws, governed by the FTC that deal with the internet scams
and frauds.
if you feel a web site is practicing fraud, write to the FTC. They will
investigate and prosecute if need be.
but there are no laws concerning "self promotion". However, if you feel
that the site is giving legal advice without that writer being an actual
attorney, then you would need to be able to prove that is the case.
as I understand it, when you have a question, and are willing to pay for an
answer, then justanswer.com will put you in contact with a person who can
answer your question. You are then under a contract with that person.
Mostly, conversations are handled by email or may not necessarily show up
on preserved pages.

AFAIK you are forbidden to contact the answerer.
And if you say the answer is no good, they don't pay the answerer,
so they take all the money themselves.

The potential fraud is explained in my other post.

[l***@sayslaw.net]

Post by n***@gmail.com
justanswer.com claims to provide medical, legal etc. paid-for
answers from freelancing experts.
..........
to find some potential criticism/exposure by
"justanswer.com/legal"+scam
But all I got was justanswer.com's own self promotion.
And that not only for the first 10 hits.

You formulated your search in a dumb way. You ought have
known that the .com 'confuses' Google. Try a Google and/or Bing
and/or Yahoo search for justanswer+scam and you will not get only
justanswer.com self-promotion.

Post by n***@gmail.com
How would you test this scheme, without being a foolish
Nigerian scam victim?

What are you trying to test? Whether the information
offered to you is both expert and basically correct? Or whether
those operating the site are doing so to get access to your credit
card or even better (for them) to your ATM card or bank account? Or
for some other purpose?

And even if it is not entirely a scam because an answer to
your question might be confirmable as correct or mostly that and you
will not be charged more than whatever is the sum you think you agreed
to pay, how would you confirm the bona fides and related expertise of
the answerer and that paying for whatever claimed answer that was
suggested to you provided you with more information than obtaining
that and maybe even more and better information from other sources?

[n***@gmail.com]

Post by l***@sayslaw.net

Post by n***@gmail.com
justanswer.com claims to provide medical, legal etc. paid-for
answers from freelancing experts.
..........
to find some potential criticism/exposure by
"justanswer.com/legal"+scam
But all I got was justanswer.com's own self promotion.
And that not only for the first 10 hits.

You formulated your search in a dumb way. You ought have
known that the .com 'confuses' Google. Try a Google and/or Bing
and/or Yahoo search for justanswer+scam and you will not get only
justanswer.com self-promotion.

OK

Post by l***@sayslaw.net

Post by n***@gmail.com
How would you test this scheme, without being a foolish
Nigerian scam victim?

What are you trying to test? Whether the information
offered to you is both expert and basically correct? Or whether
those operating the site are doing so to get access to your credit
card or even better (for them) to your ATM card or bank account?
Or for some other purpose?
And even if it is not entirely a scam because an answer to
your question might be confirmable as correct or mostly that and you
will not be charged more than whatever is the sum you think you agreed
to pay, how would you confirm the bona fides and related expertise of
the answerer and that paying for whatever claimed answer that was
suggested to you provided you with more information than obtaining
that and maybe even more and better information from other sources?

You are scamable.
You have to pay before you evaluate the product.
The 'samples' and 'quoted' prices represent VERY good value.
But the delivered product likely has much less value per $,
and you could never prove that 'they sold you underweight'.

The [potential] fraud is in presenting non-typical samples.
It is [potentially] the old trick of burying a few gold nuggets in
the land, to be sold as gold-bearing land.

In cases like that, I see no better method than getting recomendations
from others. Or proceeding with incremental payments.

[tim....]

Post by n***@gmail.com

Post by l***@sayslaw.net

Post by n***@gmail.com
justanswer.com claims to provide medical, legal etc. paid-for
answers from freelancing experts.
..........
to find some potential criticism/exposure by
"justanswer.com/legal"+scam
But all I got was justanswer.com's own self promotion.
And that not only for the first 10 hits.

You formulated your search in a dumb way. You ought have
known that the .com 'confuses' Google. Try a Google and/or Bing
and/or Yahoo search for justanswer+scam and you will not get only
justanswer.com self-promotion.

OK

Post by l***@sayslaw.net

Post by n***@gmail.com
How would you test this scheme, without being a foolish
Nigerian scam victim?

What are you trying to test? Whether the information
offered to you is both expert and basically correct? Or whether
those operating the site are doing so to get access to your credit
card or even better (for them) to your ATM card or bank account?
Or for some other purpose?
And even if it is not entirely a scam because an answer to
your question might be confirmable as correct or mostly that and you
will not be charged more than whatever is the sum you think you agreed
to pay, how would you confirm the bona fides and related expertise of
the answerer and that paying for whatever claimed answer that was
suggested to you provided you with more information than obtaining
that and maybe even more and better information from other sources?

You are scamable.
You have to pay before you evaluate the product.
The 'samples' and 'quoted' prices represent VERY good value.
But the delivered product likely has much less value per $,
and you could never prove that 'they sold you underweight'.
The [potential] fraud is in presenting non-typical samples.
It is [potentially] the old trick of burying a few gold nuggets in
the land, to be sold as gold-bearing land.
In cases like that, I see no better method than getting recomendations
from others.

I had assumed that was what the was googling for (and failed to find)

tim