Originally Syndicated on September 17, 2024 @ 11:45 pm
What Happened?
Recession Proof Blueprint, a company that promotes itself as a financial education platform designed to help people thrive during economic downturns, has recently come under fire for allegedly concealing its shady past. Reports have surfaced accusing the company of misleading marketing tactics, questionable business practices, and potential financial fraud. Instead of addressing these concerns transparently, Recession Proof Blueprint has reportedly engaged in aggressive efforts to suppress damaging news.
From leveraging online reputation management services to filing legal complaints against critics, the company appears determined to bury negative information that could tarnish its image. Former customers and business associates have raised serious complaints, including accusations of false promises, mismanagement of funds, and inadequate support. These efforts to silence critics and manipulate the narrative raise concerns about the company’s ethics and legitimacy, especially in an industry where trust and transparency are critical to success.
Despite these attempts to hide its controversial past, ongoing investigations and whistleblower accounts continue to reveal troubling details about Recession Proof Blueprint’s operations. The company’s struggle to manage its reputation highlights the difficulties businesses face when trying to censor the internet in an era where transparency is increasingly demanded by consumers and regulators alike.
Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)
Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.
To accomplish this, we utilize the OSINT Tool provided by FakeDMCA.com and the Lumen API for Researchers, courtesy of the Lumen Database.
FakeDMCA.com is the work of an independent team of research students and cybersecurity professionals, developed under Project UnCensor. Their OSINT Tool, designed to uncover and analyze takedown notices, represents a significant step forward in combating these abusive practices. It has become a valuable resource, increasingly relied upon by journalists and law enforcement agencies across the United States.
Lumen, on the other hand, is an independent research initiative dedicated to studying takedown notices and other legal demands related to online content removal. The project, which operates under the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, plays a crucial role in tracking and understanding the broader implications of such requests.
By investigating the fake DMCA takedown attempts, we hope to shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how Recession Proof Blueprint and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking them to allegations of fraud, tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking…
List of Fake Copyright Notices for Recession Proof Blueprint
| Number of Fake DMCA Notice(s) | 1 |
| Lumen Database Notice(s) | https://lumendatabase.org/notices/44484766 |
| Sender(s) | Jerry Richardson on behalf of Richardson Media Inc. |
| Date(s) | September 09, 2024 |
| Fake Link(s) Used by Scammers | https://timesofnewyork.org/2019/09/09/recessionproofblueprints-com-reviews/ |
| Original Link(s) Targeted | https://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/recessionproofblueprints.com/ |
Evidence and Screenshots
Only Recession Proof Blueprint Benefit from this crime.
Since the fake copyright takedown notices were designed to remove negative content for Recession Proof Blueprint from Google, we assume Recession Proof Blueprint or someone associated with Recession Proof Blueprint is behind this scam. It is often a fly-by-night Online Reputation agency working on behalf of Recession Proof Blueprint. In this case, Recession Proof Blueprint, at best, will be an “accomplice” or an “accessory” to the crime. The specific laws may vary depending on the jurisdiction. Still, the legal principle generally holds that if you actively participate in planning, encouraging, or facilitating a crime, you can be charged with it, even if you did not personally commit it.
So, who tf is Recession Proof Blueprint?
Recession Proof Blueprint is a company that offers financial education and mentoring programs, claiming to teach individuals how to achieve financial independence, particularly during economic downturns. The business is marketed as a solution for people looking to create sustainable wealth through various investment strategies, business opportunities, and financial tools. However, despite its positive branding, Recession Proof Blueprint has faced significant criticism and allegations of unethical practices.
Why Is Recession Proof Blueprint Trying to Censor the Internet?
Recession Proof Blueprint appears to be attempting to censor the internet to protect its reputation from the growing volume of negative reviews, complaints, and accusations regarding its business practices. The company has been linked to a series of concerns involving misleading advertising, financial mismanagement, and customer dissatisfaction. By censoring or suppressing critical information online, the company likely aims to prevent potential customers from being discouraged by negative feedback, which could affect its sales and public image.
The company has reportedly used various tactics to manage its reputation, including issuing legal threats, employing online reputation management services, and attempting to remove negative reviews or complaints from forums and websites. This effort to control the narrative is likely a response to the widespread dissatisfaction voiced by former customers who felt misled or taken advantage of by the company.
Major Concerns, Complaints, and Accusations Against Recession Proof Blueprint
Recession Proof Blueprint has been the subject of numerous complaints, ranging from unethical business practices to concerns over financial transparency. Here are the major issues that have been raised against the company:
1. Misleading Marketing and False Promises
One of the most common complaints about Recession Proof Blueprint is that its marketing makes promises that are not delivered in practice. Customers have reported that the company promises guaranteed results, financial independence, or a quick path to wealth, but many find that the actual content and strategies provided fall short of these lofty claims.
- Unrealistic expectations: According to several reviews and complaints, the company’s promotional materials create the impression that customers can achieve significant financial success easily, but once enrolled, they discover that the strategies are either basic or impractical for their situations.
2. High Fees and Questionable Value
Many customers have expressed frustration over the high fees charged by Recession Proof Blueprint for access to its financial education programs. Several complaints indicate that the value of the information provided is not worth the cost, and customers feel that they have been overcharged for services that do not meet expectations.
- Excessive costs: Numerous reviews point out that the company charges large sums of money upfront, with limited refund options, leaving customers financially strained after investing in the program. Some have accused the company of using high-pressure sales tactics to convince them to purchase costly packages.
3. Lack of Transparency and Refund Issues
Customers have also raised concerns about the company’s lack of transparency, particularly when it comes to refund policies and service details. Many have reported that when they attempt to request refunds or clarify the terms of the services, they encounter resistance or receive inadequate customer support.
- Refund complaints: The Fairshake complaint forum includes testimonies from customers who were unable to get refunds despite dissatisfaction with the program. These refund requests are often met with delays, evasive responses, or outright refusals, leading to frustration and financial loss.
4. Customer Service Problems
In addition to refund issues, many customers have complained about poor customer service from Recession Proof Blueprint. Complaints mention long response times, lack of helpful support, and difficulty reaching company representatives to resolve issues.
- Lack of support: Multiple reviews indicate that once customers have paid for the program, the level of service drops significantly, with limited assistance or guidance available when needed.
5. Reputation Management and Censorship Efforts
Recession Proof Blueprint has also been accused of attempting to suppress negative reviews and complaints by hiring reputation management services to bury critical content. The company may also use legal intimidation tactics to prevent dissatisfied customers from sharing their experiences online, thus manipulating its public image.
- Review manipulation: Some reports suggest that positive reviews or testimonials may be manufactured or incentivized to offset the wave of negative feedback, creating a skewed representation of customer satisfaction on certain review platforms.
Recession Proof Blueprint’s efforts to censor the internet and suppress negative feedback are driven by growing concerns about the company’s misleading marketing practices, high fees, lack of transparency, and poor customer service. Complaints from dissatisfied customers, as outlined in sources like Scamadviser and Fairshake, suggest that the company may be engaging in unethical behavior to maintain a positive public image while failing to deliver on its promises of financial success. As more complaints and accusations surface, Recession Proof Blueprint’s attempts to control its online narrative may only fuel further scrutiny from both consumers and regulators.
Potential Consequences for Recession Proof Blueprint
Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.
Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.
Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.” Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).
Is Recession Proof Blueprint Committing a Cyber Crime?
Yes, it seems so. Recession Proof Blueprint used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Recession Proof Blueprint could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.
Faced with these limitations, some companies like Recession Proof Blueprint have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.
Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Recession Proof Blueprint is certainly keeping interesting company here….
The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.
Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.
What was Recession Proof Blueprint trying to hide?
Recession Proof Blueprint is reportedly trying to suppress a variety of adverse news, bad reviews, complaints, and allegations that have surfaced online. These efforts appear to be aimed at protecting its reputation and preventing potential customers from being deterred by negative experiences shared by others. Below are the key issues and documents that Recession Proof Blueprint is likely attempting to hide:
1. Misleading Marketing and False Promises
One of the most common criticisms of Recession Proof Blueprint is the claim that the company uses deceptive marketing tactics to lure customers into buying its financial education programs. Many customers have complained that the company promises quick wealth, financial independence, or significant business success, only to deliver underwhelming content that does not align with these grand claims.
- Exaggerated claims: Numerous reviews accuse the company of making unrealistic promises about the potential outcomes of their program, which has led to dissatisfaction among many customers who feel misled.
2. High Costs and Questionable Value
Several complaints highlight that the cost of enrolling in Recession Proof Blueprint’s programs is disproportionately high compared to the actual value delivered. Customers have raised concerns that the courses are overpriced and do not provide unique or actionable insights that justify the significant fees charged.
- Overpriced services: Some customers claim that the information provided in the programs is either generic or easily accessible elsewhere for free or at a much lower cost. Many feel that they have been overcharged for services that ultimately don’t help them achieve the financial success promised.
3. Refund Issues
A major source of customer frustration revolves around refund policies. Customers have reported difficulty in obtaining refunds after realizing that the program did not meet their expectations. The company has been accused of having unclear or restrictive refund policies that make it difficult for dissatisfied clients to get their money back.
- Refund complaints: The Fairshake complaint forum includes multiple accounts of customers who have been denied refunds or have faced long delays and unresponsive customer service when trying to get their money back after being unsatisfied with the product.
4. Poor Customer Service
Another recurring complaint is the poor quality of customer service provided by Recession Proof Blueprint. Many customers report difficulties in reaching support teams and receiving timely or helpful responses when they encounter problems with the program or seek refunds.
- Unresponsive customer support: Reviews mention that customer service is often unresponsive or dismissive, leaving clients feeling neglected and unable to resolve their issues with the company.
5. Reputation Management and Censorship Efforts
Recession Proof Blueprint appears to be actively trying to suppress negative information and reviews online. This includes removing or burying bad reviews and using legal threats to intimidate critics. The company is likely engaging in online reputation management strategies to promote positive content and drown out negative feedback, making it difficult for potential customers to find accurate information about the experiences of others.
- Censorship tactics: Some customers and reviewers suggest that Recession Proof Blueprint attempts to remove or downplay critical reviews on popular review sites. There have also been accusations that the company uses fake positive reviews to balance out the negative ones.
6. Allegations of False Testimonials
There have been allegations that some of the positive testimonials and success stories promoted by Recession Proof Blueprint may be exaggerated or entirely fabricated. These testimonials are used as part of the company’s marketing campaigns to attract new customers, but critics have raised doubts about their authenticity.
- Questionable testimonials: Some customers have expressed skepticism about the success stories featured in the company’s promotional materials, suggesting that these might not reflect the typical experiences of most customers.
7. Potential Legal Issues
While there is no direct documentation of ongoing legal battles, the nature of the complaints—especially around refunds, misrepresentation, and potentially fraudulent business practices—suggests that Recession Proof Blueprint may be facing legal challenges or could be vulnerable to future lawsuits. The company may be trying to prevent these issues from becoming public knowledge.
8. Low Trust Rating on Scamadviser
According to the Scamadviser website, Recession Proof Blueprint has a low trust rating, which raises red flags about the company’s credibility. The platform assesses websites based on various factors, including user reviews, customer feedback, and online behavior, suggesting that there are concerns about the company’s legitimacy and the trustworthiness of its business practices.
- Trust issues: Scamadviser notes that the company’s trust score is impacted by factors such as negative reviews, customer complaints, and concerns over the value of the services offered.
Recession Proof Blueprint is likely trying to hide a wide range of negative information and complaints, including accusations of misleading marketing, high costs, poor customer service, refund refusals, and questionable business practices. The company appears to be engaged in reputation management efforts to bury negative reviews and maintain a positive public image, but the growing volume of complaints suggests that many customers feel dissatisfied with their experience. As more reviews and complaints surface, it may become increasingly difficult for the company to suppress the adverse information surrounding its business.
Reputation Agency’s Modus Operandi
The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.
Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.
How did Recession Proof Blueprint purport this DMCA Fraud?
As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Recession Proof Blueprint creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.
The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.
The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.
In committing numerous offences, Recession Proof Blueprint either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Recession Proof Blueprint, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.
The Reputation Laundering
Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.
The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.
In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.
This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.
Not In Good Company
Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Recession Proof Blueprint is in great company ….
Ironically, the manipulation tactics used to remove public-interest information from the Internet are backfiring on Recession Proof Blueprint, which is now associated with the worst of this world.
Here are some of the specimens that share the internet space with Recession Proof Blueprint –
Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado
Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado appears to be the former foreign affairs minister of the Dominican Republic. His name is listed next to more than 500 links to news articles, blogs, social media posts, and YouTube videos targeted for removal or de-indexing. Many of the articles refer to questions over his political fundraising practices. They include accusations that Vargas had received donations from an individual who would later be convicted of drug trafficking. Some targeted links remain active, while others return 404 errors or “file not found.”
José Antonio Gordo Valero
José Gordo joined OneCoin in 2015 and has been named in an indictment for the OneCoin scam in Argentina. The articles listed next to Gordo’s name in the documents reviewed by Rest of World include references to his role at the company.
Diego Adolfo Marynberg
He appears to be the same Marynberg connected to funding right-wing causes, including settlement efforts in Israel. Reports also alleged that his company received preferential treatment in acquiring Argentinian bonds worth millions of dollars. More than 70 URLs appear next to Marynberg’s name in the documents, including pages from the Israeli newspapers The Times of Israel, Haaretz, and Clarin, one of Argentina’s most prominent news sites.
Majed Khalil Majzoub
Majed is an influential businessman with close ties to several governments, including the administration of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Majzoub’s name appears next to more than 180 URLs, mostly from independent outlets. Of the two URLs that pointed to articles from Germany’s Der Spiegel, one now returns an error message; the other, which appears to refer to relations between Venezuela and Colombia, directs to an unrelated story about Brexit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Recession Proof Blueprint commit a cyber crime?
Yes, filing a fake DMCA notice is illegal. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows copyright holders to issue takedown notices to protect their works from unauthorized use online. However, submitting a false DMCA notice can result in legal consequences.
Under the DMCA, a person knowingly submitting a false copyright claim can be subject to penalties, including damages. DMCA notices require the filer to certify, under penalty of perjury, that the content infringes their copyright. If the notice is found to be fraudulent or made in bad faith, the filer can face.
What are the potential consequences for Recession Proof Blueprint?
Civil lawsuits: The affected party can sue for damages, legal fees, and other costs.
Perjury charges: False certification in a DMCA notice can result in perjury-related penalties, which vary by jurisdiction.
Other legal penalties: Fines or other penalties depending on the case
Did Recession Proof Blueprint commit a Civil or a Criminal offense?
Perjury is a criminal offense, not a civil crime. It involves intentionally lying or making false statements under oath, typically in a court of law or other legal proceedings, such as affidavits or depositions.
Criminal charges: Perjury is prosecuted as a criminal act, and a conviction can lead to fines or imprisonment, depending on the severity of the false statement and its impact on the case.
Felony status: In many jurisdictions, perjury is classified as a felony, which carries more severe penalties than misdemeanour offences.
So, while it may affect civil cases, the crime of perjury itself is strictly criminal.
What is the Streisand effect?
The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms.
Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible.
Can Recession Proof Blueprint purge its Digital past?
Once information is uploaded to the internet, it can be replicated, shared, archived, or stored across multiple servers. If Recession Proof Blueprint manage to delete the original post or file, copies may remain accessible in other places, such as web archives, screenshots, or other users’ devices.
In practice, completely erasing content from the internet can be extremely difficult due to how widely information can spread and be stored. Thus, the idea that “the Internet never forgets” reflects the challenge of entirely removing digital content once it has been shared.
What is our next move?
Critical Intel will, in its capacity, do all it can to hold someone responsible for this incident. Here is what we are preparing for –
Since Recession Proof Blueprint made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and our original review of Recession Proof Blueprint, including but not limited to user contributions, remain a permanent record for anyone interested in Recession Proof Blueprint.
A case perfect for the Streisand effect…
What else is Recession Proof Blueprint hiding?
Click here to visit the Google Search page for ‘Recession Proof Blueprint’. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)
To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with us. If you have any information on Recession Proof Blueprint that you want to share with us, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].
All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.
References and Citations Used
Over thirty thousand DMCA notices reveal an organized attempt to abuse copyright law.
Reputation Management, or Internet Conspiracy
Exposed documents reveal how the powerful cleaned up their digital past using a reputation laundering firm.
Companies Use Fake Websites and Backdated Articles to Censor Google’s Search Results.
Bad Reviews: How Companies Are Using Fake Websites to Censor Content
How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists
Many thanks to FakeDMCA.com and Lumen for providing access to their database.
Photos and Illustrations provided by DALL-E 3 – “a representation of Recession Proof Blueprint censoring the internet and committing cyber crimes.”
- Our investigative report on Recession Proof Blueprint’s efforts to suppress online speech is significant, as it raises serious concerns about its integrity. The findings suggest that Recession Proof Blueprint has engaged in questionable practices, including potential perjury, impersonation, and fraud, in a misguided attempt to manage or salvage its reputation.
- We intend to file a counternotice to reinstate the removed article(s). While this particular instance is relatively straightforward, it is important to note that, in other cases, the overwhelming volume of automated DMCA takedown notices can significantly hinder the ability of affected parties to respond—especially for those not large media organizations.
- You need an account with fakeDMCA.com and Lumen to access the research data. However, accounts are not widely available since these non-profit organisations manage large databases that could be susceptible to misuse. Nevertheless, they do offer access to non-profits and researchers.
- It’s unclear why U.S. authorities have yet to act against these rogue reputation agencies, whose business model seems rooted in fraudulent practices.
- We’ve reached out to Recession Proof Blueprint for a comment or rebuttal regarding this investigation. It will strongly suggest they were behind the takedown attempt if they remain silent.
About the Author
The author is affiliated with Harvard University and serves as a researcher at both Lumen and FakeDMCA.com. In his personal capacity, he and his team have been actively investigating and reporting on organized crime related to fraudulent copyright takedown schemes. Additionally, his team provides advisory services to major law firms and is frequently consulted on matters pertaining to intellectual property law. He can be reached at [email protected] directly.
