How EzineArticles adds Credibility to Grant Scams

EzineArticles is a site that was set up as a vehicle to create and distribute syndicated content as well as give site owners the opportunity to write articles about subjects lining up with the content of their site / blog. It is one of the ways site owners use to build 'quality' links to their sites, which may improve their search engine rankings (more 'quality links can contribute to a better position in the search engine results).

On their home page, EzineArticles boast:

"155,894 Expert Authors Sharing Their Best EzineArticles"

On their 'About us' page, they explain that EzineArticles is a(n):

- Innovative platform that allows experts to share knowledge, expertise, wisdom and receive traffic back to their website in return.
- Source of expert content in the form of short, informative and educational or entertaining articles.

In short, a good way to promote your site.

With a zillion articles in the database, there no doubt are plenty of useful nuggets of information available that will leave a reader hungry for more information leading to a click-through to the author's site.

But there's another angle. Affiliate marketers are using EzineArticles for the same reasons; generate 'quality' links and provide targeted info to prospective customers. And there's a lot of affiliate articles out there, the site is inundated with it.

Grant scam affiliates are no exception. I first noticed an EzineArticle about these scam grant kits when doing a search on MSN. Page one of the results showed me this link:

Following the link, we land at this page

The article was written by a certain 'Austin Warty', who lets us know that:

"Austin is an serial entrepreneur that enjoys helping other small business owners obtain the financing they need to start and expand their businesses.

During his research, he often uncovers many other great offers, which he enjoys sharing with the online community."

In his enlightening article, he tells the reader how everyone can apply for and get grants worth thousands of dollars:

"When you request a free grant kit, what you get is a CD in the mail that allows you to quickly browse the government grant database to find the offers that you qualify for. With over 3,000 grant programs sponsored by the government, private institutions, and non-profit organizations, you'll find free grant money that you can access today.

Request your free grant kit and get immediate access to over 3,000 grant opportunities that are available to you right now. Get thousands of dollars in free grant money."

Now ain't that an 'expert' piece of advice and 'wisdom' ? May have been so if the author was an expert in the field, and if what he wrote was accurate. Obviously neither apply, illustrated by the fact that at the end of his pitch he links to his affiliate landing page www.govfunds.info , which shows us:


Cute looking lady, major news network logos, free FREE FREE, thousands and billions! If we follow the advice to click, we are forwarded to the actual grant scam site called grants360.com:

This site is another typical grant scam site, with a low shipping fee monthly service fees after a ONE DAY trial period, and of course the 'bonus' enrollment in another service:

So, Grants360.com - and oh they are located in the United Kingdom - is another typical grant scam site (added to the grant scam blacklist).

This is just one example of how an EzineArticles 'expert' shares his 'wisdom' by creating an article that funnels US consumers into a scam for fun and profit. And this particular affiliate marketer created no less than 240 articles, most of which guide the reader to grant scam sites via his affiliate portal govfunds.info.

A EzineArticles search for 'free grant' alone yields a list of 224 articles. And check this out, the most viewed articles in the business category:

In conclusion, be aware that an EzineArticles writeup pushing a certain product or service and leading you to a certain website does not make the product, service or website more trustworthy. Such articles were written for one purpose and one purpose only, which is to create the illusion of expertise and well-meant advice in order to cash in on your gullibility.