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So Simmons took a deep breath and bought the “gold” plan for $7,500. Over the next month, he heard nothing. Finally, he checked in to see what was up. The next day, he was told it was

finished. He was underwhelmed. “It looked like something I could have done myself, not the type of thing you would expect for $7,500,” Simmons says. Plus the site didn’t show up when he

Googled its name. The company offered to fix that by adding more — for a $1,000 fee. He reluctantly agreed. In the end, Simmons invested over $11,000 in the website. The only thing he ever

sold was a $15 baseball cap to one of his friends. FOR MORE ON HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF, VISIT AARP'S FRAUD WATCH NETWORK.  A GROWING PROBLEM Is Simmons’ experience typical? Absolutely,

based on the roughly three dozen complaints to law enforcement agencies about web developers that AARP reviewed. Each closely mirrored Simmons’ experience: the low-cost starter pitch, the

telemarketing calls, the promises of big incomes and the bitter outcome. The average complainant’s age was 68, and the average dollar loss was close to $17,000. One woman, ironically a

72-year-old former Medicaid fraud investigator, spent $35,000 on various web design services, yet got nothing for them. The largest dollar loss was $67,000, sent by a 75-year-old disabled

veteran from Plymouth, Mich.  While business opportunity scams usually don’t involve outright theft, they are illegal because of their marketing techniques. “If you promise somebody that

they will make $10,000 in 90 days, you have to have a basis in reality for that claim,” says Greisman at the FTC. Otherwise, you are in violation of statutes involving unfair and deceptive

acts and practices (UDAP). At the federal level, these are policed by the FTC;  state attorney general offices also pursue these cases. However, most UDAP cases are tried in civil courts, so

defendants rarely go to jail. That’s why consumer protection lawyers say they play a constant game of whack-a-mole: Shut down one outfit, and another pops up. Still, Greisman says, the FTC

has stepped up prosecution of web-kit scammers as part of a larger effort to crack down on fraudulent work-at-home schemes. For example, in 2017, the FTC sued Bobby J. Robinson, who

advertised online as workathome.edu. The complaint alleged that Robinson used misleading advertising in selling web business opportunities, including an online ad that read, “A Texas Mom

Makes Extra $8,000/Month in Her Spare Time on the Computer Without Selling Anything.” The FTC complaint alleges that this and other earnings claims were misleading and not based in reality.