FTC COMPLIANCE PROTOCOL // GURU SCAM DIAGNOSTIC
Deceptive Income Claims & Guru Scam Risk Calculator
Audit courses, dropshipping mentorships, and AI automation masterminds against FTC Section 5 and 16 CFR Part 461 rules before paying.
[INCOME CLAIMS]⚖️ FTC 16 CFR § 461.3
Does the creator guarantee specific automated or passive income without disclosing median typical results?
💡 Under the FTC Income Claims Rule, sellers must possess written substantiation and prominently disclose typical median earnings before making income representations.
+15 pts
[EARNINGS PROOF]⚖️ EVIDENTIARY AUDIT
Are earnings claims backed only by unverified Stripe dashboards, Photoshop screenshots, or bank mobile app clips?
💡 HTML inspect elements and simulated test-mode payment dashboards are trivially fabricated. Only audited financial statements prove genuine enterprise revenues.
+15 pts
[LIFESTYLE ASSETS]⚖️ DECEPTIVE MARKETING
Does the video feature luxury rental cars, rented Airbnb penthouses, or stacks of cash to imply effortless wealth?
💡 Conspicuous luxury props are textbook predatory funnel hooks used to induce emotional decision-making and suppress critical risk assessment.
+10 pts
[ARTIFICIAL SCARCITY]⚖️ FTC § 5 COERCION
Is there a ticking countdown timer claiming 'Only 3 mastermind seats remaining' or 'Discount expires tonight'?
💡 Perpetual evergreen countdown timers manufacture fake urgency to bypass prudent contract review and due diligence.
+10 pts
[REFUND BARRIERS]⚖️ 16 CFR § 461.2
Does the contract require 'Action-Based' proof (e.g. 50 outreach calls, building 10 websites) to qualify for a refund?
💡 Coercive conditional refund terms are engineered to make refunds practically impossible to claim once access is granted.
+15 pts
[FACELESS AUTOMATION]⚖️ SCRAPER RISK
Does the sales pitch promise '100% turnkey faceless AI YouTube channels that print money on autopilot'?
💡 Mass-generated TTS/AI scraper channels face aggressive demonetization and termination under YouTube's inauthentic content policies.
+10 pts
[OFF-PLATFORM FUNNELS]⚖️ TELEGRAM / DM FUNNEL
Does the promoter demand moving conversation to private Telegram, WhatsApp, or booking an unrecorded 'Discovery Call'?
💡 High-ticket sales reps use unrecorded telemarketing calls to make aggressive verbal promises that contradict written fine print.
+10 pts
[UPSELL LADDERS]⚖️ BAIT & SWITCH
Did a $47 'entry challenge' or ebook immediately lead to an aggressive pitch for an $8,000 to $15,000 'Inner Circle'?
💡 Low-dollar frontend products are frequently loss-leaders designed purely to harvest credit card data and qualify leads for predatory mastermind upselling.
+10 pts
[PAYMENT RAILS]⚖️ FCBA STRIPPING
Does the creator insist on Zelle, wire transfer, debit card, or cryptocurrency payments rather than standard credit cards?
💡 Non-credit payment rails strip consumers of their statutory 60-day billing dispute and chargeback rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act (15 U.S.C. § 1666).
+10 pts
[ REAL-TIME RISK DIAGNOSTIC ]
CUMULATIVE RISK SCORE:
0 / 100
0 (Safe)40 (Caution)70 (Severe)100
ASSESSMENT STATUS:
LOW RISK (ROUTINE SCRUTINY)
📋 FTC COMPLIANCE GUIDANCE🔍 Minimal predatory indicators detected. However, always request the seller's typical earnings disclosure statement and verify their refund terms before signing.
⚖️ Dashboard Proof Verification NoteAuthenticity of on-screen earnings dashboards, Stripe metrics, or bank balances cannot be verified by third parties and requires direct independent audit.