One Top Firm - Portal ResponseTechnology

truthtalker · #1 (**permalink**) 04-18-2007, 04:22 PM

These cons change company names constantly. Used to be, GO DOTLESS.COM-(www.godotless.com ) a reseller for Keywords LLC - total scam.
Then it was SIMPLY VOICE (www.simplyvoice.com),and (www.surfspeak.com)

Now, it's ONE TOP FIRM (www.onetopfirm.com)-LOCATED IN Orange county, Ca. and Portal RESPONSE TECHNOLOGY,(www.toppg1.com) Located in Glendale, Ca. The two firms operating, with the same graphics on their site, same scam, same sales pitch
They claim two have two toolbars- MYSPACE Guardian Toolbar (which MYSPACE knows nothing about! And is going after them for trademark infringement, they claim they have millions of downloads, when the TRUTH is (According to Downloads.com they only have a total of 1900 downloads and 1100 for their ridiculous BizformBar, probably from their salespeople peddling this scum ware!!~!

The managing directors are cheap telemarketers who boast millions of users and some connection to large firms that have never heard of this spy ware and certainly would not participate in such a scam. Numerous lawsuits and complaints have been lodged against all these firms. They are known to go after Real Estate Agents, whom have little knowledge of advertising on the internet run this scam on them

They are violating trademarks and misrepresenting that the toolbars that they offer are somehow associated with large firms. The fact is - they added a piece of spy ware and ad ware to toolbars that contain the name of large companies to dupe unwitting business owners to waste their dollars.

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YouCannotFoolMe · #2 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 03:23 AM

Yep, I've come across these guys. They claim some 10 million downloads of the "MySpace Guardian". The guy I heard of that works there, some guy named Warren, is a master b.s. artist.

I would love to know how many people have gotten sucked in and if anyone actually saw increased traffic.

homesnland68 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-04-2007, 12:33 AM

I signed up with go dotless a few years back and i got taken for a fool. I spent alot of money and didn't get any results what so ever. But i did however sign up with One top firm and i did see alot of traffic to my website and got a few new clients. I don't think those companies are owned by the same people. I know that One top firm worked for me, and my parter works with a similar company called CPS and we are both getting leads.
I would however like to know myspace guardians connection with myspace, i know of alot of people that have these toolbars, i'm just wondering how much advertising CPS is doing to promote it.

YouCannotFoolMe · #4 (**permalink**) 05-04-2007, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homesnland68

I signed up with go dotless a few years back and i got taken for a fool. I spent alot of money and didn't get any results what so ever. But i did however sign up with One top firm and i did see alot of traffic to my website and got a few new clients. I don't think those companies are owned by the same people. I know that One top firm worked for me, and my parter works with a similar company called CPS and we are both getting leads.
I would however like to know myspace guardians connection with myspace, i know of alot of people that have these toolbars, i'm just wondering how much advertising CPS is doing to promote it.

It's hard to say what is owned by whom. You have to do some digging. For example, entering Portal Response Technology and Simply Voice at bbbsouthland.org (the better business bureau) give you the same company.

You'll also note that the addresses on file for those firms are exactly the same, as it is for SurfSpeak.

One Top Firm and Portal Response are the same, as their URLs take you to the same page and employee Emails go to the same IP.

At the CA Sec. of State website, you'll find Cyberphrases was in Westlake Village but their Agent for Service of Process resigned, which you rarely see.

Godotless was based in Orange, and the Agent was a company called CSC which is the same agent for One Top FIrm (not unusual, as these incorporation services handle many different corps).

PBH, LLC, the apparent owner of the MySpace Guardian is based in Newport Beach, CA. IP Marketing is also involved, and these are the companies owned by Charles Lloyd. Thus, we have a direct link from Charles Lloyd to PBH to MySpace Guardian, which is being propagated by POrtal Response = SurfSpeak = One Top Firm.

Is Charles Lloyd the same Charles G. Lloyd mentioned here:

http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/03/meddataamdcmp.pdf

Well, Healthcare Claims Network was, like all of the above companies located in Southern California. And their Agent? CSC. A coincidence here and there is one thing. But they are starting to pile up, no?

So there is some definitive information that indicates that many of these companies are all the same, overseen by what may very well be someone who's been in trouble with the FTC and ran at least one shady operation.

People who run one shady op develop a reputation and a pattern of behavior. They move on to other scams.

Who is CPS? WHat does it stand for? Are they the same?

One thing is certain about this keyword-toolbar business model. If you ask questions and don't get answers, you can bet the other side knows they are doing something wrong.

If they claim "`10 million toolbars", I"d like to see some proof of that number.
If they guarantee a certain number of visitors, you better have some way of verifitying what visitors you get, what IP address they visited from, and how long they stayed.
And you should have some way of being able to determine if your business directly benefits from the traffic -- that purchases came from someone who visited as a result of this toolbar.

ANd of course, when you see posts discussing any of these companies, esp. Portal Response, some company rep inevitably appears to defend the product. Watch what happens, though, if you ask them about the info presented here.

Finally, ask yourself this -- why is it that a legitimate company is doing business under multiple names....and that some have a pathetic, hard to get F rating from the Better Business Bureau!!!!

EDIT: Since posting this, they have managed to change some of BBB information linking the companies.

YouCannotFoolMe · #5 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 02:07 PM

Sorry, forgot to answer your question!

the myspaceguardian toolbar makes certain claims about how it interfaces with MySpace, which I can neither confirm nor deny as actually working. They claim you can do a search that brings up photos and other data about registered sex offenders in the area that you search, and that this info is provided for free. ON the other hand, you can also get this info for free at the FBI's website.

I highly doubt, but cannot confirm, that MySpace has sanctioned or approved of the product, or if they are even aware of it. In fact, there may very well be trademark infringement issues.

My opinion, which applies to this entire post and all posts I make, is that Portal Response is attempting to legitimize their toolbar. In this way, they can use it as a trojan horse to get advertisers to buy the keywords. As long as they truthfully represent how many downloads of the toolbar there have been (they claim 10 million, make of that what you will), and do not manipulate the number of hits, then I would say in my unprofiessional opinion that it's legit.

It doesn't change the fact, however, that Charles Lloyd appears to run the company and has either permitted Portal Response to resell the product, or Portal is just another front for his operation.

I'd love to find out.

homesnland68 · #6 (**permalink**) 05-08-2007, 11:32 PM

Well that all seems quite scary but i still do not feel like i got scammed at all. I paid $2500 to one top firm and my partner spent almost $8,000 with cps and we are both in fact getting leads of off the banner advertisments. I'm basing my judgement off of two things, the traffic logs they gave me, and the fact that on the phone when i ask my clients where they found me, alot of them saw off of the banner ad.
I don't know if CPS and One top firm are related, but i do know that i've never heard of any of those other companies. I did ask them to verify that the myspace guardian toolbar had millions of downloads and they took me to microsofts website where i was shown that they got 4 out of 5 stars. It's scary hearing about all of these scams and if i ever hear from any of those other companies, i'll watch out.

YouCannotFoolMe · #7 (**permalink**) 05-09-2007, 12:25 AM

What does CPS stand for?

Call PRT back and ask for definitive data showing you how many toolbars have been downloaded. If they won't answer, ask them how they can claim 10 million if they can't even support it to their clients.

Call the clients you've gotten so far and when they say they've seen the banner ad, ask if they have either the MySpace Guardian toolbar or bizform toolbar.

homesnland68 · #8 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 03:45 AM

I dont know what PRT is, therefore i cannot call them. However when i asked my clients where they found me, they said from the banner. I have asked them before what they think of those toolbars and where they found them, since i also have a link to the myspace guardian on my website. They said they got it from windows marketplace which to my knowledge is the website that people go to when they get a new computer to download possible upgrades. I know i did not get scammed, and my partner that went with CPS is doing even better then i am..that's my next investment..I hope that all is well and if your ever out in the Houston area, we can sit down and go over figures and strategy. Maybe i am doing something you're not? Good luck.

YouCannotFoolMe · #9 (**permalink**) 05-12-2007, 02:10 AM

PRT and one top firm are the same. If you have contact info for one top firm, you have it for PRT.

so why not call one top firm, and ask how they know they have 10 million gazillion downloads?

What is CPS?????

homesnland68 · #10 (**permalink**) 05-14-2007, 02:57 AM

i did verify the 10 million downloads, i went to microsofts website, apparently they are affiliates with them because they're featured on microsofts page. 10 million, 15 million, or 100 million, it doesn't matter to me, as long as they keep helping me sell homes, i'm happy. I've gotten enough clients from them to drop all of my google adword campaignes. My partner kept his, but then again...he can afford it. 3 home sales in 2 months from CPS..I'm soon to sign up with them as well, hopfully i can recapture the magic. Think about it, i was paying around 3 dollars a click on google adwords and now i'm paying way less per click for the same amount of leads..I think google needs to lower their price or companies like one top firm and cps are going to take alot of their business away. I'm not sure what cps stands for, i'd have to look back in my partners paper work. The contact we have for them is Robert at (714)453-4258. Hope all is well.

YouCannotFoolMe · #11 (**permalink**) 05-15-2007, 10:05 PM

This is starting to smell fishy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by homesnland68

i did verify the 10 million downloads,

How, exactly? Did you just take their word for it? Did you view some kind of log?

Quote:

Originally Posted by homesnland68

iiwent to microsofts website, apparently they are affiliates with them because they're featured on microsofts page.

This is not true. They are nowhere to be found on "Microsoft's page". IF they are, provide us with an exact link.

Quote:

The contact we have for them is Robert at (714)453-4258. Hope all is well.

Yeah, this is the number for Simply Voice, which is the old firm that One Top Firm was doing business under. Just so happens they have an F rating from the Better Business Bureau. The original poster cited them as being part of a scam.

And you, my friend, are starting to sound a little too much like a shill. Who are you and what is the name of your alleged mortgage brokerage?

homesnland68 · #12 (**permalink**) 05-22-2007, 11:28 PM

listen pal,
I've been reading this, and responding trying to get information and offer my experiences to others. I did not do this to be called a "shill" (whatever that means).
I have my partner with me right now, he was shown the myspace guardian toolbar on microsofts website by a salesman at this link http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/re...ardian&tabid=1

That phone number is not One Top Firm, it's CPS, i would know if it was the same company, i signed up with both of them. I'm sorry you didn't allocate your marketing dollars correctly, but don't blame me for my good investments, nor make me sound like a fool for investing money in something that has made me plenty of it. My name is Vicky Brink and i work Prudential Anchorage.

I'm upset with this whole thing and i feel like your making me out to be a fool.
Good Day.

YouCannotFoolMe · #13 (**permalink**) 05-24-2007, 06:41 AM

PRT and others have their toadies trolling the internet to defend their product and take on various roles, pretending to be clients. The fact that you also just joined this forum on May 4, in response to my post, would raise anyone's suspicions.

So would the fact that you are listing the phone numbers and contact info for them.

Not to mention that this sentence is one they use frequently on their postings: "Think about it, i was paying around 3 dollars a click on google adwords and now i'm paying way less per click for the same amount of leads".

But I'll play the game, "Vicky". How on earth can you CONFIRM ten million downloads, Vicky? Because the salesman told you so? Does 10 million downloads mean 10 million installations? There is no way to confirm this, unless you view the actual server logs.
And you didn't answer the question.

How many of your clients actually saw the banner ad because of the toolbar they downloaded? How can you be certain your traffic was derived from it?

And these logs? Who gave them to you? One Top Firm did? Oh, very reliable. Of course, since they allegedly route all the clicks they get through their server, there's no way for you to confirm this....unless you subpoenaed them. And even then, whose to say the hits were organic and not computer generated.

Finally, you need to do better research.

The phone number you listed? Go to www.bbbsouthland.org

Under BBB Company Reports, type in "One Top Firm"
A report will come up. Click on it. There you will see
"dba: Simply Voice"
Under it is the contact number: The same one you listed with "Richard" as the contact.

Notice also the address is on Santiago Blvd. in Villa Park.

Now go back to the home page for www.bbbsouthland.org.
Enter godotless
The address? The same one.

Godotless = PRT = One Top Firm = "CPS" = SCAM

I've got the screenshots for ya if you'd like me to EMail them to.

Including one for CPS Designs, which has a bogus phone number of 999-999-9999
listed.

But then, you probably know all this already, don't you?

They try hard, folks. Don't be fooled!

But listen Vicky, give me a shout at dgseinvestor@yahoo.com
and I'll write you a personal apology, as well as give you some interesting data
I've dug up on One Top Firm. It's pretty amazing stuff. I had a P.I. look into them and they've got a few surprises coming. I'm happy to share it with you, in case it turns out I was right.

homesnland68 · #14 (**permalink**) 05-25-2007, 01:46 AM

how dare you accuse me of an employee of that company. Let me tell you something, i am extremely offended, and i will send you an email. I told you once, twice, and now i'll tell you for the last time; I made money off of this, I asked my buyers where they found me, they told me through the my space guardian, i sold a home, simple as that. You have a problem, you made a bad investment and now your taking it out on several companies you know nothing about.

I love internet blogs, they help me in several ways. But i am officially finished with this blog. I shouldn't have to defend my business choices with anyone, not to mention the fact that you obviously know little about real estate marketing.

Give me your phone number and i'll have MY marketing director call you. I'm a nice person, maybe by him taking the time out of his day, it will help you learn some new things. But as far as defending myself to you on this blog, i'm suprized, confused, and extremely offended.

Good day

YouCannotFoolMe · #15 (**permalink**) 05-25-2007, 03:10 AM

Send me an Email and I'll be happy to write you a specific, definitive apology.
I'll also provide you with my phone number for your marketing director to call me.

dgseinvestor@yahoo.com

YouCannotFoolMe · #16 (**permalink**) 05-26-2007, 09:49 PM

"You have a problem, you made a bad investment and now your taking it out on several companies you know nothing about. "

Huh? Investment? I didn't make any investment.

And I know a lot about these companies. Everyone does....... that is, those who have realized what they may very well be....SCAMS..

And the shills they put on the boards to defend them, while impersonating other people....YOU.

homesnland68 · #17 (**permalink**) 05-28-2007, 12:49 AM

you clearly have too much time on your hands. You've made a fool of yourself, check your email since you know so much about me and what i do. I hope you get sued by the company you're bashing. I MADE MONEY, you did not...stop being so damn self absorbed with assurance that you passed on a bad offer..you didn't. You may continue making a fool out of yourself all you want, i am finished wasting my time with this blog.
I sent you an email as requested.

stomachchurns · #18 (**permalink**) 05-28-2007, 02:19 AM

not that I want to play referree or anything, but it may be instructive to point out a few things here. First of all, truthtalker is 100% on the money. These companies are scams. They've been at it a long long long time and under many different names. YOUCANNOTFOOLME is being too abrasive but all his research checks out. I don't blame him for being suspicious. These scam-meisters do show up to defend themselves and sometimes under false names.

As for Vicky Brink, whether it is her or not doesn't really matter. But like I said, it is smart to take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. Foolme's stuff checks out if you take the time to run it down (I did). Vicky's posts confuse me.

First, these are her only posts on this forum. So she was just doing an internet search one day for "one top firm" and came across this forum? why was she doing a search for "one top firm"? She just stumbled across this particular forum one day?

She also said: "i also have a link to the myspace guardian on my website."

This is her website and she has no such link: Anchorage, Eagle River and Mat-su, Alaska Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale - Victoria Brink - NUMBER1EXPERT™

CANNOTFOOLME challenged her about the 10 million downloads. She didn't actually answer that question: " I did ask them to verify that the myspace guardian toolbar had millions of downloads and they took me to microsofts website where i was shown that they got 4 out of 5 stars"

4 people rated it, so I don't put much stock in the rating. But that also didn't answer the number of downloads (nor does it mean the software was installed). So let's face facts -- there is no way to verify the actual number.

Then she said: "my partner that went with CPS is doing even better then i am..that's my next investment" . Then she said later, "That phone number is not One Top Firm, it's CPS, i would know if it was the same company, i signed up with both of them"

So which is it? CPS is your next investment or you signed up with both?

And the phone number given is for both. CannotFoolMe is right. So it is the same company.

She also tells FoolMe, "if your ever out in the Houston area, we can sit down and go over figures and strategy."

But her website says she's in Alaska. And she does, too. "My name is Vicky Brink and i work Prudential Anchorage".

I don't know what to make of all of this, but it's a lot of strange stuff.

YouCannotFoolMe · #19 (**permalink**) 05-28-2007, 01:43 PM

And why if she was taken for a a fool by godotless, would she sign up for exactly the same product with a different company, and not realize they are the same company????

homesnland68 · #20 (**permalink**) 05-29-2007, 12:33 AM

ok first things first..i'm still waiting for a reply from you so i can personally speak with you. I do not come on these blogs to be ridiculed, lied to, and chastised. I signed up with a company and i got a pretty decent return, and to be honest, i really don't care that you didn't. I don't care that you think it's a scam, I really don't. All i know is that if Microsoft features this "scam" company on their website...how much of a scam can they really be. Now i'm not saying that you all are complete idiots, i'm just saying that your not far from it. Youcannotfoolme, I'm still waiting for your contact information, for all i know your some other scam company just trying to ruin someones business...actually, the more i think about it, i'm pretty sure i'm right..What's your website, i'd like to check you out.

By the way, Not that it's any of your business, I live in Houston during the summer.

stomachchurns · #21 (**permalink**) 05-29-2007, 03:33 AM

I wouldn't take it personally. You gotta understand that scam-meisters biggest threat is other people telling the world about them. Heck, maybe you did get a lead off someone who had downloaded this toolbar. It's not impossible, but it's unlikely and unusual if you know how these companies work.

The other thing is they send their people onto the internet to defend their scam, so it is hard to take a defender seriously when you are about the only one I've ever read that has defended them.

A little FYI: The Windows Marketplace website is not something that is policed or vetted by Microsoft. Anyone who wants to put a download on there can do so. So don't draw the conclusion that they somehow endorse the product or that it isn't a scam.

Don't take what people say on the internet too seriously. Everyone has a bug up their bun about something. The best way to earn credibility is to post credibly. So I pointed out a lot of things in your posts that don't make any sense, but you didn't really talk about those points. If you want to be taken seriously, you should probably try and clean up those issues.

This is all my two cents.

But I would like to know how you stumbled across this one particular blog, not to mention a few other things I mentioend in earlier posts.