Today, I noticed an ad on my Facebook page for a computer flight simulator called Pro Flight Simulator. I had never heard of it before, but I'm always interested in flight simulators so I checked out the home page.
It began with a dramatic video that extolled the virtues of the game but showed zero footage of the game itself. This intrigued and puzzled me. So I decided to do a little Google research.
First thing that popped up were dozens of laudatory sites, all suspiciously carrying addresses that were variations on Pro Flight Simulator. Strikingly similar reviews and customer praise too.
Oh, oh, I thought – here's another internet scam. Digging a bit deeper, I soon found out that Pro Flight Simulator is a rebranded but otherwise unaltered copy of the FlightGear, an entirely FREE open source simulator that has been around for years.
So the folks behind Pro Flight Simulator are making money by charging people for something that is freely available.
Another filthy cheat. I guess all it takes is a very few people to fall for it for whoever is behind Pro Flight Simulator to make money. All legal of course. But disgusting nonetheless.
No Longer The Only One 
You said it, devans!
Games people play………so many other interesting things to do. :doh:
We come across these Opera websites from time to time where they sell our browser for $10.00 or more. Hilarious.
:eyes:
Exploits of the internet :(Originally posted by EspenAO:
:furious:
Originally posted by decodedthought:
:furious: Indeed!
Well I'm probably one that shouldn't be talking about use of material and such, but at least I'm not making money off of that type of thing — it may not be illegal but it does seem unethical. Caveat emptor. :furious:
It most certainly is unethical, Ed. I am struck by the 'backdoor' approach, internet ads, Facebook ads, bogus reviews designed to flood out Google searches' first 20 entries or so. Pure exploitation.
Just one more lesson about doing your homework.Thanks for the heads up, Richard. Lots of people would probably have just gone for it without checking it out.:up:
You're welcome, Star. I realize that flight simulators are a rather specialized market, but it seems the crooks will target anything they can get away with.
😆 We'll need to be to fend off both Oprah's and Opera's lawyers! 😀
:lol:No need to worry about lawyers! A quick sale slam dunk and we take the money and run to Morrocco. :p
Hey, I know. We will sell Opera on the internet as "Oprah Browser 11.1" and include a photo of Oprah Winfrey. Millions of fans will buy the software and make us rich!:p
😆
I bit hook line and sinker after seeing the Pro Flight Sim website and advertising lies. Luckily for me I purchased with my CapitalOne MC which also went through PayPal (I do not have a PayPal account). As soon as I downloaded I didn't like the program. I tried it the next day and liked it less, so I called my CapitalOne MC and explained to the lady I had been scammed. She listened and understood, then connected the two of us in touch with PayPal. I was not impressed with PayPal. But PayPal said they would contact Pro Flight Sim and if no reply in 10 days I would get a refund. Ten days later I called my credit card company again and the lady contacted PayPal. PayPal looked up my case number and found out I was recorded under a different first name – WTF. I finally guessed it was my wife’s name — what incompetence. I told PayPal the credit card was in my name and I had received an e-mail from PayPal. Plus ten days ago I talked to one of their people and had to give him my name. I let PayPal know they had a problem on their end and I wanted a refund. I also told them they should check on other complaints and think about stopping doing business with Pro Flight Sim. I got a refund in 48 hours — thanks to my CapitalOne MC. Anyone thinking about purchasing Pro Flight Sim go to FlightGear and get the exact software for free. Pro Flight Sim is a scam, they are selling a free program, which sadly isn't against the law.