Pocket Sized ATM Machine – Revealing My Review of the Not-Legit ‘7 Minute Phone Trick’ Course

Online users are hard at work in 2024 attempting to promote various offerings with misleading claims, such as cheap drones, so-called “electricity saving boxes” and sketchy TV streaming devices. However, “get rich quick” schemes are king in the world of scams. This article spells out my fully-researched review of the Pocket Sized ATM Machine course — a purported “7 minute phone trick” moneymaking product with all the makings of being a scam, not legit. Users looking for further details searched Google for reviews about Pocket Sized ATM Machine on Consumer Reports, Reddit and other websites.

The product’s name features “ATM”(with the “M” already standing for “machine”) as if a special ability of the “7 minute phone trick” prints easy money. As I reported in my YouTube video, at least hundreds of online video advertisements for the program appeared in July and August as sponsored posts on Facebook and Instagram. The ads showed people telling fake and sometimes conflicting stories in an effort to entice users to click a link to visit pocketsizedatm.com.

If you’ve had difficulty in finding any legitimate reviews of Pocket Sized ATM Machine or “7 minute phone trick” on Google, you’re not alone. Scammers are attempting to flood Google’s search results with fake positive reviews. With my article, you’ll hopefully find the most honest and thorough review available anywhere online. To help crush the scammy articles and videos attempting to promote this product, please share my article on Facebook and other social media platforms. Also, record videos. Show my article in your clips. Post those videos to Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Let’s get the word out there to help raise awareness about the fake and not-legit Pocket Sized ATM Machine reviews.

Here’s the table of contents for this story:

1. What Is Pocket Sized ATM Machine?
2. Pocket Sized ATM Machine Facebook and Instagram Ads
3. Meta Accepts Money for Scam Ads
4. The Pocket Sized ATM Machine Reviews Video
5. Genuine Pocket Sized ATM Machine Reviews
6. Sound Publishing’s Scammy Sponsored Content Articles
7. Promises of Low-Cost Courses Changing Lives
8. Scam Victims: Call Your Credit Card Company

Editor’s Note: My name is Jordan Liles. I did not ask AI to write this article about Pocket Sized ATM Machine reviews not being legit. I am a Senior Reporter with the fact-checking website Snopes.com. I author additional reporting here on my personal website, JordanLiles.com. My goal with this story is to provide all of my research regarding this product. I want to ensure I do whatever I can to help warn consumers about potential scams.

What Is Pocket Sized ATM Machine?

Pocket Sized ATM Machine is the name of a purported moneymaking course or program claiming in Facebook and Instagram video ads to be a “7 minute phone trick.” According to my research, the actual product is a digital download that supposedly teaches users in a “one page guide” either how to build an online business selling digital products such as e-books and courses, or how to harness social media to earn revenue. Or, as one Reddit user put it, similar guides already exist for free in YouTube videos.

Up front, people appearing in online ads promise that Pocket Sized ATM Machine is an easy way to make tons of extra money, no matter the disclaimers or other statements featured on the resulting websites, including pocketsizedatm.com. Such promises might remind readers of investment scams.

On the Pocket Sized ATM Machine website, a pop-up on top of a lengthy video says that people who make the purported $47 purchase for the “7 minute phone trick” course will be able to earn “more than most CEOs, doctors and lawyers combined.”

Within the first few seconds of the lengthy video — a video that lies to users saying it will only last just under two minutes — an AI-generated narrator voice tells viewers how the product works. According to the very beginning of the video, all people need to do in order to make thousands of dollars per week with Pocket Sized ATM Machine is open the course on their phone, toggle a button from “off” to “on,” wait a few minutes and then toggle it back to “off.”

Seconds later, the video states that you will need to do some work to set up the program. Then, it promises that once you complete the setup, you will earn money on “autopilot.” Later in the video, the AI-voiced narrator claims the company already completed “90 percent of the work.”

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published in March 2024 a news release about a similar-sounding scam promising users could “generate passive income on autopilot.” The FTC added, “The truth was that few consumers ever made money from these schemes.”

Always remember that if an online offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Pocket Sized ATM Machine Facebook and Instagram Ads

During the course of my research of Pocket Sized ATM Machine, I reviewed at least hundreds of Facebook and Instagram ads promoting the product. All of them appeared to promote fake “7 minute phone trick” reviews.

Marketers included in their ads a fake TV news headline reading, “New Phone Trick Is Making Millions. Thousands of Americans Have Retired Early.” Other ads showed a fake Forbes article with the headline, “Calling It Quits: New 7-Minute Trick Allows Thousands to Retire Early.”

Some of the ads I reviewed featured a young man with facial hair wearing a hat and t-shirt, pictured on the very left in the below image. In each ad, he presented a different story of how he claimed to learn about Pocket Sized ATM Machine. He said he first learned of the “7 minute phone trick” from a neighbor, then his friend’s mom, then his friend’s dad whose wife cheated on him and then his friend’s dad whose wife died. In other words, the man’s stories conflicted with one another. His fictional stories intended to influence users to make a purchase of Pocket Sized ATM Machine.

Other people also appeared in similar video ads on Facebook and Instagram, usually claiming to know people who earned millions of dollars with the “7 minute phone trick” course. It’s not entirely clear whether they were involved with the product itself, worked as affiliate marketers or were simply actors paid to tell fake stories as spokespeople. Some of them clearly lived in regular apartments with unremarkable kitchens visible in the background. In other words, if Pocket Sized ATM Machine made them tons of money, why would they still be living in modest apartments?

Further, let’s not forget these ads featured some of the same tropes someone might find in other online scams, not to mention pyramid schemes whose participants claim their “businesses” aren’t pyramid schemes. For example, the ads displayed phrases about “quitting your 9-5” and “retiring early.” The video on pocketsizedatm.com also showed flashy cars, beautiful people, travel destinations, expensive homes and other misleading promises.

Think about it. The idea suggests you’ll become a multi-millionaire by following a supposed set of instructions. Marketers promote what they claim is a groundbreaking moneymaking strategy in Facebook ads. This isn’t how life works. This doesn’t reflect anything genuine in the real world.

Meta Accepts Money for Scam Ads

Another fact I’d be foolish to leave out: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has accepted money for thousands of scam ads. Meta asks users to tap the “report” button if they see ads violating their policies, as if users are on the company payroll.

As The Associated Press and others have reported time and again, Meta regularly reports to investors on a quarterly basis revenue numbers in the tens of billions. Even so, the company still has not chosen to invest in staffing up with enough credible moderators to manually review all Facebook and Instagram ads before they display on users’ devices. Instead, the company only manually reviews some of the ads, with the majority processing through a seemingly (and conveniently) broken automated review process.

Fox News reported in 2023 about the prevalence of scams in Facebook sponsored posts, writing, “The way [scammers] do this is by buying accounts that have already gone through the verification process, such as business manager accounts that are allowed to post lots of ads. Once hackers take over these accounts, they can charge thousands of dollars in ad spending to credit cards associated with the compromised accounts and post whatever ads they want. So, it’s really a flaw within Facebook’s verification process that allows these ads to come to life.”

The Pocket Sized ATM Machine Reviews Video

I watched the video on pocketsizedatm.com. It lasted 32 minutes and 46 seconds. The video began with its AI-voiced narrator saying, “Hi, I’m Ben, and this is an iPhone. And while it might seem like it, this is no regular iPhone. This is a pocket sized ATM machine. In a few minutes, you’re gonna witness this weird little iPhone pulling cold, hard cash off the internet and putting it right into my pockets on command.” During this part of the video, the screen displays supposed quick and consecutive deposits of $5,378, $3,713, $5,378, $3,713, $5,378 and $3,713.

Later in the video, “Ben” introduces “Mr. X.” Neither supposed person is ever shown in the video. The video’s creator — who may have simply used a prompt to ask AI to write a script and also the video itself — only chose to show animated characters and generic stock video.

The video promises you’ll become rich, quit your day job and relax on a beach sipping drinks. It also uses the same tropes as other scams, such as falsely claiming someone with similar interests keeps trying to remove the product from the internet. Another scam trope is the reassurance of a strong level of security and encryption. Later, the narrator reassures viewers again, saying, “It is very, very safe.” Too much reassurance is a red flag.

After the video ends, the website leads users to a checkout page asking for a $47 payment. That checkout page features a “BBB Accredited Business” button. However, Pocket Sized ATM Machine — the “7-minute phone trick” — is not accredited by the U.S. Better Business Bureau (BBB). Rather, the accreditation logo pertains to the payment processing company ClickBank. The ClickBank page on the BBB website displays an average review score of 1.5 out of 5 and more than 200 complaints.

I located no information about the people who created Pocket Sized ATM Machine. If the “7 minute phone trick” was legit, why wouldn’t its founder or founders make themselves known? Is the person behind the scam located in Australia? Did they hire funnel website builders from the Philippines to create pocketsizedatm.com? If the product worked and the people who created it were proud of it, where are they? Wouldn’t they be beaming with joy in online videos?

If you’re looking at a potential scam and can’t find any information about the people who designed the product, ask yourself why and you’ll have more clarity about the matter.

Genuine Pocket Sized ATM Machine Reviews

I did not purchase Pocket Sized ATM Machine for myself. I don’t typically hand my credit card information over to people running potential scams. After all, a YouTube user under my video providing a review of the information about Pocket Sized ATM Machine said, “I paid $154.22 for this program and have never heard from the company. Scam.”

A different user posting on Reddit had this to say: “My credit card company flagged it as a scam so I came here. I bailed on the purchase for now. Too many unanswered questions.”

In other words, it’s a very good thing I did not attempt to purchase the product myself. I hope readers understand this. I sometimes receive inane and negative comments from people who are mad I didn’t provide potential scammers my financial data. I hope readers see I am attempting to help consumers by compiling information and attempting to dominate search results in order to save consumers money.

In the same Reddit thread, another user added, “I bought it knowing I could get a refund… which I’ve already requested. It’s another affiliate marketing gig.”

The Outbrain advertising platform’s blog defines affiliate marketing as “when you earn a commission for the online promotion of another company’s product or service.” The article also adds, “Essentially, affiliates perform online marketing on behalf of a merchant, to drive traffic and conversions for the merchant’s website. For every click or conversion earned, the affiliate is paid by the merchant.”

Meanwhile, back in the Reddit thread, at least one user seemed to genuinely offer this advice: “It’s not a scam but also not worth buying. It pretty much tells you to make an Instagram account, and repost certain things on it. It’s definitely a long-term kind of thing, but not something I would get into, especially if I’m not guaranteed money.”

In other words, these online users did not witness the same exciting opportunities presented in the Facebook and Instagram ads or in the video on pocketsizedatm.com. Offers that seem too good to be true — pyramid schemes included — often make big promises like flashy cars, vacations and millions of dollars, only to end up costing users an enormous amount of time for little, if any, monetary gain.

Sound Publishing’s Scammy Sponsored Content Articles

Aside from the Facebook and Instagram ads, other ads promoting Pocket Sized ATM Machine reviews of the “7 minute phone trick” appeared in sponsored content articles.

Have you ever heard of a company named Sound Publishing? Whether yes or no, you’ve possibly viewed their articles in Google search results.

Sound Publishing is one of the companies responsible for promoting fake reviews of the Pocket Sized ATM Machine course. The publishing company owns media outlets located in Alaska and the state of Washington. Some of their efforts involve promoting apparent paid-for articles for scammy products. Such stories are better known as sponsored content.

For example, the following Sound Publishing websites host sponsored content articles promoting fake positive reviews for Pocket Sized ATM Machine: BainbridgeReview.com, CovingtonReporter.com, CourierHerald.com, BellevueReporter.com, VashonBeachcomber and two additional stories also hosted on CovingtonReporter.com and VashonBeachcomber.com. The authors of the misleading stories hope to fool users into believing the websites host genuine reviews. Also, they all read like someone generated their text with AI. Further, other than the very bottom of the lengthy articles, the only indication of the articles existing as paid-for sponsored content displays as a small “sponsored” label at the top of the stories. Some users will undoubtedly not see that label.

The benefits of scammers turning to a company like Sound Publishing to promote their latest schemes are threefold. The publishing company’s media outlets provide an overall trustworthy appearance, prominent placement in Google search results and what you could consider the “holy grail” for scammers: trustworthy-looking placement in Google News. Some users looking for genuine reviews might see Sound Publishing’s sponsored content articles in Google News and assume credible journalists authored those stories. How many consumers fell victims to scams because of these scammy sponsored content articles?

In addition to fake reviews of the Pocket Sized ATM Machine course, Sound Publishing’s websites also promoted other scams. For example, they published sponsored content articles containing scams about keto gummies for weight loss, CBD gummies and even a purported “Genius Wave” scheme claiming that listening to specific sounds on a CD or phone can magically unlock a person’s “superbrain,” purportedly leading them to “financial freedom” — in other words, the exact opposite of sound publishing.

Promises of Low-Cost Courses Changing Lives

Marketers have for years offered products similar to Pocket Sized ATM Machine, claiming that downloading a special program or course — whether in the form of a video, PDF or other deliverable — could dramatically change individuals’ lives or increase sales with online businesses. These marketers present their purported solutions in the form of short video ads on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other platforms. Their short videos lead to landing pages hosting longer videos. The longer videos might then lead to either a digital download or a 1-on-1 meeting. The strategy of marketers offering a meeting usually indicates an incoming pitch to pay a lot of money for “executive coaching” or other products.

While it’s true some of the people offering these products might have an impressive background in online marketing, their promises of “secret methods” or coaching to help random online users achieve “financial freedom” usually smell strongly of scams.

On the same subject, the FTC reported in August 2022, “How can you tell if a business offer or coaching program is a scam? If it promises guaranteed income, large returns, or a ‘proven system,’ it’s likely a scam. Even a free or low-cost ‘system’ to get your business started can quickly turn into a money pit — costing you tens of thousands of dollars for mentoring or other services that promise to increase your business’s success but leave you deep in debt instead.”

After all, if an online marketer holds the key to achieving an abundance of wealth, why would they be spending time attempting to share their moneymaking strategies with other people who might later compete in the same space? Wouldn’t they be traveling the world on luxurious vacations? These product pitches usually make no logical sense.

Again, if an online offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Scam Victims: Call Your Credit Card Company

If any readers fell victim to a scam, please immediately call your credit card company. Notify them of the misleading and scammy title of the scam (ex. Pocket Sized ATM Machine or “7 minute phone trick”).

Readers scammed by any fraudulent schemes can file a complaint with the BBB and follow sound advice from the FTC and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Lastly, be vigilant. Don’t fall for scams known as refund and account recovery scams. These scams involve deceptive users claiming they are experts with a special toolset to help victims recover lost money or get access back to a lost online account. Basically, they’ll come in after you’ve already been scammed and will try to scam you a second time. They’re only after your money and have no special technical skills.

My comments are open below. They require approval from me but I will approve your comment shortly. Please submit your story if you know more about Pocket Sized ATM Machine — the nonsensical “7 minute phone trick.”