Circumnews - Legit or Scam?

Who doesn't love FREE MONEY?

Okay, so this is not crochet related. I recently found this new company, Circumnews.com. The website pays you to read articles. So far, it is fantastic! I signed up about an hour ago. I've already made $46.40!! It only takes a few minutes!

Here is my screenshot:

Here's what you do:

1) Go to: http://circumnews.com/p29677
2) Enter your information. You don't even need to give out a bunch of personal information, like your address or phone number. Just your name and a paypal account e-mail address. Please remember to make sure your password for Circumnews is different than Paypal. In case this does turn out to be a scam, we don't want them to fish your paypal account.
3) Click "Read News"
4) Click the article you want to read
5) Click confirm
6) Answer the captcha
7) Money goes in your circumnews account, about $2 per article.

You get $9 for every person who follows your referral link and signs up. Plus you get 10% of their earnings. :)

Now the bad news... you cannot cash out until you reach $100. And it takes about 14 days to get deposited into your paypal account.

Update 11.08.2013 - First Cash Out

Yesterday, my account status was changed to active (from beginner), so now each article is worth $2.10. :) But after the first 15 articles, more have not been loaded.

Less than 24 hours after signing up and I've already cashed out over $100.

Since it says it takes up to 14 business days for payment, I should have my first payment by the end of the month, or the first few days of December because of Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving. Since the company's website and server are based in Ukraine, I am not sure who's business days they refer.

I will continue to update as I make progress.

Update 11.10.2013 - Raised payout minimum

I am currently sitting with about $50 in my account. I did some research and on another blog, someone commented that their payout minimum was raised. So of course, I went to check mine. Yes, it has been raised. The minimum payout is $350. The FAQ still states the payout minimum to be $100, so it is unsure if this is a glitch or something the company is changing.

Update 11.12.2013 - New articles and account status

As I said, I would continue to update this post with any new updates. So today I logged on and there were 10 new articles. After reading 5 of those, my account status changed to "professional." So now, my articles are showing as $2.20 each. :) I still have a little bit to go before the $350 minimum payout I need, but I will continue to work towards it. It seems to be a pattern for new articles to be added about every 3 days. So I will expect some new ones on 11.15.2013.

Update 12.03.2013 - Checking in

I have yet to receive my payment. I am attempting to stay optimistic. It is right around the 14 business day mark. I have not seen any proof pics from others yet either. Another blogger has received a few photos, but she believes they are doctored. My balance is currently over the new minimum of $350. The site does seem to have been updated as it runs faster and articles have been added more frequently.

Update 01.10.2014 - No payment

 I have yet to receive a payment and have also received a major spike in my spam e-mail. I am sorry to everyone who signed up through my referral link. I had high hopes the this would be a crazily easy way to make money; but I'm afraid it's likely just a scam to get e-mail addresses. :( I will not be updating this post any further unless I do receive a payment, so you if do not see any further updates, I have not received a payment.