Scams are everywhere, this much is guaranteed.
But, if you know what a scam looks like, avoiding them becomes much easier.
The most common misconception is that anything to do with “making money online” is a scam… Albeit true in most cases, there are definitely those rare “gems” hidden among the dirt.
It always pays to do a little research, and starting with “what is a scam and how can I avoid them” is a good place to begin.
Some of the biggest scams can come off as legitimate businesses, always always always double, triple or even quadruple check everything!
With a little searching you might be surprised at what you can find, you might find that absolutely no one has had a good experience with whatever program, which could potentially save you a lot of money.
Or, you could find that people are using slimy marketing tactics to promote something, and possibly shy away.
Helping you avoid these scams is a big part of why this website has been created.
Some simple things to keep in mind to help you avoid most scams:
Search First!
If you come across a prospective program and you are skeptical as to whether its a scam or not, use Google.
One of the quickest ways to determine if a company is running a scam is by performing a search using the companies name and the keyword “scam” in variations, ie; hoax, or fake.
If you are finding a lot of corresponding information either negative or positive, it can really help you to generate a better decision. If you can’t find anything, then I wont be the only one to tell you “don’t be a trailblazer.”
That said, if all you’re finding is great reviews, make sure they’re not all the exact same…
“Autopilot”
Nope. Turn away. Autopilot only exists in the world of aviation.
…and some high end cars
It’s absolutely amazing how many people get away with these “make money on autopilot!” claims… When it’s honestly just impossible… not even they are making money on autopilot.. someone had to make that sales video, didn’t they?
If you really want to do something on autopilot, I would suggest going and getting your pilot’s license, because it won’t happen in the world of Internet Marketing.
You will eventually have some old posts that will continually generate revenue, which could be (in some ways) considered “autopilot”; but, you still wrote that content at one point, and you had to continue working beyond that point, as well as up to that point.
I suppose that once you’ve been doing IM for long enough that things become almost automated, but that still isn’t autopilot!!!!
Contact info?
If a prospective program does not have any sort of contact information displayed, or if its difficult to find, this usually indicates that the owner doesn’t want to be contacted.
But why?
Sometimes they will claim that they are trying to save money, but does this constitute a valid reason to not have a phone number?
If you were going to spend hundreds of dollars at a local store, wouldn’t you want someone to actually speak with in case something goes awry? I know I would.
Lack of support
If a company does not offer “full-range” support, I would recommend turning the other way.
This is only an example of how little they believe in their product.
Plus, if a company doesn’t offer some level of technical support – they’re probably not established enough to really help you anyways.
Upsales
If you’ve ever found yourself signing up for a service that initially offers it for a low price, lets say $100, then proceeds to say that you need more products to succeed in their program, usually costing 5x-50x your initial investment…
You’ve been a victim of an upsale. Some programs that come to mind that heavily use upsales are the Empower Network, and the Internet Lifestyle Network. Both charge reasonable low entry fees, but both have extremely high priced “advanced” packages that will “boost” your success.
However, sometimes legitimate companies may promote or endorse other products which may truly prove to be beneficial in whatever you may be doing, this is a gray area and could be good, or bad. It’s something that you really have to check out for yourself to weigh the pro’s and con’s.
Example of an upsale : $100 entry fee > $500 upgrade for “more information” > $1500 upgrade with “even more information” > $3500 upgrade package with a bonus! > and so on until you’re flat broke
Example of a promotion : Program “A” says that company “B” offers a reputable service and could prove useful.
Ponzi / Pyramid Scheme
Although most people have a pretty good understanding of what a ponzi is, there are still millions (literally) who fall victim to their promises of wealth.
A ponzi (or pyramid) scheme is basically whenever you are forced into recruiting numerous people below you, to ultimately feed money to the person who recruited you and on and on until it reaches the top. (but you’re usually not actually selling anything aside from the ability to recruit people)
Improbable Claims
“Make $10 000 a week from home with absolutely no work involved” would be an exceptional, and surprisingly a common example of an improbable claim.
There are so many of these companies out there that will blatantly lie to you until you’ve paid their initial sign-up fee’s, after which, they couldn’t care less because they’ve already made their money.
“Video Only” Page
This is an extremely common thing, believe it or not.
For every market, there are dozens of products with “video only” webpages, which tells us a couple of things, not good things either.
If someone doesn’t have the time to write some informative content about their product, don’t think they will have any time to offer support, or even care if you run into technical difficulties with their product.
“Snake Oil”
You’ve been sitting there for 23 minutes patiently watching a sales video to figure out what exactly this product – which initially seemed so interesting – actually is, and then the video ends.
Maybe you’ve just finished reading the last sentence to no avail, you still can’t say exactly what this product is or does.
Well, its probably not something that the salesperson wants to explain, and my advice to you is “turn and run”.
Keeping these ideas in the forefront of your mind while sifting through dirt trying to find a gem might just save you a few thousand $.
Have you had a good, or bad experience with a company that claims to teach people how to make money online? Let us know about it in the comments section below, we’re always interested in hearing your stories!
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