The Value Of Internet Trust: 10 Signs of an Internet Scam

Always think about the 10 rules before you sign up for anything. These should help you protecting your assets, your identity, you sanity, and your hair. I know that times are tough but these offers will make it harder. The people who are trying to get you into this are only looking out for themselves they could care less about you.

1) Don’t assume that an ad is legit no matter what site it is on. (Even this one) As web publishers we do not endorse the ads on the site, we do not even review the ads. We use Google Adsense so I do not even see the ads that you see to review them. They are shown from context matching on the text. In this case they are probably scams as well. Always look for print that says “Sponsored” or “Advertisement” or on this site “Ads by Google”. Even if you trust the site don’t trust the ads that appear on it. If I could investigate all the ads on this site I would venture to say that 90% of them are scams. If you know of any that show up as scams let me know I would be interested to investigate them.

2) Don’t buy into the emergency of the situation that is pressure sales. There is no such thing as easy and fast money or I would be doing it daily instead of writing this article. Every opportunity I know about especially around home based business requires hard work just to get a measly compensation. If you see any get rich quick text get out while you can. If they could get rich quick they would not have time to sell you the system. Remember the system is the business they are in.

3) Do not trust the use of logos Most “opportunities” make use of logos from various companies, either news organizations or Google or even Yahoo logos get used trying to convince you that its authentic and that you can trust it. Always read the fine print. You will normally find a disclaimer saying that the logo owners do not endorse it. Also some news organizations allow infomercials to be run which means the infomercial may have been run on the news organization channel. Most of these logos are used without permission and should be reported.

4) Don’t be tricked No experience required, no skill required, huge wages all of these are usually not legitimate these offers are trying to get something. These types of figures are used to find desperate people who really want to do better. They are made and designed to take advantage of you. Real opportunities might exist like this but nepotism is the way these types of offers get distributed. Every job requires a skill from washing dishes to being the CEO of a company. Even home based business requires skill, accounting, organization etc.

5) Don’t give information just to get information Many sites will want you to put in your mailing address, email address and some even your credit card information just to let check if you can get in. That is designed to make you feel like they are being selective or that the offer is being taken up quickly. Infomercials’ will use the same thing talking about if the phones are busy make sure you call back, or my favorite one is the one that says “If your last name starts with A – M you call now, if its N-Z you can call tomorrow” this is to make them appear to be busy and make you excited.

6) Read the fine print because it will tell you what you are going to be charged Most of the systems will tell you its “only” a tiny investment $1.99 or $19.95 to get you started and making money today, this is to make you feel comfortable with losing such a small amount and to get you to buy today. That is a ploy and they just want your credit card information that you just gave them. They also do this to make you not try to find out how much it is so that you do not see that you are agreeing to several other fees of $40.00 or $60.00 dollars. All I can say is good luck getting a refund because you agreed to those charges, you just where not aware they existed. If you read the fine print you will save your hide and your hair. The only way out of this is to cancel your credit card or even close your back account. Sometimes you will then get collection notices because you agreed to the fine print.

7) Don’t be taken over by the thoughts of fine women, wine, and fast cars. Why would they not show you the great life, remember they are trying to uphold their great life so they can afford those things. They want you to believe you can get that if you try hard enough. The best way to get those items is to save your money by following the tips.

8) Don’t be fooled by a pop up of a live agent Most of the sites you find are scams will try to convince you with popup’s or supposed live agents that want to talk to you before you leave. They will have confusing text related to them and try to get you to stay on the site and order. I have never run across a true offer that had a timetable of a few minutes. This is designed of course to make you feel comfortable and like someone really wants to help you. Next time you get one type in “What is the cause of global warming” and you will probably get a great response like “This is a once in a lifetime offer, you can’t miss it” or something similar these are fun to play with for a few minutes then get rather boring.

9) Use a search engine Always use a search engine and take the business opportunity name and append scam for example “Advertising Profits from Home scam” and read everything you can find on the offer. Most of the time you will find consumer reports or complaints about the company. Now mind you if you cannot find anything that does not mean it’s not a scam, on the same token just because you find something does not make it a scam, and a scam is not always a fraud. (Complicated?) Always use search engines and find as much information as you possibly can before doing anything. Just like before I buy a product I always search for reviews, same concept to me.

10) Use your gut You know the feeling right before something happens that makes you uneasy. This is your last line of defense you can tell something is not right and your hoping you can make just a little money. You might even believe you can do it better than anyone else. What is happening is you are believing the hype and trying to convince yourself that the offer is good. If you have to convince yourself then you need not do it. Just move on you can find something else.