Spot A Scammer Before They Spot You!(and steal all your freakin money!)
By Sheila on Mar 18, 2009 in Blogging Tips
I’ve been working online for 3 years. I enjoy making extra money and love to find new ways to make it while working from home. When I first started I had absolutely no idea how much crap I would have to sift through before I would find the real opportunities that are offered online. I wasted around 3 months and $500 on programs that were absolute BS – total scams – I wish I had known some really simple tricks to check out anything I want to spend my money on before I just threw it away. The most important lesson (and sometimes the hardest) is to never trust anyone, you just can’t believe what people say online. You have to RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!!
It’s sad, but there are so many liars and cheats out there making a living from scamming people who want to make their lives better and earn an income working online. They prey on the hopes and dreams of those who believe that the product or service they are promoting will change their lives financially, forever. Although there are many fraudulent scams on the internet, there are still websites out there that provide real, valuable information, products, and services that will help people make money online.
If you decide that an online business is the way you want to build your finances, then there are some things that you must know before you spend your hard earned money on a product or service. The first thing you should ALWAYS do before spending a dime is to google the name of the program adding “scam” at the end. Usually if their are any complaints about a service, program or product it will show up here.
Some indications of a fraudulent site are:
1-No form of contact.
2-No frequently asked questions or help section.
3-No specified guarantee or returns policy.
4-No specified privacy policy.
5-Read all the terms and conditions of any offer very carefully: claims of free or very cheap offers often have hidden costs.
6-Site does not have a legitimate secured site seal of approval. (e.g. – COMODO, VeriSign, Trust-e, etc…)
One way to check if a website is secured by encryption is to look at the actual URL address. If it begins with ‘https’ instead of ‘http’ then the website is secured. The ‘s’ in ‘https’ stands for secured site. For example; https://www.theultimateinternetmillionaire.com/. You may also be able to see a small picture of a lock next to your browser indicating that you are on a secured website. A way for you to be sure of the security of your payments online is if the website offers a Paypal payment option. All payment information is completely processed through Paypal using 128 bits of encryption which is the highest level commercially available. When using Paypal as your payment method you can be assured that your information is protected.
So, now you know a few helpful tactics and tips that will help you beat the scammers at their own game and help weed out fraudulent sites. Just remember to listen to your ‘gut’ feeling and if you think the website looks dodgy, then stay away from it.
20 Comment(s)
By skipratt on Mar 18, 2009 | Reply
Hehe, Here I was hoping for some make some real money idea’s and just common sense. Guess next time you’ll throw some of your money making tips and idea’s my way!
Good post!!!
By bewegaleri on Mar 18, 2009 | Reply
hei, your blog is interesting, i really look around to find something.
By Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach on Mar 19, 2009 | Reply
Sad to say, but scams abound. Another good way to research if something is a scam is to look for the product mentioned in the popular niche forums – http://www.boardreader.com is a good resource for this.
Data points, Barbara
By Carl on Mar 19, 2009 | Reply
I got an email from a widow in Nigeria asking me to help her. She had 20 million dollars and she didn’t know what to do. So she asked me if I could help her since through grapevine, she found out that I was big on charity and helping others. She would give me 2 million dollars if I just gave her my bank info. I did. I am so thrilled. In just a few days, I’ll be rich. I can’t wait to tell my boss, “Yo, dumbass. I QUIT.”
By Bob Caine on Mar 19, 2009 | Reply
Yes, the scammers are out there in droves. Another way to tell is if they offer to make you rich and you don’t have to do any work.
By Daniel Proulx on Mar 21, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for sharing , I read a great book about scam by Frank W. Abagnale , the art of the steal . Unfortunately , Scams on the internet are growing too fast .
By Gerardo on Mar 21, 2009 | Reply
The internet has a lot of resources, use it to find and take down these damn scammers, we cannot let them win!
By Rick Vaughn on Mar 22, 2009 | Reply
I think everyone gets screwed in the beginning by promises made online. Good know how much money I have wasted. The best way to make money online is create your own mousetrap. Research, Research, Research.
By Sheng Freelancer on Mar 22, 2009 | Reply
I was scammed once, for $70, maybe not too big but it ignited something in me. I was so determined to get my money back so I researched on affiliate marketing and how these people make money. I’m researching and learning. And I’m still determined to get my money back, one way or the other.
By Webbielady on Mar 24, 2009 | Reply
Others really have contracts and looks legit.. if you try to clcik the link in my name, i directed it to a scamming money mule site. They actually make people as their front and carry on their fraudulent acts and make themselves look clean.
By Webbielady on Mar 24, 2009 | Reply
I am so tired of scams actually and i hate scammers. I have been campaigning against a certain site but most people don’t learn until they themselves feel the wrath of scammers. Well, at least I have done my part, what else can I do more?
By Play Games Win Prizes on Mar 29, 2009 | Reply
You know what’s funny is that people do not realize affiliate marketers are promoting scams all the time. Come on, it’s never that good to be true.
-Mike
By Phil on Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
Hey, this is a neat blog. There is very good tips and such here.
Another way I try to weed out the scammers is by going to whois dot domaintools dot com and doing a search on the doamin name. If the domain has a private registration, PO Box or registered to an address not listed on the site then there is a good chance the site owner is trying to hide something…
Keep up the great work here!
Take Care,
Phil
By Brenda Bunney on May 28, 2009 | Reply
I see many of us have been learning how to spot a respectable company and avoid the scammers. One other thing to do is to make sure we have the name, physical address, and valid phone number of the corporation. Also a corporation should have a paid email address.
By Rob on Jul 7, 2009 | Reply
These are some great tips, and yeah, I’m skeptical of so much that I see online these days.
By Noclegi Gory Stolowe on Jul 20, 2009 | Reply
The way I see it better let a great offer pass then get scammed. There’s a fine line between “great deal” and “too good to be true” and if you can’t spot it you better dismiss all of those offers.
By Funny Ads Collection on Jul 20, 2009 | Reply
If their offers sounds too good to be true, IT PROBABLY IS. Never trust anything that sounds too good to be true..
By free online games for kids on Jul 24, 2009 | Reply
Repeat. If its too good to be true, it probably is.
By Isis on Aug 4, 2009 | Reply
I just read the ebooks here – http://www.internetmarketingsins.com/ – a few days ago and I found it very informative. I’m also trying to learn everything I can on how to make money on the Internet. I don’t know if it’s a good thing that i don’t have money to spend so I just try to learn everything I can using the free resources I can find out there.
Hope this helps.
By alexa on Sep 25, 2009 | Reply
i been new to blogging. i dont know which site has spam. i dont know how to detect it either. been posting some in my site..i guess it’s rather slow…can you please help me?