Internet Business Scams

The Warning Signs

From my experience, I would classify internet scams as being of two types:

1. Those that are outright out to steal your money and have absolutely nothing to offer you
2. Those that highly exaggerate the claims of what their product can do and charge you too much for it

These are the two extremes, but there are overlaps in some cases.

warning signs of internet scams

The methods used vary, but often include showing you loads of pictures of the person offering the product and the lavish lifestyle they are leading with beautiful houses, the latest cars, bling and, yes, women.

Anyone with a genuine internet business opportunity to offer you will not depend on such tactics to draw you in. They will depend on the value of their product and will emphasise their product’s features and benefits instead.

2. You cannot get a clear picture of what the product actually is
This is a big sign. Many internet business scams will not have an actual product to offer you. You will read tonnes of sales copy and will still be confused as to what it is they want you to buy. The product is never mentioned and instead all you get is terms like “amazing opportunity” or “secret system.”

If they can’t tell you what it is then it’s very likely it does not exist or at the very least it is rubbish. Otherwise they would just tell you. Such schemes go hand in hand with point number 1 above. Instead of leveraging or selling their product, they will be selling you flashy graphics and loads of testimonials of people that tried their magic formula and succeeded.

3. Get rich quick schemes
There is one rule of thumb for internet business:

“If it sounds too good to be true...it probably is too good to be true.”

This is an important rule. Remember it. But remember it with the following in mind – such schemes usually promise huge rewards for little effort on your part. That is except the hefty price you have to pay to get in on the supposed action.

Avoid anything that promises you “USD1,000 every day from day one” or “making a million dollars in your first year of business” while only spending 1 hour a week or a day on yoru business.

The rewards a business offers should match the amount of effort you are required to put in. A genuine business offer will tell you that. There is no such thing as get rich quick. The only people that do get rich quick are the people running the internet business scams themselves.

4. No clear instructions on how to cancel recurring charges
This applies to those internet businesses with monthly charges. Often you will be asked to provide your credit card or debit card details in order to get on the programme and this will come with the promise that you can opt out and cancel these recurring monthly bills at any time.

The trouble with these types of internet business scams is that they do not make it clear to you how you can opt out. Quite a lot of times they will not provide any information on how you can opt out or cancel. Any attempts to do so are often followed by delaying tactics that ensure that your monthly billing date is reached before the cancellation is done, if ever it is done by them.

Generally, avoid giving your card details unless you are absolutely sure of the cancelation process and you trust the site. I know of people that have lost hundreds of dollars in this way.

5. Too many “secrets”
This one is not a hard and fast rule. Generally people use the word “secret” in their sales copy in order to draw you in and appeal to your curiosity. But you have to weary of too many secrets. Usually these turn out to be exaggerations and you will find, after spending money on the internet business, that there was nothing so secret in the first place. You probably already knew everything it told you and are no better off in terms of your internet business.

The internet is not as confusing a place as people make it out to be and there is no big secret to how the internet actually works. It’s as simple as CTPM. That’s create quality Content that will drive Traffic to your website which you can Presell and later Monetise.

Hot to avoid internet business scams

Do your homework
Never feel pressured to buy anything without being fully convinced about it. When in doubt: stop. Take a deep breath. Put it aside and come back to it in a day or two. Likely by then you will not feel emotionally pressured to buy and can make a better assessment of the internet business.

Search the internet
This can save you lots of time and heartache. If it is a scam, there are likely other people that have been drawn in by it and they are always eager to warn others. They will have written something about their experience on their website, blog or in forums.

You can also search for articles or comments on the personality behind the internet business.

Post question in forums or Yahoo Answers
If you are unsure about an internet business opportunity post a question in a relevant forum or Yahoo Answers. Likely you will get responses from other people that have tried the product and they will tell you what their experience was.

Ask for references
Ask the product seller if they can give you names of other people you can contact who have tried their product or internet business model. Ensure these references are genuine by double checking their identities. There are many ways to do this, Facebook and Twitter being two of them. Anyone doing any amount of business on the internet uses these two social sites these days.

Assess your risk
Sometimes you just have to assess how much you are risking. This is in terms of money, but also in terms of how much time you might waste on an internet business scam that may not work. Assess your risk and go for it if you feel the risk outweighs the potential benefits. Or if you feel you can bear losing the amount of money you are required to invest.

Sometimes no matter how diligent you are, it comes down to this.

Good luck in your search for a suitable internet business. I’d offer you one now, but likely after reading all this about internet business scams you may not trust my recommendation :)

If you can though, check out this quick tour of a great opportunity.