Online crooks are getting braver than ever.
In the video below, Better Business Buero Branch Manager, Bob Stezzi explains the top 10 Internet scams
I have to assume that if you are trying to make money online, you have seen hundreds of websites claiming that you can earn hundreds or even thousands of dollars per day.They usually want you to give them your email address to "gain access" to their "miracle cutting edge program," that promises to bring you "automated wealth."I have three words for you: IT'S A SCAM!
No matter what these people promise, who they claim to be affiliated with, or how they are verified..
THERE IS NO LEGITIMATE AUTOMATED MONEY MAKING SYSTEM.
Typical Red Flags
The website only consists of one page
Scams usually start off by offering you only one page to look at. Sometimes it is just a sign up form, asking you for your name and email, or sometimes the page will have some story about how the founder of the "company" is making millions with this "system" and wants to teach you how to do the same. Often times there will be screen shots offering "proof" of their Clickbank earnings, or even video of them receiving money in the mail.
First of all, if you see the word Clickbank in association with a money making system, LEAVE THE PAGE!
Clickbank is an affiliate data bank full of "digital merchandise" that you are free to promote for a cut of the profit. It sounds good, until you realize that almost EVERY digital item in the money making niche they offer is a SCAM! I honestly could never sell any of their stuff and look at myself in the mirror every morning. Please don't confuse this with me saying that clickbank itself, or it's products are all scams.
What I AM saying, is that people selling clickbank offers are not money making gurus. They are affiliate marketers that have no problem offering a wealth building system that has never made them a dime until they started selling it online.
...the screen shots are fake. This "marketing guru" has the website you are looking at because he didn't make any money off of clickbank until he learned how to scam people too. He has one-upped the clickbank scam, and is asking you to pay him directly for the "opportunity" to sell HIS website. Remember, a thief will do anything for money.
Time limits or "limited positions"
This one kind of makes me laugh. If this product or opportunity is so great, why would they limit how many can be sold? Also, why does the limit reset every time you visit the website?
They do this to give the visitor a sense of urgency that might prevent them from thinking things through before they break out their credit card. In some cases it makes it look more like a real job, because there aren't always unlimited positions to fill in the real world. However, a website can be read by unlimited people, and an email can be automatically sent to thousands of people on a list at once, so there is NEVER any reason for an internet business to have "limited positions."
Pop up chat boxes or discount offers
This happens when you visit a website, it looks fishy, and you attempt to leave. Suddenly a box will pop up, and a robot wants to chat with you about the program, or you are offered to take the program at half the cost! This is just a pathetic last-ditch effort to sell. Click OK, and leave the website entirely. You may also want to run a scan for malware or spyware after you close this window. Remember, people will do anything, including trying to steal your identity if you refuse to give them money.
Other things to consider:
Before you ever fill out a form
Check your address bar! Every secure page on the web starts with https:// if the "s" is not there after the p, DON'T fill in your private information. Not only are you giving it to them, you are giving it to whoever else has the equipment to look at unsecured web pages. It is simply not worth the risk!
When in doubt, check it out.
Do yourself this simple favor, and look up any money making opportunity you come across on Google. Use phrases like, "(website URL) scam?" and you will usually find listings about any web page out there telling you whether or not it is legit. Unfortunately some pages have learned this, and will write their own glowing reviews.
Just make sure that if all you see are good reviews, you keep reading to make sure the reviews themselves are not fake. Some companies have even caught on that people are checking to see if their programs are scams, and will teach affiliates to write reviews with titles saying things like "legitimate or scam" or " It's a Scam! Don't sign up until you read this review." A good rule of thumb here is, if the reviewer uses dishonest methods to lead you to their sign up page, they are an affiliate who paid a ton of money to learn how to use that same dishonest ploy to sell the same useless product that you will now have to scam other people to sell.
I was personally scammed by a website that had several good reviews. The problem with most reviews is, if there is an affiliate link to promote, people will write glowing reviews of the product, and add their referral link to it whether the product is actually making them anything or not.
Usually yahoo answers will have legitimate answers about anything, but nowadays you really can't be too careful, so your best bet is to steer clear of just about anything with an affiliate link involved, unless you know for sure that you never have to pay anything to use the program, even as a voluntary option.
Trust your instincts.
If you're not sure, don't do it. It's that simple.
