Tips For Detecting Scams

Also growing is the number of unscrupulous individuals who are trying to ensnare the unwary and the unknowing for the sole purpose of taking their money.

I once crossed a website that made the statement that over 30% of online opportunites were scams. While I don't know the actual numbers, I sometimes wonder if that percentage is too low. In my time as an online marketer, I have run across many "business opportunities" that disappeared overnight or otherwise did not last long. Many were, the now infamous, HYIP scams. I still see them occasionally, but not as often as I once did.

Many of the newer scams are much harder to detect,and many of these can be down right illegal, but still detectable if one knows what to look for. Here are a few tips on how to detect a scam.

More hype than actual facts.
While not always true, most scams rely on hype for their sales. They rely on getting people's emotions in a lather and getting them to buy on impulse. There is more flash and dash to their presentations than actual substance.

They sometimes use images showing payment notices from one payment processor or another with the claim that this is an example of what your earnings could look like. You can find these images and copy them from just about anywhere.

While this idea may work from their point of view, it is often short lived, especially if the product or service does not live up to its hyped up claims. I often refer to this as the "snake oil" approach to sales.

Unrealistic Expectations
This particular issue covers a wide area and needs to be addressed in some detail. Some ads and websites show luxury cars, yachts, huge homes, and piles of money. They would have you believe that if you joined their opportunity this is the sort of lifestyle you will have in just a few weeks or so and with very little effort on your part. While most are not that blatant, there are some that convey the idea.

The reality is quite different. Many of these scams will take your money up front and then tack on some "monthly fees". Often times the payout schemes they employ is so confusing, I have wondered if it wasn't deliberately meant to be so. It won't take long for you to realize that you are paying out more than you are earning.

Another reality in any business you start is that it takes a great deal more effort to start and run one than it does to work a 9 to 5 job. Often times, no profits will be had at all for up to a year or more.

Consider some of the scam e-mail systems that claim pay out big money for each e-mail you read. Their claim is that companies are willing to pay you (for example $100) to read thier e-mail message. No company that I am aware of can or will spend money like that. They simply don't have it.

These same e-mail scams don't usually last long. They give some air of legitimacy by paying their members in the beginning, but this is only to encourage other members to purchase "upgraded" memberships. Once these sites reach "critical mass" (Meaning they can't keep up with the payout demands) they simply stop paying their members and disappear back into the void of the Internet.

Some use high pressure sales tactics to get you to buy their product or join their opportunity. They make plays on the emotions of their victims. When I see these, I try to employ an idea that has saved me from making some costly mistakes. I bookmark it and come back to it later to look at it with a more critical eye. I take my time to think about what they are saying and determine whether or not I have heard it before.

I have found that a little critical thinking can go along way towards recognizing scams.

When approached with high pressure sales tactics another neat trick to employ is a tactic I am told that is used by Japanese business men. If it requires an immediate answer , then the answer is "no".

One of the biggest tip offs to detecting scams is when they are their own payment processors. They may make some claims that their accounts have been frozen by the more reputable processors or some such. Because of this, they have decided to take the step of being their own ayment processors.

When you see this, it is time to move on or, if you are already a member, get out fast.

If It Sounds Too Good........
You've probably heard the saying "If it sounds too good to be true,it is." That is especially true of many business opportunities online. They sound really good on the surface, but once you join them, you find that they are not what they were made out to be.

The best approach here is to take your time and look it over. Ask questions.