Identifying Work at Home Scams

Recently i posted a lot about how to identify scams on my blog.

Most scam usually start with offers that look too good to be true.

The truth is there is nothing like overnight riches, many scams claim to make you rich overnight which is not possible.

You might be familiar with this one " My uncle just pass away and left me with a lot of ......"

Real opportunity still abound online and offline.

Do your research. For online opportunity you can find out if the site belong to BBB.

Roxanna Revival: Of course people new to internet marketing expect to "win the internet lotto" and expect instant results because they are told by scammers that if they follow the scammers "easy to use, step-by-step, fool-proof, 100% guaranteed, money-making system" then they will see results instantly.
Well, that's the first clue that you're likely not going to make any money, isn't it. The typical Get Rich Quick come on is usually a scam. Earning money is not that easy. Any serious online or work at home business takes time and energy. There's really no way to instantly be successful. Unless... you're scamming others into believing that there is!

Antonios,

I'm really sorry to hear about your experiences. I, too was victimized by Graham Frame. My family invested almost $18,000 in his Cash4Sure program after being promised a certain level of return. Of course nothing ever happened, return-wise.

Mr. Frame gravitated from California to Utah, and then left the country and is presently in Italy. He promises to make good on our and other folks' investment but I feel it will be a long wait.

I wish there were a rating system for services such as hosts, emailers, advertisers and so forth. But since there really isn't, watch to see what most other people are using. You see GoDaddy all the time, and when you opt into autorespond messages you usually see AWeber. I use both and both are reputable.

Let me know how you are doing and if I can be of help to you, please ask.

ScottWhaley: can assure you it is not that high. In fact, I bet its quite the opposite. 90% legitimate, and 10% scam. The problem is that people have no idea what they are doing. They buy a business and expect it to make them 1000's of dollars after putting $100 into google adwords, or writing their first couple of articles.

Many of these business will tell you exactly how to set up a google adwords account, but they will probably leave out how important it is to research appropriate keywords, and the importance of having those keywords in your ads.

Some businesses will probably give you some great articles to submit to different article directories, but most wont tell you that google frowns on duplicate content, and that thousands of other people have already submitted the same article.

Eventually people realize that the exceptional business they thought they had is not working and they fail. Then they shoot straight over to RippOff Report and yell SCAM!

The only advice I can give is just to educate yourself. Buy a book instead of a business.
I would definite agree with your statement. I have been fortunate and only been in a few "scams" and most legitimate opportunties. The scams I was involved in was more of my fault for falling for the "get rich quick" pyramids that are out there. I do believe that a person needs to assess what types or products or services they feel passionate about and then promote/market those.

For instance, I was an avid user of nutritional supplements. I feel/felt that some companies offered some great products. The problem was when a MLM company wraps itself around this product and you give in to the over night wealth mentality. It simply doesn't work that way. The benefit to failing so many times in a business is that you learn more and more about business itself which is an invaluable lesson. Learning about business, trade and commerce is more important than getting rich because you can take that skill anywhere and implement what you have learned in any business and sel/market any product of your choice.

In the end, I decided to start my own business offering products and services that I am passionate about. Such as IT Consulting. I am a computer geek and love the industry. I have learned that online marketing systems need to have certain tools in place such as websites, email, autoresponders, web analytics (to know who your customers are) and not to mention knowing someone who knows a bit about computers, the internet and business is gold.

I have even compiled an e-book which outlines what a person needs who is looking to either work at home, start a home business or grow their current small business on and off the internet. I feel there is more of a need to help people than there is to just sell products or services.

You sure know what your talking about. I agree with you there is a lot of information that's worth paying for. If you are looking for a job then you should not have to pay. If you are trying to learn the skills necessary for success on the linternet, you may want to buy a good program to show you the ropes. You can probably find out this info for free if you search long and hard, but it's worth the money to have it all laid out for you.

photomom04: If there are ANY fees such as a one time membership fee, a fee for "training materials" etc., it is probably a scam.
It probably is. You should not pay any upfront money for you to get projects.

I have come across so many working websites with the words 'noscam' in their URL. Any website that feels the need to explicitly state it isn't a scam, surely cannot be trusted 100% lol!

emmaathome: I have come across so many working websites with the words 'noscam' in their URL. Any website that feels the need to explicitly state it isn't a scam, surely cannot be trusted 100% lol!
I agree! Why would anyone make the claim that their site is not a scam? It kind of goes into the same category as when someone says, "trust me." To me, that typically means that person cannot or should not be trusted. We had a person come into our place of business not too long ago and said those very words. Needless to say, we our still trying to collect the money he owes.

Watch out for the smooth talkers and that includes web sites. Do you due-diligence and check out the person(s)/principle(s) before accepting their word as the truth.

U guys just have to be careful at the end of the day it's the internet there are a lot of spammers and scammers out here who are just out here to take your hard earned money! Watch the website you go to and please always be careful where you enter your payment info at that's how they get you! Trust me it has happen to me before! As for the spammers I mean what can you do? Just take them down one at a time. Other then that i' m just here to lend a helping hand! Anyone need any help with anything feel free to hit me on here or email me at [email protected].

KarlFabian: The easiest way to suspect a fraud is when they tell you exactly what you have been wanting to hear and hoping for. Just don't allow your self to believe it. Research all aspects for truth. Take your time, ask questions and do not allow your desperation to rule your actions.
Karl, you are so right...this just happened to a group of my Internet friends. A big "hitter" told them what they wanted to hear, and many bit - hook, line and sinker. The good news is our group leader sniffed out the "rat" before it went too far.

One thing we all learned...if you can't find them on Google...they are probably a scammer. So, before getting involved with anyone or any company, search Google. Chances are, you will find the truth, providing the information is coming from a legitimate site.

Jeff

I think IDing a scam is getting harder and harder these days. If only they can invent scam goggles...that would help so much.

Joel

Hey there Joel,

yes that would be quite nice lol. there are so many scams out there today but you gotta keep your eyes open there are a few that arent scams lol. well i guess haha

Make sure you always read the policies and procedures.
This is important and a step many don't do.

What is the best way to drive traffic to your website? I use articles and Squidoo lenses and have a free blog setup. I just tried a ping service but am getting minimal trafffic.

I am using the service that is recommended through MOIS.

What are the successful people doing?

Hello,

I am a newbie and have been plugging along with a sad lack of success. IS the My Online Income System or MOIS a good system for beginers?

I still believe it is but am looking for input

I got a couple of those same letters, but tried contacting at least one of the people on the list. After locating one of them that had tried it, the reply I got was "less than I expected". That told all, right there and after reading your message, I now know for sure! Thanks.

The easiest way and the most effective way to identify internet and other scams is to simply google it.
It doesn't take long for scams to make their way online.
If you are a bit unsure of an opportunity, try this first.

On the other hand, dont confuse scams with quitters.
There are a lot of people out there who get involved with an opportunity, get excited, think they're going to be rich tomorrow and then when they are not, they write about it online saying they never made any money and the business is a scam. About 90% of negative posts you will find about any given legitimate business will be from disgruntled QUITTERS!

I always say that MLM is a 5-10 year plan.

Hope this has helped.

I think the best way to identify a scam site is to search with keywords in Google and after that one can see tons of forum answers about whether a site is a scam site or not.

Here's an article I wrote on this a few weeks ago:

If you have been around the internet for more than a minute then you have probably seen a forum post or two about someone who was a victim of a wealthy affiliate scam artist. According to the poster the wealthy affiliate scam artist tricked them into releasing their hard earned money and guess what, they didn't become a millionaire as a result! How could they do that? Well, let's look a little deeper . . .

First of all, most so called "wealthy affiliate scam artists" don't get a fair shake. And the reason I say that is because they are doing exactly what thousands of other legitimate entrepreneurs are doing. They are offering a business model or a product for sale. Yes, they write up a great marketing piece and yes they make it look easy but they also assume one thing ??“ that YOU will take action and not quit! That last statement is the single biggest reason people think they've been had by a "wealthy affiliate scam artist".

The truth of the matter is that very few people have been scammed. Yes, there are people that do illegal pyramid schemes and swindle others out of their money but those wealthy affiliate scam artists are fewer than one thinks. In fact, I would guess that 95% of so called "scams" are really a result of the buyer not following the directions, the buyer being undercapitalized or the buyer quitting too early.

But, that is not the purpose of this article. The purpose of this article is to identify wealthy affiliate scam artists and expose a few of their secrets. Here you go . . .

1. Wealthy Affiliate Scam Artists don't have a product. By that I mean that they are not selling a proven system or a physical item. Instead, they are asking for cash and not telling you how you will make money as a result. And, without a system or item to sell it's impossible to generate cash! So your first warning sign will be if they don't have something to sell to the masses

2. They do not use credible processors like Paypal, Clickbank or similar. These processors weed out the "wealthy affiliate scam artists" by causing them to have a product and follow a format to collect their cash. Any sign of trouble is handled by the processor.

3. The wealthy affiliate scam artists are located in banned countries. Typically the countries to watch out for are Nigeria, Eqypt and a few other third world nations that have made a living out of scamming the unknowing. Be cautious whenever an offer is coming from one of these lands. They are the best wealthy affiliate scam artists around!

In conclusion, the good news is that there are fewer scams than one thinks. In fact, most wealthy affiliate scam artists are mislabeled by underperforming customers who were expecting to hit the internet "lotto" with little or no work involved. Shame on them for taking this attitude. The truth is that to succeed online or off it takes work, risk and sometimes a bit of luck!
====

Todd

Presently, when I see any program which claims "As seen on AOL, CNN, Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc." I will be very cautious. These programs may be just cashing on others' good reputations without having one themselves.

A financial advisor told me the following:

1. If you come across any Internet program or MLM or business opportunity coming out with a 'BIG BANG', don't join. Big Bang effects usually bring immediate money to the program owners and the top guns recruiting people like crazy.

2. Don't join any program which pay you in epoint, ecurrency, eMoney, eSomething. These are not real money you use to buy normal stuff on the street.