How to Spot an Online Scam

Ask yourself: do they require you to pay money up front?, Ask yourself: do they promise that you will become rich overnight?, Ask yourself: what's in it for them?, Ask yourself: how are they making money?, Another sign of a scam is a buy-now...

13 Steps 3 min read Advanced

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Ask yourself: do they require you to pay money up front?

    If they are requiring any sort of up front payment to use their services, it is almost always a scam.

    Many of them will claim that it's for the cost of training, etc.

    Most of that is just lies.

    More often than not, the scammer will take your money and run.
  2. Step 2: Ask yourself: do they promise that you will become rich overnight?

    Let's face it.

    Very, very few of us are ever going to make thousands of dollars each day.

    However, scammers prey on our hopes and dreams of being rich without moving a finger.

    They tell us that our dreams can come true, but only if we do what they tell us to do.

    Our emotions shove aside logic, and we want to believe what they say, even if they are shady characters.

    Thus, the scammer's greatest weapon is you.

    Always keep your logic handy. , Are they trying to help us out of the goodness of their own hearts? Are they making a selfless sacrifice of their time to help us become rich beyond your wildest dreams? Not likely.

    Very few people in the online community are going to volunteer vast amounts of their time and effort just to help someone else succeed.

    Most of the time, they are doing it for their own benefit.

    When we ask this question, we have to see through the lies.

    We need to recognize the reason behind false statements.

    For example, when they say that we could earn "$1000/day"

    they actually just want to draw us into their web.

    Their ultimate goal is for us to give them money in the form of an up front "registration fee."

    There are only two different ways that websites can make money from you: independently of you or dependent on you.

    In other words, websites making money independently of you don't need you to succeed for them to succeed.

    On the other hand, websites making money dependently on you need you to succeed in order for them to succeed.

    A website dependent on you for their own well-being is much less likely to be a scam, since they cannot survive if you don't make money.

    They will have more incentive to help you make money, rather than hurt you. , Creating a feeling of scarcity helps make the item seem more valuable.

    Sometimes the website *does* go dark after a day or so ... but that's probably because it was pulled by the web hoster for being an illegal scam. ,, There are a few who do, just like there are a few small businesses that make it big.
  3. Step 3: Ask yourself: what's in it for them?

  4. Step 4: Ask yourself: how are they making money?

  5. Step 5: Another sign of a scam is a buy-now statement like "I can't keep this information online forever

  6. Step 6: so you have 3 hours to make your choice."

  7. Step 7: In almost every single case

  8. Step 8: if you order the scam

  9. Step 9: you will discover that you'll get a how-to for creating your own scam

  10. Step 10: which can open yourself up to legal issues and your internet account being investigated and terminated.

  11. Step 11: Truth is

  12. Step 12: scammers usually don't get rich on their scams

  13. Step 13: either.

Detailed Guide

If they are requiring any sort of up front payment to use their services, it is almost always a scam.

Many of them will claim that it's for the cost of training, etc.

Most of that is just lies.

More often than not, the scammer will take your money and run.

Let's face it.

Very, very few of us are ever going to make thousands of dollars each day.

However, scammers prey on our hopes and dreams of being rich without moving a finger.

They tell us that our dreams can come true, but only if we do what they tell us to do.

Our emotions shove aside logic, and we want to believe what they say, even if they are shady characters.

Thus, the scammer's greatest weapon is you.

Always keep your logic handy. , Are they trying to help us out of the goodness of their own hearts? Are they making a selfless sacrifice of their time to help us become rich beyond your wildest dreams? Not likely.

Very few people in the online community are going to volunteer vast amounts of their time and effort just to help someone else succeed.

Most of the time, they are doing it for their own benefit.

When we ask this question, we have to see through the lies.

We need to recognize the reason behind false statements.

For example, when they say that we could earn "$1000/day"

they actually just want to draw us into their web.

Their ultimate goal is for us to give them money in the form of an up front "registration fee."

There are only two different ways that websites can make money from you: independently of you or dependent on you.

In other words, websites making money independently of you don't need you to succeed for them to succeed.

On the other hand, websites making money dependently on you need you to succeed in order for them to succeed.

A website dependent on you for their own well-being is much less likely to be a scam, since they cannot survive if you don't make money.

They will have more incentive to help you make money, rather than hurt you. , Creating a feeling of scarcity helps make the item seem more valuable.

Sometimes the website *does* go dark after a day or so ... but that's probably because it was pulled by the web hoster for being an illegal scam. ,, There are a few who do, just like there are a few small businesses that make it big.

About the Author

D

Deborah Brooks

Enthusiastic about teaching practical skills techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.

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