Business Opportunities and Internet Marketing Systems that Don't Work |
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Red FlagsMost scams and near scams have warning signs that are obvious once you know what you are looking for. Problem is though, it can be hard to learn what to look for, because good stuff and bad stuff often uses the same words in their descriptions. Bad stuff though, means something else entirely when using those words.No one can give you any kind of guarantee that you won't get ripped off. But there are characteristics that should tip you off that someone is lying, or is trying to take advantage of you - or that they are themselves ignorant. 1. Hype. Avoid it. Solid products and information don't need it. 2. The word "free" attached to anything that has an actual cost to it - for example, "free music download" when you have to pay a membership fee in order to access the "free" downloads! 3. Appeals to your imagination, while leaving out critical details that you need to know. 4. Absence of information that would help you compare the item with another similar one. 5. A "one page website" that leaves you only with the option of purchasing, or killing the page (kill the page!). 6. A "one day sale" that is still there the next day (always check this one if it is on a one page website!). The good stuff is almost always there the next day - and usually the bad stuff will be too, even if they say they won't. 7. Promises that you can make money with very little or no work. 8. Promises that you can make money without investing anything (you MUST invest money, or time, and usually a lot of both over time). 9. Fine print that suggests something radically different than what the main copy is suggesting. 10. Lack of Contact and About pages on a website. And lack of meaningful contact information. This sometimes can be the only indication that you get that a company may not be legit - sometimes startups will forget to put this information in, but do you want to order from someone that you cannot contact if there is a problem? Faceless and nameless companies or people are a huge red flag. 11. Failure of a business person to reply to an emailed question. They should reply within 24 hours, unless it is a weekend. Because email is never 100% reliable, you should try again if you do not get a response the first time, but after that, you can assume nobody is listening. 12. Replicated products that give you no information on their limitations. ALL replicated products have limitations, and they only work if you know what they are and what to do about them! 13. Anything that says they have a "simple" or "easy" or "fast" solution to something that professionals say takes time, knowledge, and experience to do right. They are counting on the fact that you do not know enough to tell if they are scamming you. 14. Distrust testimonials. A good many are provided by friends or colleagues of many scammers, who also have something to gain from it. Any good scammer can also make up a hundred legit sounding ones without breaking a sweat. 15. The words, "killer", "secret", "tricks", "guaranteed system", "floods of traffic", or other commonly used hype phrases that are illogical or unrealistic. 16. Any feeling that it is too good to be true, or anything that makes you think, "Oh well, the worst that can happen is I'm out $39". When you think that, you are already resigning yourself to the fact that you know it is a scam deep inside. Listen to your gut. 17. Anything that cannot stand up to solid business practices, or which does not sound logical when you reason it out. 18. If you have to sign up for something in order to find out what it is, then it is not legit! 19. If you hear the story, "I've spent months and months and thousands of dollars developing this product, and my (accountant, friends, business associates, etc) thinks I'm crazy to offer it for so little..." This is a common line used by half-scammers. Do a net search for the product, and you'll find all sorts of sites out there with that identical copy, with a different name at the end of each. Now, is THAT honest? 20. And remember, if making money really were that easy, nobody would be poor - it is not true that half the world is too stupid to see a good thing! Take the time to read through some of the reviews at http://www.skinnyshoestring.com/reviews/, and to look through the ones on this site, and you'll quickly begin to spot patterns that tip you off when something is not legit. When we give a rule as "always", we mean always. We aren't exaggerating one bit. Written by Laura Wheeler, MicroBusiness Website Developer, and founder of the MicroWebmasters Alliance |
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