Bernie Madoff | The Internet Business Authority

Internet Scams To Avoid

July 6th, 2009

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: Image by marvin L via Flickr

While there are many great internet business opportunities available, there are certainly a fair share of internet scams you should avoid. But how do you know when it’s a scam? They certainly are not all as plain to see as you would think.

In order to avoid getting involved in a scam, be sure to do a little research before jumping into something. Is there a valid address associated with the company? Are there any complaints about the officers in charge of the company? Are the officers even listed? Is there a support staff that actually answers you, whether it be by phone or email? Any Better Business Bureau complaints about the company?

Please note on the BBB, basically anyone can file a complaint here, so if there is a complaint, make sure it is valid before writing the company off completely. Another place you can’t completely trust in doing your research is online forums. Often times, there are just frustrated people who complain because they made no effort themselves to make any money, so they cry “scam” every time an online business is discussed. If you do any research using forums, make sure the people calling an internet business a scam have backup to the points they are trying to make.

Now there are three main areas I have seen that are common places for internet business scam artists to dwell. These may be obvious to some, but they need to be laid out nevertheless to ensure the monetary safety of the masses.

1 – Guaranteed Traffic. Every internet business needs traffic, and what sounds better than guaranteed traffic? But how can anyone really guarantee traffic? If they ever do provide you traffic where is it coming from? A country where you do not conduct any business perhaps? or worse yet, some type of robot that just keeps hitting your website? How can it be targeted? You guessed it folks, it can’t. And if your traffic isn’t targeted, it’s worthless. Stay away from this at all costs. Generate your own targeted traffic for the best results for your business.

2 – Email Scams. You may be thinking this one is obvious, but people certainly continue to fall for the good old Nigerian Prince letters and the like promising millions if you just give them all of your personal information. Unreal. But if it wasn’t working, you would not continue to receive the emails. And these things come by regular mail by the post also, so don’t think simply because someone used a little postage that it is real. Take my word for it, you probably don’t have a long lost relative who has left you millions of dollars.

3 – Passive Income Programs. These are getting more and more popular these days as people continue to feel the growing financial strains closing in on them. Basically, these things come in a few forms which promise that just by investing some money, you will receive some insane return on your investment that is like 300% better (or more in many cases) than any investment you can get at a bank or from your financial advisor. The worst part of these however is that in many cases, they will actually pay people at the beginning because people will in turn begin to start investing greater amounts and telling their friends about it, only to later run away with all the money. These can be very appealing and sometimes hard to spot. Think about Bernie Madoff. People invested in that scam for years before only recently losing their money. These things are obvious when they come in the form of autosurf programs, but can be harder to decihper when they are just presented as investments. The thing you have to remember is that in this economic climate, it is very difficult for anyone to attain the types of returns being promised, and those that can probably aren’t in any rush to share their information willingly with you. So avoid these at all costs.

Having a successful internet business is certainly attainable, but be sure to spend your time building an online business you can trust, and not just some fly by night operation. Unfortunately, a basic rule of thumb is if they promise you that you will make money without doing anything, it is probably a scam. Master real internet marketing strategies and have a valid internet business, and you will be on your way to success.