Tips To Avoid Scams Online
Let’s face it, scams are everywhere especially online. The good news is that there are ways to spot a scam from a mile away. We’ve got some tips to avoid scams online.
First let’s talk about the different scam types.
Types Of Scams
1. Email Scams
2. SMS Phishing Scams
3. Shopping Websites Scams
4. Online Classified (Newspaper Ads) Scams
5. Dating Scams
6. Fake Charities
7. Extortion/Threats
8. Lottery Scams
9. Investments Scams
10. Job Scams
Tips To Avoid Scams Online
1. Research. This step is the most important. Always do your research on any program that you might want to join. Some things are just to good to be true and when you do a search you find out that they really are and that other people have been scammed.
Do be aware that just because something has a bad review does not mean it is a bad program. Reviews are based on individual experiences and expectations. It is important to review why the person is complaining. Is it really a scam or was it unreasonable expectations?
Also be aware that sometimes marketers use misleading headlines to pull in the reader. Make sure you read everything and not just the title.
Dig in to the internet and more than likely you will find your answers.
2. Pricing: Find out the price of the program before you buy in to it because upsells are a big thing right now. You can be conned in to repeatedly buying upgrades.
There is nothing wrong with an upsell or an upgrade as long as this is stated BEFORE you buy in to the program. You don’t want to be blind sighted by this tactic.
3. Watch Out For Dubious Claims And Empty Promises: If anyone tells you it is easy to make money online than they are either lying or been doing it for a long time (and still kinda lying).
There is no get rich solution. It just does not exist.
It takes having an audience to sell anything and most people don’t start out with a huge following if one at all. (There are of course exceptions like media influencers.)
As you build a following, it will get easier and easier to make money online but if you are just starting out it requires a lot of work to get to that point.
4. Income results: It is just way too easy to fake income results. That does not mean all income results are fake, but taken in to account with the steps in this guide it should be considered a warning sign.
5. Limited Time Offers: The fact is majority of the time this is a fake countdown counter. It is a really effective marketing tactic. It makes you want to do something NOW! There are a few legitimate limited time offers usually because something it time sensitive like a class that starts next week or a sale, but for the most part this is just a marketing tactic.
6. Payment Method: Check to see what the payment method is. Anything that makes you pay without a tracking method of some sort is a SCAM and an obvious one at that. Western Union payment only…SCAM. Wire transfers or money orders only…yeah it is a SCAM
7. Be Cautious Of Self-Promoting Verification Procedures: For example, If they give you proof by sending you to their website(s) or by calling numbers that they provide. Not a good sign.
8. No Contact Information: Every business should have some contact information. No information = SCAM.
We are also wary of email address from yahoo and gmail. These are usually throw away accounts. Normally a business sets up some sort of professional web service through their domain especially for their business/ site. For example, our contact email is contact@internetmarketingtoolsandprograms.com. It is our own domain email system.
However, it is a good sign if there is at least an email address. Not everyone wants to pay for a site specific email system.
9. Check To See If The Site Is Secure. Check to make sure the URL uses https and not http. The “s” adds all the difference. This is not a definitive way to check if a site is secure as scammers can have an https website but if that “s” is missing STAY AWAY.
10. Fake Author Or Owner Bios: Most of the time you will be able to find information on the owner or author because they more than likely have a social media presence of some sort. If they don’t it might be time to worry.
Final Words
Scams are everywhere but if you take a closer look you will be able to spot them before you get conned. Always do your research. Watch out for sketchy pricing, dubious and hard to believe claims, false income claims, and fake author or owner bios. Be wary of limited time offers and missing contact information. Make sure the site is secure and using “https”. When in doubt DON’T buy in to a program. If it is real it will still be there later.
Like our blog? Want to start your own? See our number 1 recommendation for getting started online. No dubious claims here. It is not a get rich scheme. It is a training platform that teaches you how to set up and build a website online. It takes time and hard work but it is possible!
Do you have any tips for spotting scams online? Leave a Reply Below.
