Working from home has got to be one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made, but there are many scams you need to be aware of before you attempt any of this.
To this day, I’m forever grateful that I discovered this opportunity nearly 6 years ago but feel like I have barely scratched the surface as too how much opportunity exists in the online world.
However, before I found the right program, I was scammed multiple times by a multitude of con artists that were only out to take my money and leave me with nothing.
I know from personal experience how scary and frustrating it is to fall for a scam and lose a great deal of your hard earned money.
Over the years, I’ve wised up and I learned how to detect these types of scams within minutes!!
In the following blog post, I’ll be revealing my top 10 list of scams that you need to avoid as well and giving you a heads up on some of the red flags you should be looking for beforehand.
I’ll also be providing you with a few tips and tricks I’ve used to avoid falling into these traps so that you can stay safe while searching the net for legitimate opportunities.
I’ll be doing my best to answer the many questions which I’m sure you may have. However like always if I fail to answer your question please leave it for me in the comments below.
Without any further unnecessary chatter from me, I’ll be getting right into things here as I don’t want to waste any of you guys valuable time.
1) Recruiting/ Ponzi Schemes
This has got to be one of the most popular scams out there that unfortunately, a lot of people fall for when they are first getting started online.
Personally, for me, I fell for these types of scams quite a few times and I ended up losing several thousands of dollars to these types of programs.
I’ll be listing how these types of programs work as well as a few red flags that you need to be aware of to avoid becoming a victim to these types of schemes.
How They Work
Like their name implies the only way you can earn money with these types of programs is by recruiting others into it and showing other people how to do the same thing.
You’ll also usually need to pay a pretty hefty fee when you join in order to gain the resell rights to sell the system to other people and earn commissions.
This could range anywhere from $100 or more and get as expensive as $50,000 depending on how their system is structured.
Also, other than a few basic videos, you’re pretty much left to your own devices and it’s up to you to figure out how to successfully recruit people and start building your team.
A Few Red Flags To Be Aware Of
You’re lured in with claims that you can start out making a couple grand or more within your first couple of days but they conveniently leave out a lot of vital details that you don’t find out about until you have already handed over your hard earned money.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the majority of these programs are set up in an MLM structure and if they aren’t offering some type of product or service then there is a fine line that determines whether their operation is legit or not.
2) Mailing Postcards
This has got to be one of the oldest scams out there and to be quite honest with you guys today, I’m actually quite appalled that it’s still in existence in the year 2018.
Back in the day (early 90’s) before the internet was as popular as it is today, you would need to send out postcards and call some 800 number.
It is possible to make some money mailing postcards but it is not an advisable method of earning some extra cash. However, it is better for you to understand how it works and decide for yourself.
How This Scam Works
It is more like cash gifting.
The people who try to trap you into this scheme are never really straightforward so it might not be easy to even understand how this works—it is that shady.
First of all, you need a price to get started.
In most cases, the price is not small and you pay every month for “membership”.
You will not be paying for anything valuable like training, you will be paying for postcards—that’s right, something that you can get for way less money.
You then mail these postcards to other people and if they are hungry for quick money, they will pay the amount in the hope of getting rich.
It is some kind of money cycle and the only one who benefits is probably the original recruiter.
The mailing postcard scams are rare nowadays because many people learned a lesson the hard way when it was common.
Many people fell into this trap when the internet was just becoming widespread. The scammers took advantage of the people’s naivety.
The only way to protect yourself from this scam is to stay away from it.
Find another way to make money!!
3) Cryptocurrency Scams
These scams are probably the worst. While I haven’t personally lost any money in this scam myself, there are many people that have lost crazy amounts of money to cryptocurrency scams.
About two months ago, a millionaire from Finland lost a whole $35 million to scammers.
The sad fact is that he is only one among many.
You can never be too smart for cryptocurrency scammers.
They know that there are investors making tons of money in this industry and most new investors would do anything to make a lot of money too.
The way the cryptocurrency industry is set also makes it very easy for the scammers.
The whole industry is built on anonymity (to this date, no one knows who Satoshi Nakamoto, creator of Bitcoin, is) and most transactions are anonymous.
Moreover, new coins are always coming up and you never know which one will make it or even which one is legit.
Before you invest your money in cryptocurrency, conduct a thorough research on the opportunity, do not invest an amount you cannot afford to lose and start by trading CDFs.
Another thing, a legit online currency company should:
- Have a clear, detailed business model
- Be the brainchild of real people
- Be powered by blockchain
- Have specified ICO conditions
; some of which have cost many people thousands of dollars. Because these seven are not the only scams you will encounter, you will also get tips on how to avoid internet scams in general.
4) Link Posting Scams
This is another big scam and internet users keep falling for it.
People are so eager to make some money on the internet that they do not stop to ask how posting links can possibly make anyone rich.
The advertisements for these “jobs” will pop up in your spam folder or on web pages while surfing the internet.
The letters are usually bright and shouting, calling on you to sign up and become a rich overnight. The wise thing is not to bother with it at all.
However, if your curiosity gets the best of you and you click through, you will land in a page with all these fake promises and fake stories of people who rose from rags to riches, courtesy of the job.
These people are smart and say all the right things. At this point, they will try to get you to join at a small fee to cover “training” and other stuff.
Once you pay, you will realize that you’ve been had. The link you post is just to lure other people to visit the site so they can be scammed.
Many people fall for this because there is actually a legit way to earn money posting links doing something called affiliate marketing.
Here’s The Kicker
Affiliate Marketing is actually a legit business model and something that I have been utilizing over the past 5 years to earn a full time living with this so I know it’s 100% legit.
However, they go about it the wrong way and show you how to spam people by posting links to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, & many other social media networks.
They then claim to pay you up to 15 cents for each link you post and this is how they lure you into this scam.
I want to be perfectly clear with you guys today and reassure you that other than affiliate marketing which shows you the proper way to post links and get paid for it, these link posting jobs don’t even exist.
There is NO company out there that is going to legitimately pay you a determined amount of money for each link you post but that does sound like a dream job doesn’t it?
Think about it!!
Thats what they want you to think and they use this to their advantage to lure you into this scheme.
Once they have your attention and have peaked your curiosity they will do anything to get you to hand over your credit card number to them.
5) Cash Gifting Scams
Cash gifting scams have been around for quite some time now.
They are very similar to postcard mailing scams.
This scam is worse because you pay a lot of money for no particular product. You gift your sponsor a certain amount, say $700, to join the scheme.
Once you are in, you can recruit other people and earn the money they pay.
For every person you recruit, you earn $700. If you do not recruit anyone, you get nothing and lose your money altogether.
It sounds simple but where are you going to find people to pay $700 to join the program?
Before anyone can dish out such an amount they will want to know what is in it for them.
They will not be too convinced if you tell them that they need to recruit people who will then have to pay $700 just so they can make money.
6) Web Hosting Scams
Web hosting is a legit, well-respected business. So, when does it become a scam?
Web hosting becomes a scam when you do not get what you pay for (sometimes you get nothing at all), when sensitive data is stolen from you or when you are completely locked out of your own site.
The web hosting scam is a trap that is very easy to fall into.
To protect yourself, avoid any free offers, especially free domain names and free templates. Even better, opt for the well known companies like HostGator and GoDaddy.
How Web Hosting Scams Work
They lure you into these types of scams by claiming to give you a free website and bait you with the possibility to earn thousands of dollars overnight with this “so called” free website.
They tell you that you’ll start earning money on autopilot as soon as you sign up with this website they are giving away to you for free.
Do you smell something fishy about this?
If this doesn’t throw up a red flag and have you questioning the legitimacy of this program it should.
This automatically raised a red flag to me and made me have second thoughts about joining or having anything to do with these types of systems.
What’s The Catch?
In order to launch this free website that they are giving you it’s going to require you to purchase a hosting plan from some of the shadiest and most expensive hosting providers available in the online space.
I have reviewed many of these types of systems that use this approach and here are a few of the most recent ones I’ve reviewed below.
Each & every one of the companies listed within the reviews above are affiliated with these shady providers and they earn a huge commission at your expense.
You’ll also usually be required to pay for 2 to 3 years at once from as hosting provider that you know nothing about and will likely end up paying 3 times more with them than you would if you were to go with a well known company like GoDaddy.
Whenever you encounter any system that is set up in this manner you should click out of it immediately to avoid being lured into this scheme and avoid throwing away your hard earned money.
7) The Nigerian Scams
Everybody knows about this one.
At one point or another, you have probably received an email from a Nigerian.
I have personally been scammed more times with this one then I would like to admit so I know how they operate and I’m here to help you avoid falling for these scams like I did.
Here’s how it works!!
The scammer will always identify themselves as a prince, rich government official or member of a very wealthy Nigerian family.
They will then go on to tell an emotional sob story of how all their money is trapped in a bank and they need some cash (from you) to take care of legal matters and have the money released.
They then promise to share some of that wealth with you if you help them.
Before you send them money you need to ask yourself a lot of questions. Regardless of how emotional the story is, do not fall for it!!
8) Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are dangerous and could land you into a lot of trouble.
You will often get a message on your phone, social media or email that appears to come from a legit authority such as your bank or other financial institution (like PayPal).
The scammer will always talk about a problem with your account or something else that you need to take care of urgently.
They attach a link that leads you to a page that looks like the real website.
Personally, I get these type of emails all the time and luckily I’m smart enough to be able to recognize the REAL PayPal emails from the fake ones due to my massive experience as a scam buster.
The link usually leads to a site that collects your personal information such as your email address, phone number, name and address of where you live.
In some cases, they may go as far as asking for your SS number and this is where you need to drop everything and immediately click out of their website.
These types of places usually collect as much information as they can about you and sell it to third-party companies which usually results in you getting a shit ton of spam offers in your inbox.
This also makes it very easy to steal your sensitive information.
Whenever you get a message like this, double-check to ensure that is it is coming from the real official source.
9) Survey Scams
I think this is one of the scams that is overlooked and not enough people are talking about it.
If you have been visiting my website for any amount of time then you know how I feel about surveys and because of this, there are ONLY a select few that I would recommend to you guys that I feel are legit.
With that being said, there are also a plethora of survey panels out there that are nothing but a scam and act as a front for the phishing scams that I listed above.
If you have been taking surveys for any amount of time now then you would know that it’s realistically impossible for you to earn even half of what they claim you’ll earn per survey.
Here are a few survey scam sites that I would recommend you stay as far away from as you possibly can that are listed below.
These sites usually promise that you’ll earn as much as $500 for each survey you complete along with many other unrealistic income expectations.
This is one of the main red flags you need to watch out for if you’re the type of person who is looking to take surveys for cash.
10) TurnKey Business Opportunities
Also commonly referred to as a done for you, business in a box, these types of systems lead you to believe that all you need to do to start earning money is to activate it and watch the money start flowing into your account.
If only it were that simple, right?
These types of scams are notorious right now as they have been around for quite some time and they aren’t showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
If you have been searching for a way to earn money from the internet for any amount of time then you may have encountered this type of system & perhaps you were lured into this fantasy land with hopes of hitting it big.
Hopefully, you didn’t fall victim to this type of scam but if you did then don’t feel bad as the same thing happened to me several times so I know what a terrible feeling this can be.
If you would happen to encounter any type of program that tries to sell you a biz in a box type of deals then I would highly advise you to avoid it at all costs.
A Few Tips To Help You Avoid Getting Scammed While Working From Home
Working from home has got to be the most awesome career that I’ve had in my entire adult life and I feel lucky to have found this amazing opportunity.
However, it’s not as easy as everyone makes it out to be and as you can see after reading this article there are lots of scams out there that you need to avoid if you want to make it in this industry.
Here are a few helpful tips you can use to avoid becoming the next victim of an online scam
- Do not open suspicious links in your email
- Stay away from sites that promise overnight riches
- Do not give away sensitive information
- Do not pay to get a job
- Seek to host from reputable companies
- Avoid free stuff if you are not sure of the source
- Do not send money to strangers.
Almost every good thing comes with a few disadvantages. Working from home is one of the best things about the internet.
However, when looking for something to do online, it is very easy to fall into the trap of scammers.
The scams are all over and if you haven’t come across any just yet then consider yourself lucky.
I can assure you that you will definitely come across a few along your journey to making money online and I hope this post has given you a heads up on 10 of the most common ones that you need to avoid.
Learn The Right Way To Make Money From Home Without Being Scammed
Learning the right way to earn money online can seem like quite the challenge and at times impossible and very expensive.
Not to mention that you’ll also need to be on the lookout for scams and other con artists that are looking to cash in on your ignorance.
Like I said earlier, for yours I would fall victim to most of the scams that I’ve listed above several times.
It wasn’t until I stumbled onto a program called Wealthy Affiliate that I was able to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
If you’re sick and tired of falling for scams and you’re ready to get serious about learning how to build your very own online business then I would highly recommend that you check them out for yourself and see how they can help you.
Other than that I really hope this detailed blog post has given you some insight into the top 10 most common scams online along with some helpful tips on how to avoid them.
Have you guys personally fallen for any of the scams I listed above?
Would you mind sharing your experience with other people (If you don’t mind) to help them avoid becoming the next victim?
I would really appreciate it if you would and I look forward to hearing all about it as well as answering any questions you may have in the comments below.
Until Next Time
~Your Friend, Scott~