Scams are everywhere no matter where you look or how much you try and avoid them.
Unfortunately, there are a plethora of work from home scams that have made it their life mission to rob you of your hard earned money and they will go to great lengths to do so.
I have personally been scammed more than a couple of times and lured into their scheme by some of the most unethical marketing tactics ever.
I know exactly how it feels and I can personally relate to anyone who has gone through this.
I figured I would share the things that I have learned as a result of being scammed over the years with you guys today.
In the following post, I’ll be listing my top 5 warning signs that you need to be aware of to avoid ever falling for another work from home scam for the rest of your life.
Here at Honest Ways To Make Money From Home it’s my life mission to provide you with nothing but the best and most accurate information available online about working from home.
If you have ever attempted to make money online then you definitely need to pay attention to the things I’m about to share with you as it could literally save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
I’m sure that you guys may have several questions on this topic and I’ll be doing my absolute best to answer them for you within this post.
However, like always if I fail to answer your question within this post, I encourage you to leave it for me in the comments below and I’ll get back to you with a detailed reply.
1) They Focus Too Much On How Much Money You’ll Make
Any product or service out there that puts more of an emphasis on the amount of money you’ll make before you even get started should be looked at through a magnifying glass.
This should be your very first indication that the company is up to no good and has no intentions of truly helping you succeed online.
Any legitimate company that is truly interested in helping you will be upfront and honest with you from the get-go and won’t promise that you’ll earn anything when first starting out.
I personally have fallen for this one more than I would like to admit and this is why I have put it at the very top of my list.
It’s impossible for anyone to predict how much money (if any) you’ll earn by tomorrow cause there are entirely too many factors that go into this and whos to say that you’ll even log in after you decided to become a member?
Everyone perceives information and learns things at a different rate.
What works for one person may not work for someone else and I find this to be especially true in the internet marketing industry.
If you ever encounter a program or any type of so called business opportunity that focuses more on how much money you’ll make and fails to tell you what you’ll be doing before you join should be avoided like the plague.
2) Rags To Riches Sob Story
You wouldn’t believe how many internet gurus and scammers out there that use this approach and they are damn good at it.
Personally, for me, I have fallen for their sob stories and lines of bs enough to know that this marketing tactic can be pretty powerful as it got me several times.
I have reviewed several programs on this very website that takes this approach but the one that sticks out in my mind the most is the rich janitor
This is the type of marketing techniques that pull on your heartstrings and uses your emotions against you in an effort to get you to open up your wallet and give these crooks your credit card number.
Just to give you an idea of what I’m talking about here a classic example from The Rich Janitor where Mike Dee claims to have gone from losing his job as a janitor and being homeless, to earning millions of dollars overnight with his magic system.
He also claims that he was so broke that he resorted to eating food out of the trashcan cause he was broke af.
Classic BS story and if you would like to read more about his pathetic story you can check it out here.
This is another sure-fire warning sign that you’re about to be scammed if you continue to proceed further.
Whatever you do and as convincing as this may be DON’T FALL FOR IT!!
3) Free Book Just Pay For Shipping
This is a technique that I have seen other marketers utilize and while I can’t completely rule this out as being a scam, it’s a pretty shady and invasive way of getting your personal information.
You are told that you can get a free book that will show you how to make money online and all you need to do is cover the cost of shipping.
Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right?
Well, that’s what I thought at first until I received my copy and found that they do this to get their hands on not only your email address but also your home mailing address.
Once you opt-in to receive your copy of the book you’ll be hit with multiple emails that promote a variety of different products and services to you and this can get to be pretty obnoxious.
Also, it’s a great chance that they also sell your personal information to third party companies which means you’ll get hit with even more spam.
The so called “Free book” that you’ll be receiving may have some helpful information in it but I can assure you that most of the information can likely be accessed for free anyway if you know where to look.
There is little to no value and this is something I would refer to as a lead magnet.
Here are just a few of the many funnels that you’re likely to be sucked into
- Additional training & coaching
- An audio/ DVD version
- Expedited shipping & handling
As you can see this so called free book isn’t such a great idea after all is it?
While I have seen a few respectable marketers in the online space take this approach and do it right, the majority of online marketing gurus out there approach this in the wrong way.
4) Free Trial Offers
This is another one of the many notorious scams that you’ll likely face as you begin your journey to making money online.
While there are a small handful of programs out there that use this approach as and do so successfully, I would say that close to 90% of free trial offers are either flat out scams or are setting you up to be scammed later on down the road.
You’ll usually need to enter your credit card details before you even signup and they tell you that you’ll gain access to free products and possibly even a member’s area of some sort.
It’s also important to keep in mind that in order to cancel your membership you’ll usually have to jump through a bunch of hoops, call 3 or 4 different numbers and be put through the ringer.
They do this for a reason in hopes that instead of going through the headache of canceling you’ll just keep your membership and continue to pay.
I have fallen for these types of scams before but luckily I was smart enough to cancel my membership before the trial period came to an end.
5) Recruiting Is The Only Way You Make Money
I can’t even count on my 2 hands and feet the number of times that I have fallen for these types of schemes and it seems like once 1 gets shut down, there are 5 or 6 more that take their place.
If you are ever approached by a friend or family member and he tells you about a so called business opportunity it would be in your best interests to do some thorough research and do your due diligence on it before joining.
Most of the time these recruiting based programs are set up in an MLM structure and if they don’t have some type of product or service associated with them then they could be a ponzi scheme which is actually illegal in all 50 states.
Just here recently the FTC shut down 2 of the most powerful recruiting programs that you guys may be familiar with Mobe and Digital Altitude.
These types of scams will require you to invest a great deal of your hard earned money into them in order for you to unlock the ability to earn the huge commissions that they claim so this is something else you need to keep in mind.
Like I have always said, recruiting is in no way a reputable and long term way for you to earn a living online due to the fact that once these programs get shut down there goes all your money and hard work down the drain.
Learn How To Make Money Online Legitimately Without Being Scammed
With all the scams and unethical programs and systems out there you may be wondering if there is anything out there that actually works and isn’t a scam, right?
Well trust me I know exactly how you must feel and I can totally relate to you because I have been in your shoes many times and I know how much it sucks to become a victim of an online work from home scam.
Believe it or not, there are actually a ton of legitimate ways for you to earn money online if you know where to look and do your research beforehand.
Luckily for you, I have taken the time to do the research for you and have tried out the programs that work as well as the ones that don’t work.
After being scammed multiple times, investing countless hours and losing several thousands of dollars I was able to find out a program that actually works and wasn’t out to rob you of your hard earned money.
The company that has shown me how to build a legitimate online business based on a hobby of mine is Wealthy Affiliate.
If you have ever shown any type of interest in learning how to make money from home doing something that you absolutely love then I think you owe it to yourself to check out WA for yourself and see what they can do for you.
It’s because of their detailed and step by step task based training that I have been able to build a business online that generates me a full time income each and every month.
If this sounds like something you would be interested in learning more about then I would highly recommend that you check them out.
They make it easy and super affordable to get started by offering their free starter membership where you can get started for Free (No credit card required)
Other than that I really hope this post has given you guys a heads up about a few red flags that you need to be aware of before jumping into the next so called business opportunity.
What’s your experience been like with these types of programs?
Have you come across these types of programs that I’ve listed above?
If so, I would love to hear about how your experience panned out.
Were you able to resist their sleazy marketing techniques or did you fall for them hook line and sinker?
Please feel free to share your experience with other people below so they can avoid falling for them as well.
Until next time stay safe out there and try your best to avoid becoming victim to another online work from home scam.
~Your Friend, Scott~