Beware: Internet Money Making Scams
With more people surfing the web, Internet-related scams are on the rise. You can
really make money online, but it isn’t quite as easy as most advertisements claim.
Most of these ads are Internet money-making scams designed to lure in
unsuspecting web browsers. This is very unscrupulous of these advertisers, as most
people who are looking for jobs or ways to make money on the Internet are those
people who need really extra incomes. The following information will outline some
of these scams so that you can avoid falling prey to these advertising traps.
The most common internet money making scam that has lured in a lot of people is
the survey scam. This scam lures you with a promise that you will be employed by
their company to browse websites and complete surveys. This may ring as legit to
most of us, but upon clicking their link, you will be asked to make an initial deposit
to that company in order to get started. There is a money-back guarantee should
you deem to opt-out, but this is just a ploy to encourage you to haplessly trust
them. These survey jobs are never easy, as you have tons of affiliated companies,
and you have to go through the motion of filling out tons of forms and surveys.
When you want to opt-out, you have to clear a jungle of paperwork to get your
money back. Most people do not bother going through this, and this is how the
scammers make their money.
Another scam that has been making the rounds on the Internet is the “get-rich-if-
you-use-this- program” scam. This scam has a variety of programs, ranging from
employing you to become an assistant who sorts email for a bogus company to a
program that generates content for your website so that you can make money from
AdSense. Of course, the catch is that you have to pay for their program. As you
may have noticed, scams usually require an up-front payment. They falsely
advertise to lure you in to sign up with them. This is also the pattern of basic
scams, like ponzi and pyramid schemes.
Identity theft is also quickly becoming a prevalent Internet scam, as most of the
scammers utilize email spam for phishing. You have probably already received one
of these emails; they include transferring government funds from Zimbabwe,
winning the lottery, or an inheritance from a distant relative. All of these scams
require you to send them either a deposit or your bank account details.
With these Internet money-making scams outlined, you can avoid becoming a
victim by being critical of each advertisement or email that you see. Be wary of
those offers that sound too good to be true. When in doubt, search the web about
the company or the offer on your preferred search engine, but beware that the top
website you see may also be part of the scam. It is best to check the first five
websites that you see. As G.I. Joe’s catchphrase goes, “Now you know, and
knowing is only half the battle.”