How to sniff out money-making scams
Get rich quick schemes have been around since the dawn of human civilization, and while the tactics and tools may change, the end result is the same; normal people get suckered in by the promise of a big payout, then find to their own cost that it’s simply too good to be true.
In the internet age this is an especially significant dilemma, and yet there are also lots of legitimate ways to make money online, so knowing how to spot the scams from the solid prospects is key.
Here are just a few ways to sort the dodgy dealers from genuine opportunities.
Do your research
Before you commit to any kind of app, website or service provider that purports to give users a way to generate extra income, thorough research is crucial.
For example, reading independent reviews of these money making apps, rather than simply settling for the marketing hype from the companies behind them, will give you the information you need to determine their legitimacy.
Also be wary of any review of a scheme that doesn’t also go into the downsides, or feature any kind of overt criticism, because this might suggest that it is a paid promotion in disguise.
Don’t succumb to age-old cons
Pyramid selling is an old school money-making scam, and yet one which simply refuses to die.
Even after being rebranded as multilevel marketing by some modern practitioners, it is still founded on the same principle, which is getting people to sign up for a fee, with the promise of earning money by recruiting yet more people to the scheme.
Once again, it’s a case of knowing what you are getting yourself into and understanding the strategies that scammers will use to dupe unsuspecting individuals.
Easiest way around this is to recognize that if a proposition put forward by a third party sounds too good to be true, then it almost certainly is.
The only way to get rich quickly is to be born into wealth; everyone else who has become financially independent has done so through hard work, and gone through years of instability and sacrifice to get where they are today.
Steer clear of obvious bait
Getting clued up on the kinds of lies that scammers use to bait people into clicking through to their apps, sites and services in the first place is a good defense against them.
Most people will have seen those ads on social networks and search engines which make bold claims about people who have earned tens of thousands of dollars a month from the comfort of their own home.
Many will have watched pre-roll ads on YouTube in which so-called ‘entrepreneurs’ stand in front of flashy sports cars and wax lyrical about having worked out the secret to business success, and being willing to share this with you, the audience – for a fee.
It’s all about creating the idea that normal people have already achieved great success, and giving a tangible sense of this being within your grasp too, without actually giving a clear answer as to how this is possible.
The vaguer the promise, the more likely you are to keep watching, and eventually to sign up and pay to get what will ultimately be an unhelpful, ambiguous answer.
Final thoughts
As mentioned earlier, if you want to get rich and you aren’t already, there is no shortcut. Any individual or business that claims otherwise is trying to scam you. And there are enough other online scams to avoid without falling for this type of con.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t great ways to earn money out there. You just need to know what to avoid and what to embrace in your search for financial stability.
