Sadly there are many scammers out there just waiting to fleece you of your hard earned cash. Some are done so well and are so tempting that you want to believe it and don’t realise until you are already inside, money gone. Let’s help you to avoid scams online.
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When you start out
It is easy to get caught when you are first looking at starting a business. The minute you click on anything to do with home based business on any platform the adverts will start coming at you. You thought those social media platforms policed that sort of thing? Nope! As long as they are paying for ads they don’t care what they put in it as long as it meets the guidelines for setting it up. Let’s face it, the scammers are skilled at creating ads that work, look good to draw you in and sound plausible.
There are many legitimate online businesses that you can buy into or associate yourself with but always check for potential problems. Read on for some things to look out for when starting a new business.
What to look out for!
The first red flag
Is if there is a claim that you will get rich overnight or gain unbelievable wealth with almost no effort. If it seems unbelievable, it probably is.
Other common claims are:
- Newbie friendly, a complete novice can do this.
- Set up in 3 clicks.
- Set up in 15/30 minutes, neither is plausible because if you check carefully there will be videos to watch.
- You can start earning money within 2 hours, 6 hours, 24 hours or any other variation. In that short space of time, no one is going to know you are there, unless they are personally going to share your site everywhere with paid ads or on large social media accounts.
- Already has content reviews. That of course is pointless as Google will see it as plagiarised content and not index it. Why? The same content will be on all the other sites that have just been sold. Unless of course you can alter it or add your own which usually means shelling out more cash.
Be sure to read user reviews from reputable websites and check consumer reporting publications and websites. With all the information available online, there is no excuse for being taken advantage of, although having said that, it is easy to be caught on the spur of the moment.
What else?
Some will show you a big house with an expensive car as ‘proof ‘ of the lifestyle you can live if you just buy that super duper ‘system’. Occasionally you see the person sitting at a kitchen table or worktop on their laptop, kitchen is huge, immaculately clean and not a personal item in sight usually. All very staged, these will usually be for the more expensive ‘systems’. These types were very prevalent a year or two ago but not seen any for a while, though it doesn’t mean they aren’t there targeting new users.
Remain Sceptical
Never believe it when someone tells you that a business will practically run itself. It will not. The effort you put in will be directly proportional to the results that come out of it. Nothing will ever replace hard work, dedication and a vision for the future.
If you do affiliate marketing you will get passive income from sites that no longer need much doing to them, just a post a week perhaps to keep them going. But by then you will have others you are bringing along to the same point.
Testimonials
If you read testimonials that are glowing and sound like they are coming straight from a script – they probably are. It is quite likely that these people have been paid to say the things they are saying, or they may even be total fabrications. Ask for direct contact numbers for anyone claiming to vouch for the business opportunity, and ask them specific questions that they would only be able to answer if they were actually real business owners who had used the product and sold it to clients.
Plus if you see many of these selling pages you will start to see the same pictures and names.
Upfront Payment
Be very wary of anyone who asks for a large upfront investment of cash, especially if it is nonrefundable. Ask questions about “free trial” periods, making sure to read the fine print. These offers will often require you to give a credit card upfront, which will be charged the entire fee for buying into the business. Then if you have issues or do not want to continue, you can request a refund of this fee. You can bet that it will not be easy at all to ever get this refund. If they are genuinely offering a free trial, then it should be free, with no upfront cost whatsoever.
Can’t Look, Don’t Pay
There are many that don’t allow a look inside until you pay, this is usually because you wouldn’t bother and would run the other way feeling you had a lucky escape. So if you can’t look inside without giving a credit/debit card first, don’t bother. Legitimate platforms/sites have nothing to hide and willingly let you spend time there. The one I am on, Wealthy Affiliate, gave you some free training too and I built a website and talked to members of the community. When they are legitimate they know that once you have a look round and see what is on offer, if you are serious about starting a business, then you will want to join up for even more training and everything else you get. See this blog post HERE if you are interested in seeing it.
Don’t be pushed
Never give in to high pressure tactics and immediately cut off communication with anyone who tries to reel you in this way. It is indicative of desperation and an attempt to get you signed up before you can realize the flaws and inherent dangers in the program or the product. They may also be trying to get you to “sign on the dotted line” before reading the small print and the required commitment. Always take as much time as you need to think it over and to determine whether it is the right business for you.
If they start pushing hard, back away, anyone legitimate doesn’t push if they know what they have is worthwhile.
What do you think?
Do you think you will recognise the scams now? I hope so. Always remember though, “if it sounds too good to be true it probably is”.
Forewarned is forearmed, so you can go forwards now and get that business started or move forwards with your new business. Have to say though when you are overworked and still waiting for that first commission or sale they can be hard to resist. Be strong.
Enjoy your new business and your new life.
Thank you for visiting. I hope you found this blog post useful, if so please share for others to enjoy.
Comments and questions welcome.
