The online business is filled with exciting opportunities to succeed, but at the same time it is also a place for various crimes to take place. There are people who, rather than work on their own skills to earn, seek to deceive others and rip them off their money or destroy their business. Hence you should learn to catch a scammer, and below are five hints on how to spot one:
He/She has No Feedback
The first thing you should check about your client or your prospective business partner is his or her feedback. Having negative feedback is sometimes more helpful because you already know what are the setbacks in dealing with this prospect, but having no feedback at all makes things more suspicious. Remember that feedback can be fabricated so not all positive feedback can be true either. Thus if you see that your potential client/partner does not have credible feedback (or no feedback at all), then it’s better not to make a deal with him.
They Offer Payments via Western Union/Moneygram
If there’s one reliable payment option you can trust, that would definitely be PayPal. It is because you have to register your credit card details-which means that you are doing a legitimate business. However, if your client or seller offers to pay you using money transfers such as Western Union, then you must think twice. There is no way that you can verify the person’s reputation through that. Hence, find yourself another partner.
When the Offer’s Too Good to be True, then It’s NOT True
In job boards such as Craigslist, there are clients who are offering irresistible pay for a job which you know doesn’t really cost that much to fulfill. A lot of online writers have fallen for this trap, since the clients claim to be from reputable companies. If you find the offer to be too good to be true, then chances are that it’s a scam. Better go for a more realistic job offer.
Changing Rules with NO Warning
Scams usually consist of highly convenient and favorable offers, but once you join their program they immediately change the rules and regulations without even informing you. With this you get ripped of your money or service, and you will find it difficult to go after them because it’s either they have changed the management or much worse, closed down the site.
They Offer No Moneyback Guarantee
Scammers provide you with fantastic offers so that you easily get lured to their trap. There are some legitimate businesses who do give away great deals, but they are of course, hard to find. One good way to spot a scammer is by checking out if the program offers a real moneyback guarantee; if not, and if you are required to pay for their services for trial purposes, then it’s definitely a scam.
November 22nd, 2008 at 6:54 am
Money back guarantee is the first thing I check about a product. If there's no money back guarantee, then it's automatically off my list. I'd also look for a physical address. Testimonials from reputable people would help, since they would not want to tarnish their reputation as internet marketers.
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:17 am
From my little experience I would say that almost 99.9% promises about online opportunities are handiwork of spammers. The remaining 0.1% are not hard to find, if one know the right ways. I hope that your points will help many starters like me.
Thanks.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:42 am
No feedback and not accepting paypal are always red flags. I don't think I know of any reputable internet type of business that doesn't accept paypal. That one thing in and of itself should usually be enough to tell. Regarding the money back guarantee. It's good to have I wouldn't do business with someone that didn't offer it however, some scammers may also put the moneyback guarantee as a means to try to lure you. So I wouldn't go by just that.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:42 am
Very nice tips which will help beginners to discover who is or not scammer
March 13th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
wow thanks for this great information it was truly helpful because i now know the true warning signs of a potential scammer
February 24th, 2010 at 12:28 am
The post is good but I don't agree 100% with you.
Why? because I don't offer a moneyback guarantee for my service and I'm not a scammer, many scammers use the moneyback guarantee to abuse a service few days. I'm not a scammer, I'm only honest with the clients, a real scammer offers a moneyback guarantee but you will never see the money.