Hate To Burst Your Bubble: Identifying 6 Common Internet Scams

I've spent years of hard work trying to find a way to not work hard, and just now it's almost starting...but it still has a LONG way to go for me. However, if you've been online for more than a week, you've probably already seen them. Ads that promise great wealth, in little or no time, for little or no work on your behalf. They then go on to tell you how simple and easy it is to work from home, being your own boss and setting your own hours.

Sounds great, doesn't it? But is it actually true? So far it's not for me. Ok, so you get to decide your work hours, but let me tell you, there's a LOT of hours involved here, and a LOT of hard work, and even then, you may not succeed in making enough money to quit your day job (IF any at all...)

There are tons of business opportunities out there to get involved with. Here's a list of some of them, with their "TRUE" colors...and I've fallen for all of them at least once. I'm NOT saying every individual opportunity IS a scam, but a lot of them are, and you need to do your homework before you embark on the journey as an "internet marketer".

MLM, Pyramid Schemes etc:

Promise: You make money from sales, be it services or products. You recruit other sales people, and earn from their sales.
Fact: Most of the time, you'll find that the people you're trying to sell to are other distributors, and you're all trying to sell to each other, which ultimately means no sales.

Vaction and Travel:

Promise: You get dirt-cheap or even free tickets, with tons of extras.
Fact: You could end up with no trip, or with a trip of a much lesser quality of services and accommodation than promised. Sometimes there are hidden charges and costs that you don't find out about until you've paid.

Credit Cards:

Promise: Give us your credit card number, we need it to verify that you are over 18, then we can give you X, Y, and Z for free.
Fact: There are a lot of these that will run up charges on your credit cards

Health Care:

Promise: Our products can cure serious, or even fatal, health problems.
Fact: A lot of people will believe this one, without checking it out thoroughly. This can result in people not getting the neccessary treatment they really need for their illness.

Investments:

Promise: Make a huge return on your investments with us, and make it FAST!
Fact: A big profit always carries a big risk, which mostly means you stand to lose your investment.

Chain Letters:

Promise: Pass this on and you'll earn a truckload of money.
Fact: Chain letters inolving money and/or valuables are illegal! Even the ones that tell you they're legal and endorsed by the government. By starting, or passing these on, you are, in effect, breaking the law.

While a lot of programs truly ARE legitimate, there's thousands more that aren't. There are certain questions you need to ask the promoteur of any program/opportunity/offer before you make your decisions.

• What is the FULL outlay expected of me for membership fees, equipment and supplies?
• What will I get for my money?
• What exactly do I have to do (step by step)?
• Will I be paid a regular wage, or will my pay be based on commission?
• Who will be paying me?

Take your time. People promoting scams will likely use high-pressure sales tactics to get you to buy in to them. If the business opportunity is legitimate, it'll still be around when you're ready to decide.

WARNING: E-Bay Scams to Look Out For

There are many eBay scams out there to keep an eye out for when you are buying or selling on eBay. Today's post will cover some of the known and not so well known scams to be aware of. Whether you're a causal buyer or seller, or a professional on eBay, you need to know about these scams so that you can take measures to prevent or recognize if it's happening to you.

• Bid Shielding - This scam is something you need to watch out for as a seller on eBay. Basically the scam is run using two separate eBay accounts. The scam works like this. You put your item up for auction. Let's say your item is worth $100 and you have no reserve. The first bidder (scammer) comes along and bids $5 on your item. Right after that, another bidder working with the first bidder comes along and bids $200 on your item. Since your item is only worth $100, you receive no more bids for the duration of your auction. Right before your auction ends, the first bidder backs out and cancels their bid, leaving the $5 bidder the winner, effectively shielding all other potential bidders because of the $200 bid. Because of the potential for this scam it is always good to have a reserve on your auction. Also, I would put some sort of disclaimer on your auction stating that if you suspect bid shielding on your auction, you reserve the right to back out of the sale. It's always a good idea to keep an eye on your auctions and watch for this type of behavior. If you suspect this is happening to you, be sure to report the parties involved to eBay right away.
• Wholesale List Scam - This scam takes advantage of the fact that many people don't pay close attention or read the fine print on an auction. This scam is targeted at buyers who are looking for deals on electronics and technological items on eBay. The wholesale list scam is basically an auction that looks like the seller is offering a great deal on a product like an iPod for example. They may have a buy now price of $40 for an iPod that is worth $150. However, if you actually read the fine print on the auction, you will find that you are not really buying the iPod. In fact you are purchasing a wholesale list. To avoid this scam, just be sure that you read the entire details of the auction before making a bid or a purchase. Basically, just use common sense. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is, so read the auction carefully.
• Bad Check Scam - This eBay scam is exactly what it sounds like. The bad check scam is simple. Someone purchases your item and sends you a check as payment. You receive the check, and send out the item. However, 2 weeks later you find out the check bounces and now you are out your item and the money. To avoid this, simply do not send out any products until the check has cleared.
• Spoof eBay Emails - This eBay scam is an attempt to get your personal information and/or eBay account information. Basically the scammer sends you an email that looks like it's from eBay. The email may direct you to a website (that also looks like eBay) where it asks to you verify your information. In reality, the website is created by the scammer to collect your personal information and use it for identity theft. The scammers can be very tricky and make everything look very official.To avoid this scam, you need to be wary of any emails that you get. The first thing you need to check is the email header. Emails from eBay, will have "@eBay.com" as the last part of the senders email. Also any links that are in the email may be directing you somewhere other than where they say they are. Also copy and paste the links into your browser, and only visit official links that start with "www.eBay.com". If anything seems suspicious to you, forward the email to eBay and wait for their response. They will let you know if it's legitimate or not.

In conclusion, most people you run into on eBay are good honest people and not out to scam you. You may do business on eBay for years and never run into any of this. However, occasionally these things do happen so it's important to use common sense and use your best judgment when it comes to this stuff. Just be aware that it can happen, and take the necessary precautions and you will be fine. There's a lot of money to be made on eBay, so don't let anything scare you off. Keep yourself armed with knowledge and information and you will be successful out there in the auction world!