The Internet is a great place to find legitimate money-making opportunities.
There are many good offers that can genuinely
help you in your quest to make money from the
net.

However, an important word of caution: the Internet is also known to be a hotbed for sharks, scammers and fraudsters, who indeed specialize in making big money, but for themselves only and by using illegal and unethical schemes (aka scams).

These shameless crooks have one single aim: to defraud as many innocent (and gullible) people as possible, in the shortest possible time.
Then, after the word spreads that their site is scamming people, many such crooks simply shut it down and open a new one, with a new identity.

So how can you protect yourself from becoming a victim of such fraudulent schemes?
The next section will offer some good ways to differentiate legitimate offers from questionable ones.
 

The following tips will help you to reduce the chance of being ripped off by online scam artists.

Beware of Bombastic Promises

When you encounter sites that offer getting rich real quick or “big money” for little or no effort, start suspecting their validity immediately.

Yep, in most scams there has to be some sort of a “huge promise” element and a relatively low price (compared to the so called "millions" you're supposed to make).


Beware of Suspicious Time Limits

If the offer says you can get a special discounted price "today only," chances are that it's a sophisticated marketing tactic (so you'll make a decision right away) and perhaps an attempt to defraud you.


Look for Real Testimonials

Are there any verifiable testimonials, with real names of real people whom you can contact and ask about their experience with the suggested opportunity?

If the only testimonials come from untraceable people like "Tom from New York" and "Joe from California", it's better to stay away from that offer and look for another.


Evaluate the Site's Design

If the design of the website is unprofessional and crappy, it's definitely not a good sign.
Think for a second...couldn't the owner, with all his “millions”, find a decent designer?


Is There a Refund Option?

Naturally, sites that offer you the option of getting a refund, if you don't feel you've received your money's worth, are far better than sites that don't.

In fact, credible credit card processors like Clickbank enforce this requirement with all their merchants – so when you buy from a site that uses Clickbank as its credit card processor, you're totally safe and can always get your money back if you're not happy with what you received.


Use Your Judgment

If you see an offer that looks too suspicious, too good to be true or something that looks illogical, unreasonable or just awfully weird – don't take it.

If your gut feeling says “no", move on to the next opportunity.


Is It a Best Seller?

If the offer you're considering is a real best selling one, the odds that it's a scam are extremely low. Clickbank enables you to sort offers by popularity, which reduces the chance of being defrauded to almost zero.

For example, here are the Clickbank offers from the “Money & Employment” category, listed in order of their popularity.


Don't Automatically Believe Any Claim

Take everything you read with a grain of salt.
The fact that it's written on the Internet, doesn't necessarily mean that it's true.
 

You can read all the scam-avoiding tips that the web has to offer, but still, at the end of the day, nothing can replace you and your own personal good judgment.

Yes, looking for online opportunities can also be risky (just like offline ones), but as long as you'll keep basic caution rules, your chances of falling victim to an online scam are pretty low.


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