Busting 'Work From Home' Internet Scammers

Ever worked your way through a convoluted 'Work From Home' business site, only to get to the bottom and realise you still don't know exactly what this program - the one that guarantees you a six figure income within two months - actually IS? Did you miss a paragraph? Surely there will be an explanation of what the business is SOMEWHERE on the site, right?

Confused, you click on the FAQ, searching for any info on exactly HOW you're going to make your six figure income. Instead, you find this:

Q: If you're making so much money, why are you sharing your secrets with the public? Why not keep it to yourself?
A: Simple! Because I want to share my success with others. I know how great it feels to be completely financially free, and I want to give back to the community by helping others achieve the same thing.

Q: Why does it cost money to join the program?
A: By charging a fee, I can ensure that only truly motivated, dedicated people take part in my program. This is a real business, and I'm only interested in working with people who are committed to making great wealth and changing their lives for the better.

Q: This really does sound like a fantastic opportunity! How do I sign up?
A: Just click the link below to enter your credit card details!

Hmm... A lot of hype, and still no explanation of how you'll make your money. Take heed friend, you are in the presence of a scammer. They'll take your $49.95 and run. Or perhaps, you will be able to make SOME money with this program - by conning other people to pay the $49.95 join-up fee and scoring a (very small) cut of the profit.

When you're reading a typical Home Business Opportunity website, do you realise that you're actually reading a sales pitch? A pitch that some lucky writer was paid a LOT of money to compose - we're talking in the $10,000 ball park! They get paid so much because they are exceptionally skilled at conning income-seekers into parting with their money. They offer 'proof' of your future success by way of testimonials from satisfied customers, screen shots of PayPal accounts receiving huge deposits and even 100% money back guarantees.

But, come on... How gullible are you? Testimonials are about as believable as an episode of The OC, and PayPal screen shots are easily doctored. And as for that money back guarantee, take a close look at the wording. Most of them are along the lines of "I guarantee, if you do exactly what I tell you to do, you will make $200 a day!" Basically, that means that if you don't do 100% EXACTLY as instructed (which is often very difficult, because the 'systems' are confusing, convoluted and hard to operate) then the guarantee is null and void.

The fact is, internet scammers are a pretty savvy lot. It's their job to fool you, and many of them are in cahoots with each other to achieve this objective. Rather than relying on a single sales pitch and some Google Ads to drive up profits, scammers enlist affiliates to vouch for their programs. They know you'll do your homework and attempt to research their credibility - their aim is to prevent you from finding out that they're full of it, by any means possible.

So how do they do it?

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Chances are, if you've been mildly impressed by a wealth creation or self development sales pitch, you'll want to look into it a little deeper. You jump on Google, type in the name of the program and check out the reviews that come up. "I can tell you, Joe Blogg's 'Make Me A Millionaire' program is definitely NOT a scam!" promises an article by an 'impartial reviewer.' Your mind is eased, and you're about to part with your $49.95...

Hold up, friend! Try digging a little deeper. Who is this reviewer? Why should you trust their opinion? Have they ever given a program a BAD review? Chances are, if you Google the wording of the article, you'll find the exact same thing written elsewhere, by a different author, with the name of another get-rich-quick scheme cut-and-pasted into the title.

Your 'impartial reviewer' here is nothing more than a partner-in-crime to the original scammer. It's their job to make the program look credible by vouching for its authenticity. Many of them will even make slightly negative remarks, to make their review sound more believeable. Think along the lines of 'I didn't make as much money as Joe Blogg's promised I would, but any fool can see this is an amazing system. I simply didn't have the spare time required to increase my income that dramatically.'

Most of these review sites have high search engine ratings too, so all you'll find on the first page of Google results is a list of phoney opinions. The scammers don't anticipate that you'll dig any further than that.

Tell me if this sounds familiar: '97% of all home based business opportunities on the internet are SCAMS! Don't get conned!' It's the typical first line of all those 'Scambuster' websites that promise to give you honest feedback about business opportunities being spruiked all over the internet. The problem is, the next sentence is always along the lines of 'BUT I'll tell you which business opportunities AREN'T scams! Try this one, I'm making over $1000 a month from it!' Well, if the Scambuster website recommends it, it must be safe and effective, right?

Wrong. Sadly, most of the scam-exposing websites out there are simply cons in sheep's clothing. They're just another facet of the great scamming conspiracy. They lull you into a false sense of security by promising to name and shame the fraudsters, before hoisting their own agenda onto you. The only difference between them and the original scammer is the angle of their approach.

'If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.' An old cliché perhaps, but that doesn't stop it from being a universal truth. Keep a look out for these signs that a scammer is trying to take your money:

Is it possible to supplement your income online? Well, yes. It is. Plenty of people all over the world are doing it. I'm hoping to achieve it myself one day. But it's not going to happen following a get-rich-scheme. The only home based business venture you can really trust is the one you set up for yourself.

Whether it's blogging, selling your wares at an ebay store, affiliate marketing or running your own website, there's plenty of money to be made online. But earning that income takes patience, persistence and a lot of hard work. Avoid the fraudsters and find your own path to wealth.

Here's to your future success!