There are definitely exemptions to each of these rules, but they are good to follow for the most part. I am glad they worked out for you, I have always been to worried to give these sites money. Sounds like a good thing you decided to!
Yes, a scam will trigger a 'something's not right feeling' in your gut. As pointed out, they will often want upfront money or your time. Time is very valuable. Another way of scamming is they will say that they need a sample or test...take your work and then reject you. I see a lot of this around. Some use reputable companies to run their own scams e.g) even though Flippa is reputable, you still get scam artists using them. Always investigate and if it seems too good to be true: it is....as was said earlier by all. Thanks for an awesome thread...very helpful!
This is an excellent list of things to be aware of on the internet. ... I think the online job scams are ones that people continually fall for. I myself made the mistake of falling for one, just time. I spent months searching, and through my searches I had met some one who claimed to be searching for online work too. This person later emailed me saying "hey i found a legitimate website, but you have a $50 start up fee that you earn back with in your first hour of work!" This was 5 years ago, being naive and unaware of the fact that people will lie to you in order to get your money, I sent the $50 to this company. With in two minutes I had an email saying it had all the information I needed to start earning money immediately. I was supposed to do the same thing this woman did to me....lie to a person, get them to send $50 to this company, and then forward them this attachment that basically said get other to pay you $50 for online work, when they are resending this packet as well. I was devastated that I had been so stupid.
It was! It annoys me that there are so many scams out there, mostly because it takes credibility from all the legit startups with good intentions who really plan to and do pay out on time and do what they claim they're going to do. It's such a shame that those people have to work extra hard to gain our trust because there are so many bad apples on the internet.
I bought a pair of Nike Shox from a chinese wholesaler--they are terribly uncomfortable and look cheap. Definitely not a pair of actual Shox. I checked a view of these retailers out online and they were charging $12 for a pair of shoes, but $45 for s/h. That's not even a deal!
My first forays into the world of online freelancing resulted in disasters. I was naive and was scammed here and there. My advice is to Google everything you find on the Internet that sounds too good to be true. There are a lot of websites dedicated in listing scammers and making people aware of them. Take advantage of these and use common sense when dealing with anything on the Internet.
Sites that offer too-good-to-be-true subscriptions or offers are the ones that are usually the scammerss. You would have to be extra careful when joining get-paid-to-click or surf sites because you never know if they will pay at the end. They would often state a threshold limit, like $50, for you to cash out your payment and usually it takes a while for a user to reach that amount. So sometimes it becomes frustrating when you reach that $50 dollars mark and you don't get paid. Thus, it's always best to read more about the website through online reviews or ask someone who has actually tried the website and got paid to avoid being scammed.
Thanks for the info. I remember a while back wanting to join a site that would get me a job testing video games, but I had to pay $40 before I could start. Thankfully, my mom didn't let me.
Most of those are true. However, something you should also look for is the reviews of the product. I know some marketers are unfair in the review. So you need to make sure you read the reviews carefully and look for proof of payment going into the payment account for people. Then you can know if this is legit or not.
Watch out for sites that are obvious scams; they offer EXTREMELY HIGH rewards for doing offers and such, and really expensive things for doing simple things such as referring 10 people and having them complete a survey. Those are obvious scams. Always Google a websites name and look at their reviews and payment proofs. Don't always trust payment proofs on their website because they can be faked. One site looked really legit to me, but them I Google'd them, and found out about their shady business practices. Don't judge a site by it's cover...
I wish that when I first got into working online (surveys and such) that I had been smarter and come across forum posts like this. I was younger, and didn't realize how many scams are out there. Actually the thing that is harder to find are the sites that ARE legitimate. Some people have been posting that they did pay for some information and it was legitimate. I honestly don't know why any legitimate company would do that, no matter the cost upfront to them. Most people go on the rule that if it charges a fee you stay away, so I can't assume legitimate companies are actually doing as well as they could if they didn't charge a fee. I do the same thing most people here said, google EVERYTHING, looking for reviews, scam reports etc. If I can't find a lot on it I'm not even going to look any farther, much less pursue the "opportunity".
I agree with pretty much everything on your list except "If the site has no reviews, it is suspicious..." If a site is new, it may not have reviews yet. Yes, you should be careful, but not necessarily write it off completely.
It probably wasn't a company at all that I gave my money to. It was probably just some guy looking to make a little money on the internet, but he delivered what he promised. What I paid for was a list of credible companies. Those companies themselves didn't ask me for any money.
If you want a site that gives payment, the easiest way to catch if the site is scamming you is to see if the payment is through PayPal. If this happens, they can never get your credit card or personal information to use. It's also a fast way to pay, so you can easily tell if your payment isn't going to actually come.
All of those are good points. The other thing I always look for is the ones who are telling me to bring a friend and invite them as well. Then you not only get scammed from your money, but your friend gets ticked off at you to!
It's great you posted this because I have done well with several sites that were labeled as scams or not worth the effort on some sites, but were recommended quite enthustically on others. Really you have to get as much research done as possible before you make your choice. You also have to trust your gut because it generally will not lead you wrong. If something feels like a scam it more than likely is.
I agree with all of that. The sad part about all of this is people get scammed by those vary tactics very single day. Its way too good to be true. I hate when people expect you to pay for some kind of winnings. If you have really won something you do not have to pay anything to get it...well besides taxes.
Yup that sounds like spam - be aware. Usually these emails drop viruses in your computer. I had a trojan affect my computer through a spam email once and I had to restore the whole thing because I couldn't get rid of it. If it seems like a scam it probably is.
If you have to pay to get a job, chances are it's a scam. I guess you dodged a bullet on that one. I can't believe it actually turned out to be a legitimate job. That's crazy, but I won't be able to go against my natural instinct. Great story!!!
Thank you for these helpful tips. The best thing you can do to avoid scams is research, research and more research. There are no scam detection devices but these tips are good way to spot which is a scam or not.
