Avoiding Online Business Fraud

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When you are looking for a way to make money online, you should make sure you have your fraud detectors on full alert when you read through any proposals being presented. In most instances, it should be pretty easy to figure out if someone is trying to rip you off. Just remember the old advice that if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. So when those unsolicited offers drop into your email promising exorbitant amounts of income for only a few hours work a week, chances are it is a scam just to separate you from your money.

Some of the red flags to watch for are the type of proposal being made. Offers that say you have nothing to do to start earning big money immediately, will come with a cost. You will have to pay for someone else to set up your business and heck, all you have to do is keep sending in the monthly fees and you can earn money off all income received from your website. They forgot to mention that if you do not advertise your site no one will know about it and you can not make any money if you have no sales.

Look for contact information before clicking on any links that take you from the main page. If the online business offers you a phone number and a name, do not hesitate to call and ask for that person. While it could be single line into someones basement, at least it has a contact information. However, if the call is answered in an unprofessional manner you may be better off apologizing for calling a wrong number and hanging up. Some legitimate businesses do work from their homes, after all that is what you are hoping to do, and if a child answers do not ask for mom or dad, ask for the name on the website.

Look at the testimonials that are bound to be included on any website offering a chance to make a lot of money. They are usually tucked in between the pictures of a mansion and a new car or two, supposedly of the person that sent you the email. Just remember, you can take your digital camera on a road trip to an upper class neighborhood and take pictures of cars and houses. Be skeptical about investing in an online business opportunity and do some research.

Run the business name through a couple of search engines. Chances are, if it is not a legitimate offer, there will be a few pages that show up of complaints from others that lost money investing in a scam. The company may claim the complaints are from disgruntled people who were too lazy to spend even a few hours a week working in the business, but a reasonably intelligent person can read through several complaints and see a pattern develop. By using due diligence in your research of companies offering business opportunities you can limit the opportunities of someone else of getting their hand on your wallet.