Everyone knows there is no easy way to wealth except, perhaps, to inherit it. And yet, many still keep seeking an easy path to riches. And it is these people for whom the charlatins, fraudsters, and scammers, are ready and waiting. They have their "Secrets To Massive Wealth" or "Instand Success Revealed" packages ready for immediate sale to the next sucker to come along. The thing is, there is good material out there too. How do you recognize the good and keep protected from the bad?
The scammer will usually claim that their "special deal" requires no special training, no marketing skills, and very little (or no) work. It will typically provide what can olnly be called an extremely unrealistic timeframe in which the consumer could make hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars.
Scams of this type usually have catchy titles that catch your attention and lead you into paying signing fees which can range from several dollars to even several thousands of dollars. Usually they will get you in with a small price and then apply skilled up-selling to presure you into a much higher package. Often there are time limits and "specials" that are only available if you act "Now!"
The get-rich-quick scammer will imply that you will be able to a much greater return than the small investment require if you apply the special, secret, techniques which they will reveal in their proven training material -- typically in the form of e-books or training CDs. The often produce apparent banking records, and/or cancelled checks, to validate their claims.
These scams rarely work. The material sent to you is frequently just basic or intermediate marketing material that is neither secret nor a guarantee of making any amount of money online. Using the material to make any financial gains at all typically takes time, hard work, and a certain level of pre-knowledge or even expertise.
Scammers often offer a 100% Guarantee, relying on your embarassment at failure in order to keep you from trying to collect a refund or they delay the refund or try to up-sell you to their more advanced product (for more money, of course).
Get-rich-quick-scams of this type typically share a common group of warning indicators that include, but are not limited to:
* They will imply that anyone signing up will become rich within months to a year.
* They will tell potential victims that the route to success is by following “secret formulas” that no one else knows about.
* They will often claim they have been seen on various websites such as Google and YouTube, causing the viewer to assume said websites endorse the product.
* They will use pressuring tactics to get you to sign up quickly, such as claiming that there are only a certain amount of copies of a CD left, or using special discount prices that are only available for a short amount of time.
* Scams such as this will often employ the tactic of displaying testimonials from “previous users.”
* When trying to navigate away from their website, users are often presented with popup windows offering further discounts, in an attempt to make the user feel special.
Another indicator is the way the scams are advertised. Many scams will post so-called “success stories” on post-your-own-article websites.
scams like this will also be advertised through serial promoters. Serial promoters are individuals who are not directly affiliated with a given scheme, but will promote from one to the next almost everyday. In return the owner of the scheme may do the same for them, or if the get-rich-scheme is a Ponzi scheme, the serial promoters will be invited to join early in order for them to make money from new recruits.
Affiliate marketing is a genuine method of income but when coupled with a get-rich-scheme making outrageous claims in order to lure you in, it is not a good choice. A prime example of such a scheme is the infamous Google scam, where the scheme claimed you could make a huge income from home using affiliate advertising with Google, or simply posting links. This type of scheme has various titles and will trick the user into thinking they are endorsed or affiliated with Google Inc. through improper use of trademarks and logos. In reality, the scam offers you known techniques you could have obtained at no cost and lead you to a program that does produce income but takes considerable time and lots of work. However, it is not likely to make you rich.
Another popular online get-rich-quick scams include survey taking, whereby you would complete surveys of varying subjects and get paid for the time. Get-rich-quick scams take advantage of this and often promise that users can make a good income (full-time or better) from doing this, which is generally not the case. Individuals who partake in survey taking programs can typically expect only small amounts of to supplement another full time income. Most legitimate survey programs are open to the public without a sign-up fee.
The actual legality of these get-rich-quick scams is often a matter of extreme controversy. There are recent laws that cover claims made by these scammers but not all of them follow the laws. Additionally, just because they post a required (under the law) disclosure statement it doesn't mean they are not scams.