How to Avoid Losing Money to Scam Sites
by: Lil Waldner
The internet is full of juicy offers to make money fast. Hundreds and thousands of people lose money fast daily because they get trapped by scam offers. These web sites look very attractive. They lure the people with the hope for solving their financial problems. They display pictures of smiling people who tell you that they have made their way. They provide you with testimonials. Be careful about what you see: Webmasters buy pictures of smiling, attractive people at internet photo agencies. Testimonials can be false.
You need to do some research before you spend money for any of these internet businesses. The following checklist might be helpful for you:
Are There Any Exaggerations?
Does the website promise profits that sound too good to be true? Do you believe, if a profit of 5, 10 or even more percent a day is realistic and does sustain? Some websites offer a profit of 30% a day. Others promise you to convert $30 or so into $100,000 within an unbelievable short time. An ad even claims: Be a millionaire in weeks! No wonder that these websites disappear within a short time along with the people’s money – or they just leave a lot of frustrated people behind.
Are the Contacts Reliable?
Is there at least a reliable contact at the website? Do they answer to your requests? It is even better if there is a working live support, a working telephone number (not just a recorded voice, answering the phones).
Check at Alexa
You can check at the Alexa website. There you can type in the URL of the website. Alexa shows you if there is a name, a company, an address or a telephone number behind the website. If it is a well known scam website, you already can see some bad comments about the website at Alexa.
Check out the Environment
You can check out easily, what is going on around the website. You just go to Google, type in the name of the website and click search. You will detect, if there are bad news about the website. The internet is an open world and you find complaints about bad offers quite soon.
Be aware: If you type in the full URL, Google only displays you the exact website. If you just type in the name or title of the website, Google lists you many background information.
Check out Black Lists, Forums, Monitors
There are monitors and forums about the issue, in which the website is active. Do you find any opinions about the website there? Is the website black listed? Do not spend any dime, if a website is on a black list. Are there any ratings about the website? Does the website have a certificate, e.g. one by NetIBA? The Internet Identity Bureau and Associates verifies the identity behind websites. Merchants can get a certificate if they comply with the NetIBA rules.
You need to be aware, that forums can be manipulated. Scam websites can spread out favourable news about their website. They can use false internet addresses and nicknames. Scam websites have affiliates, who still go on promoting them, even if more and more people start complaining about the website.
Trace the IP Address and Hosts
You can find out the IP address and server of the checked website at network-tools.com. There you can type in the URL of the website. Certain scammers use always the same server and IP addresses. This hint could help to detect, if a well known scammer starts a new website.
There Is no Warranty
Even, if you do your home work: there is no warranty that you do not get trapped. A scam site might be new and a blank leaf to the internet community. It is recommendable to observe matters for a while before you spend money. The more the people become alert and the more transparency is achieved – the less chance new scammers get to do their fraudulent activities.
About The Author
Lil Waldner is a business economist. She is experienced in project management and marketing. She has worked as an editor for newspapers and she has written booklets and essays on economic and public issues. Visit the web site:
http://www.makemoneytip.com.
