How To Spot A Make Money Online Internet Scam In Reference To Mobe FTC Shutdown — affiliatemarketingdude at YouTube.com.
Today, we’re talking about pyramid schemes, multi-level scams, internet marketing fraud, and what you can do to protect yourself. This is a public service announcement designed to educate you on what’s really going on, and to arm you with the tools you need to not get taken for a ride.
Recently we’ve seen a lot of activity with the FTC and various companies that are using deceptive (if not downright ridiculous) tactics to get people into their companies and provide no real goods, no real services. And you, the consumer, are left footing the bill.
Think of those companies out there that say, “Sign up and we’ll teach you how to do internet marketing. Great. Now that you’re signed up, go get other people to sign up, and we’ll teach them how to do internet marketing. Great. Now that they’re signed up…” And it goes on and on with no real products, no real value. The money is made by getting more people to sign up, which is absolute BS.
A lot of people are misconceived about this, which means a lot of people get taken for granted. If you have companies out here that are making millions and millions of dollars, but they’re not providing products and services that are good for people, then it’s going to be a scam.
What to Look For
Here are some things you want to look out for when joining a company or investing in anything, be it Bitcoin, be it multi-level marketing, be it any of my products. I’m not a lawyer, I’m not an expert in any of this, but I do know what I’ve seen. I know how you can protect yourself mentally and financially by not getting involved in things that are not up to par.
Find Out Where the Money is Coming From
First and foremost, you need to find out where the money’s coming from. Where are you going to get paid? You’ll notice in my content, I always talk about transparency. If you ever want to spot a scam, a pyramid scheme, or something that just doesn’t smell right, what you have to do is follow the money trail. If the money trail isn’t coming from actual goods and products coming from the marketplace, then it’s usually not good. It’s usually a scam. You have to be careful.
See if it’s Something a Lot of People Can Do
Is it something that a lot of people can do? When these pyramid things come out, you have to look at the numbers. Can 100,000 people make money with one method? Can 100,000 people promote a business opportunity online and all make the income that’s claimed? Probably not. But the fact of the matter is that they’re signing up millions of people.
Pay Attention to How it’s Promoted
Watch out for is the way things are promoted. If you spend any time on Facebook, you’ll notice that it’s littered with tons of scams. People promise that you’ll make $100,000 in 90 days, but that is a bunch of crap. They don’t know what you’re going to make. They have no idea what their stuff will do for you. They don’t know what you’re going to do with it. They should tell you what the average user gets.
This is why, on my webinars, I say that our average user doesn’t usually do anything, therefore they don’t really make anything. And even with some of those that do the right stuff, there are different variables in internet marketing. We don’t know what you’re going to get. They don’t even know what they’re going to get. If they knew, they’d invest it and keep the money for themselves. But they’re trying to get you to invest because they’re getting a piece of the pie.
Look for Disclaimers
[smart-affiliate-ads group=”5″ position=”random” limit=”3″]
What happens is this: all these people go on Facebook and they try to advertise things. They have no disclaimers, they don’t tell you they’re an affiliate, they don’t tell you what you have to do, and it’s just a bunch of hogwash. It’s a bunch of junk that can get everyone in a bunch of hot water.
So you want to make sure that you have good disclaimers. Make sure every claim you make is backed up by some kind of proof, whether it’s your own proof, or someone else’s proof. And you should state what the typical user is going to expect. Be fifthly honest and upfront about how hard is.
Say, “Hey, you know what? This is what worked for me. I don’t know if it’s going to work for you. But if you’re willing to give it a shot, let’s do it.” Now, that’s going to hinder your sales a little bit, not much, as opposed to saying, “You’re going to make all this money right away.” But in the long run, it’s going to do you a lot better, and you’ll be providing good value to the marketplace.
Make Sure it’s Helping People
You want to make sure that it’s something good. It’s something that everyone can do, where everyone is benefiting, and not just one person is being left with the bill.
If I go out and help people buy pool equipment through my affiliate link, then yeah, at the end of the day, people are being helped. If I help people learn affiliate marketing in a trustworthy way that can actually work, then I’m providing a service. If I’m out there teaching people how to fix their lawn, and I get leads from various lawn companies and pest control companies, then that’s a good thing.
Never Pay to Sell Someone’s Stuff
Never pay to sell someone else’s stuff, unless you actually get something you know you can sell. Ask yourself: should I be paying for an opportunity? Am I paying for something of value? Am I paying for some kind of good education that I want? Or is it overinflated crap to teach me how to get other people into the company? Or is it getting me to buy a bunch of products that I probably can’t sell? Or is it giving me a signup fee? (There should never be a signup fee.)
Final Thoughts
Find someone that makes sense. Make sure you know where the money is coming from. Make sure that their disclaimers are up to par. Make sure they have your best interest at heart. Then, if you decide you want to do it, go for it. But sleep on it. Nothing needs to happen right now. Tomorrow you’re not going to lose out on some huge opportunity. Opportunities are everywhere. They are abundant.
Over at affiliatedude.com/scam, I put together a little guide that you can print out. Put it on your desk, and the next time something looks too good to be true, go ahead and follow the steps.
So whether you’re elderly and you’re trying to supplement your income, whether you’re young and you’re trying to make money with Shopify, or affiliate marketing, or whatever it may be, protect yourself by understanding this.
For more information, visit www.AffiliateMarketingDude.com.