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Scam Programs - Why They Exist - What To Look For
Many of todays new programs and even some that have survived a couple of years have been created with one thing on the creator's mind: How to get your money. The first clue to this type of program is how they (it) will show you how to make $1000's daily or something similar. It tells you on the front page how will make great amounts of money, have the luxury home you always wanted, dream vacations, new fancy cars, maybe a picture of a boat or ship, and lots of dollar sign images. That's all they talk about ... oh, and how poor you are right now.
This is done to play on your emotions, to build you up to believe that their program will make you successful. Some will even claim that they do all the work for you. WHAT??? That's a statement playing on the lazy button in your mind. Something for nothing? It ain't gonna happen George!
This is really no different than a Nigerian scam email. Send them your info and a payment to get US$15,800,000.00. If you don't believe the Nigerian email then why are you believing this same line of crap from a website?
If you do a domain search on www.whois.net you can find some details of who rgisered the site and where from. Be careful when you see they have secured that information because most times they are hiding their identity so when things go sour you really don't know who they are. Remember, a website can be created by anyone and call themselves Billy Joe Jim Bob Smith. You can set up a payment system in any name you wish. So why do people believe this stuff and fall for it? They are chasing the money.
Signing up to these types of businesses is the same as impulse buying. You see a reason now to get it and just jump for it. You see your need for money so you go for it. They have hyped you by playing on your emotions. They just sold to an impulse buyer.
The ONLY WAY to not be a victim of all of these scams is to set yourself a set of rules. The first rule would be never sign up for anything until you have done your due diligence.
How do you execute due diligence? Start with the whois search of the domain. Look for the owners info and date of registry of the domain. Look for a owner contact email and a tech email in the registry. Next, do a [company name . com] scam search on Google and Yahoo. See what others that have signed up are saying about the program. Look at the registry date of the domain and compare it the the launch date of the site.
Next, read the Terms and Privacy Policy of the site. Stop whining here. You are in business and if you can't sit through a business reading then don't think of getting into business. You'll fail. Now check for contradictions in the hype and Terms. Contact them and see what kind of response you get to your questions.
If they don't tell you what kind of business it is from the first webpage then they are just suckering you in. It should mention the service and/or product right away. If it doesn't then 99% of the time it's a scam.
So why do scam programs exist? Because people allow their emotions to be their guide. Scammers bank on peoples impulse to sign up right away.
I was looking at one program that did exactly that - made statements on limited space and time. But the site owner wasn't too clever. He didn't bank on me going back to see this limited space/time situation had been fulfilled. Over the week that passed I went back and there still sits the claim to have only 4 Platinum positions left and it was limited to the day of the reading. At under $40.00 for this surely he got more than 4 people to sign up. I've seen new people advertising the program, sending 1000's of direct emails out about this program.
My hopes here are to educate as many people as possible and to help stop scammers. By educating others what to look for and how to execute due diligence we all can stop the ripoffs and become a better internet. But I cannot do this alone. It will take your help to educate others as well. To pass on this type of information.
One last piece of advice. If you are looking to join a program, find one that doesn't promise the sky and doesn;t cost to join to make money. A good example is right here - AdlandPro. It's free to be an affiliate and to earn money. I get residuals and I never had to pay a membership fee to get them. I could opt to go Gold and increase my %'s of the money I'm paid and recieve more services from the program. It's my choice.
The products and services are the first thing offered and the affiliate part is later offered. This way you became a user of services before becoming an affiliate. You are now a person that knows what you are offering because you have experience in the services. This is something you can really sell with first-hand knowledge. Makes sense, doesn't it.
I made this same approach with my product I came up with. I wrote an extensive educational book on the scales of music. Very different from what has already been done. I never once looked for affiliates to sell it and still don't offer an affiliate program. But, I have people that bought it and now ask if they can sell it to others. They see a real market for it and be willing to sell it, mind you, these are not internet marketers. These are music educators asking to do this.
Bottom line, You need to find a niche that needs filling and create an answer for that need. If you are chasing money you will lose everytime.
Don't bite the hype. If you want an honest opinion on a biz after you have done your due diligence then write to me. Give me time to review it and to respond.
Best to you
Kenneth R Sword Jr
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