Considering a New Opportunity?
Almost everyone has considered it at one time or another - building a business that will eventually provide enough income to retire from the daily grind. Others are discouraged by the job market and want to find a way to support their families. A number of websites promote opportunies to own your own business and work at, be your own boss, etc. Unfortunately, many of these “opportunities” are scams designed to make money for the person selling the information or services.
Compelling stories of huge profits for very little effort and testimonials from average people who are now independently wealthy without a care in the world are warning signs. But it is not always easy to sort out the scams and frauds from the real opportunities to make a legitimate profit. Here are some sites that offer detailed lists of know scams and frauds:
The best advice is to research using the search engines any opportunity that wants you to pay money to get involved. Many e-books simply rehash commonly available information, yet promise to be a “system” for making money. The websites above provide information about the major types of scams and frauds, but it is also good to search using your favorite engine for any specific website or e-book using the name of it and the words - problem, scam, fraud, etc. Also try the author’s name.
We recently recieved a very official looking invitation to attend an event that would feature Sarah Fergusen, the Duchess of York. The invitation had a special code on it and offered free admission to an event with a price tag of $149. A simple search on the Internet uncovered information that these “events” were regularly scheduled in major cities across the U.S. and that nobody ever paid to enter. We do not know for certain that it was a scam, but we have to be suspicious of tactics that try to make it seem as though we were VIP’s and have fictitous pricing.
As with all things, your mileage may vary and buyer beware.