Have you ever wondered what kind of person would deliberately scam innocent people out of their money on the Internet? These people prosper thanks to the invisibility of the Internet. They have the ability to easily hide their tracks, disappear quickly and easily, and are rarely caught by authorities. There are two kinds.
The former is ambitious and proud of what he is doing. These are the ones who are smart and skilled scammers. They are excited about his “genius” and feel that the job of creating a scam is reason enough for the money they make from it. They look at every possible angle to avoid being obviously illegal. Right there is a hint that they know what they are doing is wrong and yet they come after it with justifications. They believe that if someone buys into the scam or, as they prefer, the “monetary system”, they have no reason to complain. They convince themselves that the opportunity is there, even when they know that only one percent or less of the people who invest money will actually make money. These people thrive on the faceless, impersonal Internet. They don’t know the people they are scamming and they don’t care to meet them. It makes it much easier to take someone’s money if you don’t see the real person suffering a loss.
The above type naturally creates a subtype scammer. This is a person who has bought a monetary system and in order to make at least enough to cover his “investment” in the business, he must advertise the business and get more people involved. These people often end up paying far more advertising money than they gave the business in the first place, and very few ever get their money back. It has been said that only about 1% of the people who invest money in a monetary system get money from it.
The second type of scammer is much more vicious and more personal. They try to get personal information from their victims. They can contact them to gain trust. These people hope to establish some contact for their victim to complete a banking transaction. They usually have a money order or (fake) checks that they want the person to deposit into and then ask for some of it back. Then the check bounces and the person has lost their own money, in some cases quite a lot. Whether desperate or outright antisocial, these kinds of people are totally aware of what they’re doing and completely unaware of what they’re doing.
To avoid Internet scams, always follow these rules:
Never reply to emails stating that you have won a prize, lottery or inheritance.
Never click on a link in an email that says you need to update your information or provide personal account numbers. Your bank, Paypal, email and other sites never ask you to provide this information via a link in an email. If you click on the link, they may have a really cool fake site that you think is real. They take your information and they take your money.
Check out any Internet business before investing your money in it, especially if the business claims that it will make a huge income in a very short period of time. It’s easy to find information just by doing a simple search on scams and the name of the company.
Do not accept jobs via email invitation that require you to work as a “Bookkeeper” or in “Accounts Receivable” and require you to deposit checks for them and return the funds to them. This is a scam, no legitimate business invites strangers to make deposits for them.
Don’t respond to emails from desperate millionaires who will give you a percentage of the money if you complete a money transfer for them. They have no money and they want to take your money.
There are ways to earn money online honestly and for those methods, work and patience are required. Writing, blogging, mystery shopping from legitimate companies, and taking surveys are all better ways to make money when you have the right resources. Don’t give in to the get-rich-quick schemes that abound on the Internet.