What makes a scam a scam...

If you have been online for more than a day, you would no doubt have come in contact with "make money fast websites" or other offers that sound way too good to be true.
But what is the difference between a scam and a legitimate opportunity ?
The answer to that may be obvious to many but unfortunately thousands of people are stung by scams on the internet every day.

The general rule of thumb is "If it sounds too good to be true - it probably is" but what is "too good to be true" and how can the average newbie be expected to tell the difference ?
There are a few basic things you should look for with an opportunity or money making offer - here is my top 10 things to look out for...

1. Promise of big money in an extremely short time frame

2. No products or services - Money can only be made by passing products or services from one party to another. If you are promosed riches from a company that has no product.... RUN

3. Promises of No Selling, No Sponsoring, No Work involved.

4. HYIP & Autosurf programs are a HUGE scam these days - HYIP stands for High Yield Investment Program. There was a huge flow with "Money Doublers during 2004 / 2005. These programs asked you to buy a spot in a single line tree. when your name reached the top you were paid double the amount you invested. Autosurf HYIP's were a spin off to the money doubler scams.

5. Pyramid schemes - these can often be confusing as they front themselves as a legitimate business. Pyramid Schemes will often have a product but the price of the product inflates as it passes from one person to another - these should not be confused with LEGITIMATE network marketing companies.

6. Other specific scams to look out for are Ponzi schemes & Investment programs.

7. Look out for companies that have you Pay upfront just to find out what the company is - It may be a legitimate business at the backend but the upfront marketing is far from ethical.

8. Screen shots of "Big Income" - from Paypal etc, these screen shots are easily doctored in photoshop so really have no reliable standing.

9. Poor Quality Websites - This is also a hard one since even the "ugliest" pup can find a loving home. Look also for websites hosted on free web servers.

10. ANY email that you didn't subscribe to or sounds too good to be true - Nigerian Scams are huge in emails - Trust me, if some king in a foreign country died, no one would need to send an email to a total stranger to share the money with.

Thats a basic list of what to look for - Remember.... "....if in doubt, FIND OUT..."