Paid Survey Scam

2009-02-02T21:55:00.000-08:00

Tips to Keep Your Teens (and Yourself) Safe on MySpace and Other Social Networking Sites

MySpace is one of the most popular social networking websites (with well over 100 million users). It lets users interact with a network of friends, and create personal profiles and blogs that include photos, music, audios and videos, as well as text.

In fact, MySpace is a great place for teens to communicate and interact with friends who live down the block -- or across the world. They can share photos, music, messages... just about anything. And bands have used MySpace very successfully to communicate directly with fans.

Now, you don't have to be a teenager to obtain a MySpace account. Anybody with access to the Internet can sign up for this free website.

Though most users are honest -- and many can be great Internet acquaintances -- there are enough shady users to warrant your concern as a parent, grandparent or teen.

Here are a few things that parents and teens can do to make MySpace, and any similar online meeting place, a safer environment.

8 MySpace Safety Tips for Teens:

Don't use your real name anywhere on the site. If you have a common first name -- Thomas, Samantha, or Chris -- use that and nothing more.
You can also pick a name that is meaningful to you without giving away personal details. For example, create a username that reflects your interest in music or writing, art or cars.
Fill out as little of your personal profile as possible. You don't have to tell everybody how old you are or where you live. Some people opt to give only their home state, or region in some cases, for safety reasons.
You also don't have to upload a photo of yourself. If you want to share some sort of image, you can find an avatar online that fits your personality.
A good rule of thumb is to not post anything you don't want the whole world to know about.
Only let people on your "friends" list access your profile and other information. The less you reveal to strangers, the safer you'll be.
This will only work, though, if you use discretion when you add people to your friends list. If you reciprocate every friend request that you receive, you'll quickly lose control over profile access.
When you post a blog entry, proofread your writing a couple of times before you submit. After all, you don't want to give away too much personal information.
For example, Internet strangers don't need to know which school you attend, your kid brother's first name or where you go to church.
Also, don't post things that could embarrass you later. Even if you set your profile to "private," it could still come back to haunt you later.
Sometimes you'll receive comments or messages from people you don't know. If that happens, you should be careful if you decide to reply.
Dangerous people often have subtle ways of making you slip up and share the wrong information when you aren't on guard.
Remember that the moment you send a comment or message to somebody else, whatever you wrote is no longer in your control.
What you send to one person -- even a friend you know IRL ("in real life") -- can travel all over the Internet (and your school's hallways) without you even knowing this is happening.
If you have something to say that you don't want just anybody knowing, tell only your most trusted relatives and friends -- in person, not via the Internet, text messaging or email.
If another MySpace user is making you uncomfortable -- trying to send you photos that you don't want to see, or asking overly personal questions -- report that user to MySpace administrators.
Then add that user to your "ignore" list and forget all about him or her once you've contacted MySpace.
(Confronting that user won't solve anything. Some people actually feed on conflict: don't give the user the satisfaction of being sucked in.)
Recognize the employers often check MySpace before making job offers. So be careful about what you post on your MySpace pages.

Here are four things that parents should do:

Ask for access to your teen's MySpace page.
You need to decide on the rules about your access to your teen's page. If you feel you need/want access, then you should be able to hop on your computer and visit the page any time you want. If your child has "friends only" enabled, then your username should be on that list. This way, you can view your teen's page to make sure that he or she hasn't posted anything overly personal.
Depending on your teen's age and maturity level, you might want to restrict Internet access to times when you're around. Many parents keep the family computer in a common room so they can check on what their children are doing without having to barge into a bedroom.
Again, depending on your teen's age, you might want to know who is on your teen's list of friends. Some will be other teens that you already know: classmates, teammates, youth group buddies or the like. Others will be strangers to you.
Knowing who these people are could help you keep your teen safe.
If your teen is supposed to meet an online-only friend in person, consider being there as well. If your teen is meeting another teen who lives in the area, they could probably still have a good time together even though boring old Mom or Dad is not too far away.
But if a predator shows up to meet with your teen and sees you there, he or she will leave as quickly as possible.

When you and your teen follow these tips -- and remember to communicate with each other every step of the way -- you'll be able to sleep well at night knowing that you're doing what you can to protect your son or daughter's virtual life.

Teaching your teen how to stay safe on MySpace (without being overly protective) is something you can -- and should -- do. (Scambuster.org)

How to Protect Yourself from Home Based Business Scams

2009-01-22T21:52:00.000-08:00

While there are many lucrative home based opportunities on the Internet, there are also many scams that one must be aware of in their quest for a home business. Scam artists are in abundance, and just waiting for someone who is hopeful - and inexperienced - to happen by. Don't let it be you!

Of course, there are scam artists who target those who want to start their own home based business, but there are also scam artists who target average computer users around the world. These scam artists are adept at creating web sites that look and feel just like the web sites that you commonly use. For example, they can make an exact duplicate site of your banks web site, in an attempt to trick you into providing them with your username and password, or other sensitive data, such as your account number or credit card number.

In home based business scams, however, things work a bit differently. In this case, the scammer simply wants you to give him your money, in exchange for a load of lies and unfulfilled promises. He doesn't need your bank account information, he just needs payment, which inexperienced hopeful people will happily give him. He will take your money knowing that he is crushing your dreams and draining your bank account - and he won't care.

So, how can you protect yourself from these scammers? The first step is to use good, sound common sense. As always, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Learn to recognize hype, and to avoid offers that are 'hyped.' Hype means that outlandish promises are being made. For example, a scammer might promise you that you can make tens of thousands of dollars in just a few short days, with little or no work. That is a common ploy used in scammy home based business advertisements.

Before you invest your hard earned money in any business venture, you need to fully research the company. Check with the Better Business Bureau first to see if there are any negative reports. You can also pay for a basic background check, which generally costs less than twenty bucks. A great deal can be learned from such basic information.

Use a post office box, instead of your home address, and never give out personal details if you can avoid it. However, when doing business online, many times you will need to provide personal information. When doing so over the Internet, make sure that the site is secure by ensuring that the web site address in your address bar begins with https://, instead of just http://.

Read everything, including the fine print, and make sure that you don't pay for anything until you have read all agreements and such. You should know exactly what you are paying for, before you send that payment. If possible, ask to talk directly with other people who have invested in the business opportunity, and verify who they are. Note that a scammer can put people up to telling you anything that they think that you want to hear, but often, when asked for references and such, a scammer will move on.

Once again, use good common sense in all transactions, and trust your instincts. If it feels wrong, it probably is. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you are unsure, do not move forward until you are sure. The right business opportunity will come along, but by paying attention, and knowing what to be on the lookout for, you won't spend a great deal of time or money investing in business scams. (http://www.topicplanet.com/)

Are Traffic Exchanges a Scam?

2009-01-15T00:29:00.000-08:00

Traffic Exchanges aren't for everybody, you know? Who else wants to multiply the hits received by Traffic Exchange sites? Fellow Surfers, one of the best kept secrets ever: The Traffic Exchange Hit System

Did I grab your attention? Well, let talk about Traffic Exchanges. Traffic Exchange can be immensely profitable, but it can also be truly unforgiving for those who don't know what works and what doesn't. This article is about getting you on the right side of the curve, using the techniques that I learnt the *hard way*.

So, which is the winning strategy?

Your business URL's should really take second place to start out with. Yes, that is. You DON'T have to advertise your business URL's on traffic exchange. If you do it, you are out! So, what should you advertise? There are two options here:

1) Advertise other traffic exchange. By concentrating on surfing and advertising your Traffic Exchanges you will in a few short months have so many credits pouring in you can do less surfing and more marketing and advertising with your other business URL's, these credits will mostly be made up from your downlines. If you dedicate to this you will build major downlines in all your traffic exchanges earning you more credits than you will ever need (some exchanges allow you to sell or cash in your credits) and when members upgrade or purchase additional credits you will either receive credits and/or cash also. You will also have the time to start out with brand new exchanges and other businesses – by this time your memberships and downlines will grow really fast whatever you are promoting! I found out the hard way and learnt from this mistake. I concentrated first on my business URL's! What I did not realize is that I should have viewed the traffic exchanges as a business also and not just an advertising medium, because as your traffic downline grows in each exchange so will your credits and cash, and when it comes down to advertising… credits are as good as cash any day. But as an example if you are a member of 20 traffic exchanges and you have 10 upgraded members in each (200 members) giving you say $1 in commission per member each month (check individual member sites for details on referral bonuses and payouts) that is tidy some ($200 each month they remain upgraded). Stick with it and you may find that you are earning more from your traffic exchanges all put together than your business URL you are promoting in the early days!

2) Advertise a splash page to build your list. If you want to know more about this matter, visit my site The Traffic Hit System

Welcome to the elite circle of PROFESSIONAL surfers!(By: Don Spanish)

Beware of Internet Business Scams

2009-01-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

As products and services appear on the Internet and there is proof that money can be made through these venues, scam artists are quick to create "look a like" sites that will easily fool consumers and those looking for work at home opportunities.

The Despicable Scam Artists - If you were to take the time to look into the numerous scams and bogus business offers found online it would turn your stomach. It is disgraceful and frightening to see those online surveys, government grants; mystery shoppers and data entry clerks all make the list for scams online. Opportunities that were once available are now cause for red flags and alarms when searching on the Internet.

The Unfortunate Victims - The appeal of working from home can often prove to be more harmful than helpful for many who become victims of fraud through false business opportunities. Millions of dollars from career hopefuls are sent to online business addresses and promises of careers for home businesses are left unmet as a scam artist takes the money and runs.

Fraud victims are often full of paranoia. This can effect your trust in businesses in general. It is an awful feeling to think that there is not a single business remaining that you can put your own personal information and money into.

Guidelines For Scam Protection - Following these suggestions can keep you from becoming a victim. Prevention is the only way to help us and others to keep life for us safe as possible.

If we take the time to protect ourselves, perhaps we can begin to deter those scammers, hackers and online thieves.

* Research a company or business prior to personal involvement. Look for records online shoeing proof that this is a legitimate business.

* Protect your personal information such as your social security number, home address, telephone, email, or bank account details.

* Do not send checks or other payments prior to receiving written information from the company.

* Search for details of a business through the better business bureau.

Prevention and Knowledge Is Key - Knowing how to protect yourself and your loved ones when searching for online opportunities is a must. Though the Internet is a useful tool it has transformed into a portal for thieves, predators, scam artist and other disgraceful types to prey on men, women and children alike.

If we do not take precautions the cases of fraud and scam victims will continue to increase and the Internet will become an even greater threat to personal well-being.

You can learn more about Internet scams on the Internet or through other media such as books at your local library. Arm yourself with knowledge and share it with those around you. Each and every person who is aware of Internet scams is another step towards ending it. (By: Keith Walden)

The Internet is Full Of Scams

2009-01-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

I am writing this article for one reason and one reason only – most of the internet businesses marketed as "get rich quick", prey on people who can least afford it and to me this is morally wrong. These companies reach people who have lost their job or had some other misfortune in their life and need to find some way to replace lost income. They are probably down to their last dime and these businesses promise such gigantic rewards. Now how did I come to these conclusions – past experience. The position I had as a contract employee unexpectedly ended during January and by the middle of February, I found myself without much money left. I posted a listing on crags’ list looking for work, as well as registered with Monster.com, Hot Jobs and several other job sites.

By the next week, I was getting all sorts of calls to sell all types of products, but all wanted too much money to buy in. Most of the others after investigation were obvious scams. Then one evening I got a call about a product that interested me. $40 for my website, $10 a month for website maintenance, a product coach, a grant for advertising and a warranty in which I could get my money back after one year if things didn’t work out. There were 200 of these independent agents on the Better Business Bureau site and I checked out each one. Everything looked good so I closed by eyes and jumped in.

The next week a package arrived with two credit card receipts to sign, a copy of the warranty, an application for a credit card and some examples of marketing materials. The warranty was not quite what was explain to me – small details like if I canceled before the year was up, I would owe them around $300 and I had to have at least 12 product training sessions. I also noticed that the company’s name was different; phone numbers were different as was the company address. So, I called and asked about these small problems and was told they were doing so well they had to move into bigger offices. Sounds reasonable! I was given the name of a banker to call about my grant and told that I was to contact him. This person asked me the usual application questions – such as "monthly living expenses", "money in the bank", "do you have any savings" – more like a loan application than a grant.

Being the trusting person I am, I answered all the questions and several days later, I was informed that I qualified for a $10,000 grant – whoopee! I knew I could do some awesome e-marketing with that much money. (Here comes the but) But, to show good faith and belief in myself, the bankers wanted me to put up $1000 at $100 a month. Also I didn’t get a website for $40, just a URL re-directed to the company’s main website – well, it is very hard to do e-marketing on a URL re-direct. I was beginning to have suspicions and asked about the details of the grant. How was that money dispersed etc? No one could answer those simple questions for me except that they guaranteed me 9,500 unique visitors. Well, I have been doing e-market and SEO for about 10 years and that did not seem like a very good return on investment I then asked if the website had all the necessary meta tags for Search Engine Optimization – no one could tell me. But against the advice of the little voice in my head, I made arrangements to start my training. (By: Mary Ann Boulette)

Home Based Business Opportunity Scams

2009-01-13T18:33:00.000-08:00

If you surf the internet enough it appears that everyplace you click, you're bombarded with marketing material suggesting how to create more money than you do right now. The bulk of these ads state that you'll generate more money for performing tasks that are casual and non-consequential. What most proponents of home business scams aren't willing to disclose to you is that it's going to require working for numerous hours before you earn a single dime.

Scams are essentially gimmicks to absolve you of money or belongings, by deceit. In simplest terms you are forking over money or articles of commerce for something that: 1. Is nonexistent 2. Does not function 3. Is of exceedingly low quality and/or value 4. Immensely overstates the performance and claims of the products/services 5. Never belonged to the vendor and there's no authorization to sell it 6. Often carry hidden costs with them

The most essential thing you can do to steer clear from being scammed while looking for a home based business opportunity is to execute your calculated research patiently. Several home business scams are constructed to influence you to sign up right away while the questions you need to be asking are not evident to you. A number of online seekers who purchase items on the internet oftentimes rely on their emotional responses instead of specifically examining the product or opportunity with their practical judgment.

Some upfront logical items to complete or ponder before sending money: Ask for all of the initial investments necessary to get involved in the program; to clarify exactly what you get in return for your money. You should request or have access to comprehensive disclosure about the company, the products and the opportunity. The communication with the company offering the home business opportunity should be easy and not forced or hurried. Perform traditional market investigation to find out if the opportunity will appeal to customers. A well-established and superior home business opportunity will actually answer these inquiries for you.

It's vital to not get carried away with the hype and promises that you can earn your money quick and easy, but not every home business opportunity is a scam. If a person learns the proven successful way to employ their website online they can look forward to creating a consistent stream of leveraged income online. It may require months or even years of persistent marketing to see some money; however, there is tangible money to be created with an internet home based business.

Most people who complete their due diligence of research and investigating can ensure that they're not missing an extraordinary opportunity to develop an internet business that has real meaning to their financial futures. (By: Don Downes)

Paid Survey Scams - Why Survey Forums Can Help You From Getting Scammed

2009-01-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

How do you avoid paid survey scams? Well, the easy answer is to simply ignore them. But then this begs the question..."how can you ignore them if you don't know what they are?"

Let's be honest, when you swim with the sharks you are going to get bitten every now and again. The internet is now a vast sea of information; it's like the early gold rush days, there are those looking for gold and those who are happy to provide the tools.

Unfortunately, some of those providing the tools online are not entirely doing so for your benefit and in the survey arena, spotting paid survey scams has become a bit of an art form.

Let's take a look at some of the ways which can help you avoid becoming victim to paid survey scams.

Getting The Lowdown On Paid Surveys

Get recommendations. This means you should be asking family and friends firstly if they've completed paid surveys online and been compensated.

If you draw a blank then scan the various survey forums online. In fact, these are as good a guide as you'll get into paid survey scams online.

There are many experienced survey takers frequenting these forums and many of them would have experienced the hard knocks during the learning phase and been taken in by paid survey scams. And believe me, in most cases when chasing income opportunities, taking a hard knock early is part and parcel of the game.

The advice you'll get here will be invaluable. Sometimes it will be straight to the point but don't let this unsettle you. Simply ask on a forum about XYZ site if you have some doubts about it's legitimacy and more often than not, someone else has come across it and can give you advice.

The final alarm bell you should take notice of is having to part with money to get survey opportunities delivered to your inbox. Forget it. Never pay for the privilege of having to take a survey.

It's your input they want and to get it, you are the one who should be rewarded. Paid survey scams can come disguised in many forms but never part with your own money.(Source By: Dean Caporella-Articlebiz.com)

An Alternative Method To Protecting Yourself From Phishing

2009-01-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

Phishing is one of the leading trends in cyber crime. Basically, phishing occurs when websites that appear to be the one you are looking for are actually those belonging to people that want to steal your personal information. While some web browsers and internet security softwares will attempt to protect you from phishing attacks, they are not perfect. In many cases, the end goal of phishing is to obtain enough personal information to steal your credit cards numbers, or access to bank accounts.

Along with creating websites and emails that mimic legitimate businesses like paypal, phishing is also evolving into other trends. Basically, anything that will get you to transmit personal and financial information can be exploited for phishing purposes. This includes social websites, as well as those set up for the sale of merchandise.

One of the best things you can do is make sure that anything you enroll in online does not provide the same information that you gave to your banks and other lenders. This is especially important if you enjoy singing up for news forums, or other groups that ask identifying questions that you answered for your bank. As an example, the last four digits of your social security number, or mother's maiden name are very common questions. Unfortunately, in the hands of someone intent on phishing, this information can be used to obtain your credit card information.

Therefore, when it comes to online forums where you do not expect to engage in financial transfers, treat your password backups like a real password. This includes using a different backup for each site you enroll with. Also, you should use a "hardened password" that includes at least 8 letters, one number, and a non alpha-numeric character. Not only will this stymie phishing attempts, if they do try to use the information you gave them, you will know exactly what site the fraudulent activity came from.

If you find yourself wanting to open a financial account online, and need to provide information similar to what has been requested by your credit card company, or bank, the same advice applies. Simply treat your backup information like a secure password. With a legitimate bank or credit card institution, you can always call them later on and have these things reset if need be. This is far less troublesome than becoming the victim of a phishing attack.

Because cyber crime is only limited by the ideas that people get, many different schemes can be used to steal personal information. Over the years, phishing has evolved as the premier way to gain financial information and steal personal identities. Banks and many other financial institutions often utilize backup passwords or other information to help identify you. When enrolling in social groups, it is vital to treat this information like any other type of personal information. By using words or information different from what you would use with your bank, you may well help prevent a phishing attack, and also help investigators determine where it came from.(Source By: Matt Murren-articlebiz.com)

Home Business Scams - The Real Facts About Making Money Online

2009-01-05T18:25:00.000-08:00

Struggling to find a sincere home based business and are in desperate need to make more money online? Many have probably come across buying products that claim to show you exactly how to make money on the internet in today's day with no experience or skill, but later figured out that you didn't make a dime from them as a result. So in despite, they claimed that the product or business opportunity were scams and decided to post negative comments on all of the forums on the internet.

The real truth is without the desire, hard work and time that you dedicate into the business that you joined it will never guarantee you success. This is the honest truth behind any home based business owner who may have failed at the internet marketing aspect from the home based business arena all have denied this statement. The content of the sales page may be deceiving as it is used to get people to join their business opportunity. A newbie who has no idea on what home based business to join can get hyped by the persuasive sales letter that claim that you can make a lot of money with very little effort to dedicate into the actual business model. I am not saying that the website owner is a scammer but they will always claim the benefit and feature of the product without telling people that it really takes hard work and time and these are the only real way that will lead you on the right path to success online.

There are a couple of websites that point out which businesses are sincere out there, but others avoid it because people don't want to buy into a business because they hate the idea that they have to put hard work in order to make money online. For those individuals that are looking for a home based business opportunity are actually the lazy type, they have this wrong idea that they can put less of their time and effort into their business but gain a large amount of revenue from it as a result. Working for your own business can be harder than working for someone else and the income is not a guarantee either. The reason many people do fail at internet marketing and never make any money is because they want the easy way out which is to put less time and effort and expect to make a lot of money, otherwise they would quit and look for something new that comes along.

As I mentioned above, with no desire, time, and effort than making money online is impossible to achieve. People are always falling for the hype that other companies feed them and believe the product that they have purchased can help make it easier for them to make money quicker which is not true. The successful ones are the ones that see the world as it is and not some fantasy, they believe that working hard and the desire to drive their business the farthest are the ones that benefit the most because they try to make their businesses a success instead of waiting for something to happen. If you are not the hard working type than a home based business is something that is probably not for you. I have investigated some of the internet business scams out there and have come across the ones that are the most successful and which have made me successful online as an internet entrepreneur.

Almir Bojkovic is a successful online entrepreneur who works with people from around the world. He has a passion for seeing others achieve their dreams, goals and aspirations by devoting his time and energy helping and mentoring them, so they too, can achieve success. If you would like to have real financial security, he invites you to visit his profitable business opportunity website.(Source By: Almir Bojkovic-articlebiz.com)

When is a Scam not a Scam?

2008-12-30T19:50:00.000-08:00

The question "When is a Scam not a Scam?" brings forth a lot of other questions. The question came to me after listening to two phone conferences from people in the same company where there were, what appeared to me to be, contradictions as to the purpose of the company. So, I thought, is this a scam? What about when you go to buy a car and the salesperson takes your keys and your drivers’ license and 3 hours later you still haven’t gotten them back? Have you been there? Were they pulling a "scam" on you? This happened to us once in Hawaii. No one has gotten these items from us since then unless we were definitely trading cars.

We had a vacuum cleaner sales person come to our house once, and I really liked the cleaner, but Hans (my husband) and I needed to talk about the financial end of it. When Hans went out of the room, the salesperson said to me, "If you want it, you can convince him to get it." Well, that was the wrong thing to say to me. We said "No", and later bought from someone else. But – was the first salesperson using a "scam" when he tried to pit me against my husband?

The word "scam" was not in my vocabulary as I was growing up. In fact, when I looked in my high school dictionary (which I still have), the word "scam" was not there. I then went to a current dictionary… Merriam-Webster: "Scam, origin unknown - a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation "

I also went into Google, and was amazed at the items listed. Some are actually the landing page of some companies. So I wonder if Google is saying these companies are "scamming" us; otherwise, why are they listed under the word "Scam". Some of the others will give you a list, for a price, of companies that are "scams".

Have you ever done due diligence to research a company in which you are interested, and were astonished at the number of comments that were listed against the company – even to the point of considering it a "scam". Are these just disgruntled individuals, or do you think they may be right?

Another example - when I talked with a relative about a network marketing opportunity, she made the comment that she was of the opinion that they were all "scams". She believed that the last person who gets in is the one who loses his/her money, and she could not live with herself if someone she sponsored were to end up losing money. Are there "opportunities" that let the "last" person lose money? Would that be a scam? I acknowledge the fact that there are actions that have deliberately "scammed" people by getting money from them for purposes other than that for which the individual was aware. The manipulation of stock prices without the necessary capital to back it up is definitely within the definition of the word "scam". There were irregular accounting procedures that boarded on fraud involving Enron and its accounting firm and they declared bankruptcy. The Enron shares dropped from over $90.00 to just pennies. That action, too, falls within the "scam" definition.

So, when is a Scam not a Scam? Does it depend on your interpretation of the word? If, in your considered opinion, you do not consider your company as doing anything deceptive, and everything is "above board", and you are happy with your association, regardless of what those other people have said, it is not a Scam. If I receive any other definitive explanations, I will surely write another article that may more readily discuss "When is a Scam not a Scam?" Jeanette Pedersen, Life Style Mentor and Successful Entrepreneur, is helping many become the next success story. Whether you're looking to create an extra few thousand dollars per month, be an ex-corporate executive, or the next millionaire Mom, Jeanette can assist you to create a second stream of income and greater peace of mind. (By. Jeanette Pedersen-Articlebiz)

Paid Surveys Etc-Are All Paid Survey Sites Scams?

2008-12-30T18:27:00.001-08:00

Paid surveys are a great place to start when you are new to the internet or you just need some extra cash to pay a few extra bills. The reason for this is because they are fast to do and you get paid pretty quickly as well. Paid surveys can really be done by anyone. This is because they are easy to do and they only require an opinion.

If you have been browsing around the internet these days to find paid surveys, you may find that that are a lot of people out there calling paid surveys a scam. In my opinion, there are a few scams out there, but most of the time paid survey sites are actually great to have because they offer a lot of ways to make money.

The real reason people put these sites down because they were expecting to become millionaires over night. See, the real deal is that you can make money over night or even in your first day, but you will not become a millionaire. Paid surveys are not for someone that needs to make a full time income and then make a bunch more money to spend foolishly.

You would actually have to work very hard with paid surveys in order to make a full time income for it. You have to even work yourself up the line in order to even receive the high paying surveys. Most of the time on average, companies will tend to pay you anywhere from $3-$75 per survey.

Companies are willing to pay people for there opinions because they feel that they want to get to know how the customer likes to spend their money. The best way to get people to participate in this is to pay them.

Paid surveys can be found by doing a search in Google or you can join a paid survey site. It is really up to you on which route you can take. If you have the time then I suggest you manually sign up with companies. If you don’t have the time I recommend joining a site. You most likely will make the money back in the first day anyways.

Paid surveys are an easy and fun thing to do to make money on the internet from. The thing is though you must stay focused and dedicated in order to see the results of your new income. (By: Ashley Mcallister_artcleBiz)

You won't get scammed if you know what to seek

2008-12-30T18:23:00.000-08:00

You have all heard and seen of the scams when it comes to work from home money making methods such as paid surveys. You can avoid them if you look carefully as they all follow a certain pattern so once you know what to look out for you won't fall victim to these scams.

After careful studies of these known scammers I can tell you the certain features to watch out so you don't give them the satisfaction of thinking they have fooled another gullible person. The first and most important thing to look out for is do you need to pay for this service? If you do have to, why? When you get a normal offline job do you pay your boss to have the privilege to work for him? I didn't think so. However there are the few exceptions when it comes to paying upfront but these are rare occasions. Some companies charge a fee so you don't have to search the internet for the best resources to get the surveys but I cannot stress enough that many of these are scams so be sure to do your research before and try to contact people who have used them before.

A lot of these scammer sites have a great sales pitch and excellent testimonials but you can't trust everything you see on a website as you will all know it's very easily to build a very promising website with loads of feedback but you never know if it's true. Even if you get in contact with these people you don't know if there friends of the website owners willing to participate in the scam. The best thing you can do before you start up with a company (especially a paid one) is to do some research on them and look around for the ones with the best reviews by a range of people.

If you do get scammed by a company don't loose faith as this is a proven method to generate a nice side income, try to learn from your mistakes and try another and you will get the successful one that will give you that extra source of income. I know many people doing this in their spare time so there are legit companies out there which will send you the surveys and don't even require any money up front.

There are many blogs where people have given their success stories stating which companies they used and which they think they got the best results from. They also provide a list of any companies they found to be a waste of time so having a quick read can save you loads of time and money (by. By: Sami Soya_Artclebiz)

How To Avoid Scams Online Save Money

2008-12-23T02:02:00.000-08:00

Have you bought money making guides, internet cash systems, and failed to even break even? Have you wasted hundreds of dollars? And wondered when it would end? You have just completed the first step of accepting that you need to do something different.

Because you've been misinformed and misled, force-fed thousands of pages of useless information, the same information that is directly blocking you from living the life you want

99 per cent of buyers of make money products never earn a red cent in profit. And the truth is, none of them ever will. They live broke, stay broke and will probably die broke, while a small minority continue to rake in the thousands.

1.First rule of thumb is never fall for an ad that promises guaranteed success overnight. A home business is a job that requires some effort from you.

2.If you spend $24 for a product and they then ask for $97 for the real info--Leave it--its a scam! and request a refund for the original purchase.

3.Most info sellers depend on you not asking for a refund or forgetting how to get one.If the refund policy is not clear stay away.

4.Beware of tons of FREE BONUS items--if the info was so good to start with they would not need to tempt you with free worthless stuff.when was the last time a freebie was worth thousands?

5.Beware OF MAILING LIST-I recently spent $100 to mail my ad to 100,000 prospects and all i got was my inbox full of spam emails--my site got no hits or sales and i got 10,000 emails--BEWARE.

6.Writing ebooks that take months to finish and do not sell . Selling products on eBay that you practically gave away in order to sell something. Playing with Google Adwords and losing over $500 in one day that generated diddly-squat..

THE GOOD NEWS. you can make serious money online for real.i know cause i have done it.

One legit online business is all it takes.

The success of these promotions is directly attributable to a single advantage over the market.

You need proven methods and unreleased techniques that run contrary to what you have been drip-fed by the gurus. You need NEW SCHOOL methods.

Just like you, I know the routine of these programs all too well. Once you get involved with them, then you have the option to upgrade, and then you can convert to this level,spend more money and so on and so on. That is one technique you will never use .

A very small investment in cash and a investment in time can make you enough to quit your day job.

When we say no hidden costs, we mean no hidden cost.

Are you sick and tired of all the moneymaking scams on the web? If you're looking for the real deal when it comes to making money from home, then this may be the most important message you will ever read online! (Source by :By: Willard Fassett)

How To Identify Internet Marketing Scams So You Can Avoid Them?

2008-12-23T01:59:00.000-08:00

When you get online to start a home business you have to be very careful. The reason for this is because of the many different scams online. There are things that you can do to find out if you have found one of the scams. When you have an internet business you want to make sure you take the time to find out if something is an internet marketing scam or if it is legitimate because the scams can harm your business.

Here are some of the things that you can do to find out if you have found internet marketing scams or if you have something that is legitimate. You don't have to do these things but if you don't than you will end up regretting it later.

One: The first thing you want to do is to contact the internet marketing company. See if they contact you. Most of the companies that are behind the online scams will contact you once but they won't contact you more than once. So contact them by email and by phone more than once. You will soon be able to tell if they are legitimate or not.

Two: The next thing you want to do is to check with the Better Business Bureau to find out if there have been any complaints filed. With most of the online scams, they don't last long because once people figure out it is a scam they will file a complaint against them.

Three: Another way to find out about internet marketing scams is to visit more than one of the home business forums. Other business owners will always share in forums if they have found an online scam. Internet business owners will always look out for other owners because they want success but they also want others to find success, plus nobody wants to be taken advantage of and are usually quick to point out to others when they have so that others can avoid the same thing.

There are many other ways that you can find out if you have found online scams or if you have found something that is legitimate. You just need to take the time to do some research and check into everything thoroughly before you sign up for anything online. This is one sure way that you won't be taken advantage of with the many scams online. Research is very important to avoid scams. (Source Fr. : Louis Charles Martel)

Don't Get Scammed In the Internet Marketing: A Few Rules to Follow

2008-12-22T02:06:00.001-08:00

There are lots of very good internet marketing companies out there, but with so many bad programs out there that it is just like looking for a twig in a forest.

There are many unscrupulous and dishonest marketers out there that have no interest in our interest after taking our money. These few bad apples have really clouded our quest for our search of a few viable companys to work with.

This has created a mass hysteria about being scammed out of our money from ANY internet marketing and MLM business. This is really a shame and it does disservice to many wonderful, hardworking internet marketers out there.

There are certain Due Deligence that one can take to be sure that we can find the right business opportunity for ourselves. But there is one golden rule that we must follow before taking on this search, and that is this:

Do not get emotionally attached to the sponsor!

Yes, one must evaluate every prospective internet marketing business from a cold, detached perspective. There are reasons for this.

Most of us who have been divorced in the past can attest to the rarity of meeting the right person the first time. It almost never happens. It takes going through many bad apples before finding the right person. At least, this was true in my case. It is the same with finding the right internet marketing business to work with. We must compare several businesses systematically. All sponsors are salesperson. They will say and promise anything to get a signup.

There are many people who have joined a business simply because of the sponsor, only to find out later that this person couldn't perform as promised.

For example, many sponsor will promise to pay for the first month membership fees or to help place the downline below your business to ensure your success. Then after the signup process is done, a new member is left with no communication from the sponsor. This is a bad sign for this organization.

If the upline is too busy to communicate with the trainee, then how can this organization be thriving with growth? Afterall, training is an integral part of the downline retention and duplication, one of the three legs of successful internet marketing organization. Getting stuck in the program with uncommunicative upline is a horrible feeling. This is especially true when a new member is strapped for cash and is left with no direction. Is there any wonder why anyone would NOT drop out of the program such as this? This happens even with a very successful company if one signs up under a bad sponsor.

This have left many people to drop out of the internet marketing and MLM business, thus contributing to it's ugly reputation of being a scam.

Ok, there are lots of internet marketing programs out there that produces volumes of testimonials and screenshots of bank statements and so forth, then wants to charge for the cost of the program. This has always bother me. Why would an internet millionaire charge for a program before showing any real proof that this person can help one's business grow? It should be the other way around. We need the money more than the internet gurus, correct? Why should we trust them with our hard-earned money? Why do we need to prove anything first? The company must show us good faith by giving us FREE trial memberships before we commit any money up front. This is how any reputable company do its business.(By: Charlie Hearns)

Don't Read This Home Business Scams

2008-12-22T02:03:00.000-08:00

Now the reason I wrote that head line is that I don't want to waste my time and effort if you're just going to ignore it and waste your money anyway…. Some people will not learn, as my father use to say, " The only experience you take notice of is the one that hits your wallet", and he's right.

I have just recently retired, and at the grand old age of 60+ and I still have to make money to live the lifestyle that I live now, so I have over the last 10 years or so studied and researched many Get Rich Quick systems out there, and believe me there are thousands of them.

I have spent thousands of $$$ over that time period and lost most of it, but I was in the same position like you now… I wanted to give up that 9 to 5 thing you call a job, by the way do you know what the word JOB stands for?... well it stands for "Just over broke" and that's what your BOSS pays you, the least they can.

So I can now honestly say that I have been there and done it, I have discovered truth about what works and what doesn't, and I will let you know what will work for you during this article.

Many websites offer home business opportunities. And some people do make money at home through online jobs, but many of these so-called opportunities are scams. How do you know the difference? Here are some tips for avoiding home business scams.

First, use some common sense. If you are looking because you're short on cash, it can be easy to talk yourself into believing the promises you will read about on many websites online is true. Try to look at the offers objectively. Many scams and get rich systems try to convince you that you will become wealthy with little effort, and you might even see on the website "secret" for making money that is just now being revealed. Much later they reveal the cost for learning the secret, and they then say something like this "Due to the demand for this product we have had to put a time limit on the sale so you best sign up NOW" and just near that statement you will see digital clock ticking away, this is called a (OTO- One Time Offer) but if you go there the next day it will be saying the same thing.

Before buying this kind of information or system, take a moment to wonder why it's being sold. If it's really that effective, the person selling it should be wealthy and not need to sell anything.

Second, don't get involved in a pyramid scheme. These are programs that pay you to recruit but don't really have a product to sell. You make money by getting other people to join the system. This only works for those who start the pyramid scheme in the first place and is illegal in several parts of the world. Note that this is not the same as home party shopping or similar plans where you get a percentage from what you sell in addition to a percentage from those you recruit.

Third, don't pay to stuff envelopes or make products.

Avoiding home business scams means avoiding anything that offers get rich quick systems. It also means paying to work for somebody, why would you want to pay some one ells to work for?... It's crazy. Don't expect anything online that doesn't make sense in the real world to work either. There scammers and only want your hard earned cash.

Now as I said earlier I would let you see what is making me money as we speak 24/7, to get a look at a the system click here and it's FREE.

All you have to do is sign up, and in 48hrs you will be on the road to making money, give it a try, you can always cancel if it's not what you want.

To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home then just look at the URL below in the authors box... it's the best. (By: John D Lewis)

How to Detect Paid Survey Scams

2008-12-19T17:57:00.001-08:00

An online paid survey is good when the usage of it is for good intention. But, it is necessary to screen the big offers provided by many online survey providers before getting into them. If not, many service providers do not give the reward which they promise. Due to this many good paid surveys also get affected. People should consider many aspects before investing their time and money in the paid surveys.

We must not fall for any false testimonials, documented proof, and guarantees. It is not necessary if some people have got money from the paid survey that others will also get, so do not follow blindly with the document proof provided by the company. Don't believe the guarantee promised by them, as it might also not be true.

There are two types of online paid survey scams. The first method is the incentive offered will not be given after the work has been completed. The second method is getting money from the participants who access the online paid surveys. So the major part in identifying the scam is assessing the demographic requirements.

Read and understand the terms and conditions or any other documents fully before getting into it, if any of the point is unclear and not able to understand, make it clear in the beginning itself. This has to be done in order to avoid any discrepancy or contradictions in the future. Before providing any personal information to the companies do some verification, as it can be misused sometimes. Avoid the sites which are not clear in answering the questions and doubts in a satisfactory manner. Have business only with the companies who have the post box address or email addresses for communication.

Many paid survey scams make profit by selling the contact details of the participants to the marketing firms. After that, the marketing company keeps on contacting the participants through phone, and emails which will become a trouble to the people. Look whether the sites are registered. But some sites are registered by proxy and be aware of doing business with them. Check whether any complaints have been registered against any sites and on their owners, and even if there are none, it doesn't mean that they are not scam. It is not implied that all are satisfied by having business with them. It is just meant that no body has yet registered any complaints about those specific sites.

Further, people can have a reference check with some of the scam forums like scam.com and ripoffreport.com for the experience of the customers who have been duped through paid online survey scams. But some messages posted might be dupe by the middlemen by telling that wonderful opportunity is available with some sites and they would have listed them. They will be paid good money or commission or referral fees for duping. But moderators do remove these types of messages, but it will be remaining in the site until the screening process has been done. But not all paid online surveys are scams; some do pay what they promise. (source fr. ArticleBiz)

Paid Survey Scams - 6 Reasons A Survey Might Be A Scam

2008-12-19T17:50:00.000-08:00

One of the pitfalls for new people coming online and looking for ways to make money are paid survey scams. The promise of making money for very little work is appealing to all of us.

It's an unfortunate circumstance but it's simply part of the online landscape which novices need to be aware of. Yes, the promise of easy money is a great lure and the truth is, most people look for the "big red magic button" to generate extra income.

Can You Make Money With Online Surveys?

The simple answer is yes and many people do but like anything in life, some experience and a little due diligence will reap dividends in the long run.

So how can you avoid paid survey scams? Let's take a look at some of the ways to avoid losing your money or unnecessarily giving away personal information to scammers.

- Be cautious of claims which sound too goo to be true. They often are. A well written sales letter can convince even the most savvy person.

- If you have doubts about the legitimacy of a survey opportunity go to your favorite search engine and type in it's name followed by the word review. In many cases, others will have already used the service and if you find a lot of the reviews are uncomplimentary, give it a wide berth.

- Check online forums dedicated to online surveys or business opportunities and ask about the survey in question. Again, there is every likelihood someone will have come across it in their travels and either lost or made money with it and usually will be happy to report the results.

- Guarantees which seem outrageous should signal a red flag. The truth is, paid survey sites can really only offer to refund your money so there really is no incentive other than that for a site to make a guarantee.

- On the other hand, you shouldn't have to part with income in the first place. If you're being asked to pay money for a list of survey opportunities then don't. The information is usually freely available anyway. Besides, be realistic - why should you part with money when you're the one being asked to participate in a survey?

- Use Whois.com to check the details of a survey site. In many cases, paid survey scams will hide behind a proxy so as not to reveal their true identity. This could be considered another red flag.
(Source Fr. : ArticleBiz)

Are All Make Money Online Opportunities Really Work at Home Scams?

2008-12-18T22:44:00.001-08:00

Most people have heard of the fact that you can make money online but they have so many questions about it and wonder all opportunities are work at home scams. Here’s an article that will help unravel the mystery.

Make money online from home is one of the most profitable ways of making a living. Not all online opportunities are work at home scams. There are in fact many different ways of having an online business. With an online business, you are your own boss, and can choose from any number of careers. Everything from secretarial services to lock smith and beyond is available. These opportunities can be found through the internet by way of employment listings, advertisements, or on places such as craigslist. There is a lot of different ways to make a living online and just as many ways to find it.

What are some of the advantages?

There are many different advantages while you make money online. By working online, you escape the daily commute to work. Instead of commuting half an hour, your commute is simply to walk into your den, sit down and go to work. You also make your own hours. You can work whenever you want and the time frame that you want. This leaves you more time to spend with your family, take vacations and in general, you have less stress on you as there are no cubicles, no boss yelling at you and peace and quiet.

What are some of the more profitable ways to make money online?

Some of the more profit making ways include, but are not limited to VA (Virtual Assistant), At home secretary, Remote agent (Teleworking), Locksmith, anything to do with the health industry such as supplements, online remote travel agent, customer service representative and more. This is just a short list of the many different positions that are available. All you need to do is decide on the best way for you and the best business for you to work at home with. The choice is yours.

So these are not work at home scams, where can I find out more about these positions?

The internet is full of ways to make money online. These positions are always advertised somewhere on the internet. Online job boards usually list positions for work at home positions. There are also advertisements that pop up especially when you Google the phrases" work at home" into a search engine. The web listings will display all sorts of listings that are in reference to the work at home term. These listings will include such things as Google AdWords and freelance writing as well as other types of work at home listings. There are many different listings available to the work at home job seeker.

One position that has been mentioned before is the remote agent. These positions have become more popular in recent years. Being a remote agent is simply you answering the phone or makes calls for a company, and helps their customers. You will have a specific computer program that will help you in making calls, giving you a script to follow. This is one of the better jobs to have online and will lead to a lot of satisfaction for you as you are helping people online. This is just one of the ways to make money online. So, in fact, these online opportunities are after all not work at home scams. (fr. By: Alan Lim's blog)

Beware of internet scams of paid survey sites

2008-12-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

Jobslover
Paid Surveys

Lonely people looking to get a lot of spam in their internet mailbox will benefit greatly from paidsurveys.com. This site is merely a portal to "hundreds" of other internet survey sites that promise you everything from the moon to a $1.

If you decide to join this site, expect to receive up to 40 e-mails a day from a variety of online survey companies. Some of them legitimate, others not. It will be up to you to figure out. A better way to decide which online survey companies you wish to participate in is to do a little legwork yourself.

Paidsurveys.com is open to anyone in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada who is at least 18 years old. They promise a free membership and access to 30 different companies that will pay you cash and "prizes" for participating in online surveys right from your home.

Although the site promises security and privacy, I made the mistake of joining and began receiving e-mails from virtually every known site in the world that offered me money, prizes and trips simply for filling out a questionnaire. They do not offer to send you to corporations that "spend billions of dollars a year" finding out what the average Joe is thinking, they merely flood your inbox with hundreds of e-mails from different survey companies.

One of the scariest things about this site is the offer to do "data work from home." Anyone with an IQ over 60 can smell this scam. It is the internet equivalent to "stuffing envelopes from home." It usually requires an upfront fee to "connect" the participant with people who are just dying to pay big bucks for someone to type all day into their computer. It's a scam. And an old one, at that.

There are approximately over 500 internet sites that offer people "cash" for participating in surveys from home. Many of them are legitimate. You can usually tell these sites by their disclaimer that you will not "get rich" off of them and they normally tell you up front about what you can expect to earn and how you will receive your earnings.

Other sites simply exist to get your information so they can sell it to telemarketers. If you are taking a survey and frequently directed to different websites where you are asked about receiving a quote for health insurance, do yourself a favor and click out immediately. In the month that I've been participating in online surveys, I have received (and I'm not exaggerating here) at least 10 calls from people who want to sell me health insurance. One afternoon I received two calls, fifteen minutes apart, from the same company. Unless you are really desperate to talk to people on the phone or get e-mail from strangers promising you riches, stay away from these type of sites.

Paidsurveys.com & most other sites are merely an information gathering website that will give your e-mail address and telephone number to a variety of different companies, all of whom will want to sell you something. If you are looking for a way to make money online, do so at a legitimate site. Check out the website, read as much of the information carefully before signing up and beware of any site that promises that you will get rich overnight. You will not make a living doing surveys at home without any legitimate site . This is merely a way to supplement your income and buy a few extras. There are plenty of legitimate sites out there. Paidsurveys.com is not one of them. after wasting my thousands of dollars and time I got a legitimate site like Jobslover.com it’s a best paid survey site into its category. Its real legitimate and thousands of people are making real money online with them. they are not one of them who will bother you and make calls to you. you will get a real legitimate income with them. Jobslover.com is such a company where you can trust and hope you will earn real money. I have a suggestion if any one want to earn money on internet just get jobslover.com and picmoney.com they both are legitimate , real , tested and proven ways to make money online from your home.

Tips to protect you from scams online business

2008-12-18T22:29:00.000-08:00

The products and services appearing on the Internet and there is proof that money can be made through these sites, copy cats, hackers, crooks and are quick to create sites which doubles easily mislead consumers and those in search of work at home opportunities. Bank information, personal information (SSN), money and physical taken fraudulently creating victims of fraud, Internet fraud and identity theft. Too many people think that this can not happen to him, because it is simply not the case.

The despicable scam

If you were to take the time to look at the many scams and false offers available online it turn your stomach. It is shameful and frightening to see these online surveys, government grants; mystery of customers and data entry clerks all make the list for online scams. Opportunities that were once are now available for the cause of red flags and alarms when searching on the Internet.

The unfortunate victims

The appeal of working at home can often be more harmful than useful for many who are victims of fraud through false business opportunities. Million in career hopes are sent to addresses online and promises of careers for home-based businesses are left unmet as a scam artist takes the money and running. Once you become a victim of fraud you become full of paranoia. You have more trust for businesses in general. It's a terrible feeling to think that no one sector of activity other than you can put your personal information and money.

Guidelines for the Protection of fraud

Following these suggestions you can prevent becoming a victim. Prevention is the only way to help us and others to keep life for our security as possible. If we take the time to protect us, perhaps we can begin to deter fraudsters, hackers and online thieves.

* Find a company or business before the personal involvement. Look for records online shoeing proof that this is a legitimate business.

* Protect your personal information such as your Social Security number, address, phone, and email or bank details.

* Do not send checks or other payments before receiving written information from the company.

* Search for details of a company through the Better Business Bureau.

Prevention and knowledge is the key

Knowing how to protect yourself and your family during the search for opportunities online is a must. Thinking the Internet is a useful tool, it has transformed into a portal for thieves, predators, scam artists and other types of shameful prey on men, women and children. If we do not take precautions cases of fraud and scam victims continues to increase and the Internet will become a greater threat to personal well-being. You can learn more about Internet scams on the Internet and other media such as books at your local library. Arm yourself with the knowledge and share with those around you. Each person who is aware of scams on the Internet is another step to end it. (source Fr : Cherie Ang . http://www.ArticleBiz.com)