how to loose friends and money at the same time

How to recognise a money making scheme, AKA how to loose friends and money at the same time

We all want to have a little extra money but how do you know if the program, business, or opportunity you just stumbled upon is a good thing?

Well, I hate to tell you this, but we have all heard it ... If it sounds too good to be true... it probably is!

Modern MLM, Ponzi, pay per click and other supposed money making opportunities, can be both confusing and well disguised. The look like they could be legit… But we have all been duped at one time or another, my mom and myself included so read on and I will tell you how to recognise some of the scams out there so that you do not become victim.

Make money with your own phone sex, psychic, dating etc. phone line, internet website etc...

These companies sound like a good deal, they ask you to pay up front for your own site (phone or internet) you advertise and collect the money while they take care of the psychics, phone sex operators, dating database.
Typically you can get one of these for around $250 for the first year.
You jump on it thinking you will be raking in the dough but really this is a MLM in disguise!
You print out a ton of business cards, recruit all your friends you can think of to advertise for you, you try to sell your friends into the system with the hopes you can all make a ton of money.... WOOPS!
The only way you can make any real money is if you got in on the bottom and then recruited everyone you knew, they recruited everyone they knew and so on... You have to work way too hard to earn even one click or call to your line.

Then when the house of cards falls down, not only have you spent your entire life's savings on this one... but your friends and family have too!
Now they are all upset with you and do not talk to or even want to associate themselves with you!
You just lost all your family and friends AND your money too!

You see all those TV ads saying how the people depicted are independently wealthy with some product, but the never really say what it is...

They say you should send for their free informational video.
But there is NO information there...
They again load it up with tons of testimonials about how this product has changed their financial future and for an additional $19.95 you can find out how to do it too...
HUH!!! Isn't that what you ordered their first DVD to find out???
Ok so you pay the additional $19.95 and keep your fingers crossed while you are impatiently awaiting the DVD in the mail.
But now, they want you to fill out a small questionnaire to see how interested you are in their program, they say that you do not have to do any direct marketing but still do not tell you who they are...
You call the 800 number to get some poor sap on the phone who is desperate to sell you the program... Why, because he followed the steps he is going to be telling you to do and so far he has lost so much money he will tell you nearly anything to get you to buy into the program.... He may or may not even let you know what the program is depending on how fast you jump onto his hook.
Guess what?
He is selling Herbalife
Yeah, the same stuff you can buy directly from their website without having to even deal with the poor desperate soul you are speaking with now!
He has already lost his excitement for the product and their "Plan" because he has already alienated himself from his friends and family and placed his own financial future at risk unless he can get YOU to buy into the program so that he Might make a dime or two off of your sales!
Recognise that Herbalife is just one more MLM marketing scheme.
Yes some people have made money, but they got in at the top or had a lot of friends to exploit.

If you look around closely you will find TONS of such schemes, the most recent I found was Green Irene... they have you spend $450 to start out with their basic package so that you can push products that they say that they only endorse with leads that will never come...

Old schemes still out there...
SMC or Specialty Merchandise Corp they are even advertising on TV now.
They say you can make money stuffing envelopes but you buy everything and stuff your heart away for nothing. Mom spent over $1000 on this one and never saw a dime back for all the time we spent stuffing envelopes!

Amway, same thing
Mary Kay
Avon
and many others

Look for ads in the newspaper.
I found one several years back saying Make money from home $5 investment...
I ignored it, but my neighbor didn't
Guess what he got?
A letter in the mail telling him to do what was just done to him.
Yes, the seller wanted him to commit fraud by placing an ad in the newspaper asking people for their $5 investment!

Do surveys for money
If the website tells you to pay up front for an exclusive list of top paying surveys... DON'T

You can find this same information online for FREE

Wrapped Cars
We have all seen those rolling billboards. Cars wrapped in plastic with some companies logo and current promotional information.

Well there are several web sites out there that claim that you will get accepted into a program to have your car wrapped for usually a $250 or more investment...

Guess what?
You can do this for FREE
Do a Google search and you can find legitimate companies out there who will "if you qualify" wrap your car and pay you to drive it.
The catch is that this car is advertisement and they are paying for it so they will expect you to "work" for their company by attending and working at various events in your area. They also expect that you will park so that your wrap is obvious to the general public in an area that is well trafficked.

Be vigilant
The last one that you should be aware of is an email scam so stay on your guard and be vigilant

If you get an email stating that your bank or other financial institution wants you to take a survey that will pay money, but you are not sure you have an account with them... It's a SCAM

Even if you have an account with the bank in question NEVER click the link. Instead use your bookmarks and go to the website, then type in the last part of the URL of the link that was provided... Odds are you will get a 404 page not found error code...

These surveys will have you answer several customer service questions then ask for your bank information to send you the money... HUH??? If they were really your bank they would not have said "Dear Customer" they would have used your name or user name in the introduction. Plus they already have your information.....

Recognise that Pay Per Click business opportunities only really make money for the pay per click company...
They sell you a basic package and try to sell you a dedicated links web page... Then you buy clicks on Google, adsense and Yahoo... These companies you buy clicks from are legit so this his how they get you...

Tips & Warnings

• Never click on a link in an email that does not use your real name or user name.
• Never click on a link to a suspicious website, instead go to the real website and then add the last part of the URL if it is legit you will not get a 404 page not found error
• Never pay up front for any work at home program, if they really do make you money you will stay with them.