Money making scams are everywhere! You get them in your emails, on your phone, in your text messages, on your Facebook wall, and sometimes even at your front door. But perhaps the biggest breeding ground for these type of scams is on the world wide web.

They promise you easy money, get rich quick schemes, and opportunities that are seem amazingly easy. There is a reason they seem unbelievable or too good to be true…because they are!

So how can you protect yourself from these scams? How can you discern the honest, legitimate opportunities from the dishonest, money-hungry scams? This post aims to provide you with 5 simple questions you can ask yourself to determine if an “opportunity” is likely a scam or not.

1. Does It Feel Like A Scam?

This may seem like an obvious question to ask yourself but it is important. I believe “Going with your gut” is generally the best thing you can do. It seems that most scams do a good job of inadvertently alerting you to their scamminess pretty quickly.

If an opportunity looks and feels like a scam then it most likely is. If you get the “I’m not so sure about this” feeling then I would recommend leaving the site immediately. Scammers to a great job of using sales techniques to draw their visitors in despite their ludicrousness. Don’t let them pull you in!

*A legitimate offer should feel honest and open about what they are doing and what you will be doing.

2. Do They Promise Quick Riches?

Many scams will make ridiculous claims of huge amounts of income within the first month, weeks, days, or in some cases even within the first hours. How can this be possible? Well…it’s not. If it was that easy don’t why isn’t everyone doing it?

They will flash numbers and dollar signs and show you their latest enormous checks. They’re simply playing mind games with you by making it seem like you can achieve the same quickly and easily with only “a few simple clicks”. Don’t fall for it!

*A legitimate offer will never promise quick or instant money. They should be realistic with how much work, time, and money  must be put into achieving what they say is possible.

3. Do They Tell You What You Are Getting?

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have seen someone requiring a HUGE fee for a product that they haven’t even explained what it is. They will say all of these amazing things about what their offer will do and how it will help you but they won’t actually tell you what it is.

Would you spend hundreds of dollars on a new TV or thousands on a new car without actually seeing the TV or test driving the car? NO you wouldn't…so don’t do it with on-line products either.

*A legitimate offer should be upfront with what they are selling you and exactly what you will be getting upon payment.

4. Do They Require Payment Before Letting You See/Try Their Product?

Whenever I see an on-line product that doesn't offer a trial period I am instantly skeptical for two reasons:

1. It is just honest business to let prospective customers try out a product before they pay for it.
2. It makes me wonder if they are hiding something. Either their product is a complete scam or it is not of high-enough quality to make you want to actually pay for it once you have tried it.

In addition any “Money Back Guarantee” offers should be taken with a grain of salt. Many times there are certain stipulations or extensive, complicated steps to actually get your money back. In my opinions these guarantees are just another sales tactic.

*A legitimate offer will always offer a free trial period so you can decide for yourself if you want to pay for their services or not.

5. Do They Require Instant Action?

It is common for scams to put fake time limits on their offers. This is also a common tactic used on late night infomercials!

Perhaps they will say that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that will last only 24 more hours. Oddly enough, if you go back to their website 25 hours later you will notice that their once in a lifetime opportunity still available….but only for the next 24 hours.

How can this be? Didn’t the opportunity already expire? No, it didn’t because it’s not a real opportunity but just a simple tactic to put pressure on you to buy into their scam!

*A legitimate offer should never pressure you into making a quick decision and will always give you time to consider your choices.

Run Away From Scams!

There are many other signs of a potential scam but these five should do the job in helping you to determine if an offer is a scam or not. Next time you are interested in something please remember to ask yourself these questions.

As a general rule, if you answer “Yes” to any of these questions then I would seriously consider the possibility that this offer may not be legitimate. Always remember that any legitimate opportunity will:

• Always feel honest and open

• Never promise quick or instant money.

• Always be upfront with what they are selling you

• Always offer a free trial period of some sort

• Never pressure you into making a quick decision

Have you had any experiences with scams? Did you fall for their sales tricks or were you able to realize it was a scam? Do you have any other questions or tips to add? Please leave me your answers or other comments in the comments section below!