How NOT to Be a Sucker in These Financially Desperate Times
As with most things in my life, I have learned my lessons through hard, first-hand experience. I, too have been a sucker in financially desperate times, not only once but many times. You’d think I would learn. Thankfully, I’m getting there.
The thing is, we all fall for something over and over again with our own version of desperate times. People with health and weight issues are prime candidates for pills, potions and gadgets ranging from the dubious to the completely dangerous. Those with relationship challenges always seem to be open to the next jerk or player that comes along. Lost souls are easy pickings for cults and their leaders.
Happily, many people eventually work through their desperate times. They learn that it was their particular challenge that actually made them stronger, reminiscent of the story of Charles Atlas getting sand kicked in his face at the beach in front of his girl, only to go on to become a world-class bodybuilder! 
As mentioned, some of my hardest life lessons came through the area of finances. I’ve done some things that even I will admit were pretty foolish. When it comes to trying your hand at making money online, here are some of the tell-tale signs that you are about to be taken advantage of. Consider this as my ‘Top-Ten’ list of how not to be a sucker in these financially desperate times.
- EMAIL – A legitimate company will post a contact email address with an appropriately relevant company domain name. Throw-away email addresses such as G-Mail, Yahoo, etc. are definitely suspect. However, if there is NO contact email address posted… RUN!
- PHONE – Call the phone number listed. A legitimate company will have 24/7 customer service or at the very least post their office hours. Either way, expect to talk to a live person. Outgoing ‘promo’ messages that further hype you on opportunities or otherwise make you jump through hoops are a strong caution sign. If there is NO contact phone number… RUN!
- PHYSICAL MAILING ADDRESS – Look for a real person and/or company name, with a real physical address. Understandably, large companies may filter bulky volumes of physical mail through a PO Box. Still, posting their primary physical mailing address shows transparency. Again, NO physical mailing address… RUN!
- RETURN EMAILS/CALLS - Send emails and make calls BEFORE joining any opportunity. WAIT for a reply. Too many people make the mistake of assuming that just because everything else ‘looks’ warranted, it’s OK just to go ahead and sign up. If the person/company is asking you for money up front, yet they don’t respond to your emails/phone calls… you know what to do, RUN!
- WE DO ALL THE WORK FOR YOU – Companies tell you they will supply you with a website, articles, and promotion, just to name a few. What they don’t tell you is that all these things are completely USELESS due to Google’s duplicate content rules. Google eliminates duplicate content which means your replicated website as well as all the same-as-everybody-else ads and articles… GONE!
- WE GIVE YOU FREE LEADS – This is the BIG hook. Generating traffic and leads is one of the hardest parts of any business, on or off line. Guess the quality of those free leads. OH, you want the GOOD leads? Step right this way, my gullible friend. Will that be Visa or MasterCard? HINT: When anyone offers the suggestion of buying leads… RUN!
- VAGUE/ LESS THAN FULL DISCLOSURE – Other than earning a bajillion dollars overnight, do you actually know what you have to do and how you are going to do it? Some companies may use non-disclosure as a screening tactic to weed out the tire kickers. They make you ‘pay’ for full details thus proving you are a serious candidate for their business. While not illegal, this is a very fine line and should raise your attention. Of course, if you get little more than a sign-up and pay form… RUN!
- TESTIMONIALS - “Mike from Maine made a Million in Minutes” says the glowing testimonial, complete with picture, audio and sometimes even a video. However, what’s missing is Mike’s contact information (eg. legitimate email, phone number or website address – see 1-3 above) If you can’t prove ‘Mike’ or any of the other testimonials are legit… RUN!
- MONEY BACK GUARANTEE - As with everything, read the fine and extra fine print. Most guarantees say they will return money within a limited time. However, some require proof that you actually went through all the steps explained in the program. This is good in a way as most (like 95% MOST) people do NOTHING beyond signing up. However, there are some illegitimate operations that make you jump through so many hoops to get your money back. They count on people giving up and cutting their losses.
- SYSTEMS AND SHORTCUTS – They say the only people who get rich during a gold rush are those who supply the miners. The same holds true today in today’s internet gold rush. People KNOW there is money to be made online. However, make no mistake, there is a learning curve to creating an online income. Any system that promises to shortcut or eliminate work is a treasure map to fool’s gold.
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So there you have it, the ‘Top-Ten’ list of how NOT to be a sucker in these financially desperate times. Because there are far more traps and temptations these days, I hope you find this list useful in spotting things to avoid.
