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How
to avoid the scams, online and offline....
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SCAMS
Are
you tired of the scams, the hype and the bogus rip-offs that fill
your mailbox?
I
am too!
You
need to know how to spot one, what to look for and what to avoid!
Follow
these simple tips, listen to that little voice within, do a little
research and you'll be fine.
There
are many great programs out there that ARE legitimate. Here
are some things to avoid....
First
of all, don't believe anything that promises to make you rich
overnight. I'm not saying it can't happen, but odds are it
won't happen.
Also,
some scam phrases to watch out for:
"You
don't have to DO anything, just join and we'll build it for
you."
"I
went from welfare to millionaire in a few months!"
"Get
paid for doing nothing. Just sign up."
"One
time only offer."
"#1
Ground Floor Opportunity"
Along
these same lines, watch out for the following:
-
Any
offer that comes from a free email service such as hotmail,
yahoo, etc. I'm not knocking free email services, but if
the offer is that great and the deal is that legitimate, the
person wouldn't hide behind a virtually untraceable email
source. Screams of a scam!
-
Any
website or email that has no live contact person listed.
If you have to jump through major hoops to find the person
responsible for the offer, be suspicious. What are they
hiding? I would never sign up for anything without having
some correspondence with a live person, either via email or over
the phone.
-
Anything
that simply requests money, with no exchange of goods or
services. And, I mean valid goods or
services. Not a report on how to stuff envelopes for money
or a listing of businesses that will pay you to work from home.
This is a common scam.
How
To Check Out A Company
These
are some steps you can take to research a company with whom you are
considering getting involved.
-
Find
a contact person with the company that will talk to you.
Have a list of questions such as length of time in business,
annual revenues, publicly traded or privately held, name of CEO
and other company officers, names and contact info for other
company representatives that you may call.
-
Check
to see if the company is a member of the Direct Selling
Association by visiting their web site at http://www.dsa.org This
is not imperative, so don't read too much into it.
-
Check
with your state's Attorney's General Office.
-
If
the company is publicly traded, you can find out their Dun &
Bradstreet rating.
-
Talk
to 3 or 4 representatives and find out how long they have been
with the company and get general feedback from them.
-
If
you have found the company or opportunity from a web site, look
for contact information of the person owning and representing
the site.
-
Make
sure you get all of your questions answered to your
satisfaction. Don't let anyone pressure you into making a
decision.
-
Find
out all up front costs. Also, find out if there are any
recurring monthly or annual costs that you can anticipate.
-
Find
out what exactly is expected of you. Are there monthly
sales quotas? what do you have to do to get paid?
When will you get paid? Is there any fine print that you
need to be aware of in order to get paid?
-
Listen
to your gut instincts. They are usually right!
Check
out How
I Make Money Online page to explore a very profitable, legal and fun work
at home business idea that has worked well for me!
I'm
happy to answer any questions you may have. Contact info is listed
at the bottom of this page.
If
you run into several things you are uncomfortable with along the way
to finding what it is that will work for you, that's okay.
Whatever you do, don't let it stop you in your search to work from
home and create a life that you love! It will happen, just
keep looking!
Jackie
Ulmer
Street
Smart Wealth Team Leader
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