Ten Signs a Business Opportunity is a Scam
A Home Business Article Contributed by Marsha Maung
This Business Opportunity is a Scam!
Scam artists with many ideas on how to start a business opportunity lurk in every corner of the world wide web. They offer hard-to-believe business opportunities to vulnerable people looking to work from home. Many of us have been hit hard by these scam artists many times over. So much so that we stop looking for business opportunities. Frankly, it's very unfortunate.
But some of us have been hit many times over and is now capable of spotting a scam business opportunity a mile away - and I am one such person. In this article, I will tell you how easy it is to spot one.
The Home Business Opportunity Requires Upfront Money
Yeah, right. And they're going to refund you your money if you don't perform up to mark? No way! Run away - and run FAST - when a home business opportunity EXPERT or owner starts asking you for money in order to start your home business. The truth is this, if it's at all a legitimate business opportunity, you'll NEVER be asked to be hired! So, try to keep this in mind always when you're looking for the right business opportunity, if they start asking you for money, they're not real. What they should ask you is not money, but your experience, your skills and portfolio.
Secret Email
If you think the business opportunity offers you a lucrative package, take a quick look at the reply email address. If it says 123dddj23@aol.com (just an example), once again, we say RUN FAST! Think for a minute here, if they are looking for serious people to take up on their business opportunity, they should be serious enough to get their own email address with their own domain name. Free and commercial email accounts are great for personal use but for a business, it's a no-no.
And since they're offering you a business opportunity, they should start by investing some money in web hosting and a credible domain name to appear as serious as you're going to be about that business opportunity.
Business Opportunity Website Hosted on a Free Server
Free hosting sites like geocities.com and tripod.com or freeservers.com are fantastic places to have your own homepage or personal websites when you want to publish your own portfolio or pictures of your kids. Say, you see a business opportunity listing somewhere on the Internet. Click it and check your web browser...what does it say? www.geocities.com/amazingbusinessopportunitywebsite (another example only, of course). Forget it!
It is my belief that even if they are legitimate businesses, they're not likely to be as serious as you are going to be about the business opportunity. Doesn't it make sense that if you want to be paid in a timely manner by the company, they SHOULD be able to afford to pay for their own website hosting and domain name in the first place? Enough said.
Business Opportunity That's So Secretive
Many times I have been tricked to reveal my email address, telephone number of fax number before I get to know the true nature of the business. Normally, scam businesses hide what they have to offer until you give them your contact information! That's a simple truth. This way, by the time you discover the kind of business that they run, they already know how to contact you and bombard you with emails and phone calls.
All You Have to Sign up to Quality? Really?
It's too good to be true. It's not logical to be employed on the spot without having to go through an interview! Someone has to access your capability before you're considered a good candidate. Normally, when they say that 'you only have to sign up to quality for this job', what they're saying is actually this - you sign up now, pay to be evaluated!
Add Your Name to the List
You receive an email with hundreds of emails listed and it asks you to add your email to the end of the email and then forward it everyone else you know. The person who forwards it to the most people will quality. What kind of a business opportunity is this? It's a chain letter, that's what it is.
Guaranteed Income
No one can guarantee you an income - unless it's a salary! If the site promises you that you will earn $x in a month's time, it's probably a very nasty joke.
The Figure is Too Lucrative
When looking for the right business opportunity, keep an eye out for the figure that they're promising you. $250 a week or a month is still believable but if they're promising you $14, 359 a week, steer clear.
No Skills Required
Most scam try to get as many people to sign up for the business opportunity as possible. To entice people to sign-up, they use lines like 'no skills or experience required'. Variations include 'training provided'. Some of it may be true - some legitimate businesses DO actually provide you some training to start your business off. But be wary of businesses offering you the opportunity without the need of skills or experience - especially if they fulfill the other criteria outlined in this article above.
Let Me Make a One-on-One Presentation for You
Let's say you saw this advertisement in a classified ads sections, how many people do you think will respond to the ad? Say 1/200 people residing in your town, city or country? Imagine how many times the person who is giving you the presentation would have to make the same presentation over and over again? It's just not logical. The more logical alternative would be to invite you to a meeting (online or offline) with other respondents and the person makes the presentation to a group of interested individuals.
