Money is too hard to come by to simply throw it
away. Yet everyday, normally sensible people get caught by the silliest schemes.
Why do they?
Emotion - pure and simple. They make decisions
based on emotion rather than rational analysis of the facts.
The two powerful emotions that displace common
sense are....1... FEAR - the fear that they might be missing a real opportunity and
2...GREED - which doesn't require explanation.
It is true that we sometimes get caught by a scam
which we later attribute to lack of specific knowledge. But let's be honest, that is an
excuse rather than a reason. Rational analysis would have revealed our lack of knowledge
and the fact that we were out of our depth - again it was really emotion that caught us.
Rational analysis tells us that a 3 x 10 matrix in
that multi level plan will require 88,572 people to fill. When we look at the proposition
rationally we certainly might not be so excited.
Ignore the rush of adrenaline as you imagine
spending the money you are "going to make" - put that red Ferrari out of your
mind until you have done the numbers and analyzed the proposition in a rational manner.
Highly paid advertising copywriters rightfully
boast that they manipulate the reader and make the sale on emotion alone.
The tricks they use are the exact techniques that confidence tricksters use to part people
from their money.
It is not always an intentional scam that
catches us....
Quite often the promoter actually believes in the
product or opportunity. Often, beginners on the internet fall for the sales pitch and
become both promoter and victim.
Here's a short list of the most common
time-wasters and scams on the net.
FFA (Free For All) Link Pages...
A million years ago (in internet time) these things actually worked. The idea was you'd
post your link, others would see and click on that link to visit your site. Now the
"experts" tell you it's no good posting your link to an FFA page you must own
one. The real value, they say, is sending out the autoresponse.
The problem is - no one reads the autoresponses.
Anyone who has been on the net for more than a week uses a junk email box to receive the
confirmation message. They too are never seen by a human eye. Yes you can receive a
handful of hits but it's not worth the effort.
There are people who still sell these services.
Frankly, I don't know how they can live with themselves.
E-mail Lists and List-building Schemes....
The idea is you subscribe to hundreds of e-mail
lists and send your ad out to a zillion e-mail boxes. In theory, for the priveledge of
posting your ad to the list you'll have to read the emails that you receive. Of course
everyone sets up junk e-mail boxes and diverts all their incoming mail to it. Your
messages AND everyone elses are never seen by a human eye
A new twist on this is the List-building service.
Usually associated with a MLM structure that features a mathematically impossible matrix.
Again, the people who use the service are not at all interested in your mail they are only
interested in YOU reading THEIR mail. It's pure nonsense.
Paid Search Engine Submission Services...
These people will tell you they can increase your
web traffic just by submitting your site to 42,365,820 search engines, directories and
other link lists. They'll often claim that they are able to get you a higher ranking with
certain search engines.
They demonstrate their search engine prowess to
beginners by asking them to do a search using a specific query such as their company name,
"Hype'n'Bull Internet Promotions". Of course they'll be listed high and probably
at the top as there is no competition for that exact search term.
Online MLMs , pyramids and ponzi
schemes...
Dozens of these internet scams pop up, flower,
wither and die each year. They're easy to spot. They usually sell a product only to
legitimize the money changing hands! The product is often worthless or can be found
elsewhere for free. A good rule of thumb is to carefully look at the product - is it worth
the price asked? If not... it won't sell. And of course if it won't sell, you'll never
make a profit.
There's a new variation to this theme. It's called
planned failure. Launch the "company" in cyberspace, generate some interest
among the easily duped, skim your money off the top and when it fails walk away muttering
an apology. Of course the "CEO" and other insiders have feathered their nests
before the inevitable collapse. This is particularly good if you list the company on the
NASDAQ to really get it going!
Sell a hot info product today give it away
free tomorrow!
You may not think this is really a scam but I do.
I've seen it happen so many times. It works like this... The information merchant creates
a quick info product of marginal value at best then releases it with a big flurry of
advertising to generate a horde of affiliate resellers. As soon as he's cashed in and the
money flow stops he releases it through others for FREE to generate back-end sales of his
next hot but equally worthless product. I guess the moral of the story is don't be in a
hurry to purchase the latest greatest info product unless it's from a reputable source.
Often you'll find the same information FREE within weeks.
