It’s been a tough week for the world of online fraud. More than ever before, scammers are finding new and unique ways to trick people into giving them their personal information and money. The most popular scams involve some sort of get-rich-quick scheme that promises big returns for minimal effort. Some of the more popular ones include:
Affiliate Marketing
This is one of the most popular scams listed above and one that continues to grow in popularity. It’s a type of online marketing where you sign up for a company’s affiliate program and when someone clicks a link or buys a product that’s been advertised to them via email or social media, you get a commission. You’ll always need to keep up with the trends and fads in order to ensure you’re making the most of this opportunity but the majority of transactions you get involved in through affiliate marketing will usually net you a handsome commission. Just make sure you’re doing your part to prevent fraud.
If you’re looking to make extra cash and want to avoid any trouble, then affiliate marketing is a great option. It’s quite a unique way of generating an income online because it combines three things: product awareness, marketing and sales. In the eyes of an observer, it’s very difficult to tell if you’re creating genuine content or simply passing off other people’s work as your own. It’s an ever-changing world and you’ll need to be constantly reevaluating your strategy if you want to stay ahead of the competition.
Penny Stock Scams
Another scheme that’s been on the rise over the past year is the penny stock scam. Just as the name implies, you’ll be asked to invest a small amount of money in a company or product that’s priced at less than a penny per share. The thinking behind these schemes is that the smaller the price, the bigger the profit. It’s an extremely dubious practice but one that continues to generate big profits for scammers. People are still falling for these scams despite the fact that there’s legislation in place to prevent them. Why? Often, it comes down to the fact that the person who approaches you is a trust-worthy source and it’s very difficult to tell when a scammer is trying to be genuine.
Pyramid Schemes
Another ruse that’s been popularized by the big data era involves inviting people to join what’s known as a pyramid scheme. The basic idea behind these scams is that you’ll be encouraged to get other people to join so you can make big money through recruiting. It’s a classic example of a Ponzi scheme but one that’s being accepted and perpetuated by the online community. These types of schemes almost always come with a catch. You’ll be asked to put in a great deal of upfront work in order to make things work for you. Once you join, you’ll be funneled into buying more and more expensive products or services in order to keep up with the growing costs of running a successful pyramid scheme. It’s essentially a type of business where the more you make, the more you’re expected to make. The only way to make real money is to get other people to join so you can take a cut of their earnings.
Get-Rich-Quick Scams
These scams are pretty self-explanatory. You’ll be lured into buying some product or service that promises to help you make a quick buck. There are countless different ways to make money online but not all of them are legit. Some of these schemes are quite straightforward: you’ll be asked to generate a certain amount of unique content that’s then redistributed to other people to make a quick buck. Other scams are a little more sophisticated. You’ll be encouraged to click a link and make an online purchase but that’s all it’ll take to make you part of a bigger scheme. Be careful out there!
Fake Websites
This might be the most pervasive type of scam out there. It’s quite easy for scammers to set up fake websites that look just like real legitimate ones. If you visit these sites, you’ll be led to believe that you’ve landed on a genuine financial discussion forum or an e-commerce website when, in reality, you’ve been had. There will always be something fishy about a transaction that takes place over the internet. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to prevent yourself from being scammed. All you can do is make sure you learn from past mistakes and stay vigilant.
Rogue SEO Agencies
SEO (search engine optimisation) is the process of getting higher rankings on search engines like Google. This is done through a combination of on-page SEO techniques and off-page SEO tactics. Unfortunately, not all SEO agencies are created equal. There are plenty of rogue SEO agencies out there that exist solely to take advantage of hopeful entrepreneurs and individual bloggers. These agencies will promise to get your site listed on the first page of Google for very competitive keywords. While this might sound like a great opportunity, it usually means that you’ll be paying through the nose for dubious SEO services. Despite the high expense, you’ll often see minimal benefits from your site’s new SEO. The key to avoiding this type of scam is by being wary of anyone who calls themselves an SEO expert. Make sure you do your research before hiring them.
Phishing
This is one of the most dangerous types of scam out there. You’ll be asked to enter your personal or financial information into what appears to be a reputable site. Once you enter your information, you’ll be faced with hackers who’ll want to steal your identity. They might send you emails that appear to be from PayPal or some other well-known company. What they’re really after is your personal information. To make matters worse, you’ll usually be told to ignore any suspicious emails or texts as part of this scam. People are falling for this one more than anything else because it appears to be very authentic. Even worse, there aren’t any established rules or laws governing what happens when you’re a victim of phishing. If you report the crime to the authorities, they might regard you as a suspect or an accessory to the crime. This is something that has to be kept secret in order to avoid any sort of legal trouble. It’s not just the threat of identity theft that makes phishing so dangerous. There are other shady characters out there who might just want to shut you up.
Malware
If you’ve ever opened an email attachment from an unknown sender or clicked on a link in a seemingly harmless news article, you might have fallen prey to malware. This is a type of software that can be installed on your computer without your consent. When this happens, your personal information will be accessed and potentially stolen. There are plenty of different types of malware out there. Some are benign and will only allow access to certain websites or email messages from an unknown source. Other malware will track your keystrokes and send all of this information to a third party. This is why it’s so important to be careful about the email attachments and links you receive from unknown sources. Make sure you have the latest security software installed on your system and that you take regular precautionary measures to keep your personal information secure.
Cryptocurrency Scams
These scams will often crop up in the form of an opportunity to make quick cash. Typically, you’ll be asked to purchase a certain amount of cryptocurrency (most commonly, Bitcoin) with a credit card. Once you do that, you’ll be provided with a unique wallet address. You won’t receive any kind of receipt or confirmation of your transaction but, instead, you’ll be faced with a request that you send the money to the next of kin of some missing person. This is another form of identity theft that occurs primarily through email and social media. It’s quite insidious because it’ll often go undetected for months or years. Until someone decides to do their research and calls the police, none of this will usually come to light. Be careful out there!
As you can see, scams are very popular these days. Fortunately, there are a few ways that you can make money online that aren’t associated with any of these scams. Below, we’ve compiled a list of 7 ways that you can make money online without any scams whatsoever.
1. Start a blog
If you’re looking for an easy way to make money, starting a blog is the way to go. There are plenty of affiliate marketing programs where you sign up to promote a company’s products. These companies want to make sure that you refer as many people as possible to their website. If you start a lifestyle blog around the theme of food or drink, you can make a lot of money from clicks and purchases on your site. Just make sure that you’re not tempted into using affiliate marketing to promote yourself or your friends’ products!