These are scams you are likely to see on the Internet. Be aware and avoid them like the plague.
Business opportunities scams: These offers make it sound like it is very easy to start a business that will earn piles of money without much work, selling or cash. Many of these “opportunities” are actually illegal pyramid schemes that are masquerading as legitimate opportunities to earn money.
Make money by sending bulk email: These solicitations offer to sell you bulk email lists (consisting of millions of email addresses), spam software (usually very poor in quality), or services to send spam on your behalf.
Chain letters: No list of scams would be complete without this old favourite – email style. Here you’re asked to send a small amount of money (or some item) to each of four or five names at the top of the list, and then forward the message including your name at the bottom. Many of these letters claim they are legal – they are not. Further, nearly everyone who participates in these chain letters loses money. Even if there is a “product” such as a report on how to make money, it does not make these schemes legal.
Work-at-home-schemes: The most common work-at-home scam promises that you’ll earn money for stuffing envelopes. For example, you’re promised you’ll earn $2.00 for every envelope you stuff. In fact, there never is any real envelope stuffing employment available. Instead, you pay to register and then you’re instructed to send the same envelope-stuffing ad via bulk email to others. The only money you can earn would come from others who fall for the scam and pay to register. Finally, if you did actually do work for one of these outfits (for example, some promise to pay you for craft work), they’d refuse to pay you and say your work didn’t measure up to their “quality standards.”
Health and diet scams: These are similar to the miracle cures offered off-line: ways to lose weight without eating less or exercising, “scientific breakthroughs,” “secret formulas” which provide cures for hair loss, and herbal formulas that liquefy fat cells so that they are absorbed by your body. These scams often include testimonials from “famous” medical experts you haven’t heard of. Of course, these gimmicks don’t work.
Effortless income: The newest version offers get-rich-quick schemes to make unlimited profits exchanging money on the world currency markets. There are lots of variants, but they all promise vast riches with no work. Beware of these scams.
Free goods: These offers promise expensive items such as computers… for free. They ask you to pay a fee to join, and then you have to bring in a certain number of other members. Many of these scams are just disguised pyramid schemes.
Investment opportunities: These scams promise outrageously high returns… and of course, there is “no risk.” Many of these scams are illegal Ponzi schemes, in which early investors are paid with the money from later investors. This gives the early investors the illusion that the system works and they are then encouraged to invest more money (which they eventually lose). The sales pitches for these offers include claims of high-level financial connections, that the promoters are privy to inside information, or promises that they’ll guarantee the investment. The promoters are long gone if you try to take advantage of their “guarantees.”
Guaranteed loans or credit, or easy terms scams: There are lots of variants of this scam: home equity loans that don’t require any equity in your home, loans regardless of your credit history, offshore bank loans, credit cards regardless of your credit history, etc. Sometimes these offers are combined with pyramid schemes that offer to pay you for attracting other participants to the scheme. However, they are scams – the loans don’t come through, you are turned down unless you meet stringent requirements, or the credit cards simply don’t arrive.