Yes, I'm talking about the big evil ? internet scams.

Just as there are honest producers in the ?physical world? selling their merchandise, there are also many honest internet merchants trying to make their living selling to the public online. The World Wide Web has opened up a whole new marketplace for the general public to buy quality e-produce. And, like everywhere else, there are those few dishonest scam-artists who prey on the paying public. The biggest breeding ground for scams is, of course, the niche market of ?making money online?. Surprisingly, my own research has concluded that the scam-to-kosher ratio is a startling 50/50. Simply meaning, there are just as many scams as there are real online products. This brings me to the main point of this article, which is how to tell the difference between these often well presented sites.

Firstly, you need to have a good look at the appearance of the site. Most good sales websites look alike in their formatting. All the information is usually positioned in a vertical frame down the centre of the page. This is to ensure that the search engines can read it properly. This does not necessarily mean that the site is advertising a scam, as even honest merchants have to make a sale. What you are looking for is what kind of information you get from the site content itself. Promises of massive sums of money and typical sales hype are not unusual for any sales copy, but from reading the text do you know without a doubt what the site is asking you to buy? A 'make cash online' website may offer you a 'Money Making System' and provide you with screen prints of the sales they are making as proof. Good sales text on top of this may be enough to get some people to but the product. But what does the merchant really mean by 'money making system'? In one instance, I bought one of these products that promised unlimited money-making ability, a program that would run by itself and said you didn't need to pay a cent other than buying the system. Not only was this system nothing but a one page website with point-form instructions, you had to buy the hosting, domain name and custom website for the system. You even had to pay them a monthly fee for advertising. The text of the website needs to tell you what you are paying for. If a money-making system is a book, then the site needs to say that it is a book. If a website states that they are offering a book in electronic format that you download after paying for it, you can be rest assured that is what you will get. A merchant would face many legal issues, at the least they could face false advertising charges, if they didn't provide what they advertise. But a merchant who made no promises about what you get for your money doesn't face the same legal hurdles.

The price of the product is the next thing to look at. What is too much or too little to pay? Have a look at the product. You wouldn't usually spend hundreds of dollars on a book, neither would you expect to pay $3 for a software program. The only advice I can give you is don't pay a price you find unreasonable. If you really want to try the product you can always email the merchant and try to negotiate a price.

Finally, check there is some form of contact information on the site. Even an email address qualifies. An honest merchant will always give a prospective customer a chance to ask questions or negotiate the price.

I hope this article gives people something to think about when they next go to buy an online money making product.