There are the Nigerian 419 schemes, forced matrix 'opportunities' that would require maxing out the entire human population for just 10 percent of participants to ever see a penny, there are over-hyped Pay-per-click and Adsense scams, fake MLM and network marketing 'opportunities', and the list goes on and on...

At times like these, desperate home-based business seekers become easy prey for vultures pushing scam products and fake 'opportunities'.

How to get scammed

- Accept every offer and every promise at face value.

- Give your money to others without thinking things through.

- Let emotion and promises of 'instant wealth' carry you along.

- Don't bother reasoning through on whether or not a program might be a scam.

- Jump in with both eyes wide shut.

Those are sure fire ways to get taken advantage of. But what if you don't want to be the next victim? How can you really know in advance if a program is a scam or not?

What You See Is What You See

An often overlooked tale tell sign that an 'opportunity' is a scam are the products themselves.

Are the products truly valuable? Can the products be sold at its current pricing, or at all, without the 'opportunity' attached to it?

If the answer is no then use the R.L.H. formula for protecting your wallet. R.L.H. stands for run like you-know-what (heck).

Also, look to see if there are outrageous fees or 'qualifiers' before you can receive a penny in pay.

And finally, does the program tell you EXACTLY what you will receive a commission for promoting, before they take your money? I've lost track of the hundreds of scams that have been sent to me saying 'give us $39 and we'll tell you what this biz opp is'. I don't think so buddy...

RLH!

Those are the three most common giveaways that a program is a scam.

Many home-based business 'opportunities' openly violate those standards and are easy to spot:

1) substandard products that are unsaleable apart from the biz opp

2) scammy qualifiers that prevent you from getting paid even if you do somehow find someone to buy what you are selling

3) the company 'hides' the product until you cough up cash to find out what it is they want you to sell

Bi-Centennial Surprise

I joined my first biz opp around 1976. I was 12 or 13 years old. From then until I ?wised up? in the 80's I had joined hundreds of programs purchased through direct mail offers, income opportunity mags, and joined half a dozen MLM programs promoted by friends, family, and in some cases complete strangers.

I wasted money on envelope stuffing schemes, 'blind ads' for business opportunities that were nothing more than vague marketing plans for hypothetical 'business start up plans' that required coming up with 5-10 times the average national income in America at the time just to test and see if the idea would work or not. Of course, you couldn't get a refund without trying the unreasonable and unproven ideas, yeah, I got ripped off on those purchases.

I tried forced matrix systems with junk info products and health products. While just a teen I gave up credit card numbers 'just for verification purposes' only to end up with $800 of worthless vitamins shipped to my door. I had fallen victim to online and offline chain letter schemes. And the list goes on an on.

Red Badge Of Experience

Fortunately it only took a few short teen years of bumping my head to finally come up with my list of 'red flag' identifiers for recognizing potential scams, and a few more to finally trust in the red flags.

Times are hard. The economy is in a slump. Gas prices are on the rise and so are home foreclosures. Con artists are desperate too.

People from all over are desperate for something that will put money in their pockets quickly. That desperation has put a target on their foreheads for scam artists and hucksters of all sorts. Others are not so desperate but are still looking for ways to increase their income without much hassle or work.

I Bet You Think This Note Is About You...

If either of those scenarios apply to you I suggest taking a close look at any program you are considering.

Verify the program has 3rd-party tracking in place to insure you will get paid. Better yet, look for programs that allow you to keep every penny you earn from reselling or referring the products to others.

What qualifies? Reseller programs and programs that allow you to keep all the money are the next best things to creating your own products -- but without the hassles.

Also make sure the company is promoting real products that are being sold or have been sold without the need for an attached 'opportunity'. Again, if products cannot be sold at the price you are urged to 'get in' at while things are "still hot", you've found a scam not a real business.

And especially make sure there are no weird or outrageous qualifiers to finally receive the commissions you've earned.

That's how to tell if a home-based business is a scam.