Webupon

The Bait

Lizzy is a single mom with two young children at home. She lost her job a few months ago, and as bills continued to pile, she cut more and more on spending, clothes, food and toys. But she couldn’t cut more, really. She needed a new source of income and needed it fast.

Enter the “quick money” websites. Any Google search for ‘make money online’ or its deriviatives returns millions of results with highly paid advertisements on the side. It seems that you can’t escape those ads – they are everywhere you go – facebook, myspace, bebo, your email inbox – wherever you land on the web, there’s someone wanting to tell you all about making money online. Oh really?

Image via Wikipedia

Lizzy clicked an ad. It was that simple. She was redirected to a pretty website which promised to send her a cheap starter kit for under $2. The starter kit, so the website promised, would tell her everything she needs to know about getting money from Google to post links. It had many testimonials from people with real names, and many comments on those testimonials, written by other people, with other real names. They must have had thousands of people writing on this site, praising the scheme and saying how easy it was – how all you needed to do was spare two or three hours a day for starters, and how the money flows in month after month. Hell, the website even had photos of real checks from Google, and logos of Yahoo, CNN, USA Today and a “100% satisfaction guaranteed” logo in striking blue colors on it! This was surely a reputable, trustable website.

The Hook

Lizzy signed up for the program. After all, it was only $2, including postage – two dollars more or less surely wouldn’t make a difference. It’s not like it was costing her $200, right? She skimmed through the terms and conditions, checked the checkbox to accept them, entered her credit card details and waited for the package to arrive.

The package did arrive in the mail a few days later. It contained a small booklet and a CD with some video lecture and some PDF documents, telling her all about Google’s Adwords, how to set up an account, how to become affiliated with large websites and bid on ads for them. This information, needless to say, is freely available on the web, in Google’s Adsense center. You don’t need anyone to explain it to you, and neither did Lizzy. However, these were just $2. Sometimes we’re ready to pay small sums for the hope of winning large sums, and $2 – it’s cheaper than the lottery and chances are much higher, right?

The Line

The next month, Lizzy didn’t check her credit card printout. The month after that, she found that she was charged over $60 for services from the same website that promised her quick money. She then went to check the printout she missed – and there was another charge there. She looked at the website again, trying to find a way to contact them, but strangely there was no email or phone number…

The Scam

It is important to remember that what the company behind the website did is not outfront illegal. What they did is use Lizzy’s (and anybody else’s) innocence against her. While it is true that Google will never pay you to post links or anything of the sort, buying ads on Google’s Adsense program and using affiliates is still possible. The hook was hidden in the terms and conditions Lizzy accepted without reading thoroughfully. Had she read them closely, she would have found the clause stating that she hereby authorizes the website to charge her over $60 a month until she cancels this authorization.

Because Lizzy agreed to that (and received the package in the mail) – they can charge her until she cancels the authorization. However, at least one of these charges will go through for everyone who signs up without reading the terms and conditions. Hence – a meagre $2 becomes $70, and more if you don’t catch it in time.

What Can You Do? – Be Wary

There’s no such thing as a free lunch – so your first rule would be to be very careful with any website that promises easy money quickly. If it was really easy – everyone would do it. Seriously. Think about it – would you share your secret if you found a way to make quick and easy money online?

Having said all that, some schemes are more legit than others. How will you know which sites offer a real opportunity and which don’t? Check the following list. It is not all-encompassing, but will give you a good start on identifying possible scams.

1. Scam websites are usually not very elaborate. They will usually consist of one or two pages only, and the page layout will be very simple, even a bit ugly. These websites usually use a solid white background and black text.
2. Many scam websites will not have contact phone number or email.
3. Many scam websites will redirect you, when you decide to purchase, to another website altogether.
4. Many scam websites have lots of user stories and comments from people that seem real.
5. Many scam websits will put logos of various TV news stations, consumer organizations etc. claiming that they have been verified by these organizations. It is not usually normal for these organizations to review and certify Internet money making websites.
6. Google Them! Use Google – search for the name of the website. If it only appears in search results that contain the website itself – it is probably shady. If you find many places where it says they are a scam – get away from the website.

Conclusion

It isn’t that there is no way to make money off the Internet. You could, and people do, but it’s usually hard work. Don’t give up, but be cautious.