At one point or another, you may have encountered an online banner displaying a smiling person offering you the secret to earning 4 digits per hour. Surely, it is an enticing offer; but isn’t it a little too good to be true?
We’ve seen online schemes growing by the numbers. It is very likely that you, and the rest of the public who want to get rich quick, would just end up funding what these online offers are promising, instead of you and the others getting funded by these promises.
Most people who fell for these schemes are more likely to have more holes in their pockets or worse, become victims of identity theft. These schemes usually contain proposals disguised as “investments” or “franchises”, or even unclaimed “wills” set out to grab your money.
Cyber crime is on the rise with the current downtrodden economy, leading to more and more people stretching the boundaries of the legal and the illegal. Online schemes are out there to steal personal information to support their own interests. God knows what these strangers can do with your information. Think forged signatures and false credit card purchases.
With the rising cost of living, along with rapid technology growth, life is becoming more expensive to catch up on with the latest fads and comforts.
There are many different ways in attaining absolute financial freedom (A.K.A. getting rich). Some people choose to work double jobs along with other side jobs to make ends meet. Some even go back to school to sharpen their skills and get connected to key people in the field they’re passionate with. Some would quit their vices altogether.
The truth is no matter what they tell you about getting rich automatically, quickly or instantly, it just doesn’t cut it. Getting rich is a process and a journey. There is no short cut to it. One must rely on his own sense of judgment, his instincts, practicality and sufficient knowledge of accounting and applied math to become financially advantageous.
To avoid the hassle of putting your money where it isn’t supposed to be, listed here are 5 warning signs of online schemes
1. Nigerian Scheme
The Nigerian Scheme gained its notoriety by sending e-mails to unsuspecting people claiming that the sender is a lawyer and is and will be responsible for transferring money to your account since you are an heir to a wealthy “relative” who has recently passed away. These emails usually come in wrong grammar; but here’s where it gets suspicious: the “lawyer” requires you to give a copy of your personal information and wire in money to pay for “processing” fees. Good luck with getting a response after sending in your cash and info.
2. Ponzi Schemes
A Ponzi scheme can be identified afar by an offering of exorbitant returns on an investment. It gathers its victims by promising an average of 30% interest on your investment every 60 days.
Say you invest $100; you would receive a check 60 days later telling that your investment has earned you $30. You make another investment, this time $200. After 60 days, your $200 becomes $260. Quite a get rich quick scheme obviously. Then here you go, happy that you’ve made a quick buck, you start referring friends and they fall for it.
What’s really going on here is that the administrator pays off your returns using other investors’ money. Once referrals stop coming in, finances will fall like dominoes and once the company runs out of money to pay back majority of its investors, they run off with what’s left.
3. Affinity Fraud
Affinity is called as such because most of its victims are mainly soft-hearted and sympathetic internet users. This scheme starts off by an email claiming that the sender is entitled to a huge trust fund back in his native country. The sender however is abroad and lacks the funds to travel by plane. He then proceeds to tickle the heartstrings of the receiver, promising that once he gets home to his country, he’ll give more than what the plane tickets cost.
4. Work-at-Home Scams
Work-at-Home scams target housewives and other young people seeking self employment. While work from home is becoming a great way of earning under the comfort of your own roof, scams still exist, giving this thriving occupation a bad name.
Work from home scams usually start off with a tag-line offering the secrets on how to earn 4 digits per hour. Sign up and send in a registration fee to get a worthless work from home kit and a fluctuating work from home career where the paychecks do not arrive regularly. Breaking even for that registration fee will take longer than how quickly you’ve paid for their promise.
5. Foreign Lotteries
The foreign lottery win scheme preys on the gullibility of people who see winning the lottery as a lifetime accomplishment. This starts off congratulating the receiver as he has won the lottery in a foreign country, and since he’s not a registered citizen of the said country, he then is required to pay taxes from his winnings before the winnings can be released to him. The only ends that meet here are for the scammers, and never for you.
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