Hundreds of thousands of folks worldwide have been
bilked by Internet scams to the tune of millions of
dollars.

Now hear this: not one of these people had to lose
a single penny.  EVERY scam under the sun can easily
be identified.... and hence avoided. Here are the signs
of clear and present danger:

1) Scams prosper by telling people they can get
rich without work.

Here's a dead give away! Real businesses can
and should make their offers as good as possible,
always maximizing advantages while minimizing
what you must do to achieve results. But scams cross
the line, touting success without effort. Here's where
the old saying comes in, "If it seems too good to be true... it
isn't!" Your mother told  you this, and your mother was
right.

2) Scams never feature how long they've been in
business. Why? Because they aim to arrive, defraud
the maximum amount as quickly as possible... then
pick up silently and leave.

Real businesses are proud of the number of years
they've been helping people. You'll find this information
prominently displayed. They want you to know they've
been here... and plan to remain here. Scams don't.

3) Scams are not accredited by The Better Business
Bureau or other professional associations.

Real businesses understand that people may have
hesitations or doubts about doing business with a new,
untested company. They, therefore, make it a point to
earn professional designations which give their new
customers peace of mind.

The Better Business Bureau, for instance, the
world's best known consumer protection and consumer
advocacy organization, has a business accreditation
program. After such extensive "due diligence", you can bet the
business
will proudly display their seal of accreditation. Scams don't,
because scams can't.

4)  Scams do not incorporate where they are subject
to legal regulations and scrutiny.

Ask a scamster just where his business is incorporated
and who regulates it. Answer will come there none.

Legitimate businesses are willing to submit to government
oversight and review. While every business person under
the sun bemoans the extra work this entails and the
inevitable "red tape,"  in fact they welcome government
oversight and review since it tells the public they are
real and reputable. Scams are neither, so they don't bother
to incorporate.

5) Scams don't sell real products. In actual fact, what
they sell is greed.

Talk to any business person in the land about their
products and services and they'll happily burble on for
hour after factual hour. Not so scamsters.

A scam has no product or service.  It doesn't sell
anything worth having; it's all about tapping into and
controlling you through your own potent avarice.

Real businesses are ecstatic to talk about what
they can do for you, the beneficial details. Scams don't
dare tell you what they're all about, so they tap deep
into your own greed and use that to blind you to what they
really do!

6) Scams don't provide real name, real address,
real phone numbers, etc.

Real businesses, legitimate businesses are here today,
here tomorrow.  They live or die by treating old customers
well so they return... and motivating new customers to come
and visit. This means providing these customers with
necessary contact information.

Scams are different. Go to their website. Can you
easily get address, phone, etc? No. In fact it's just about
impossible to get any genuine contact details. Remember,
scams don't want you to know who they are, where they
are located, how to contact them.  Quite the contrary.

7) Scams don't tell you the names of the principals
and their credentials

Remember, scams profit by dazzling you with riches
without work. Such mundane details as the names and
credentials of the principals -- always trumpeted in real
businesses -- are never provided.

Scamsters, remember, count on you being so excited
about your imminent prosperity that you won't notice you
have no information about the people at this enterprise
who are responsible for providing its benefits.