If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is

Watch out if he looks like a legitimate businessman

Don't Be Fooled!

Rip-off artists relieve us of millions of dollars a year. They are smooth, clever and very accomplished at what they do.

Have you been taken by a scam artist?

We’ve all been taken and perhaps some of us don’t even realize what happened. It was a new car battery or generator when we didn’t need one, a charity collector who collected money for himself or a health freak who sold us expensive vitamins that we didn’t need. We are surrounded by con artists who hover around like moths around a light bulb. No one is immune. The odds of becoming a scam victim are greater than the chance of being mugged.

It would take a major book to expose the many tricks and hoaxes con artists have used and it’s important to learn to recognize some of the more common warning signs of scams.

Online Payday Loans are completely legitimate and work in your favor and to your advantage every time. Here are a few simple rules that everyone should know about the real scams.

There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

• No one gives away something for nothing,
• There is no quick way to riches unless you inherit it.
• Anyone who dangles a diamond-studded chain in front of your eyes is certainly a con.

Don’t be greedy – it destroys your normal thinking process; be cautious and skeptical. Watch out for the sales pitch that distorts the truth and don’t be shy to ask a million questions – it’s your money on the line.

Two recent scams will be back in one form or another in the coming years and we should watch for them. The Enron collapse was about the investments that a company was selling on the commodity markets that are extremely speculative and carry a great risk. This was the largest bankruptcy in US history and hurt thousands of people and investors. Then came Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme which hurt thousands more people.

Be alert

If you are offered an investment and it doesn’t make sense to you or you feel you don’t understand it, let it go. Many people said no to Madoff because they didn’t understand or weren’t sure about what they were getting into. They are smiling today. So they got a couple of percent less on their investments. So what?

Many of these types of scams begin by convincing a few important people in the community to invest. The con artist then uses their good names to convince others to invest. Once he’s earned the people’s trust, he can easily swindle the entire group as well as the community.

Recognition

It’s important to learn to recognize a Ponzi scam, a commodity fraud and a high-tech fraud.

The bait-and-switch games

These are the games that are the normal way of doing business in many so called respectable stores. You come in for an advertised item only to be told that it is no longer available or that there is a much better article at a higher price.

Watch out for the contractor who takes money upfront then leaves you hanging in the middle of the job. This is a common scam nowadays. And remember that you are not rich enough to afford a cheap contractor.

The worse the economic situation, the more scam artists emerge from the woodwork. Be alert. It’s better to get a few less percentage points on your money.