How to Avoid Internet Scammers for Online Jobs

To start with, you are a college student who spends way too much time on the World Wide Web. From checking your facebook account 24/7 to e-mailing professors as well as surfing for clothes, vacation spots, and degree requirements, you spend many countless hours at that computer. One day, while you're aimlessly searching the web, you come across an ad for an online job opportunity. While you view this ad as a hoax, it triggers your mind to begin thinking of the real jobs that may actually be sitting out there waiting for you to fulfill, online. This gets you thinking, "If only I could find some kind of job online, I could make extra cash and never move from this nice comfy spot with my portable laptop." With this in mind, you begin searching, hours upon hours for that perfect job. You find all kinds of information, from being a tutor to a writer to an ad typist, and finally, after carefully reviewing everything, you e-mail or contact several different people who claim to be in charge of these online businesses.

After all of that work, you sit and wait to see what happens. Finally, days later, you receive an e-mail from one of your prospective employers. He was someone in charge of finding adequate employees for an ad-typing position in a growing company. He e-mails you a semi-professional letter, basically stating that if you send him $20, he will send you the "training materials" so that you can get started making a lot of money. He seems to be professional enough, and after all you are just a college student trying to make some extra cash, so you send him the money. In return, you get an e-mail containing a large document which states that your new job is to re-type the same ad which you had replied to so that people can send you money. You sit there for a moment and read the entire document. At first you are really excited about the new opportunity, but then after careful consideration you realize that this is not a legal business. You are being asked to scam other people, and most of all, you yourself have just been completely fooled.

So, can you guess why I know so much about this situation? I think you got it right.. I was a victim of an internet scam. Although it seems to be common sense that you should avoid an ad which basically throws cash at you, I somehow missed all of the warning signs and let greed fill me with stupidity. When I read the ad which stated that I could make a few hundred dollars a week, I overreacted and got super excited. I jumped at the opportunity, only to find myself back where I started with less money, and a lot more humiliation.

A quote from my dear old Daddy goes as follows: "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is." It's just too bad that I didn't consult him before I paid the money. Instead, I tried to be independent and get an online job, hoping to impress my parents with the dedication and hard work that I would put into it. Once I did tell them about the situation, they were disappointed more than anything, and said that hopefully I had learned my lesson. That brings me to the main point of this whole article. Unfortunately, I had to learn the lesson about Internet Scammers the hard way, and it put me out $20. Luckily, though, I can tell you the things which I know that can help prevent you from making the same mistake. Hopefully this will save everyone money, and put scammers out of business.

I guess the first big warning sign is this: If the ad for a particular job is posted on a free job listing site, then it is probably not legit.- And yes, the job that I applied for was off of a free website, and listed by an unknown person, who had only added their contact e-mail to the bottom of the page.

If the heading of the job states something like, "You could make up to $500 in a week" then you should be pretty skeptical. While there are some jobs where you can make this sum plus more, they are usually ones that require more qualifications, and don't involve random employers.

If the job is for an online TYPING position.. chances are it's a scam, simply because if it is ONLINE, then the information would already be typed. And yes, I overlooked this slight piece of information. (Thanks again for the insight, Dad.)

If you receive an e-mail back from the prospective employer, which includes several misspelled words and poor grammar skills, then it is probably not legit. Wouldn't you want your new boss to have good communication skills and adequate language usage? I think so, but of course hindsight is 20/20.

If the employer asks you to send them $money$ in order to get your "training materials" or anything else for that matter, then DON'T DO IT!! It really doesn't make sense to send somebody your money so that you can make money from them. When I did it, though, I was so caught up in the moment and the excitement of potentially making big bucks, that I didn't mind paying the small fee of $20 that my "job" required.

JUST BE CAREFUL!! Honestly, the number one thing is to be careful with your money, but more importantly with your identity. After talking to my parents, I have realized how dangerous it is to give out personal information to strangers. Never give away your information unless you know that it is legit, and you have done some kind of background check on the business or employer. Remember, safety is more important than money. I think that in today's society, greed has taken over many, and I hate to say that I feel as if I am a victim of this. While this whole scam encounter was unfortunate for me, I have to admit that it has helped me to realize a few things. I now know that money is not everything, and I should not float around the internet replying to dangerous opportunities.

I hope that after reading this, you will take into consideration the points which I have offered. I also hope that this article may help you to see the warning signs when dealing with an internet scammer, and hopefully prevent you from making the same mistake that I did.