Ads promising overnight riches pop up everywhere on a consistent basis. While many people have caught on to pyramid schemes and old tricks such as envelope stuffing and chain letters, con artists are always coming up with a new version of the classic money-money scam. Unless you are constantly keeping up with "watchdog" websites, it's unlikely that you will know every money-making scam that is currently in use. If that is the case, here is a quick overview of the most popular scams now making the rounds.
Work at home. Scammers know that many people looking for an income are stay-at-home moms or people looking to quit their day job, which makes the money-making scam quite easy to target to a specific population. A work at home money-making scam usually requires you to pay a start up fee to enroll in the program. The simplest scams involve craft assembly, emailing or sending information to potential company customers, or jobs for typing at home. A more elaborate version of the same money-making scam can include promising jobs using the Internet to become rich overnight.
The Internet has become a haven for scammers. In fact, "pay to surf" programs, where you are supposedly making money by simply using the internet, have become a popular money-making scam. The problem with this type of "work" is that you must pay a fee to access the information on how to do it. The fee, which ranges from $20 US Dollars (USD) to over $100 USD Dollars, is never made back, as it is almost impossible to find the opportunities promised. While some websites do pay for filling out surveys or answering an email, the pay is rarely over two or three cents, which means it would take you years to make the initial fee back.
A popular version of a money-making scam is done by promising riches to whomever signs for a specific program and then delivering only a list of "work at home" companies. These companies, in the best case, are real, but there is no guarantee that they are looking for workers at any given time.
Medical billing also falls into the category of an expensive money-making scam. A real profession, medical billing is not something that can be done by anybody by simply buying a home kit. These kits, sold for up to $900 USD, provide software and basic knowledge, but do not tell you that it is near impossible for a freelancer without connections to get work with a respectable medical office.
If you looking for a way to make an extra income, do you research. There are lots of true opportunities out there, but there also a lot of opportunists.