How do You Spot a Scam?

Everyone is looking for ways to earn a little bit of extra money here and there. After all, unless you're in a particularly enviable position, money is probably going to be something of a concern for you. The problem is that a lot of the ways in which you can earn extra money from home often seem too good to be true, which is usually because they are. It's not always the case, but there are plenty of people online who are more than willing to try and scam you out of your hard-earned cash with the promise of some kind of reward. The problem is, how do you tell the real deal from the scams? Well, there are a couple of things that you can do in order to find which places are legitimate and to avoid getting ripped off. 

If they ask for money, it's probably a scam. The most obvious sign that you're being scammed is when something asks you for some money or your bank account information before anything else. If there's some kind of paywall that you have to get over before you can start earning then there's a pretty good chance that it's not legitimate. These kinds of sites usually claim that they are only asking for your details or a payment for security purposes, but nine times out of ten, if they're asking for money, then they're not the real deal. 

Make sure it's verified by multiple sources. The best thing that you can do to make sure that a site isn't trying to scam you is to see if there are any sources that can confirm whether or not it's legitimate. There are dozens of sites out there which are entirely dedicated to letting you know which sites are scams and which ones are real. In a review of ebates, they lay out all of the pros and cons and let you know whether or not you're going to get ripped off. The best thing to do is to make sure that there are at least two or three sites that say the same thing. The vast majority are unbiased, but it's always worth doubling down as a precaution. 

If you're in doubt, play it safe.  Sometimes you're just not sure if a site is legitimate or not. It seems to be above board, but you just don't have enough information to fully confirm or deny that fact. If that's the case, then your best option is to leave it well alone. The temptation to earn some extra cash online might be strong, but it's not worth getting taken for a ride over. Unless you can one-hundred-percent guarantee that a particular site is entirely legal and completely legitimate, it's simply not worth the risk. Fortunately, there are enough legitimate money making opportunities online that you won't have to search for long before finding one that you can be completely sure about.