At least not for us.
Any site that guarantees that you will immediately start making hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a day is lying to you. Straight up lying to you.
Now, this isn't to say you can't make money on the internet (I have a $34 check being sent to me from SurveySpot right now). What I'm saying is that you can't expect to make huge amounts of money immediately.
So long as you know what sites work, you CAN make money. Just don't expect to make it your sole income, it's just a nice way to add some extra money into your pocket. Maybe you can buy some better beer one weekend or take the special someone you've had your eye on for dinner.
Honestly, I think all these sites work best for college students. We have the time wasting to do surveys, offers, etc. and are at an age where $30 is actually exciting (and can get you and a "friend" dinner at Chili's which still counts as "romantic").
And remember, never pay to join any site. Whether they're offering online surveys, rewards sites, online game testing, whatever. Don't join them. You can find everything you need just by doing a little research. Or listening to me.
Right now, I'm researching the sites promising to let you become an game tester. Expect an entry on that in the next couple of weeks.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Free Reward Sites
Free reward sites can go either way. Some are legitimate and others are completely ridiculous.
I think in this case it's safe to use my standard rule of judgment: If it requires money or your credit card number, STAY AWAY FROM IT.
Sites like the freebiejeebies sites require you to join and complete an offer, typically something like a Netflix trial, a paid credit check, or purchasing something. And then you refer a certain number of people who must then do an offer as well. Once you get the number of referrals it says, you get your "free" item. Now, this is cheaper than the sites where you have to complete Bronze, Silver, and Platinum offers (with no referrals) to get an item, but there is nothing free about it.
However, there is a site out there where you can get iPods, Xbox 360s, etc. for free. For real. Now, you still complete offers and it has different kinds, but the distinct difference is that the vast majority of its offers are FREE and don't require your credit card.
Rewards1 is the aforementioned site. As I said, you join, do offers, get points, and redeem those points for the prize of your choice. There are different types of offers: Free, Free with credit card, cell phone, and credit card. I obviously recommend only doing the free offers because then your gift is actually free.
If this sounds like a site for you, a great way to get through these offers faster is to use Roboform. It's an easy program that plugs into your browser and can automatically fill in all the information boxes for you. It's important to use your real information, I've used my campus mailing address but I've never received anything from solicitors, so that's a bonus.
As I said, if you're going to use a free rewards site, Rewards1 is the one to use. It's easy, it works, and it's actually free. Best of all, if you ever need help there's a great forum. Just never buy anything from people on there, if you need help, there are people who will try to make you pay for assistance and then there are people who will give you tips for free.
I think in this case it's safe to use my standard rule of judgment: If it requires money or your credit card number, STAY AWAY FROM IT.
Sites like the freebiejeebies sites require you to join and complete an offer, typically something like a Netflix trial, a paid credit check, or purchasing something. And then you refer a certain number of people who must then do an offer as well. Once you get the number of referrals it says, you get your "free" item. Now, this is cheaper than the sites where you have to complete Bronze, Silver, and Platinum offers (with no referrals) to get an item, but there is nothing free about it.
However, there is a site out there where you can get iPods, Xbox 360s, etc. for free. For real. Now, you still complete offers and it has different kinds, but the distinct difference is that the vast majority of its offers are FREE and don't require your credit card.
Rewards1 is the aforementioned site. As I said, you join, do offers, get points, and redeem those points for the prize of your choice. There are different types of offers: Free, Free with credit card, cell phone, and credit card. I obviously recommend only doing the free offers because then your gift is actually free.
If this sounds like a site for you, a great way to get through these offers faster is to use Roboform. It's an easy program that plugs into your browser and can automatically fill in all the information boxes for you. It's important to use your real information, I've used my campus mailing address but I've never received anything from solicitors, so that's a bonus.
As I said, if you're going to use a free rewards site, Rewards1 is the one to use. It's easy, it works, and it's actually free. Best of all, if you ever need help there's a great forum. Just never buy anything from people on there, if you need help, there are people who will try to make you pay for assistance and then there are people who will give you tips for free.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Paid to Click Sites
What can I say but: AVOID THEM!
PTC Sites are probably one of the biggest pyramid schemes on the internet. Sure, they're free to join, but you get maybe 10 ads to start with and then probably 3 more a day after that. At 1-2 cents a click, your money's not gonna add up.
So, then you'll think about upgrading to pro to get those lauded 524 more ads, right? Typically, one of these sites costs $10 to upgrade to pro. So, you upgrade, spend $10 and then do the 524 ads and you only made back a little over $10!
What the site then wants you to do is refer people to click and upgrade to pro! By referring more people, you move into different levels and supposedly make more money.
Hell, it even shows on the front page people who made thousands of dollars! Yeah, don't believe it.
Pyramid schemes only work for the person on top, the rest get shafted.
Don't ever let anyone scam you into joining PTC sites. There's absolutely nothing free about them.
PTC Sites are probably one of the biggest pyramid schemes on the internet. Sure, they're free to join, but you get maybe 10 ads to start with and then probably 3 more a day after that. At 1-2 cents a click, your money's not gonna add up.
So, then you'll think about upgrading to pro to get those lauded 524 more ads, right? Typically, one of these sites costs $10 to upgrade to pro. So, you upgrade, spend $10 and then do the 524 ads and you only made back a little over $10!
What the site then wants you to do is refer people to click and upgrade to pro! By referring more people, you move into different levels and supposedly make more money.
Hell, it even shows on the front page people who made thousands of dollars! Yeah, don't believe it.
Pyramid schemes only work for the person on top, the rest get shafted.
Don't ever let anyone scam you into joining PTC sites. There's absolutely nothing free about them.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Paid Surveys
Why not start with one of the biggest scams on the net?
"Make money from home just by doing simple data entry!" "Make thousands a month!"
I'm sure you've gotten emails like that or (if you're a student like me) seen flyers hanging around advertising this so called internet goldmine. Well, don't fall for it!
Every site that advertises this way will lead you to a page with so-called testimonials of people who made tons of money just by doing simple surveys online! Oh and it all sounds so fabulous! But then, they expect you to pay $34.95 for the information.
Right here is where you should know to run like hell. While in real life the thought "You need to spend money to make money" may work (and really only if you're starting up your own business), it does not apply to the internet!
If you pay the fee, you'll be brought to a list of survey websites that you could join for free any time, all they did was compile the list. And the worst part? The surveys don't actually pay you! By completing these surveys, you either accumulate points (slowly) to enter into contests that thousands of other people are entering, or it's actually a site that wants you to purchase stuff off of it to get points and get money that way.
None of them guarantee you money.
None of them but one, that is. One that you needn't join a site to find out about, because I'm going to tell you. Survey Spot is a website where you complete surveys for points to be entered into a sweepstakes, HOWEVER every so often they'll send you surveys that you can be paid for completing. Typically, these surveys are $3-$5 although sometimes there are cheaper ones.
If you qualify to complete the survey, your account will be credit within 4-6 weeks and then if you have a minimum of $5, you can request to have a check sent to you.
This week alone, I've made about $20 from SurveySpot. It may be because it's summer, or maybe being a 23-year-old female puts me in some prime demographic, but I just keep qualifying for paid surveys.
Another great thing SurveySpot does is that it informs you when there are even more expensive studies to qualify for. I've already done two $30 studies where you just look at a product and answer a few questions (live, online) for the company. They then send you (via email) a gift certificate to the website of your choice. At least that's how it worked out for me.
The best part about all this is that Survey Spot is completely free to join. You can make some nice beer money and don't have to pay a cent. So, if you absolutely feel the need to try to make some money online, Survey Spot is a great website to try.
"Make money from home just by doing simple data entry!" "Make thousands a month!"
I'm sure you've gotten emails like that or (if you're a student like me) seen flyers hanging around advertising this so called internet goldmine. Well, don't fall for it!
Every site that advertises this way will lead you to a page with so-called testimonials of people who made tons of money just by doing simple surveys online! Oh and it all sounds so fabulous! But then, they expect you to pay $34.95 for the information.
Right here is where you should know to run like hell. While in real life the thought "You need to spend money to make money" may work (and really only if you're starting up your own business), it does not apply to the internet!
If you pay the fee, you'll be brought to a list of survey websites that you could join for free any time, all they did was compile the list. And the worst part? The surveys don't actually pay you! By completing these surveys, you either accumulate points (slowly) to enter into contests that thousands of other people are entering, or it's actually a site that wants you to purchase stuff off of it to get points and get money that way.
None of them guarantee you money.
None of them but one, that is. One that you needn't join a site to find out about, because I'm going to tell you. Survey Spot is a website where you complete surveys for points to be entered into a sweepstakes, HOWEVER every so often they'll send you surveys that you can be paid for completing. Typically, these surveys are $3-$5 although sometimes there are cheaper ones.
If you qualify to complete the survey, your account will be credit within 4-6 weeks and then if you have a minimum of $5, you can request to have a check sent to you.
This week alone, I've made about $20 from SurveySpot. It may be because it's summer, or maybe being a 23-year-old female puts me in some prime demographic, but I just keep qualifying for paid surveys.
Another great thing SurveySpot does is that it informs you when there are even more expensive studies to qualify for. I've already done two $30 studies where you just look at a product and answer a few questions (live, online) for the company. They then send you (via email) a gift certificate to the website of your choice. At least that's how it worked out for me.
The best part about all this is that Survey Spot is completely free to join. You can make some nice beer money and don't have to pay a cent. So, if you absolutely feel the need to try to make some money online, Survey Spot is a great website to try.
First Post
Okay, so what's the blog all about?
It's about scams on the internet and how to avoid them.
While I consider myself a skeptic, I have to admit that I've fallen for my fair share. However, rather than curse myself for being such an idiot, I've been compiling the scams in my head and have now decided to try my best to protect others from falling in the same trap.
In this, I'll also be pointing out things that aren't scams.
Just remember my ground rule: If you have to pay for it, it's a scam.
It's about scams on the internet and how to avoid them.
While I consider myself a skeptic, I have to admit that I've fallen for my fair share. However, rather than curse myself for being such an idiot, I've been compiling the scams in my head and have now decided to try my best to protect others from falling in the same trap.
In this, I'll also be pointing out things that aren't scams.
Just remember my ground rule: If you have to pay for it, it's a scam.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)