With the increasing number of new sites claiming to offer unique online money making opportunities, it is also expected scammers to increase in numbers too. Over the last few years, the number of people losing their money on bogus online investments opportunities have soared.
One reason being that most of these kinds of websites involved in scam can escape easily since there is usually no proper documentation involved while investing online.
For those of you who might have been unfortunate investing online, it is most likely you have fallen a victim to online scammers. In this article, I am going to discuss a few tips that you can follow to minimize your chances of getting scammed;
How to Avoid Scams Online
1. Look Up for Site Owner Identity
Look for the website owner details or identity. This the first and the most important step that you will need to take. If you have necessary details about the site owner identity, it can be very easy for you to file a complaint, incase the site turns to be a scam.
You can use the the following websites to check for the site owner identity;
- www.whois.net/
- www.seoconsultants.com/tools/whois.asp
- centralops.net/co.
In addition, also look up for the following information;
- What is the IP Address of the site
- Check out for Internet Servicer Provider (ISP) of the site
- Who does the IP address belong to? (organization or personal website).
- Check out the country
- Check out the continent
- The city and state (where applicable)
- The time zone
- Latitude and longitude
- Look up for website registration address or any other contact that you will find.
Review the Site
Review the security details of the website and the site owner operation location. This will help you in locating them easily, if they turn out to be scam. Do not forget to carefully read and understand the terms of use or any other importance information that may be found on the website.
Search for more information about Internet Service Provider (ISP) and IP address pertaining to the site, including the email address. This information will help you incase you want to file for a complaint with the Internet Fraud complaint Center and ISP.
Finally, if you have been scammed and you are aware of the site information, you can submit a complaint to any of the following sites. Just make sure you include a payment proof and any other important information;
- Internet Fraud complaint Center (http://www.ifccfbi.gov/)
- International Web Police (http://www.web-police.org/)
- Others; http://www.scamwatch.com/ and http://www.fraud.org/)
- ISP Provider (file a complaint about web site network abuse)
- Local Authority – Use the local addresses, contact information
- File a payment dispute with online payment processors like Payza
Tips for Recognizing and Avoiding Fake Check Scams
If someone you don’t know wants to pay you by check but wants you to wire some of the money back, beware! it’s a scam that could cost you thousands of dollars. Read more about this article on www.fraud.org/tips/internet/fakecheck.htm.
Lastly, I just hope the above information will help you in making a good decision on what program to invest on. It is important to have all important details pertaining to any website or company where you intend to join or invest, so that incase it turns out to be a scam later on, you can always file for a complaint with the right authority.
