How To Avoid a "Start an Online Business" Scam

Hi, there. This is Takeo Fujii. The theme of this article is "How to avoid being scammed". In other words, I will explain how to avoid being deceived by suspicious stories.

The internet is full of scams, including online business scams, investment scams, and many more. Everyone is at risk of being scammed.

Especially in this day and age, scam schemes are so sophisticated that even the most vigilant person can be fooled by them. I have been a victim of fraud many times since I was born.

My experience with fraud

In my case, the first scam victim that I remember was in 2014.

Have you heard of binary options? Binary options themselves are not a scam. It is an investment.

There are two types of binary options, foreign and domestic binary option providers. Overseas binary options are characterized by "high risk and high return. It is no longer an investment but a speculation (Touki).

I had an experience of being cheated by this binary options trader. One day, I went to the website of an overseas trader.

It's closed.

It showed up as ...Yeah, you got ripped off. You ran away at night. I guess I was right. The money that was in there was taken away.

I've also been deceived by other information products. It's an embarrassing story. I'm embarrassed to say that I've been scammed by information products that say, "Anyone can make money easily.

Making money from clients

After I started my business, my business partners sometimes brought scams and profit-making schemes to my attention.

The person who offers you a business proposal saying, "I know a way to make money. If you listen to them, they are talking about scams and gray areas.

I've actually tried my hand at getting on board and have failed.

Experiences of being scammed by overseas sites

Let me tell you about another experience. There is a site called JVZOO, which is an English-speaking marketplace for so-called information products.

It's like "getting a million hits on your website in one day" or, in a more blatant example, "the most powerful tool for getting money deposited into your bank account just by sleeping.

Overseas, this kind of service is blatantly obvious.

By the way, JVZOO is still around. I've been cheated out of a few hundred dollars.

I'm embarrassed to say that I've been cheated in the past, both domestically and internationally.

The need to have an eye for scams.

If you have been deceived from various angles, you can tell with some accuracy whether it is a scam or not.

In fact, it's a hassle, but as your business grows and you get involved with other businesses, all sorts of lucrative offers will come your way. There are times when a scam-like offer of profit is brought to you without malicious intent.

That's why you have to be able to tell the difference.

To begin with, let's start from the point of what a scam is. Many people think of scams as information products or online salons.

It's information, not a scam.

I don't think it's a scam because it's an information product, and I don't think it's a scam because I don't know what's really going on. The reality is vague.

For example, Louis Vuitton bags. Some of my clients also like Louis Vuitton, so I can't speak too strongly about it, but a few hundred thousand yen for a polyvinyl chloride bag is strange. But it's still a mystery why it sells.

And they don't call it a scam, do they?

For example, let's say you buy bottled water at a convenience store for 140 yen per bottle.

If you think of it as water, it's expensive. And if you drink it, it's gone. It loses its substance.

But they don't call it ripping off for water, do they? In the past, a restaurant that charged 800 yen for a glass of water was called a rip-off....

In other words, pricing is free.

So what is fraud? I have a theory that it is "not keeping your word".

Fraud is "making a wrong promise."

This is just my opinion. Fraud is "making a wrong promise". This is a vague definition, but after much thought, I have settled on this interpretation. McDonald's hamburgers are bad for you. However, there are people who are willing to pay for it. They pay for it because they want to eat it even though they know it is bad for their health. And that's okay.

When McDonald's is fraudulent, it does not serve the burgers it promised. The product is too small, the ingredients are not included, and it is not a mistake, it is fraud for an intentional act of unwillingness to keep a promise.

The same is true for information products. I'm a proponent of information products. Selling information is not a scam.

The reason why information products are a problem is also because they make wrong promises.

You'll definitely make money.

This is why it is called fraud because it is sold at a high price with no evidence and the assumption that the promise will not be fulfilled.

If you ask me, the product line I'm selling is also an information product. I'm selling information in a package.

However, there are certain people who are not satisfied with the product, so we offer a money-back guarantee on our basic products. This is not only a guarantee to the customer, but also to prevent myself from being called a fraud.

In summary, you can determine if a scam is a scam by asking yourself if they are keeping their promises.

How to Recognize a Scam

Next, I'll talk about how to identify a scam so that you won't be fooled by it.

See past reputation.

Identify if it is a scam or not. In doing so, we look at the company's past. The products they have sold in the past, their services, and their past reputation.

Check to see if the seller has made any mistakes in their promises in the past.

If you have been scammed in the past, you can find the voices of such victims on the Internet, "This product was a scam.

(2) Look at the people involved.

Or who you are involved with is also important.

Who are the people selling the product, who are they involved with, and where do they do business? This is also an important perspective.

Scammers hang out with scammers. Therefore, it is a danger sign if you see such a shadow flickering around you.

It is actually easier to understand if you look not only at the company or business, but also at the relationships around it.

(3) Do you have a record of activities?

President Nanbara, who appeared on Money Tiger, said this on YouTube.

No con man survives more than three years."

I don't remember which episode it was.

I really think you're right. Scammers are unstable, they can't make one business thrive for long. It's also important to look at the number of years of activity when looking to see if someone is a scammer.

How many years have you been in the business and how many years have you been competing in that industry? This is another perspective.

[Summary] Let's take measures to avoid being deceived by scams.

This time, we talked about something a little different from the usual.

Please be careful. In this uncertain world, there are people who will take advantage of your weakness and anxiety to scam you.

To avoid being duped by scams, please improve your internet literacy and be cautious with good stories.

Also, if you have any stories about scams and scams that you would like to hear, please write them in the comments section below this blog post.

I'll see you next time. Thank you very much for your time.