This is a list of ways you can use to find out if a company on the Internet is just trying to take your money and run or not.
This list is probably the best advice that anyone can give you to keep yourself from being taken!
1. Make sure they list contact information.
Internet scams normally do not. You know what I am talking about: names, addresses, people that are involved with the site, phone numbers, etc.
An email address is fine when someone isn't asking for money, but when companies are asking for your hard-earned cash ...
An e-Mail isn't enough in my opinion.
2. Does the company that you are checking out take credit cards?
It is extremely important that they do! If you use a credit card for your purchase and they are an Internet scam you can reverse the charges on the card.
You are going to have to provide some sort of proof (meaning they didn't deliver what they were supposed to) but that is easy if you were scammed.
3. See what kind of return policy they have.
Most business opportunities should at least offer a 30-day trial when you are checking them out.
4. Lastly, go to a search engine and try to find out any dirt on the company.
This is hardly the most technical way to find stuff but you can always believe 10 or 20 complaints you find on the Web (that seem unresolved), as opposed to sales literature that you will find elsewhere.
Some fraudsters are using e-mail spam to promote stocks. Fraudulent companies will send thousands of e-mails and make false comments on message boards through the market and through the opening of the market the following trading day.
These messages will falsely promote the company and drive up the price. If the fraud goes as planned, this will cause a surge in the price and volume of the company's stock.
When the price has skyrocketed, the defrauder sells his shares in the market "he has created," realizing substantial profits per share. This practice of driving up a price and then selling it is called "pump and dump."
