Please Wake Up and Stop GETTING SCAMMED

While it's possible to run into trouble regardless of how much you check into things, I wanted to

prepare a list of common flags that you can use while you are searching for work at home opportunities. Some of these are pretty easy to identify but just in case, you should keep yourself clear of this particular red flags:

• Upfront payments - You know, regardless of what you've been told, you don't have to pay money to make money.  Now there are a few exceptions, such as payment for a domain name or web hosting and the rare freelancing site that charges a membership fee. Otherwise, there is simply NO good reason to pay for information through upfront payments.
• ClickBank - I'm so sick and tired of seeing these "products" that it's not even funny anymore. If you see a "work at home" product that has to be purchased through ClickBank, avoid it like the plague. They do nothing at all to vet these programs and inevitably, what you're going to find is some generic bullshit that you can easily get on nearly any site that offers a variety of eBooks. Trust me, you can pay the same amount for them.
• Doesn't accept PayPal - That's probably because they are in violation of some sort of policy set out by PayPal.  I've never figured this out, but almost every scam I've run into avoids Paypal like the plague. There has to be some reason.  I've had a PayPal account for about 10 years and have never had a problem with anything I've ever purchased using this method. I've even gotten refunds on a couple of things that turned out to be "less than what I ordered" shall we say.

Other red flags

The ones listed above are more like my own person peccadilloes and because of that, I recommend you find you own comfort level. But here's some red flags that mostly anyone can sink their teeth into and they're almost always spot on.

• Not a scam - The more information out on the Internet claiming something isn't a scam, the more likely it is one.  Seriously.  Go back and read some of my earlier "scam" posts and run any one of the company names through Google and dollars to donuts you'll find that there are plenty of sites out there defending their bogus business model.
• Internet guru - This is the biggest crock of crap I've ever run into online.  There's no such thing as a real "guru" of the Internet because stuff changes too fast. Run don't walk from those claiming to have an "inside line".  No such beast. Read legitimate sites like Problogger, Mashable and HubSpot to name a few,  if you want legitimate information about earning money from blogs.
• Making millions - The biggest myth that most of these idiots want to feed you is how much money they're making every month. Trust me when I tell you that generally speaking, people who are making money online are NOT going to show you their earnings! You might see some references to their earnings, but you are NOT going to see account balances anywhere on their posts.  It's not going to happen!  On top of that, regardless of the crap they're feeding you, you cannot make money in your PJs doing nothing (or next to it).  Earning money online STILL MEANS WORKING.

The bottom line is that you really do need to do your own homework and approach EVERYTHING with a healthy dose of skepticism.  Trust me in the long run, trust and verify is what you want to do. Don't fall for these fake "verified" site buttons unless you can track down the source of the verification and VERIFY they're legitimate too.  Wake up before you fall for something that is not quite what you thought that will waste your money and your time too.