Everyone who gets on the Internet has the potential of coming in contact with a scam. Scam artists are all over the Internet and are sometimes really hard to spot.

There are predators everywhere that will steal your identity or take your money and can cause damage to you personally that can take years to straighten out.

They are sly, slick and sleazy and know how to push your ‘hot buttons’ in order to get you to give in or to make you feel like you just can’t do without what they have to offer.

Below are 10 tips that I hope help you out the next time you think you smell a scam.

1. First off, always use your common sense or intuition. If you get a gut feeling that something just doesn’t feel right, you’re probably right. Leave it alone!
2. Make sure all companies you deal with have a phone number and physical address. Do an online search for their phone number. Check with the Better Business Bureau in your area or call Information to see if the phone number actually belongs to them.
3. Always ask for references and then actually check them. A good, reputable company will gladly send you any additional information you need and give you as many references from their satisfied customers as you want.
4. Check with the state’s Attorney General’s Office or Better Business Bureau to see if the company has a received a series of complaints. See resources below.
5. Check with the National Fraud Information Center. They provide lots of valuable resources and information about telephone, mail, and online scams. See resources below.
6. Always make sure that you get a guarantee and make sure you know what is included in that guarantee. Ask the company what will happen if you should need to return their product or service.
7. DO NOT fall for high pressure sales tactics. People committing frauds always want your money right now. They don’t want to give you time to think about your decision. If you’re pressured to make a decision right now, always decide not to make that decision.
8. Pay by credit card, if possible. That gives you a recourse or paper trail if you have a problem. That way you can call your bank and do a what’s called a charge back. This means that you have the credit card company charge back, or take back your purchase from the company and give you a credit.
9. Always print out a copy of any Internet or online offers. Make sure you keep their email address, their Internet address, and any other information. Document the date and time that you saw the offer and the url address of the offer. Save the information in case you need it later. A little bit of preventive measures can save you tons of time later.
10. If someone tells you that you have won something, be extremely skeptical. If they say you have won a prize but first need to send some money, don’t walk, run the other way!

When you're looking for an online opportunity, and after you've considered all the facts and done your due diligence, then and only then should you consider signing up.

Remember the old saying 'If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is'. Well this saying has stood the test of time and almost always holds true.

So don't get all caught up in all the hoopla and hype and use your 'good ole' and common sense, intuition, gut feeling or whatever you want to call it and make a sound, educated judgement. You'll be glad you did.