A large percentage of people trying to earn money online have been scammed. There's nothing more distressing than to work hard for hours and never get paid for your time and effort.

Before trying a program, or buying an ebook / membership etc. research thoroughly. Read reviews of programs before trying them on Ciao! or Dooyoo. There are also certain companies and programs who have a very bad attitude when it comes to paying affiliates, I have lost quite a lot of hard earned money there too.

This hub is about scams, tips on how to avoid them and where to report them. Let's begin a fight on scams!

Scam PTRs

Paid to Read (PTR) programs pay members to read emails and click on advertisements. A click normally earns a member a fraction of a penny, e.b. £0.020 or 0.20 of a pence. It can be more but that's normally the minimum rate.

Before joining and promoting a Paid To Read program, try to find if they have paid out to people before. If it's totally new, don't rush to join in an attempt to get referrals. Look for payment proofs before joing and promoting a PTR.

Some Telltale Signs of Scam PTRs

1. They offer outrageously high amount per click; e.g. 1000 cents.

2. Sometimes it's not that high, but could be 5 cents per click. I was scammed by Genemails, who were paying 1 cent per click. When I reached the payout which was $2, the site disappeared

3. Most often than not, they are new and have no online presence.

4. They appear out of nowhere and there is a lot of advertising and hype about them.

Advertisers may be rich, but no one throws away money. To find a list of Scam PTRs, visit http://wwwglobalgoldtalkcom/.

Forums on Scams

Research forums, and report the programs that have scammed you. Here are some forums on Scams that you can research and report scams to.

Scam Baits

Scams

Scams, Spam and Phishbusters

Scam Baiter

Internet HYIP Scams

The Scam Warners

Let's Fight Back!

If you have been scammed, shout, scream and try to make sure everyone knows about it. Don't let others be scammed. Let's fight against Scam. How?

1. Write about them on Hub pages.

2. List them on this hub.

3. Write about them on consumer reviews site and online forums

4. Make a lens on Squidoo

5. Become a member of forums on scams, and discuss them.

While it's true that Experience is the best teacher, it's better to learn from other people's experiences before putting in time and effort. I was first scammed by GeneMails, who were paying 1 cent per click, with $2 minimum payout. You can guess what happened. After 200 clicks and a long wait , they disappeared.

Lesson Learnt: Never register and promote a PTR without checking and finding payment proof on internet.

I was paid by tomoonmail a few times, and I trusted it. I upgraded my membership and got a few referrals in my downline. The admin terminated my account without warning, the reason being that I didn't search for search emails. I know I searched and clicked on results for search but my account was still terminated and could not be restored as the admin had deleted my details, just when I was about to reach the payout ($5), Same happened with Niceptr. Is Tomoonmail a scam? Probably not, but the admin sure is one rude guy.

Lesson Learnt: Never trust too much.

Another site PaidPerPost appeared that charged very low price for advertising. I paid this site $10. Needless to say, this site disappeared within a week, without paying the bloggers and scammed the poor advertisers like me.

Lesson Learnt: Never trust a completely new site with your hard earned money.

Affiliate Program Scams

000Webhost is a web hosting site, which offers free web hosting. They pay $5 per referral when the person you referred is active for 30 days. Minimum payout is $100.

Guess what? Yes, you guessed it. You will never reach the payout and They will never pay. The referrals either show as CANCELLED_INACTIVITY, and you never get 20 active referrals for some reason. Don't waste your time promoting them.

Also, I have had a terrible experience with Clixgalore. My account was terminated, and I lost £200. When I called them, the receptionist said that they will leave a message and I will get a callback. I never got the callback. Also, I never received a reply to my email. My advice would be to steer clear of them.