Unfortunately, one of the realities of internet business is the scam, schemes gimmicks, and cons. Of course, scams, schemes, and such have been around long before the internet, but just like the internet has increased and facilitated genuine business, the internet has also helped black-hat confidence men spread their dirty scams and schemes.

Most of the schemes fall under the categories of ponzi, pyramid, or MLM (multi-level-marketing). A ponzi scheme is a scheme in which "members" join by paying a fee, told that they will receive an income without working, but the income is paid by giving them a portion of other members fees. Many people are familiar with a pyramid scheme or MLM. Both are flawed business models, in which "sponsors" are paid commissions off the sales of other people they recruit into the scheme, both directly and indirectly. Most pyramid schemes and MLM don't even really sell a product; Instead they just sell "start-up" packages. The inherent flaw of the pyramid scheme is that it continuously needs exponentially more sellers to sponsor. Eventually, the pyramid collapses, leaving all but the few con men at the top broke.

One thing I always recommend against is using any program that claims you can make easy money online fast with a small fee. There's a lot of scams out there that say you can make money taking surveys, entering data, stuffing envelopes, or etc. They don't work. They're just scams and schemes. Basically, if it sounds to good to be true, it is. If you'll make so much money with these programs, why do they need the small fee beforehand? Couldn't they just take the fee out of your pay? They can't take the fee out of your pay, because you're never going to get any.

Remember, the only free lunch is found in a mouse trap.