AdminThe internet is a wonderful source of information – both good and bad. It’s also a playground of profitable possibilities for would-be and seasoned shysters and scam artists. Apart from pornography, one of the most prevalent types of content one can find on the web is in the moneymaking category. And I guess, like sex, money has universal appeal!
The starting point in getting to grips with this reality is to realise greed plays a big part in human nature. Sorry to be so blunt, but it seems we’re wired for it. You see this played out over and over – whether it’s men and women battling each other to grab the best garments in a crazy sale, or crazy people queuing up to get financially fleeced in some hair-brained pyramid money game. The motivation is the same. Something for nothing – or almost nothing. And that desire is fueled by greed.
If you can accept you may have a built-in propensity to seek the easy route, to get your hands on easy money – and factor that into your decision making – then you will be in a much better position to more rationally appraise various moneymaking opportunities.
There are two main generic scams continually circulating on the internet. One is the “advance fee” scam, and the other is the “Ponzi” or pyramid scheme. The first is epitomised by the “Nigerian Letter” fraud – which is essentially a promise of big bucks in exchange for processing fees to retrieve the money. This often involves receiving an email announcing you have either inherited or won a lot of money, and that you need to open an offshore bank account to retrieve it. The strategy is to suck you into the scenario to such an extent that you become emotionally wedded to it. Then, when you are asked to put up a fee to make things happen, you are already hooked and part with your cash without a whimper. The promoters then disappear with your cash, never to be seen again.
The ponzi scam is named after Charles Ponzi who came up with the novel idea of enticing investors with the promise of very large returns – and paid them out of new investors’ money. In the end, of course, the last investors lost their money, and the whole thing was exposed as a complete fraud. Some ponzi schemes are very crude – like the original chain letter. You’d think we would have risen above that one – but it keeps on resurfacing. However, most are now more sophisticated, often disguising themselves as an “investment” with unusually high returns.
Over the last few years such ponzis have sharpened their act, and now present themselves with smart, professional looking websites – plausible wording and an enticing sales pitch. The primary hook, apart from the promised returns, is the referral fee – if you recommend others. In this way, the modern ponzi can harness the viral marketing power of the internet in ways impossible in the snail mail age.
Now I have nothing against people playing money games as such (it’s their money), provided they know the rules of the game, and understand the risks. You see, I’m very much of the opinion that people should be allowed to do what they like with their own money. However, when you remove regulatory oversight, you have to take responsibility for your own decisions, and realise what you are getting into.
If you know the risks, then it’s like gambling – where it is clearly understood that there are winners and losers. However, it does appear that some people can’t tell the difference between gambling (in all its forms), a ponzi, and an investment. And this fact is often used by the authorities as an excuse to enact laws to protect people from themselves.
For example, it’s imperative to distinguish between ponzi schemes and gambling. And it shouldn’t be hard. Gambling involves taking a stake in a money game where there are clear rules and directives as to who becomes the winner. Luck is the usual arbiter in gambling – and this is managed in various ways. It could be Lotto, where numbers are drawn from a barrel; it could be a lottery where one person has the lucky ticket number; or it could be horse racing or sports, where you place a bet on the outcome of the race – where “form” and luck both play a part. The point is, in gambling you know there will be winners and losers, and you know the means by which this will be determined. You have full disclosure ufabet มือถือ