My Personal Handbook on Spotting Internet Scams

Every week, someone sends me a DM or forwards me a link to some webinar or Instagram ad, asking if a program is legitimate.

After a few years of running my local marketing agency and doing these reviews on the side, I’ve realized something: the internet is incredibly unoriginal. The names of the programs change, and the faces in the videos change, but the exact same psychological traps show up over and over again.

This is the exact handbook I wish someone had handed me years ago before I wasted my own hard-earned money on a "guru" course. These are the red flags that make me close a browser tab instantly.

1. The Webinar-Price Rule

If a program refuses to show you the price until you watch a 90-minute video, or worse, forces you to get on a "strategy call" with a high-pressure salesperson, the price is being hidden for a reason.

Legitimate products - software, tools, or real business training - publish their pricing right on the page. They let you look at the numbers and decide if it fits your budget. Hiding the price is a persuasion tactic designed to get you emotionally invested, wear down your defenses, and overcome your objections before they drop a $5,000 price tag on you. If they won't show you the price upfront, stay far away.

2. Testimonials That Look Like Ghost Towns

Real customers have full names, real businesses, and public footprints you can easily find online.

When a sales page features twenty smiling faces but only lists them as "John M." or "Amanda K.," I immediately get suspicious. In my day job running a local marketing agency, I know how easy it is to throw together a slick website block with generic text. When I see these, I often try to track them down. If a reverse image search reveals that "Successful Student Mike" is actually a stock photo or a $20 actor hired off a freelance site, the whole thing is a sham. I talked about how I dig into these fake profiles in my personal notes on how I test products right here.

3. The Affiliate Feedback Loop

This is the biggest reason the internet feels so dishonest right now. If you Google an expensive online business course, you will see dozens of blogs giving it a perfect 5-star review.

What they don't tell you is that the course creator pays them a 50% commission for every person they recruit. If a course costs $2,000, that blogger stands to make $1,000 just for convincing you to sign up. That’s why their page always ends with an aggressive "Buy through my link to get $1,000 in free bonuses!" box. They aren't reviewers; they are commission-hungry salespeople. If you want the real story on a program, skip Google and go find a raw Reddit thread full of actual customers.

4. The Refund Maze

Never buy an online product without reading the actual legal text of the refund policy first. Don’t listen to what the guy in the video promises.

Predatory programs love to advertise a "30-Day Money-Back Guarantee," but when you read the fine print, it's an "action-based" trap. They bury ridiculous conditions in the text, stating you only qualify for a refund if you completed 100% of the course, spent at least $500 of your own money on Facebook ads, built a full website, and attended three live coaching calls. They deliberately design the maze so that qualifying for your money back is practically impossible.

5. The "Done-For-You" Dream

Anyone promising you an online business that completely runs itself while you just sit back and collect a check is selling you pure fiction.

Whether it's an "automated Amazon store" or a "turnkey affiliate system," the model makes zero economic sense. Think about it: if someone actually built a software loop or an automated store that reliably spits out thousands of dollars a month with zero effort, why on earth would they sell it to a stranger for a few hundred bucks? They would just run a thousand copies of it themselves and become billionaires. I took a deep dive into the math behind this illusion in my breakdown on the turnkey fallacy right here.

6. The Urgency Stack

If a sales page features a giant countdown timer ticking away, a flashing red banner saying "Only 3 seats left," or a warning that "The price doubles at midnight," it is almost always a lie.

Because I build websites for a living, I can tell you that 99% of those countdown timers are just simple JavaScript codes that completely reset the moment you refresh your browser or open the link on your phone. It’s an artificial psychological trick designed to panic you into pulling out your credit card before you have time to think critically or do your research.

What to Do Instead

The next time you see a flashy program that catches your eye, use a little common sense to protect your bank account:

Give it a week: Force yourself to wait seven full days before buying. The manufactured urgency will wear off, your head will clear, and you'll see the offer a lot more objectively.

Search for the ugly stuff: Don't just search the program name. Search the name plus "refund complaints," "scam," or "lawsuit."

Look for independent voices: Find opinions from people who have absolutely no affiliate link to push and paid for the program out of their own pocket.

The internet is full of great tools and genuine skills you can learn to make a real income, but you have to protect your capital first. Keep your wallet closed until a program passes the common-sense test.