Spot a scam before you pay anything

The four rules that catch nearly everything

1. Money flows to you, not from you. If you must pay a fee, buy stock, or buy "training" to unlock earnings, it is a scheme.
2. If you are paid mainly for recruiting, it is a pyramid. Selling a product is fine. Being paid to bring in people is not.
3. Guaranteed returns do not exist. Any "fixed daily percentage" is either fraud or a Ponzi structure that ends when new money stops arriving.
4. Pressure is a technique, not a compliment. Countdowns, "only three places left", and a personal call from a "success coach" are sales pressure, not opportunity.

Questions that end the conversation

• Where exactly does the money I earn come from, in one sentence? ("From recruitment" is your answer to leave.)
• Which company is legally responsible for paying me, and where is it registered?
• If I stop recruiting today, can I still be paid from selling the product?
• Can I see the withdrawal rules, minimum threshold and processing time in writing?

Red flags specific to platforms

• Withdrawal requires a deposit or an "activation" fee
• Earnings appear in an app but cannot be withdrawn without inviting others
• No published company registration, no named directors, no physical address
• Reviews only on the scheme's own channels, all published in the same week

If you have already paid

Stop all further payments, keep screenshots and bank records, report it to your bank immediately, and report it to your local consumer protection body. Do not pay a "recovery agent" who contacts you afterwards — that is the same scam calling back.

The honest version

Legitimate online income is usually boring: a client who pays an invoice, a platform that pays out on a schedule, a wage from an employer. Boring is the good sign.