I'm willing to bet that if you have tried to make money online in the past, you have been scammed. There are literally thousands upon thousand of people who are out to make a quick buck off of desperate people who really want to learn how to make money online.

In fact, it's probably not even doing a search for how to make money online anymore. How will you know what to believe? I have put together a list of "red flags" that you should look out for when trying to make money online. I can tell you from my own personal experience that you can make money online, you just need to know where to look.

Number 1 Red Flag -

You can't find any earnings disclaimer, terms of service, or privacy policy on the website claiming to offer a money making opportunity. Typically you'll find these positioned as links at the bottom of the page. Most website promoting money making scams won't bother to have them. Why should they? Those items are their for legal reasons and someone running money making scams are already breaking the law anyhow!

Number 2 Red Flag -

Beware of fake consumer protection websites. These are sites that pretend to be consumer protection websites, but in fact are often owned by the owner or promoter of the money making scam.

Number 3 Red Flag -

"Whois" information is hidden in the website registration records. While there are legitimate reasons to hide registration information (I do it myself on some - but not all - of my sites), it certainly should be considered a factor in determining if something could be a scam.

You can check out the whois information at sites such as http://whois.domaintools.com or www.betterwhois.com

But remember, whois records with "privacy guard" type features on them aren't by any means sure-fire indicators of money making scams at all - as there are legitimate reasons to keep contact information hidden on on those records (such as to avoid telemarketing/mail-order companies that gather phone numbers and mailing information from those records).

Most of all, use your common sense. The age-old rule still applies - if it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is!