But if you want to check just to make sure that something isn’t a scam in the first place, this is rather tedious. The hours of online research might be more of a loss than it would cost to just get shammed.
Here’s the good news: You really don’t have to stress yourself out very much. There are online resources for this that show you scams right away! Here they are:
- Ripoff Report - While primarily a consumer-friendly scam site, it is still of some use to small business owners. Its only way of detecting scam, as is typical with scam sites, is by compiling multiple consumer reports regarding ripoffs they’ve experienced. This is by far one of the most powerful sites, with probably the biggest database of scams on Earth. If you’re looking to see if that pan that suspiciously looks like a telemarketing sham is really a scam, you can use their search engine to find out! Just type the name and results will pop up.
- Scambook - If you’re looking for something that keeps you updated on the latest scam reports and complaints, you should definitely have a look at Scambook. This is a very powerful rig. It updates you live on new scams regarding products around the world. You could even try to find your business there to see what customers are complaining about (since some of them are a bit too timid to confront you directly). It’s a nice practice for self-improvement.
Either of these two services could also help you speculate on whether you should really sell a product or not. If you’re in the retail industry, this is a blessing! You can always ensure you always have top-notch non-scammy products in stock!
