Before someone can learn how to not fall for a Ponzi scheme, it is needed to know what exactly a Ponzi scheme is. It basically is someone who talks to a person and asks them to invest a sum of money with the promise of a return of that money plus something like 10% interest in 60-90 days. The scam artist takes the money and also asks other people for the same investment. After the time period the scam artist returns the money to the first person and tries to get them to reinvest the money with the same terms. They are hoping because they did get the person the sum told that the initial person will tell their friends to also invest, giving even more money to the scam artist. Eventually the scam artist will either disappear or just tell the investors the deal has gone bad and there will be no return of any funds.

The best way to prevent from falling into a similar trap is to listen to what the person asking you to invest says. If they say you must invest soon or the deal will disappear, it can not be real. No one knows how quick a good return will go away. If they want you to send the money to them, without giving you any kind of information to check beforehand, it’s not real. Any legitimate place will give you all the information you need to check them out. Make sure that before you invest you get a name, address, and phone number and check them all. Many places also have ID numbers given to employees so that you can check for employment verification before sending them money. If none of these match, then it’s a scam. Be careful about sending money to a bank where the money can be transferred out of the country without your knowledge or consent.

Be wary of anything that sounds too good to be true. It probably is if it sounds like it might be. Anyone that promises a guaranteed return in any amount of time is probably not legitimate. There is no such thing as a guaranteed return when it comes to investing money. And on any return there is no guaranteed amount that can be returned. So either promise is someone out to scam you. Common sense goes a long way when it comes to investing money anywhere.