Due Diligence Toolkit – Table of Contents
Fortunes made (and lost) online…………………………………………………………………………. 7
Why? What makes the difference?…………………………………………………………………… 7
What you’ll learn here can be used to evaluate……………………………………………… 7
First of all, let’s look at the site…………………………………………………………………………… 8
Before you start, disengage those excitable emotions…………………………………. 8
Does the site ‘look trustworthy’ to you?…………………………………………………………. 9
Location: Where are they based?…………………………………………………………………… 11
Ownership: Does the site identify the owner?…………………………………….. 11
Support: Do they answer their emails?……………………………………………………. 12
Phone them to verify the number……………………………………………………………… 12
Do they have a public forum?…………………………………………………………………….. 13
Do you really understand their business?……………………………………………… 13
What is the source of their income?…………………………………………………………. 14
Join their mailing list first…………………………………………………………………………….. 14
Secondly, let’s see what others are saying about the program…………….. 15
Dig deep in the search engines…………………………………………………………………. 15
Okay, why did we go through that search example?……………………… 17
How to get fewer SERPs (search engine results pages)……………….. 17
Check with the Better Business Bureau?………………………………………………. 19
Is it listed on RipOffReport.com ?……………………………………………………………. 19
or at Scam.com ?………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20
Is it paying? See what the MONITORING sites say………………………… 20
HYIP monitoring & voting sites…………………………………………………………… 21
Surf monitoring & voting sites………………………………………………………………. 21
What are the BLOGGERS saying?…………………………………………………………… 21
Find out what the FORUMS are saying…………………………………………………. 22
Any recent troubles with database/servers/etc?………………………………… 27
Talk to someone who is already in the business…………………………………. 27
Finally, let’s get a bit technical (but it’s easy enough)…………………………… 28
Use the ‘WHOIS’ database to check the accuracy of their claims… 28
If the dates don’t agree……………………………………………………………………………… 29
Domain ownership & IP addresses………………………………………………………….. 29
What’s an IP address?……………………………………………………………………………….. 29
And why does this IP stuff this matter anyway?………………………………….. 30
Reverse IP……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 31
The most important diversification advice of all?……………………………………. 31
What I mean by “HYIPs”………………………………………………………………………… 32
What is a “ponzi” ?…………………………………………………………………………………….. 33
Why do their monthly returns vary?…………………………………………………….. 34
Commonsense investment strategies……………………………………………………………. 34
Start with an amount that won’t cause hardship if you lose it all….. 34
Don’t make a business decision for a non-business reason……………. 35
Cash out every week/month………………………………………………………………………. 35
Don’t be fooled by the trimmings……………………………………………………………… 35
Avoid anybody offering crazy deals………………………………………………………….. 35
Don’t invest in very new programs…………………………………………………………… 36
Use Liberty Reserve or PerfectMoney rather than credit cards……… 36
Remember that high risk goes with high yield…………………………………….. 36
Aim to recover your initial costs a.s.a.p…………………………………………………… 36
Profit-take………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 36
Do not keep large balances in payment processors……………………………. 37
Don’t withdraw tiny amounts…………………………………………………………………….. 37
Diversify (and there are different ways to diversify)…………………………… 37
1) Diversify into several different programs……………………………………….. 37
2) Diversify into several different classes of programs…………………… 38
3) Diversify into several different rates of return……………………………… 38
4) Diversify into several different payment processors………………….. 38
Don’t over-rely on ‘paperwork’…………………………………………………………………… 39
Pay into the low risk programs from your high risk programs………… 39
Look out for the greed factor………………………………………………………………………. 39
Appendix section………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 40
Belize: Is that company really registered in Belize?……………………………. 40
BusinessWeek: Doing business research online………………………………… 40
Compounding: When should I compound my earnings?………………… 41
Computers: Getting your computer questions answered…………………. 42
Country: What country is that website hosted in ?…………………………….. 42
Credit cards: Exchangers that accept credit cards…………………………….. 42
Domain age: How old is this website ?…………………………………………………… 42
Due Diligence Toolbar – Free……………………………………………………………………. 43
LibertyReserve: If your first login attempt fails……………………………………. 44
Financial safety: Keeping your finances safe online…………………………… 44
Fraud: All kinds……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 47
Index funds: An option worth exploring………………………………………………… 48
Investigating: Web detective………………………………………………………………………. 48
IP address: Two ways to discover a site’s IP…………………………………………. 48
Percentages: A higher % won’t necessarily earn you more……………… 48
Phone calls & phone numbers…………………………………………………………………… 49
Ponzis & pyramids: Warning signs………………………………………………………….. 49
Public records search engine……………………………………………………………………… 50
Predicting: How long will this business last? (general principles). 50
Predicting: How long will this HYIP last?…………………………………………….. 51
Quote: The opening quote from Peter Hildreth………………………………….. 52
Recommended programs: Don’t join them!…………………………………………… 53
How to identify the good guys?…………………………………………………………………. 53
Research tool: To collect your research snippets, FREE…………………. 53
Risks: Understanding the risks of doing business online………………… 53
Incompetence………………………………………………………………………………………………. 54
New competition………………………………………………………………………………………… 54
Growth……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 54
Dishonesty…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 55
Safe surfing:……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 55
Add this plugin to your Firefox……………………………………………………………… 55
FREE software to protect your computer………………………………………….. 55
Scammed:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 56
How to avoid getting scammed…………………………………………………………….. 56
If you’ve been scammed, where to report it……………………………………… 57
Scammer: Confession of a rich scammer…………………………………………………. 57
Spillover: It’s never worked for me…………………………………………………………… 59
Shills: Beware of paid testimonials……………………………………………………………. 60
Traffic stats: Easy way to get a site’s traffic stats………………………………… 60
Two roads to successful investments………………………………………………………. 61
When should you join a program?…………………………………………………………….. 64
When is “too early”?………………………………………………………………………………………. 65
When is “too late”?…………………………………………………………………………………………. 65
