According to the Arizona Republic, both the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have been receiving complains at a much higher rate about fraudulent business opportunities being advertised. In response to the increased number of scams being pitched, the FTC launched a program called “FAL$E HOPE$” in an attempt to protect investors from being scammed.

These pitches are frequently advertised in local newspapers and on the internet. They will come with all sorts of promises about the money you can make and very little detail as to how that money is supposed to be made. Some of the scam artists are even pitching their “business plans” in high-scale places such as hotel ballrooms in an attempt to make you believe that they have gained some sort of wealth from their “system.”

If you were to respond to one of these advertisements, you and a number of other potential victims would be invited to a presentation of the alleged business system or investment strategy. If you actually attended one of the meetings, you would find yourself in the middle of a pep-rally. There would be a lot of excitement and very little substance.

If you find yourself hearing a pitch that just sounds absolutely amazing, head on over to eBay and search for the name of the company. You might be able to find the same material being sold to you for just pennies on the dollar. These are often protest auctions from people who got ripped off by the company and don’t want anyone else to suffer their fate.

Don’t get pulled into one of these “business opportunities.” If the idea or system was extremely profitable, the people pitching them would be making use of the system to make money, not trying to sell the idea to other people!

Business Scams Heat Up as Economy Cools Down was created by and is property of American Consumer News.