ProcrastiN8 Top Red Flags to Look Out for to Avoid Online Money-Making Scams

​​Well, fellow procrastin8r, we just turned our clocks back and I know your lazy little self appreciated that beautiful extra hour of sleep. 

It seems like an outdated practice to do that though, quite frankly. I mean, no one likes it. No one even understands why we do it. It’s just something we do.

I’m surprised we don’t have more people up and arms about this whole “clock mandate” thing, crying “You can’t make me! It’s my right!” like they do with masks and vaccines *rolls eyes*.

Don’t get me wrong, if I can take an extra hour in bed, I’ll go ahead and take it, but changing the time on our clocks seems like an unnecessary ritual to perform in order to achieve that. I just stay in bed, if I don’t feel like getting up despite whatever the numbers on the clock say.




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Nonetheless, every fall, we wind our clocks back an hour and it throws our biological clock out of loop for a few days, making us feel tired at odd hours, 

But in less than a week, things get back to “normal” once we adjust to the new schedule. Of course, nowadays our phones just automatically change the time for us and it’s almost unoticeable - the fact that we do change clocks.

Heck, to be honest if it weren’t for the fact that my microwave and oven didn’t automatically change the time, I wouldn’t even notice that we altered the clocks to begin with. Being a lazy bastard myself, I tend to just leave the oven and microwave clock at the wrong time.

I figure they’ll eventually tell the right time if I leave ‘em there long enough. After all, we’ll change our clocks yet again later in the spring.


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Anyway, I’m not here today to go on and on about clock changing today, as that would be a rather boring topic for a blog; I just figured I’d start with an amusing little anecdote. But today I want to once again, dive back into the roots of what this blog was all about and that is of course making money from the couch.

When you’re making money from the couch, you’re naturally going to look to find ways to make money online. 

That can be quite a daunting task because let me warn you folks: there are so many freaking scams out there on the Interwebs. While making money online can be easy, it can be even easier to get scammed and waste your time or even money if you’re not careful.

Now one thing I hate wasting is my time. I don’t mean that in the sense that I like to make every single minute productive. You know damn well I’m not. What I mean is if I am actually going to do (or at least attempt to do) something productive, I want it to be worthwhile. I want to minimize effort and maximize results, baby! That’s what laziness is all about, as I say all the time.

So needless to say, I don’t want to be scammed out of my time or my money, as that requires me to put in effort and get no results in return. Any work I actually do should be worth my time, damnit! Likewise, any money I invest should reap in profit. I don’t want to spend hours and hours doing surveys, downloading games, watching ads, or whatever only to not get any sort of pay out, nor do I want to shell out my wallet only to watch it wash down the drain.

In the time spent on a scam site, I could have been, I don’t know, playing  Dead by Daylight or some shit, then I’d at least, ya know, have fun. It would be *worth* my time for the pure sake of enjoying myself. In the money invested in  a scam site, I could have ordered pizza or something. Cowabunga at least my mouth would be satisfied.

When I say I don’t like wasting my time, I mean to say I don’t like spending time on something that offers no benefit in return for the time that I invest. To clarify even further, I don’t consider lying around doing nothing is “wasting time”, as at least then you’re getting to relax and ease your stress. 

So I hate scams as much as you do. Making me work and put in effort and get nothing in return goes against my lazy mantra.

Making money online *is possible though*. There are apps that pay you to play games. There are websites that pay you to watch videos and take surveys . The problem is, a good chunk of those sites and apps, probably an overwhelming majority, are nothing but a complete scam and waste of time.





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​People will say that making money online is a scam, and to be fair, they aren’t completely wrong. I mean, saying “making money online is a scam” is much like saying “cops kill people”.  It’s a broad statement and certainly not all websites and apps are scammy; just like not all cops are bad killers, but put it this way: there are so many “bad apples” that the entire apple farm is tainted.

In other words, because there are so many scams out there, every online money-making method out there has a bit of a bad rap, even those that are legit.  Now I’m telling you folks, there are legit ways to make money online, and I’ve covered some suggested methods in the past.

But, given the fact that the vast majority of websites and apps out there are gonna try to either waste your time or steal your money, it’s good to have the “know how” in the ability to spot these scams so that you can avoid putting yourself through the hassle of doing extra work only to never be compensated.

It’s worse than working a 9 to 5 job if you get scammed, because at least then you’re getting paid *something* for your hours.

What am I saying here? The whole corporate grind is an entire scam in and of itself! I mean, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You want to escape the 9 to 5 job and make a full time income from home. You’re sick of being a corporate slave and want the freedom to work from home.

Anyway, it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into. Look, I want you to succeed. I want you to build an online income and earn cash the lazy way. I’d hate to see you waste your own time, as much I’d hate to see myself waste mine. After all, we’re in this together. We’re gonna achieve success as procrastin8rs and say together fuck getting a real job.

So, in order to succeed in this whole online money-making thing, you have to be aware of what a scam looks like. After all, if you can avoid wasting your time in a scam, then the time you spend *trying* to make money online will be actually...profitable, because you’ll know you’re using a legit site or app.

Look,  I’ve been making money online for nearly a decade now, and believe me, I’ve seen a lot of bullshit. I mean A LOT of bullshit. I’ve learned the ins and outs of the methods these scammers use to try and steal your time for ad revenue, collect your data for their own monetary gain, or just flat out rip you off.

My bullshit detector is sensitive and I’m able to recognize when a scammer is lurking behind a flashy, appealing design of a website/app.


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But I’m going to save you the time of literal years of experience in online money-making by sharing with you today how to spot a scam.

I wasted my time so you don’t have to. I got scammed so you can avoid falling in the same trap.

Now I could put together a list of names of these scams so you can definitely avoid them, but honestly there are just too many to list. I may provide a few examples, especially if they’re still around, but I’m too lazy to gather every app or website I’ve ever been scammed by.

Many of them are already offline. They got their paycheck, packed their bags, and headed off. And while there are some scams still around, it’s only a matter of time before they close too, or reopen with a different name more accurately stated.

See, because fact of the matter is, scams are ALWAYS going to be out there. When one closes, another soon opens its doors. So not only is creating a list of scams more work/research than I’m willing to do, it’s also quite impractical. It would have to be a list that kept growing bigger and bigger every day.

You don’t want to have to keep checking back on the list as much as I don’t want to have to keep updating it. So rather than making a list of “scams to avoid”, I instead did the lazy thing for us BOTH, by writing “how to avoid scams in the first place”. I basically compiled here today a set of red flags to look out for when it comes to making money online. 

Once you know what red flags to look out for, you’ll be on your way to making money successfully, as you’ll be able to avoid the types of places that’ll have you make money rather UNsuccessfully, to say the least.

So here it is another ProcrastiN8r List! Eight top red flags to look out for to avoid online money-making scams.

And without further ado, let’s dive...right into it!










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​RED FLAG #1:  If It Sounds Too Good to be True, It Probably Is

It’s an old saying, one in which I personally wish I listened to, but it’s true. If you’re being offered riches for seemingly nothing, then there’s probably a catch. And the catch in this case is wasting your time and/or money or even exposing your personal information.

There are apps out there that promise to send you  hundreds of dollars directly to your PayPal account just by downloading a few games, for example. Sounds enticing.

But ya gotta think, what company is going to pay you a couple Benjamins just for a single download? You’re not reviewing it. You’re not testing it for bugs. You’re just downloading it with a click of a button. 

No business person in their right mind is going to pay THAT much for a single download. You’re not that important.

Other sites, like TuneGaGa (SCAM) offer upwards to 40 cents PER video you watch. Like c’mon now get real. No marketer, advertiser, or indie artist in the world, ever, is going to place that much value on a single view on their video. I mean I know you like to think of yourself as some sort of deity, but I’d hate to break it to you, your view ain’t worth that much. It’s just not. Cut dry and simple.

I’ve seen it before over and over. These sites will offer high-paying rates to watch videos BUT in order to qualify to watch videos, you need to pay a membership fee. These membership fees can run you up to hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

It’s nothing but an elaborate ponzi scheme, disguised as some sort of VIP membership. There is no membership. You’re putting funds into a ponzi and getting paid by people that paid into the ponzi after you.


You can earn FREE MONEY online, including by downloading games in legit paying apps like Mistplay, PlaySmart, and Cash Alarm. Likewise, you can watch videos on sites like Swagbucks and InstaGC to make money.  It’s true. But it ain’t gonna make you rich. Not by any means. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Not even close.

But it can be easy money.

Easy money, however, is never LOTS of money. Keep that in mind when you get excited about the marketing schemes that tell you can be rich by playing games or taking surveys or whatever sort of task these apps/sites have you do.










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RED FLAG #2: The Minimum Cash Outs Are Way Too High

Apps that legit pay usually have a cash out minimum of $20 or less. Often, as low as $1. Any of these sites or apps that require something like $50,  $100 or even more to cash out are really just trying to get you to waste your time and earn ad revenue off of the time you do spend on the app/site.

These clever little sleeze balls will have you earning like $10 per game download on your phone. And you’ll be thinking “Wow, I’ll be rich in no time.”

But then reality will smack you in the face. Because what happens is once you reach about $90 in your account balance, then you start earning 1-2 cents per game download. 
And lo and behold the cash out threshold is $100. You literally have to download hundreds of games to reach that.

Usually these high cash out thresholds have you WATCH ADS in order to cash out. Now legit apps do have you watch ads to EARN, but never to cash out. 

And it’s just like  “ph watch this one quick ad to get your cash out.” Oh no! You have to watch dozens upon dozens of ads to “prove you’re real”. Yeah, prove you’re a real idiot for falling for their scam.

Face it, it doesn’t matter how many ads you watch, you’re never getting paid.

Maybe they’ll pay. Maybe they won’t, but they set the cash out threshold so high and make the requirements to cash out so ludicrous (like watching hours worth of ads) in hopes that you just give up and never cash out anyway.

They probably wouldn’t pay you even IF you did jump through all the hoops. But they can just throw out the “the user didn’t meet the minimum requirements” card to cover their asses because they’re banking on the fact you’ll call it quits before you ever reach that point where they would be obligated to pay you anything.

The Google Play Store is full of these shady apps and it sucks that Google, being such a big company and trusted brand name allows shit like that all over their store.

Just be aware that if the cash out is close to the numbers of a regular pay check from a “real job”, it’s a friggin scam and a half, man.














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​RED FLAG #3: If They Use “Reviews” to Vouch for their Legitimacy, They’re Probably NOT Legit

It’s pretty common for a company to brag about their 5 star rating or even use customer testimonials to vouch for their product or service, but there’s a fine line between wanting customers to verify the quality of what you offer and using it as a ruse.

If the company seems a little *too* pushy about how their customers feel about them, well either they’re really insecure or trying to hide something (like the fact that they’re a scam).

It’s okay to mention that people love your product/service, but really going over the top about it is a sure red flag.

Look, people love us. Look, people trust us. You should love and trust us too.

It’s the same tactic psychopaths use to lure people into trusting them. Use other people’s trust  to gain trust. Don’t fall for that bullshit. It’s manipulative.

This also leads us to FAKE reviews. Scam companies will use bots or even hire people to write glowing reviews for them.

You gotta read the reviews. Do you see a pattern in how they’re written? While they may not be exactly copy/paste, they may be using AI like quillbot to reword reviews or use the old fashioned method of using a thesaurus to replace words with similar words. Something you gotta look out for in spotting a fake review.

Does it even sound human? There’s a certain language that real people use in conversation, yet alone reviews online. There’s a certain cadence and dialect people use. Robots can’t seem to pick it up. It quite simply doesn’t sound...natural.

For example, “This is the most amazing app I have ever had the pleasure of downloading. I’m so glad that I have found it. It brings me great joy!” has artificial tone written all over it. Okay. Let’s break that down. Like.. No actual person speaks like that, especially about a friggin mobile app or online website.

Do people a little *too* passionate about how awesome the app/website is? A lot of fake reviews come across as a “love letter” of sorts, as if they’re courting their soulmate, not reviewing a freaking app/website.

“This is truly the most incredible website I ever had the opportunity to find.” a fake review may read.

Like, you also see how that sounds generic, like it could pertain to *any* website or app, not just the one you’re looking at. Be careful of reviews that are too generic sounding as well.




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RED FLAG #4: If You Have to Spend Money to Earn Money, You Probably Won’t Earn Anything

If you have to pay for any sort of subscription or membership, if you have to purchase “ad packs” to qualify for PTC (paid to click) ads, then I can almost guarantee you that you’re looking at a scam point blank.

Now there are a few exceptions to this rule. For example, Better Bits Club is a PTC that requires you to purchase ad packs to earn, but they have been paying for nearly half a decade and still going.

That’s a very rare exception though and in most cases, paying up front means giving away your money to scammers.

And sure, they MAY pay you back *some* of your money. But any day they can just decide to stop paying. You don’t want to take that risk.

Most money-making methods that I use online are FREE to earn. You don’t have to pay to be a member or any sort of hidden fees to make money. You can start for free and can always earn for free.

I mean imagine applying for a job and they tell you that you have to put a deposit down in order to be an employee. They promise that your paycheck will more than compensate for the upfront fee you pay.

You’d be like “Get the fuck outta here. You ain’t takin’ my money!”

Well, it’s the same thing with these online businesses. Don’t let them tell you that you have to PAY money to MAKE money. That’s not how it works










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RED FLAG #5: Support? Psh, You’re On Your Own Kid

One simple way to spot a scam is simply send an e-mail to their support/customer service. Do they get back to you? I mean, does a HUMAN get back to you. I’m not talking about some automated response. Of course, you’re going to get an automated response. But, does a person answer your question?

If not, then you can pretty much write it off as a scam completely. No legitimate company is going to ignore communication from their current or even potential clients.

Now I understand that some start up  companies (who are NOT scams) don’t have the proper systems in place to effectively handle all the support  requests coming in, but I’d say if you still have no reply after a full week, a full week, seven days, that’s plenty of time to get back to you, then they’re probably not ever going to give you any sort of reply and like I said, you can write it off as a scam.

A real company wants to talk to clients; they want to answer questions. They’re not going to ignore you. Slow support is one thing. No support is another. I’m a bit of a sloth myself, so I like to take it slow and I’m a it forgiving when it comes to support taking a while to get back to me.

However, I ain’t gonna tolerate absolutely NO reply at all. That means I’m out. 

Look, if you can’t get a hold of support, that’s such a blaring red flag.

Out of all the companies I’ve gotten scammed by in my years of online money-making, I’d say a solid 100% of them lacked any sort of support.

And by the way, I should mention that many of these companies will have active support for a while, but then one day just disappear.

So let me throw you this: if they stop answering support questions, it’s only a matter of time before they stop paying as well (if they haven’t already stopped already, because chances are you’ll be reaching out about a missing payment).

Damn, I’d go as far as to say if you have to reach out to support about a “Missing Payment”, you already know you’re not going to get an answer and you already know it’s a scam.











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RED FLAG #6: Lack of Updates and/or Social Media Presence means Lack of Pay Outs

If the website hasn’t been updated, no news, no word on social media, nothing for I’d say over a month, then you’re looking at a scam right there.

No legit company is going to disappear like that ever. Legit companies want to have an active presence online. The online space is so important when it comes to marketing and customer relations, as well as brand building, that there’s no reason a legit company would ever forgo that all of a sudden.

Silence speaks loudly and says “WE’RE A SCAM AND NOT PAYING ANYONE ANY MORE!”

Seriously, every single one of these scams, and I mean that, every single one, either deletes their social media accounts or stops posting updates all together, including on their own website.

While I myself find myself guilty of lacking the social media game, as you can see clearly, I keep the site updated and fresh with new content.

Whether it’s blog posts, news, replies on the in-house forum, *something*, there should be a set of regular updates, I’d say at least once a month, minimum.

Otherwise, this demonstrates the company is inactive and being inactive means they took the money and ran.
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RED FLAG #7: Asks for a LOT of Info Before Paying Out

It’s common practice for even legit companies to ask for a name, e-mail address, and maybe phone number, but anything beyond that should be approached with extreme caution.

Oftentimes, scammers will use this as a method to gather your data and sell it (or possibly use it for identity theft).

Be extra careful when you have to fill out your address or other personal information.

While you almost can’t avoid at least providing your e-mail/phone, I’d recommend using a burner e-mail and burner phone number (you can get a free one from Google Voice) just to be used with these apps -- that way your name is never tied to your main email address and phone number. You can even go as far as making an alt account for your social media.

Scam apps will ask for a bunch of information about you immediately upon signing up, like even your current residential address or picture of your ID. They might as well be asking for your social security, bank pin, and Driver’s License number at that point.


It’s kind of like the creepy dude who wants to know where a girl lives before he even knows her name.

Now that said, there are legit apps that require your full name and address and other seemingly confidential information. JustDice, for example,  has a range of apps that pay you to download and play games and are all 100%  legit. They do ask for Face ID using your phone’s camera to verify you're a real person and receive a cash out.

So while it’s not a complete red flag here to be asked personal information, it’s still something to be wary about. Do your research and know who you’re sharing your information with before making that decision to actually share it.

A simple Google search is all you need to do and see if the company is someone you can trust with your personal info.










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RED FLAG #8: They Say They’re NOT a SCAM

All liars will tell you they never lie. 

All cheaters will tell you they will never cheat.

And all scammers will tell you they will never scam.

Seriously, think of major brands and trusted companies like Amazon, Google, McDonald’s Coca-Cola. You don’t see them advertising how they’re not a scam.

They don’t have to. Because they aren’t a scam. It’s a simple as that.

See, a company with any amount of legitimacy to it doesn’t need to sell to you the fact that it’s not a scam. They don’t have to state that at all. They just go about doing their business and in doing so, it becomes very clear that they aren’t a scam. You know why? Because they aren’t! And they ain’t gotta justify it either.

In a legitimate company’s natural practice of business, they’re not going to scam you and they don’t have to say it.

Imagine you go to a store and the minute you walk in the cashier says to you “Don’t worry we’re not gonna scam you.”

You’d be like “What?”

Then they say “We’re not going to use facial recognition to track you and your buying habits then sell your data to other merchandisers.”

You’d be like “yo, I’m gettin’ the fuck outta here.” Then go call the cops or something.

The same principle applies to online business and not just brick and mortar. Saying you won’t do something is sketchy af. It should raise your eyebrows of suspicion whenever a company mentions to you that they’re not trying to rip you off.

Like if a salesman walks up to you and says they aren’t going to try and rip you off,  doesn’t that make you think they’re going to *actually* try and rip you off?

It’s nothing but a pathetic lie and of course our final big red flag





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Wrapping Up

There you have it. The ProcrastiN8  top red flags to look out for to avoid online money-making scams. I hope you find it useful and can begin avoiding the loads of wastes of time that are out there.

Now that you know what to look for, you’ll be less likely to fall victim to a scam and can instead find legit earning methods on your own.

The time you save not getting scammed is time you can use to sleep, play video games, or do whatever you want. Stay lazy, my friend and make that money from the couch.




Take it easy,


N8

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