Be Cautious When Labeling Something a Scam
There is no doubt that scams are on the rise. The sheer number of websites or blogs that are created every week are bound to increase the scams that come along with them. Unfortunately, it's a number's game.
And scammers often regroup and form another website after the scam has run its course. They create a new website with a new concept, and may even use a different name and photo. This is common for them to use this technique.
The Scam Watch website of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, reports that 2017 showed a rise in the overall number of scams.
But, even if you identify a website or a company that you feel is a scam, you may want to refrain from calling it one.
The word "scam" is a legal term. It's essentially an accusation. If you claim something or someone is a scam, you are putting it out there for all to see. You have declared it as such and everyone knows.
Everyone, including lawyers. It doesn't take much for owners of a website to file a claim against you. Don't think this doesn't happen because it does all the time. Lawyers will latch onto cases such as these because they see big payouts. They often will do it for free for their clients in exchange for a piece of the settlement.
Where Does That Leave You?
Part of your service to your readers may be to alert them of the most recent scams. By refraining from calling something a scam, it takes away that portion of your business model. It could even be the portion that gains you the most attention.
What Do You Do?
One solution is to ignore it and hope you never get sued. This will likely work in the beginning when your website isn't known. However, when you start gaining traction with your website, you can take it to the bank that others will start noticing. If you are talking smack about a company and/or person, they won't take that sitting still. They will react.
A better solution is to forget about calling something a scam. Simply state that it isn't something you would choose to get involved or associate yourself with. You can then specify the reasons why. Try to keep the reasons as general as possible.
You can further your discussion by pointing to others who have had problems with the person or company (scammer). Let those other bloggers take the fall. You are simply pointing out that others are not happy and have had problems, etc. Here again, try to keep your commentary down to a minimum.
Switch Your Focus
Personally, a more harmonious approach is to seek out companies that are good rather than looking for the ones that are bad. If you portray an ethical, high-profile company and you report on the benefits of the company, the owner(s) will appreciate you and will add you to their white list. For obvious reasons, this is much better than being on their black lists.
This approach will be popular with readers. They will view you as someone who is open to establish great relationships. The web is interconnected by its nature. These interconnections work to help each other out when people play nice. If you are contentious and feed the negative engine, people get defensive and can strike some damage to your name and your wallet.
You Don't Have to Lie
Being harmonious doesn't mean you should sugarcoat what you write. If you disagree with someone, state your reasons why. But, do it tactfully and with respect. Offer them the chance to rebut what you say and give them the opportunity to change if they are wrong. Most people will appreciate constructive criticism. Be prepared when it happens to you as well. If you can't take it, don't dish it, as they say.
Sometimes, a good way to challenge someone's opinion is to ask questions about what they wrote. This gives them the opportunity to expand on their thoughts and it may even get them to explore the topics further. They will then realize where they went wrong.
Another possibility is they may be correct. Further insight may help you see where they were going with their idea. It may be that they just didn't express it as well as they should have. By bringing it to the surface, you will help them make it right.
Always be willing to reach out to someone directly before writing any kind of negative commentary about them. If the subject matter is sensitive, you may want to do this privately. Give them time to respond. If they simply ignore you or enough time passes, then feel free to point out their mistakes. You should always remain respective, however.
Write About Others What You
Would Have Them Write About You
If you are writing something controversial for the sole purpose of getting views to your blog or website, stop and think about how you would feel if the same were written about you. If, instead, you are writing because you want to help your readers stay safe, that is at least a better approach. It still pays to go through the previous ideas that I wrote about.
What you post on the web will stay on the web forever. Even when you post something on your own blog and later delete it, there will still be some remembrance of it. You never know who took a screen print of a page or post, etc. Besides, Google saves archived copies of many pages over time. Just take a look at previous snapshots of your website at archive.org. The takeaway is whatever you write cannot be retracted.
If You Must Write About Scams...
Hey, maybe you have no intention of changing your business model. You may even be making enough money with your website to hire the best lawyers to handle any lawsuits that may arise from your actions. If so, great or you!
However, if you don't have access to a team of lawyers then consider creating a round up of scams instead of coming up with your own list. Doing this, you are only reporting about the scams. You aren't identifying them yourself. The onus is on the other writers at that point, and you can still give your readers the information they need to keep safe.
A Fairly Safe Way To Profile Scams
To continue with the idea of using scam round ups, use government websites that report on scams. It would be difficult for any lawyer to come after you directly for doing this. Let the lawyers attempt to sue governments for identifying scams (good luck with that!) In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission is always on the lookout for the latest scam. There are other government watchdog groups as well. Piggyback off what they wrote.
Not Everything Is a Scam That Is Labeled As Such
Too often, I see reviews written about products or services that are called scams. The problem is they aren't scams. They may not make people any money or they cost too much. But, these are not reasons enough to call something a scam.
You can't simply label a training program that costs $10,000 as a scam. I personally don't believe anyone needs to pay that much for training, especially when it relates to starting a business online. For $10,000, you could hire a company that helps people with online businesses. This would include all the advertising, website designs, logos, etc. I know companies who do this kind of work and it doesn't cost nearly that much. But, again, that doesn't make the training company a scam necessarily.
Conclusion
I believe establishing positive relationships is a better approach than making enemies. Your enemies have friends who will help spread the negative word about you. Even when you are right, others will see you as fostering negative energy and causing trouble. Here is a quote from Benjamin Franklin that may put the situation into perspective:
