What are the risks involved in earning money online?##Sathish

Dear Tech2, I am really interested in making some additional money online during my holidays. I surfed through the Internet and found dozens of websites which say “Just read the emails and make money”. Are there any type of scams involved? One such site called Rupeemail.com looks legit. Do you know anything about the website? What are the other means to make money online? Awaiting your reply.

Sathish

Hello Sathish. Making money on the Internet is definitely a nice and easy way to get an additional income. But think about it yourself—is it really worth it raising your electricity bills and wasting precious time surfing the Internet waiting and reading the emails on these websites to earn a few rupees or paise per email? You could try it out if you must, but before that just note down the amount of time and money you are investing in it and the income you are gaining at the end of it all. If the income is higher, you should go for it and nobody can stop you. But there are other consequences that you should consider —health risks by continuously sitting in front of the computer, rising electricity bills, Internet bills and computer maintenance/upgrade expenses that can cost you more than you actually earned from it, losing out on actual life and changes around you, and many such more instances.

It’s always a bit of a risk, make sure you’re well prepared. Image Source

Also, do consider—what if you are actually making a good amount of money and at the end of five months, you put in a claim for the amount and the company decides not to pay up? What if there were some fine prints, which would finally get you a lower amount than what you thought? In some cases, you might even be rather surprised to find that the company doesn’t exist anymore. Another possibility is TDS being chopped and the amount you finally get might be less than what you spent on it.

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Finally, the risks involved in clicking on these websites are virus, malware and spyware attacks, which can cost you your data too. Also, don’t forget that you have your email sent across to each ad that you clicked on, which in turn updates their database to know your browsing habits and also fill up your mail box with spam. Hence, I would suggest that you invest your valuable time doing something more productive rather than wasting it in something that is not 100 percent trustworthy. You can also start your own blog or website, which can also make money in the longer run. Don’t forget one thing though—each ad you click on earns you just 2 to 10 percent of what the website actually earns. I did a short survey recently and learned that you gain just Rs 0.10 to Rs 0.25 per ad while some ads need you to register yourself on their service to make you earn around Rs 2 to Rs 10.

If you like writing, you could look into freelance work for websites where you could earn a decent amount of extra money and be assured of payment, even if it is a bit late sometimes. The Internet is a great place to make a little extra cash, but like any investment you make, there’s always a risk. Be smart, do your research and you can make a decent living with the Internet as a medium.