How to Find Out If a Company Is a Fraud?

Not all companies are legitimate.

Not all companies are legitimate. Some are just out to defraud you of your hard earned money. Before you do business with a company you aren't familiar with, you need to make sure that is operating legitimately. There are several ways you can check the company out to find out if anyone has ever been scammed or ripped off by the company before.

Instructions

1. Gather as much information as you can on the company in question. You can begin checking on the company by first making sure that the telephone number, physical address and email address are genuine.

2. Check out the company with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). You can use the company's website URL, telephone number, email address or physical address to find results on the company. The BBB will list any complaints of fraud that have been filed.

3. Navigate to the Ripoff Report website (see Resources) and type the name of the company in the Search box. Ripoff Report will list all consumer complaints against the company. You can read through them to determine whether the company committed any type of fraud in the past.

4. Check out the company's license if applicable. For example, plumbers and carpenters are licensed by the state in which they work. If the license isn't real, the plumber or carpenter may just be out to scam you.

5. Call your local Community Affairs Department if the company is locally based. The Community Affairs Department works similarly to the way that the BBB works. All complaints are recorded and open to the public.

Tips & Warnings

• Listen to your gut feeling. If you get a bad feeling about a company, don't trust it.

• The FBI recommends only dealing with reputable dealers and establishments.

• Beware of any company that uses a post office box as its physical address.

• Flashy and well put together websites aren't indicators that a company is legitimate.

References

• FBI: Internet Fraud

Resources

• Ripoff Report: Search a Company
• Better Business Bureau: Check a Business