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Why People Are Falling For Fake Gurus Online?

By admin On March 6, 2022
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Social media platforms are replete with scam artists disguising themselves as experts in their chosen niches. They are self-proclaimed gurus who claim to have unlocked the secrets to solving whatever problem people are struggling with. While they cast their nets in different industries, it’s the “make money online” niche where most of these so-called gurus operate. The most concerning thing is that people actually fall hook line and sinker for these scams. The realization hits them hard because they are a few thousand dollars poorer and none the wiser. There’s an industry built around this so there will always be a sucker born every minute. Don’t be part of those statistics. Here are some useful tips on how to avoid being scammed by fake gurus. 1. Learn to recognize a fake guru Fake gurus are essentially manipulative marketers who are using shady tactics to lure people into subscribing to a certain belief or idea. They will first establish themselves as successful entrepreneurs who have amassed wealth by using a method that they claim to have discovered by themselves or learned from a mentor. They will build up their reputation and show social proof that they are legit. They will put out tons of content on YouTube or Instagram talking about their business and how they want to share their knowledge and expertise to you so that you can replicate their success. The content is a mix of motivational videos, rags-to-riches stories, and flexing. By flexing, we mean showing off the fruits of their labor—Lamborghinis, private jets, mansions, pool parties, wads of cash, and trips to exotic places. They’ll make you believe that because of their success, they can afford these expensive things, and if you follow their lead, you too can be successful. But the reality is the supercars and jets are rentals; the mansions are Airbnb; the pool parties are staged; and the wads of cash are just for show. Any real successful entrepreneur who’s worth his salt would know to invest in assets and not in liabilities. These fake gurus are just unscrupulous marketers waiting for their next victim. They don’t have the business savvy to build a multi-million empire using legitimate means so they resort to schemes. Fake gurus create personas that have characteristics and experiences that are relatable. You will recognize similarities in these personas among these fake gurus: Younger than 35 years old Quit their 9-to-5 jobs Drowning in debt Sick and tired of living from paycheck to paycheck Have mentors Use their last money to enroll in their mentors’ courses Grew up poor Didn’t go to college (or didn’t finish college) Dream of traveling the world That’s how their “life stories” usually start but you’ll soon notice the progression when they start to reveal their earnings. Of course, the figures would vary among gurus, but they’re all insanely high. They would claim that they are earning six-figure income monthly and they have the receipts. They would show checks or screenshots of their earnings or they would log on to their PayPal or bank account and show their balance in real-time. And here’s the kicker, they would say that they are not doing it to brag but to motivate you. 2. Learn to reconize the scam Fake gurus will continue to build trust with their audience by creating more free content. They will try to be in the viewers’ good graces by offering free tutorials, holding free webinars, and giving away free e-books in exchange for e-mails. Now that the fake gurus have the e-mails in their possession, they can get the scam into high gear. They will offer mentorship programs, masterclass courses, one-on-one coaching, invites to an exclusive group, and other seemingly legitimate products designed to make you succeed and become rich beyond your wildest dreams. What they are offering doesn’t come cheap. The price can range from $2000 to $10,000 depending on how greedy the fake guru is. Some courses are a one-time payment and some follow a monthly subscription model. The scam works this way. If you sign up for a course, you’ll get training materials, video tutorials, webinars, and access to exclusive content. However, you’ll soon find out that it’s just an introductory course. It’s underwhelming, to say the least. The meaty part of the course is available on the next course which you have to pay for separately. So from that alone, you’ve already been scammed. Why? You are offered something under false pretenses. You paid for a complete course only to find out that it’s not complete. So you’d be forced to take the next course and the next until however long it takes to finish the program. By then you might have spent thousands of dollars that you can never get back. It doesn’t stop there, because the fake gurus will keep you reeled in. And because you want to be as successful as your guru, you’d keep paying just to finish the program. Essentially, fake gurus are selling you get-rich-quick products. They don’t work because they are not really designed to work. And if you point out the failure of the product, they’ll just offer you new products and courses. It’s a never-ending scam. 3. Be suspicious of fake gurus vanity metrics on social media Fake gurus love vanity metrics—page views, likes, followers, subscribers, and other flashy metrics that give the impression of growth and success. They are leveraging these vanity metrics to make themselves appear more successful than they really are. If they can convince people that they are successful and influential, they can sell their get-rich-quick scam. Another reason why they love vanity metrics is that they can easily be manipulated. In fact, there’s a black market for buying and selling fake views, comments, likes, subscribers, and followers. Being the con artists that they are, fake gurus buy followers and subscribers on a regular basis to build up their social media clout. What the fake gurus are actually doing is gaming the system so that they would be the picture of success on social media so that they can keep scamming people. The best way to avoid fake gurus from scamming you is to know how they behave in social media and how they operate the scam. Fake gurus share a general profile or persona. They do whatever it takes to maintain that fake persona even if it means faking their credibility, gaming the system, and manipulating data. If your favorite gurus or online marketers start exhibiting these behaviors, run for the hills!