You've seen the headlines that read, "Make Money in Your Sleep" or "Make Money in Your Pajamas at Your Kitchen Table". They often promise overnight success, and a lifestyle filled with expensive sports cars, fabulous homes in exotic locations, and even photos of yachts.Let's be sure about one thing as we investigate the issues. Not all "make money schemes" are "make money scams". There obviously are many thousands of companies and millions of people from every walk of life that somehow depend on the Internet to turn a buck. The eBays, Amazons, and Googles of the online world are hard evidence of the possibilities and a testament to the facts.Yes, it is true that some of us can be fortunate enough to work virtually just about anywhere in the world and using the Internet and world Wide web to make money. And yes, it is true that you do not necessarily have to be computer savvy, or even own one website to make an income online.At the time of the writing of this article, we can also recognize that when the economy turns for the worse, almost anyone looking for a job, or a way to improve their lot in life will at least consider the various options of how to make money online. This article, however, is focused on the somewhat dubious area of business online known as the Make Money Online niche. We also will consider the lingering questions of: at whose expense, at what cost, and what is the true measure of success?

            History has proven that there has always been swindlers and hapless victims. They are the masters of deception and most of the time we are their willing suspects, prospects, and customers. It is human nature to want to get something for nothing, win the lottery, inherit a fortune, or profit from some other form of financial windfall.This then is fertile ground for the confidence game. These swindles are also known as a bunko, con, flim flam, gaffle, grift, hustle, scam, scheme, and bamboozle. They are highly successful attempts to defraud someone by gaining their confidence. Victims in the trade are known as the mark. The trickster is the con man or con artist, and accomplices are known as shills. In this same manner Internet Gurus exploit the human characteristics of desperation, fear, and greed to victimize people from all walks of life.It would seem that both the perpetrators and the victims still enjoy a good scam.

            The con man (or woman) of the day is cut from the same cloth of the snake oil salesman of yesteryear. There has always been scams, and probably always will be. The rules of the game are nearly always the same, it's just that the players and the modus operandi changes from time to time. Not only do we tolerate being scammed, sometimes the scammers are held in high esteem and often heralded as experts.Today these pitchmen are also known as the "Internet Gurus". These self-styled hucksters have an iron grip on the newest elements of e-commerce. However, they are by no means confined to indexed pages on a search engine. They often combine the tried and true techniques, of direct mail, email marketing, classified ads, and ads found in periodicals, newspapers and the back of magazines, along with radio ads, and polished infomercials found on television to boot.

           The dream of working online is possible. Just be wary of the online con game. Many would be successful online entrepreneurs will find their way by trial and error. Are you a work-at-home-mom? Someone just looking to earn some extra cash? By all means investigate the potential of creating some online income.Many people now enjoy a passive income from promoting affiliate networks like ClickBank, and other legitimate online income schemes like pay-per-click and pay per action models, along with more traditional forms of advertising. You can even create and sell you own product or service online.Internet marketing and online income opportunities are always in a state of flux and the Internet is still very much in its infancy.

            Popular programs like Google AdSense did not even exist a few short years ago. So get started, take action, and learn something new every day in your quest to get started online.Working online is possible for most people, but it's not about get rich quick schemes, and it's not about pushing a few buttons on your computer to watch the cash roll in. Just like any worthwhile pursuit it requires a new working knowledge and new skill-sets. These are all things that can be learned. So you see..."make money schemes" do not have to be shady and a "scheme" can simply be a proven method to implement an online plan of action.In fact, once you find the money-making scheme that suits your needs and working style, you will most likely find the success online that you have been dreaming about.Vincent Malatrait actually does work on the Internet, and online from France for a major Swiss Corporation selling marketing and advertising services. He also is known online by his alter ego "Simon The Scammer", which he created to make fun of the "Make Money Online" marketing clique.Vincent has studied the so-called experts and gurus that hide behind the guise of a computer screen. These are the online marketers using names like Mr X, Mr J, Mr B, etc. in their mostly useless reports to reveal some sort of secret information that is not supposed to be released to the general public.