Anything involving with your money should be scrutinized well. Like any astute banker or creditor, you must check the credibility of those asking you to invest your hard earned money to their investment proposal. With so much scam online, it's quite hard to trust easily. In fact, it can be downright suicide if you lose your sense of skepticism. You have to always do due diligences in everything that involves your money. Don't be a guinea pig for mistakes that others will learn from.

One common investment proposal that you will find littering your inbox is penny stock offers. They are very persuasive and if you don't think with your mind, you will easily fall to their trap of absurd return claims and ultra convincing testimonials. It gets worse if you don't have basic financial literacy or if you do not know anything about the stock market. You will easily fall into the trap and lose your money.

Well then, how can you tell if it's a scam? Easier said than done, really. But there are some common signs you can look out for:

The first sign are guaranteed returns and absurd return claims. Stocks are risky investments. In fact, among the investment products pyramid, they are right at the top. So definitely, there are no guaranteed success rates. The only things guaranteed with stocks are volatility and risk. Returns in stocks are the highest among investments because of the high risk. But absurd returns are phony. If such returns were true, the odds of someone achieving that is like someone hitting the jackpot prize. You can only make true money on stocks by investing long term just like how Warren Buffet did. He's not the greatest investor for nothing.

Second, scams usually say the deals are for a limited time only and the investment price is very cheap. This makes you think the coast is clear and you will be getting a bargain. But once again, not doing due diligence on any investment is the biggest risk you can take. You can lose all your money in that single lapse of judgment.

These offers also try to persuade you with their glittering success stories. Again, this is one strategy that never gets old in tricking people into the scam. You should research these claims carefully. In fact, ask the company to provide proof of their claims.

So how can you tell which penny stock offers are scams? It's not easy; but it's not that hard either. Don't be gullible; don't be easily fooled. Verify the stock's authenticity, and the credibility of the broker or promoter touting it. Check their company records, which ought to be available online; if they're not forthcoming with their information, then there's something wrong. Make sure the company offering the shares has legitimate state and federal licenses to do business. Always double-check to see if such companies are registered with the SEC.

No one should be able to pressure you into investing you, and you alone, shall make the decision. Before you accept an offer, make doubly sure it's not something too good to be true. Because chances are, it is. Success doesn't often happen overnight. In fact, with stock trading, it's as uncertain as choosing heads or tails. Take your pick, but beware of the outcome.