How do I avoid lead generation scams?

Scams wear different costumes but flash the same four tells. Tell one: guaranteed income or guaranteed sign-ups, physically impossible to promise honestly, so the promise itself is the confession. Tell two: pressure, "price expires tonight," because urgency is what companies use when scrutiny would kill the sale. Tell three: fog around lead sources, if they cannot explain plainly where leads come from, the answer would embarrass them. Tell four: no history, no reviews, no track record, no trail. The defense is beautifully simple: slow down and ask questions. How long in business? How are leads generated? What is NOT guaranteed? What support exists after the sale? Real companies love those questions, they win on them. Scammers wilt. Since 1998, we have answered every one with pleasure. Make everybody else do the same.