The Internet is overrun with scams borne from greed and a lack of ethics and honesty among some of our fellow marketers. The old adage, “when you see something that’s too good to be true, it probably is,” should be in the back of your thought process every time you see a “can’t miss” proposal as you’re surfing through the net.

But, while the Internet has its ethics problems, it also contains marketers who make tons of money, but do so with the utmost ethical values and attempt to help others along the way. In other words, making money online and greed can be mutually exclusive. If we wait long enough, we can tell the difference  between the two.

Those who use Internet marketing out of greed will eventually slip away. We may have to deal with them again under another name, but they’ll probably return with the same old greedy morals. Those of us who practice honesty and high ethics will remain as an example of all that integrity can accomplish.

Just as there are shady Internet marketers – there are also toxic Internet customers. These are a type of predator who wants something for nothing. They’ll purchase your product and then almost immediately call you a “scammer” and demand a refund. Don’t be swayed by these individuals – especially if you’ve offered a good product at a reasonable price.

Take the high ground — refund their money and continue down the road of Internet success. And remember, for each one of these negative moochers, there will be ten customers who will praise your work and inspire you to move on and create more.

Many Internet marketing ethics problems may arise because there are so few set limits (or regulations) about what you can and can’t get away with on the Internet. Those without integrity assume that if there’s no rule against something, then there are no holds barred. This affects all of us who attempt to run an Internet business with high values and honesty.

As the Internet grows in popularity and usability, it’s important that we develop some rules and guidelines that will serve us just as law enforcement serves our communities.Think about the enormous amount of information that we post on the Internet every day. Besides verbiage, there are archives of video, films and even audio that can be stored into infinity. This information can even be accessed from a cell phone, raising new questions of privacy and security.

Illegal and scamming Internet marketing is rampant and it will become increasingly difficult to decipher an honest marketer from one who is attempting to produce a shoddy product and then take your money and run. Now is the time when ethics and morals on the Internet should be carefully considered – especially for the future.

As you’re reading this article, thousands of new marketers are launching a business on the Internet, with no idea of the rules and their responsibility to uphold the integrity and honesty of their business. There are codes of ethics, such as the AMA (American Marketing Association) have posted on the Internet, but newbies aren’t required to read them, and there are no laws that uphold the ethical and professional conduct that the AMA advocates. (You can read the AMA Code of Ethics here ).

It’s vitally important that we all become participants in following this code of ethics to uphold the dignity of the Internet marketing profession. If we band together and live by what we know are rules of ethical conduct, we’ll better serve our customers. Some general rules in the AMA’s Code of Ethics include:

Follow rules and regulations that ensure that your customers receive an honest and fair-value product for their money.

Represent yourself and your product accurately.

Never present the work of others (in whole or in part) as your own work and benefit from it by compensation of any sort.

Respect the privacy of others in regard to accounts, passwords or any other private information.

Internet marketers who are merely out to make a buck consider the Internet as set apart from a society that must adhere to laws. As ethical internet  marketers, we should make it perfectly clear to others (especially newbies) that the internet is fast becoming a component of society and we owe it to ourselves and others to shape its control and content by setting high values. If not, it will surely come back to haunt us.

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