01. Sales pitches cloaked in mystery
Online learning can be a thief’s cloak, with the course containing little educational material and value and instead serving as a sales presentation replete with commercial advertising. The course is a ruse to induce you to buy an often unrelated product or service via advertising and regular email exchanges.
According to one anonymous responder to a CPD Standards Office poll, “I paid to attend a training conference that I thought would genuinely give me some training in beauty and aesthetics for my practice.” However, it was a buy, buy, buys session for Botox and chemical peel goods.”
According to Amanda Rosewarne, chief executive of the CPD Standards Office, “to avoid online scams like this, people should look for training courses listed with many learning objectives and seek out independent review sites such as Trustpilot.”
02. False Credentials
Scammers who promise professional certifications are easy to fall for. They entice you by selling you a course but then fail to offer the necessary certificate or license.
“I’m concerned by the number of online courses offering training in areas that cross over into highly regulated fields, such as ‘diploma in child development’ or ‘diploma in cognitive behavioral therapy,” says Dr. Emma Woodward, a New Zealand-based educational psychologist.
“These courses allude to having more gravitas than what they offer, which is both unethical and dangerous, as applying to real people requires more than a few PDFs online.”
03. Employment assurances
“There are several ‘professional coaching organizations’ we have encountered that promise to forward clients to you upon completion of their, usually very expensive, coaching ‘qualification,” said Rosewarne of the CPD Standards Office.
“In this case, the course isn’t the issue; it’s just that the clients, business development opportunities, or guaranteed financial guarantees promised at the point of sale don’t materialize, leaving people unsure how to make a living or develop a business using their new skill set.”
It is vital to conduct due diligence. “In these times of change and uncertainty, unscrupulous providers are on the rise,” writes Robert Clarke, managing editor of Learning News. Recognized training and continuing education assist purchasers to avoid con artists and scams and buy with more confidence.”
04. colleges and academies that do not exist
“When registering an organization at Companies House, the words ‘college’ and ‘academy’ is unprotected,” Rosewarne notes. As a result, anyone can create an online learning course linked to a bogus education center. There are two common types of online fraud. Before liquidating the organization, the scammers charge for an expensive and prestigious course. Alternatively, purchasers are tricked into long-term membership obligations that are impossible to cancel, despite the fact that the content is frequently freely available elsewhere.
“Make sure it is a well-known provider and double-check it with a phone call,” says Hilarie Owen, CEO of the Leaders’ Institute. “Do not spend any money until you have checked.”
05. Rogue meetings
Scammers use the identities of famous academics, corporate executives, and talking heads to advertise and sell tickets for fraudulent global conferences. Supposed keynote speakers will “cancel at the last minute,” only to be replaced by lower-quality substitutes.
A Trustpilot ConferenceSeries Review exemplifies this problematic method. “In October 2019, I attended the fifth International CAM Conference in Vancouver.” Only a few speakers turned up, while the others were either denied visas or had health problems. Complete fabrication.” Originally, 44 names were advertised, but only four speakers attended, and no one from the organization was there. “I wish I had checked before registering,” adds the critic.
06. Online learning courses of poor quality
“This online scam involves a brief overview course for a low fee, usually £50 or less, with what we call skimpy content,'” explains Rosewarne. “Buyers will face heavy promotion and sophisticated digital marketing tricks when attempting to purchase a subsequent, more expensive course, which could cost £1,000 or more.” These courses frequently lack engagement and are ‘chalk-and-talk’ lectures with little practical application.”
Act Naturally director Simon de Cintra concurs. “Professional training providers understand that reputation is critical to long-term success and actively encourage well-informed purchasing at every stage,” he says, cautioning people to study reviews before purchasing.
07. Online learning for free
Not only are numerous free online learning courses offered by charlatans a waste of time, but the ostensibly expert advice they provide is frequently inadequate and hence possibly damaging. “This learning often focuses on a specific topic, such as beauty aesthetics, child mental health support, or IT engineering technical training,” Rosewarne explains. “Most of the time, the authors have had a single fluke online success and are not at all experts in the topic.”
Jo Cook, the founder, and director of Lightbulb Moment, agrees. “A lot of people are jumping on the COVID-19 bandwagon, either as a scam or with little expertise in how to provide quality remote courses and live online sessions,” she claims. “Make sure to go with a company that has years of experience behind them.”
