Unfortunately, some of the biggest offenders are Web sites that pay for high placement in search results on Google and other sites. Many also appear as "sponsored links" on reputable Web sites that support Google advertising, including Ancestry.com and even this site. This makes it appear the fraudulent site is being endorsed by the Web site on which it appears, although that is generally not the case. Therefore, before you provide anyone with credit card details or payment, check out the site and its claims to see what you can learn. There are a number of things you can do to identify and protect yourself from online genealogy scams.
Some may argue that such genealogical software and services do offer value because they do some of the work for you -- which is fine as long as they accurately represent their product. Before you purchase any genealogy product or service, take time to research their claims and look for some type of money-back guarantee.
