No brainer.
Before you delve into a business with some entity, you need to know if that entity is trustworthy. Here are a few sites to get you started on that research:
SITES/ORGANIZATIONS:
Better Business Bureau - "Start with Trust"
The Federal Trade Commission - "Protecting America's Consumers"
Scamtypes - not only about business scams -- what to avoid and how to avoid them -- but also about e-mail hoaxes, humor, MLM, security, and a lot more.
ARTICLES:
(Most of these article pages have further resources hyperlinked)
How To Find A Proven Legitimate Online Business - About.com
How Can I Find Out If A Home Business Opportunity Is Legitimate Or A Scam? - About.com
How to Determine if an Online Business is Legitimate - eHow - "How To Do Just About Everything"
How to Check a Company's Legitimacy - eHow
How to Conduct a Business Background Check - Don't Be A Victim.org - "life saving[sic] information at your fingertips" [This last one has got a real problem with it's site. I can't visit any of the links provided on this one page. A shame; there are a lot of other useful re/sources in there].
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You may bookmark the websites above for convenience (I suggest you get a delicious account) or, better yet, *ehem* bookmark this post. =')
Happy Businessing! ='p
