Don’t Fall Victim to Scams

By Michele Blandino

Wherever you go, there they are: advertisements promising you can make $500 a week – to start – working at home. No training required. For many, the temptation to trade in the drudgery of the 9-to-5 for one of these “terrific opportunities” is too great, particularly among women looking for a way to contribute to the family’s bottom line while still being available for the kids.

But before you draft that letter of resignation, there are a few things you should know.

Scams Abound

Work-at-home scams have been around for a long time. Want proof? There’s an episode of the 1950’s television classic “Leave it to Beaver” in which Beaver and his brother Wally attempt to sell bottles of foul-smelling perfume so they could buy a coveted movie projector. Unbeknownst to our heroes, their mother "arranged" for her friends to buy enough perfume for the boys to earn the projector. But alas, when the projector finally arrived, it did not come close to meeting Wally and the Beaver’s expectations.
Fortunately, the technological abilities of the Internet have allowed us to move on to more pleasant (aromatic and otherwise) ways to make a living while working at home. Unfortunately, these very same technological advances have made it even easier for unscrupulous people to scam the would-be home worker.

How many types of scams are out there?

Go to the search engine of your choice and type ‘work at home’ in the search box. My search engine returned over 5.7 million hits. Now, that’s not to say that each listing returned should be regarded as suspect, but suffice it to say, extreme caution should be exercised.

Working the Audience

The people behind these scams know what they’re doing. They spend countless hours monitoring Internet message boards and discussion lists frequented by people interested in working from home, then post well-written messages that present job opportunities that appear to be legitimate and lucrative.

First clue: if a job advertisement sounds too good to be true, it is. Many of these advertised jobs are pyramid schemes: the person responding to an advertisement for employment is convinced to buy a “kit” which includes instructions for recruiting even more people into the “enterprise.”

Second clue: if the job requires you to pay for a kit, instructions or training, it is probably not legitimate. Remember, the objective is for you to make money, not for someone else to take money from you.

Protect Yourself

Unfortunately, there is no foolproof method for identifying work-at-home scams, however, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself.

First, have an idea of what type of work you would like to do. This will help you focus your search into the relevant areas and away from the scams. Second, if a prospective employer contacts you, ask for references. In the case of fraudulent job offers, you will find that these references don’t exist.

Finally, do some research. There are a number of Web sites that contain information and warnings on work-at home scams. Direct Fraud, The Better Business Bureau , and The Federal Trade Commission all have information of value to potential home-workers. Taking the time to check one or more of these sites before making any employment agreements can mean the difference between finding a legitimate job and falling victim to a scam.