“Interested in a Work At Home job?”
“Want to earn tons of money from the comfort of your home?”
“Interested in generating thousands in income in your spare time?”
Online offers such as these abound plentifully online. In fact, offers such as these work at home opportunities are everywhere from Internet employment web sites to neighboring telephone poles and grocery store bulletin push pin boards.
As a retiree, these may seem like just the perfect fit for your lifestyle, but watch for a snag in their fabric. Most of these “work at home” opportunities are cleverly designed scams to leave you with less money than when you began! Certainly not what you had in mind, right?
Here Is A List of Some of the Most Obvious “Work At Home” Scams-
* Envelope Stuffing- They tell you that you can earn big cash folding papers and sticking them in envelopes, sometimes for as much as a buck apiece! BUT, you will be asked to pay for your supplies or your training. So you pay and receive worthless instructions suggesting that you con others into applying for envelope stuffing jobs!! Scandalous… Guess what? Bulk mailers have machines for stuffing envelopes so this is always a SCAM.
* Medical billing or insurance claims processing- They’ll tell you that you can earn big money processing medical claims. Here again, you’ll be asked to pay hundreds for the software and training that is required. Guess what? Most medical offices process their own or outsource to large, professional companies. A a physician, ask me if I would trust just anyone out of the blue with my billing. Tell me, “would you?!”
* Assembling crafts or sewing together clothing- They ask you if you are good with your hands and claim to have a career for you if you are. They tell you they will send un assembled parts for you to complete and return. Then, when you complete and return the product most or all of it is rejected as not meeting specifications. What’s worse, then the company keeps your deposit.
* Email processing-They tell you that you will earn bug money by receiving email sent to the customer service websites of major companies, then forwarding them to the proper departments. They tell you that they have a list of companies looking to hire you and tat they will send you the list for a fee. Guess what? The list is worthless with a few legitimate companies sprinkled in from the Yellow Pages. You see, business do not really hire people to work at home processing their emails!
* Payment processing for international companies- They tell you that a company with global clients needs a US rep to handle the incoming checks. You will be receiving checks from overseas, depositing them into your bank and taking a small cut as your fee. Then you are asked to send your own check to your foreign employer for the remaining balance. Guess what? The check you have received has been falsified, or will bounce and by the time your bank informs you that there is a problem, your check will have cleared and your ‘employer’ will have disappeared.
* Mystery shopping- They tell you that you will earn thousands by reporting on the quality of the service you receive in stores. Guess what? Anyone telling you that you will earn high pay doing this is typically a scammer trying to con you into paying for mystery shopping information that you can get online for FREE. The legitimate jobs assignments typically pay $10 to $20 an hour for this, or they send you a free restaurant meal or token amount of some merchandise for your time. You might try the Ideal Lady Web site at.idealady.com/sb.html.
Some work at home scams can be applied to virtually any “work at home” opportunity and you should be on the lookout for the following statements (Be very suspicious if you are told any of the following)…
* “We overpaid you with your first check. Please send the extra money back.”
You are told to refund the excess money by a certain deadline and sometime after you send this check, your bank tells you that the original paycheck bounced. Your ‘job’ was the scam to get you to send them your good money.
* “You got the job! Please send us your Social Security Number so that we can pay you”
While legitimate employers often ask for this information from prospective employees, scammers take advantage of this by posting legitimate sounding offers on career web sites to steal your identity. Do not provide your social security number until you have thoroughly researched the employer and are confident that the company and opportunity are legitimate.
Practicing Scam Avoidance-
I am not saying that all “work at home” opportunities are scams in disguise, but you should try to stay with the largest online companies while considering any job offer.
Sites like elance.com, guru.com, rentacoder.com offer legitimate opportunities to workers with specific skills, such as computer programming skills. They usually have opportunities for people with experience in this industry, such as computer programmers, Web designers, writers, and those with sales or engineering backgrounds.
As a disclaimer, consider using caution even in sites such as these because there may be scams listed among the legitimate opportunities.
How To Avoid Being a Victim of ‘Work At Home’ Scams-
* Ignore work at home job opportunities that arrive unsolicited via email. Legitimate businesses rarely need to rely on spam to get their workers.
* Avoid any offers promising the big bucks without requiring specific skills or experience. (One caveat are legitimate business opportunities that offer to train you and to mentor you throughout the whole start up learning curve.)
* If someone is promising you an opportunity with dozens of potential clients or prospects in your region that are waiting to work with you, then insist on speaking with a handful of them.
* Be weary of money going out in the wrong direction. A job should not require being charged for the opportunity to perform it. Legitimate companies do not charge for training materials or low cost call conferencing fees. It may be reasonable to get charged for setting you up in your own independent business, but be careful of these offers also. Avoid any job requiring you to deposit checks or send checks from your own accounts.
* Do your homework. Research any company that you are considering. Any legitimate company should have a professional looking website with contact information clearly posted. Don’t settle for just a P.O. Box number as the address. Also, the company website should not be only site that their name turns up when you do a Google search for their name. Skim the names and see if there is any mention of scam activity or warnings associated with their names. If you want to get more information on sites that should steer you clear of potential scams check my signature line below which links you to authority sites like the Better Business Bureau online.
* Check the employer’s E-mail address as these usually end with the corporate name. This of course, is not set in stone but should be considered if you suspect foul play.
* Consider how you yourself would hire employees for the job if you were the employer and how much you would pay. If the offer sounds too good to be true, walk away. This is the application of common sense, the litmus test (to use one of my medical terms) to decide if what you are being offered even makes sense!
About The Author: Ana Hernandez DO is a practicing physician and self proclaimed marketing enthusiast. Her website at tinyurl.com/ezineSCAMSNetrageouz Scamwatch Alert guides you through the perils of navigating online ‘work at home’ job offers. Also visit her blog, the portal to her delicious recipes for creating killer online marketing campaigns. Her course, “NETfabulous! Marketing ECourse” is jam packed with tips n’ techniques for both newbie and seasoned marketers alike. Subscribe for FREE at www.adminder.com/c.cgi?netrageouz&ezineBLOGiBlog netrageouzly!