Looking for a work-at-home gig to supplement your paycheck? Or maybe you welcome the opportunity to earn a full-time income working at home. The ads in your emails, on job boards, in periodicals and on flashy banners on your favorite websites all promise the same thing: the opportunity to earn fast cash from the comfort of your home.
These ads prey on consumers’ desire to find lucrative work-at-home jobs, but most of them are bogus. While there are genuine opportunities to earn a living at home, most ads do not lead to legitimate opportunities. Instead, they are the ploys of bold scammers who are determined to take your money. People who are desperate for money are usually the most vulnerable.
A lot has been done to educate consumers on how to spot scams, but still, thousands of complaints are filed every year. Scammers become quite adept at their trade in order to counteract consumer education, and worsening economic conditions only contribute to the prevalence of scams. Although scammers have gone high-tech, there are tried and true ways to spot scams. Watch out for the warning flags listed below.
Review the job listing
Look for details of the salary, including how you’re paid and how often. Avoid postings that guarantee wealth even if you have no skills.
Hang on to your money
Do not send money for any reason. Legitimate opportunities do not require you to send money upfront. Don’t pay for startup kits or lists of opportunities. Some scammers will charge you for information you can find for yourself if you do a little research.
Check references
References go both ways. If you’re applying for a position with a company you’ve never heard of, ask for a list of contractors and employees. Do not consider the opportunity if the company is unwilling to provide the information.
Trust your instinct
If the opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Review the offer for suspicious requests, such as requests for your bank account or credit card information.
Avoid the usual suspects
Assembly jobs, data entry jobs, mystery shoppers, posting ads, claims processing, stuffing envelopes and Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) schemes are obvious scams to avoid. But the number one scam comes from those sites that sell information on legitimate job opportunities for a nominal fee. Don’t be so quick to hand over money to these unscrupulous scammers.