Online Work at Home Scams

I’m sure you have received many emails saying that you are the next of kin of someone way back in Africa… but then in order to collect the millions of dollars that you have inherited, you need to send Mr. Whatever all your personal information. I hope that you have smelled the scam right away and ran the other way.

But there are other types of scams online and those target people who want and are searching to make an honest living working at home.

There are millions of people who want to earn a nice income with minimum effort from the comfort of their home. With the advent of internet, home based job and business opportunities are increasing day by day. Though there are thousands of legitimate companies that offer real work at home jobs to people, there are chances of scammers.

Since working at home is attractive, false job offers are prevalent on the net. Some common work at home scams are noticeable, like envelope stuffing.

Work at home scams take many forms. Most of the companies do not guarantee regular salaried employment for the home based workers. They do not mention how many hours you would need to work without pay. Some others require you to spend money on instructions before getting the job (first red flad, a legitimate work at home job should NOT cost you anything).

Some companies require paid training. Therefore work at home scams cost victims thousands of dollars and also valuable time.

In order to avoid being a victim of work at home scammers, you need to scrutinize the company before accepting any job. In fact legitimate companies provide all the information in writing. Here are some tips to avoid work at home scams:

1. If you need to provide personal information, avoid giving it to an unknown person or company. Provide personal information only to the company that you confirm is legitimate.

2. You can check the company by typing the name of the company in the search box of Better business Bureau. If there is any complaint about that company, avoid contact with it.

3. There is no easy road to wealth. Any job requires some effort to earn better income. Therefore beware of companies that promise to make you rich overnight, there is no such thing.

Reshipping fraud is becoming a common work at home scam. I saw this one online once and it felt scammy so I didn’t pursue it, but at that time, I never imagined the complexity of this scam.

This is how it “works”:

The home based worker needs to receive, repack and then mail the merchandise to a foreign address. They are promised a substantial amount of money. But the worker may not know that the merchandise was paid for with stolen credit cards.

The home based worker would therefore become a part of receiving and mailing of stolen goods without their knowledge. The worker receives the merchandize, repackages with their own funds and told it will be repaid at time of pay day, it gets worse!

They are then told, their pay will be via cashier’s check, but oddly it’s for more then owed. The worker is told to deposit the check and send the difference to the employer’s overseas bank account. Eventually, the cashier’s check bounces and owe their bank the amount of the whole check.

So, if you want to select a legitimate work at home job, then do not accept any job offer that promises to provide high income for a part time job. Some companies would promise you get rich quick schemes. Remember only hard work and dedication can help you earn a good income from home.

Also remember that a work at home job is not the same as a work at home opportunity or home based business. When you are evaluating home based or work at home businesses, you will most likely need to invest a small amount of money (often less than $100) in a starter kit, which  should contain business forms, samples, products, etc.

But we are talking in this article about a company that is offering to hire you to work for them from home… legitimate companies do not charge anything to hire you for a work at home job. If you are not sure about the legitimacy of a company, then ask for references.

If the company is not willing to provide references, then beware and RUN!

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About Mariangie - She lives in Puerto Rico where she works full time as an Agronomist, owns a home based business since 2004 and is the proud mother of 2 bright kids (and 2 cute cats).

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