Work at Home Scams

Owning a business is most people's idea of paradise. A home-based business is one more step up on the dream job ladder. If you want to work at home, there are plenty of companies and websites that are willing to help. Their claims of making thousands of dollars a day working for a couple of hours daily are everywhere you look.

Seriously, if working at home was that lucrative and easy, everyone would do it. Working at home and being successful at it is just like any other business or job. A home business requires hard work, persistence, know-how, and maybe some luck.

If you decide to go with a work at home company, watch out for these warning signs. If any of these situations apply to the work at home company which interests you, move on. There are hundreds of work at home scams. Be diligent and you can find a legitimate work at home company.

1. Never pay money upfront for information. If a home-based business is legitimate, there should be no upfront money charges just to find out about the work at home program.

2. A company should be able to provide references. You should be able to talk personally with real people that have had success with the company. Online testimonials or printed testimonials in letters do not qualify as references.

3. Run like the wind if any home-based opportunity advertises easy money, quick money, or very little work involved. A successful home-based business is just like any other business. It requires work and takes time to make money. If it sounds too good to be true, trust me, it is.

4. There are several classic work at home scams that have been around for decades. Stay away from these classic work at home opportunities scams, no matter how promising they seem. These include stuffing envelopes, being a mystery shopper, and assembling products at home.

Some mystery shopper jobs are legitimate, however. But just like mentionend in rule #1 for avoiding work at home scams, no upfront money should be exchanged for information or to work for a company.

Pyramid schemes are also common work at home scams. The way to distinguish these from legitimate sales opportunities is that with pyramid schemes the emphasis is on recruiting others instead of the actual product.

5. Avoid companies that promise riches through the email. This is the easiest and most common way that scam companies try to lure people. If you must go to a site that sounds promising, keep points 1-4 in mind.