Common Work at Home Scams

If you’re looking for a work at home job, you’ll probably come across several work at home scams while you’re looking for that perfect opportunity. In most instances, these work at home jobs will sound extremely good however you’ll soon find out that they are scams plain and simple. The good news is that work at home scams aren’t really that difficult to find out; you just have to be aware of common scams and then stay away from them at all costs. Below are list of common work at home scams:

Envelope Stuffing Scam

In this scam, you are told that you will earn money by stuffing envelopes at home. In order to get started, you need to pay a registration fee. After you pay your fee, you are told that you will receive a package with guidelines that you need to follow so that you will be paid for each envelop that you stuff. Then, you will send back your work to the scammer only to find out that your work did not pass their standards and you will not be paid for the work. In the end, you’ll spending money to register and never be paid for the work you did – what a scam.

Data Entry at Home Scam

Telecommuting jobs are very popular due to our current economic recession. Although the demand for data entry jobs to be done at home seem to be increasing, the truth of the matter is that these positions are hard to find with reputable companies. However, many “so called” employers prey on individuals seeking this type of opportunity. The scam works like this, you will be asked to pay a fee in order to access a list of companies willing to hire you for a position. You pay the fee and you then receive a guide for working at home or a CD of useless information. You then sadly discover that there is no data entry job for you and that the company was scamming you.

Making Craft at Home Scam

This is similar to “envelop stuffing scam”. However, with this one, someone will try to convince you to purchase raw materials and a machine for making crafts. They will tell you that every craft that you make will be purchased back by them, of course at a higher price so that you make a profit. The catch is, once you are done doing your craft not a single one will be purchased become they did not pass the quality and standards that they set and you are never paid for your hard work and effort. Plus, you will even be out of the cost of materials.

The list above is just some of the most common work at home scams however the sad thing is that there are still a lot of variations that you could fall privy to. By being aware of the patterns and style of these scammers you will be able to determine which postings are legitimate jobs and which one are scams. The rule of the thumb is, do not fall for those ones that are really good to be true or ones that charge money. After all, you should “never have to pay for a job instead a job should pay you.” When you are in doubt, always research the opportunity on the web or offline to make sure that they are not run by a scammer.