Detect Work From Home Scams

Real work at home jobs that are legitimate,
usually will have a sponsor or employer that should readily tell you in writing and for free-what is involved.

What tasks will I be required to perform as I work from home?
(Ask the program sponsor/employer to list every step of the job.)

Who will pay me?

Will I be paid on salary or commission?

When will I receive my first work from home paycheck?

How will I receive my paychecks? Mailed to me?

What is the total cost of the work-from-home program, including supplies, equipment, and any membership fees?

What will I get for my membership fees?

Are there any school requirements? If so, do you offer schooling?

The answers to such questions may enable you to detect whether a work from home job is legitimate or a work at home scam and to guard against the loss of your money and time!!

You also might wish to investigate the company's reputation by checking with the
"consumer protection agency" and the "Better Business Bureau" in the area where the company is located.

These organizations can tell you if they have received any complaints about the work at home program that interests you.
(Or any unresolved complaints with past employees regarding the company.)

Where To Complain:

If you have already invested your time and more importantly your money in a work from home venture that you now have reason to believe may be a work at home scam, contact the company first and ask for your money back FIRST!. Inform the company that you plan to notify officials about your experience. If you cannot resolve the dispute with the work at home company, here are some organizations that may be able to help you:

The Attorney General's office in your state or in the state where the company is located. That officer will be able to advise you if you are protected by any state law that may regulate work from home opportunities.

*Your local consumer protection offices.

*Your local Better-Business-Bureau.

*Your local Postmaster. The U.S. Postal Service investigates fraudulent mail (and sometimes email) practices.

*The advertising manager of the publication that ran the ad you answered. The advertising manager may be interested to learn about the problems you have had with the work at home home company that offered work from home opportunities.

The Federal Trade Commission. While the FTC cannot help resolve individual disputes, it can take action if there is evidence of a pattern of deceptive or unfair practices. Write: Federal Trade Commission, Division of Marketing Practices, Washington, DC 20580.

*Your Legal Assistance Office.

"WORK FROM HOME OPPORTUNITIES"

The following provides information about work at home scams.

Work From Home Scams:

In newspapers and magazines around the country you may see ads like this:

"Would you like to earn hundreds of dollars a week or even in days at home, in your leisure time? Many people are supplementing their income in a very easy way in a very fast time. Let us tell you how!! Work at home for us now!"

An offer like this may sound very attractive, particularly if you are unable to leave your home to work. But be cautious about work at home ads that promise you large profits in a short period of time. These work at home positions rarely offer real work at home jobs!

Even though there are work from home companies that indeed offer real work at home jobs, some do not. Work From Home employment schemes are one of the oldest kinds of fraud.

Use caution when wanting to venture into any work from home job.

What many of these ads do not say is that you may have to work many hours without pay.
There also may be hidden costs.
Many home based scams require you to spend your own money to place ads in newspapers, make photocopies, or buy the envelopes, paper, stamps, and other supplies or equipment needed to do the job. The company also may demand that you pay a membership fee and make regular payments in order to get continued instructions or materials. Consumers deceived by these ads have lost thousands of dollars as well as wasted their time and energy.

Common Work at Home Scams

Work Fom Home opportunities that are known to be a scam may advertise these types of employment:

Envelope-Stuffing. Work at home scams come in many varieties, but the most common type is envelope-stuffing. Promoters of these programs usually advertise that, for a "small" fee, they will tell you how to earn money stuffing envelopes at home. Only when it is too late do you find out the promoter really has no employment to offer. What you are likely to receive for your fee is a letter telling you to place that same ad in newspapers or magazines, or to send the ad to friends and relatives. The only way you will earn money is from the people who respond to your work from home ad.

Assembly or Craft Work. Assembly or craft work is another common type of work from home scam. These programs often require you to invest hundreds of dollars in equipment or supplies or many hours of time to produce goods for a company who has promised to buy them. For example, you might be required to buy from the company a sewing machine, a sign-making machine, or materials to make items such as aprons, baby shoes, or plastic signs. However, in fraudulent work at home scams, after you have purchased the supplies or equipment and performed the required tasks, the company does not pay you for your efforts.

MLM Scams.Multilevel marketing (also called network marketing) is a form of direct sales in which independent distributors sell products, usually in their customers' home or by telephone. In theory, distributors can make money not only from their own sales but also from those of the people they recruit.
The best way to tell a scam from something genuine, is to see if there is a real product or service being sold, which generates the income. If income is generated by recruiting others to the scheme rather than by selling a product or service, then beware!

Chain Letters Scams.A chain letter is a "get rich quick" scam that promises that your mail box will soon be stuffed full of cash if you decide to participate. You're told you can make thousands of dollars every month if you follow the detailed instructions in the letter. A typical chain letter includes names and addresses of several individuals whom you may or may not know.

Remember, each case is different.
This summary gives you general information only. It is not a substitute for talking with a lawyer!

In Conclusion:

Work from Home business opportunities that are indeed out to only scam you for your money..
will often use key words such as:
"Get Rich Quick", "Fast Cash Here!", "Thousands of dollars in days!"...ect.

Knowing the key words alone is only the first step on how to detect a work at home scam. Getting as much as possible "in writing" will help you prevent a work from home scam as well. In order to catch a work at home scam you must also use the resources that are out there for consumers to use for scam preventing.
Many resources are at your fingertips like the ones we have provided here. Do not limit yourself to our work from home scam resources alone on detecting a work at home scam. We urge you to protect yourself as much as possible from any "Get Rick Quick" scam. Internet scams, multi-level-marketing, online scams, mlm, envelope stuffing scams, or any fraudulent work at home position that does not back up their offer can
(and will) often fall under a work from home scam.
Thank you, we hope this page helps you on the road of how to detect a work from home scam.