Income at Home Scams

Working at home and earning money sounds ideal. The thought of avoiding a commute and interaction with difficult bosses is quite tempting. Unfortunately there are many scams you may encounter when searching for work or money-making opportunities. You can learn to stop such scams with a few simple tricks and a bit of common sense.

Investigate Thoroughly

Find out everything you can about the company in question. Learn the company's name, business officers and products. Find out if the company in question is listed on the stock market. Look for recent stories about the company. Find out if there are allegations of fraud against company officials.

If It Sounds Too Good

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is too good to be true. If the company wants to pay you $50 an hour to stuff envelopes, they're probably not being truthful. If they promise the chance to earn $10,000 a month, this is probably unrealistic.

Ask Others

Use the Internet to find discussions about the company in question. If they're targeting you, they may be targeting other people as well. Read Internet job boards such as wahm.com (work-at-home mom) to find out if anyone has worked for this company before. People who feel they have been scammed will often unhesitatingly tell you about their experiences. Posters can likewise tell you if they've had good experiences with the company in question.

Keep Personal Information to Yourself

Avoid giving out personal information initially. Do not tell someone details such as your credit card number or social security number until you have confirmed that they are a legitimate company.

Do Not Pay for Work

In most cases you should not have to pay for work. Money should flow to you as the employee rather than to the employer. If the first thing company officials ask of you is a check, this can be a sign the company in question is a scam. There are certain circumstances you may want to pay money. If you have specialized skills such as medical or legal skills, you may consider paying a sum of money for access to an online database. Sometimes you may find job leads there.

Run a Virus Check

After initial contact with any online company, run a virus check on your computer. Check to see that your computer hasn't been infected with spyware or malware. Each can cause your computer to send out personal data and allow others to follow you as you travel on the Internet without your permission.

References

• Work at Home Scams Information