How to Avoid Work-at-Home Scams

Work-at-home jobs are popular with parents because they can work when not caring for their children.

Work-at-home jobs have a lot of benefits: you work in the comfort of your own home, you save gas and time without a commute and you don't have to actually see anybody in person. Needless to say, work-at-home jobs are in high demand. Of course, this also brings in the scams -- sites and advertisements claiming to offer you work, but only want to rip you off. These scams are avoidable though if you take a few precautions.

Instructions

1. Run a search on the site you're interested in. Append the word "scam" or "review" to the search. This often leads you to forum discussions or blogs by people who have already been scammed if it's a fake. These same search queries also lead to discussions and blogs if it's legit. Be wary of fake reviews though. Scam sites like to create false positive reviews for sites to increase credibility. These sites are usually loaded with advertisements and read like advertising copy.

2. Avoid unsolicited emails claiming to offer work-at-home jobs. Most work-at-home jobs don't need to spam random people because the right people seek out these jobs.

3. Be wary of sites claiming too much. Basically, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The web is riddled with these types of ads -- sites claiming that you can make thousands a week filling out surveys, or doing something else equally simple. These types of claims should set off alarms.

4. Avoid paying for anything upfront. If you see an advertisement claiming you can start making money from home only after you buy $200 of training supplies, you should probably pass. Some of these are legitimate, but even those usually aren't worth the upfront cost. If you're truly interested in it and don't mind paying a fee, then employ the other steps to confirm it's a paying site.

5. Gather references from people who work for a site. You can find them on social networking sites and forums if you do a little searching. Contact an employee and ask questions.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember, no legitimate company will ever try to charge you to work for them.

• If it sounds too good to be true, it most often is.

References

• National Consumer's League Internet Fraud Watch: Work-at-Home Scams