How to avoid work from home scams

We have busy schedules, and so many things we need to do. Working from home seems like a great option for work, because if gives you comfort, flexibility and may save you money in what seems like endless commutes. To new parents, it allows them to spend time at home with their kids, while not letting go of their careers. These endless advantages make an increasing amount of people look for such opportunities on a daily basis. However, this leads to increasing opportunities for people trying to pull a scam. Follow these tips to find your next legitimate work from home gig.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. The biggest red flag is obviously "Make (an incredible amount of money) in one day!!!" This does not happen. If it was that easy making so much money from home, no one would be working at an office and everyone would have an incredible amount of money. Never fall for this. It is not true, and will not happen.
2. This tip is rather obvious, but it seems a lot of people still believe that the ideal job will find them through an email. Great companies have people lining up trying to work for them. If they find you a candidate so exceptional that they are willing to contact you, they will never do so by email. Never believe a junk email offer you get. No legitimate company will ever get through to a prospective employee by email.
3. Again, another obvious one is: you pay them to work. They will disguise this as "supply" costs or a small sum for them to send you a client list or something to this effect. Never fall for that. The company wants you to work for them, they will give you all the necessary tools for you to perform your job well. You do not buy those tools. Have you ever heard of someone starting at an office and paying for their stapler or paper or pencils? Same principle, it just doesn't happen.
4. The name of the job is: "WORK FROM HOME." If you are to work from home, you still need a legitimate job title, such as Finance Controller or something to that effect. No legitimate job will advertise itself as "WORK FROM HOME."
5. Experience and resume are not required. This is just not right. No one will hire a candidate not suitable for the job. If they don't ask for experience or a resume, then chances are, it's a scam. Beware.
6. If you ask for a job desciption all you get is work from home. You need a job description in order to know whether you are suitable for the role or not.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Many companies now recognize that flexibility is key in order to maintain the best employees, so ask if they will allow you to work from home a couple of days a week for whatever personal reason you may have.
• NEVER PAY TO WORK!
• Always check if it is a legitimate company, and even if you are to work from home, you should visit their office.