Work From Home Schemes and How to Avoid Them

Work from home schemes, like envelope stuffing, promise big earning for little effort - and quickly too. The scammers and fraudsters create the illusion of easy money to get you to spend yours. This can be hard to resist for someone who doesn't know how to spot a scam. To help you avoid being scammed when you really thought you were being employed, here are some tips.

Warning Signs of a Work From Home Scam

  • It's an unsolicited offer - people look for jobs; jobs rarely look for people
  • Unrealistic promises of quick money for little effort
  • Focuses on telling you how easy it is to make money rather than how you will make the money
  • No alternate modes of communication are given for you to contact the promoters with your questions (ex: if the "job" is advertised in an email, they don't give you a contact phone number or address)
  • You must send money for more information or a startup kit
  • Your questions are not fully answered until you make some sort of commitment
  • They ask for personal information before you're actually "hired"
  • Their contact phone number is an 1-800 number - if you call this number it doesn't go to a person but instead a prerecorded message

How To Avoid Work at Home Scams

  • Know the company you are dealing with and do your research into their credibility as a company and as an employer
  • Don't believe you can make easy money quickly - when you work from home, just as when you work from an office, it takes time, hard work, skill, and good products or services to make a profit
  • Don't reply to unsolicited offers of employment - they are most likely fraudulent and the scammers sending them are trying to get money or personal information out of you - not legitimate work that they will pay for
  • Be fully informed before you sign up or pay anything
  • Find out if there's a market for the work they will have you doing
  • Get references from their other employees, and talk to these people in person. Written referrals and testimonies could be fraudulent
  • Be aware of legal requirements and restrictions - some types of work are not legally done from home, and other types of work require licensing
  • If you need to put money down for equipment and supplies, be aware of refund policies.
  • Be wary of companies that offer you to advance you pay
  • Do your own research on work at home opportunities before you sign up for anything. Lists of legitimate companies that will employ you from home and other resources are available at your local library.

Fraud causes hundreds of millions of dollars in damage each year and affects just as many people.

Credit card fraud is the most common type of fraud to occur each year and cost its victims up to $500 million dollars in damages each year. Despite the frequent occurrence of this type of fraud, millions of credit card users are still unaware of how to protect themselves against this type of thievery.

No one is completely safe from being defrauded. But, by learning how to protect against fraud, you will be better equipped to prevent yourself from falling into a scam that could cost you everything. Taking the time to protect yourself can help to keep you safe.