Work at Home Scams
Avoid Work at Home Scams
1)If you received an unsolicited email offer for a work at home job, it’s a scam.
There are some particularly bad ones going around lately that use the names of legitimate businesses that you can find listed in the Better Business Bureau. They send you a check and you are asked to wire most of the money, usually through Western Union, and you’re supposed to keep your share. Of course, the check they send you is no good and you’re on the hook for that money! Don’t fall for it! Hire a private detective to find someone who wants to scam you!
2)If the company asks a fee for information or materials, it’s probably a scam.
Examples include envelope-stuffing jobs, product assembly jobs, “opportunities” that require you to call a 900 number and so forth.
3) If the website asks you to pay a registration fee before offering you any jobs, it’s very likely a scam.
This is common with database entry scams, offers to list you in a database, etc.
Grey Areas
Mystery Shopping
There are good and bad mystery shopping companies out there. If you see promises of huge amounts of income, or you’re asked to pay more than the price of a meal or a modest purchase, you’re dealing with a scam.
You can get more information about becoming a mystery shopper and legitimate mystery shopping companies at mysteryshop.org
Medical Billing
While there may be some legitimate offers, increasingly, most are scams. Keep in mind that while there may have been a time when there were a great many opportunities, that time has passed. Now competition is fierce and large companies have increasingly dominated the market.
Job Sites that charge a fee
Watch out for sites that show a listing of jobs and then ask for a fee to apply. There are some legitimate companies that run reputable sites that follow this practice, but do your research before parting with your money! Some of these sites are just an aggregate listing of jobs from the bigger sites, and you can get that information for free from other sites.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!