Strategies How To Avoid and Recognize the Scams
This section will help give you the tools and resources that you can use to analyze work from home opportunities and decide for yourself if they are legitimate or scams. I urge you to read all of the articles listed below before even considering any work from home offers.
Although I have tried to be thorough, realize that there is no way to cover everything. Use your common sense and that of your closest friends. Don't be shy about asking two friends for their opinions. If you're an optimist that refuses to see the negative in anything, chances are one of your friends isn't.
Unfortunately, more work from home scams exist than legitimate job listings. How do you determine which ones are frauds and which ones are genuine? First, you need to spend some time researching the program and getting all the details before you spend a penny. Don't rush into anything, no matter how short lived the position might seem. The time you spend in advance will save you in the end.
Here are some general rules to remember:
- Use common sense. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Be carefully of listings that guarantee you wealth or financial success or that will help you get rich fast from home. They will probably do none of the above.
- Take your time. Promoters of fraudulent business opportunities are likely to use high-pressure sales tactics to get you to buy in.
- Consider the figures they present as the top 0.01% not the averages. If they say people are making $50-$100 a day, figure that only one out of a thousand people are making that. The other 999 people are making considerably less.
- Get all the details before you spend any money.
- Know who you are dealing with. Make sure you have an address and a contact number. Call the number and see if it is in service. Google the address. Is it a legitimate address, is it a postal mailbox, or is an empty lot?
- Nothing will make you tons of money overnight. Sorry.
- Be aware of legal issues. Some types of work require licenses or certification and cannot be done at home. Check with your state and local offices. Look for the nearest U.S. Department of Labor in the government listings of your phone book.
- Know the companies refund policy. If you have to buy equipment or supplies, ask whether you can return them for a refund and under what circumstances you can do so.
- Do your own research on all opportunities. There are many resources available to provide good advice and lists of scams as well as legitimate opportunities. For example, my page entitled Evaluating a Website gives you a step by step questionnaire to use when evaluating the site.
Okay now you're ready to move on to one of the following articles:
Ten Tips on How to avoid Work at Home Scams: These are some general rules to remember when dealing with work from home business opportunities.
Evaluating a Website: In-depth information about how to evaluate a website and online work from home claims. Read it to help you decide if an offer is legitimate or fraudulent.
Questions you must answer before investing: A more user-friendly list of some of the main questions you should have answered before spending any money.