| . |
|
WORK FROM HOME : Work Scams InformationAvoiding work from home scams, both internet and in life, can be difficult. Here is some information to look for the following warning signs:
- Claims of "inside" information, - Requirements of money for instructions or products before telling you how the plan works, - Claims of "no experience necessary." WORK FROM HOME SCAM #1. ASSEMBLY WORK AT HOME: Typical Ad -- "Assembly work at home! Easy money assembling craft items. No experience necessary." This scam requires you to invest hundreds of dollars in instructions and materials and many hours of your time to produce items such as baby booties, toy clowns, and plastic signs for a company that has promised to buy them. Once you have purchased the supplies and have done the work, the company often decides not to pay you because your work does not meet certain "standards." You are then left with merchandise that is difficult or impossible to sell. WORK FROM HOME SCAM #2. CHAIN LETTER: Typical Ad -- "Make copies of this letter and send them to people whose names we will provide. All you have to do is send us ten dollars for our mailing list and labels. Look at the chart below and see how you will automatically receive thousands in cash return!!!" The only people who benefit from chain letters are the mysterious few at the top of the chain who constantly change names, addresses, and post office boxes. They may attempt to intimidate you by threatening bad luck, or try to impress you by describing themselves as successful professionals who know all about non-existent sections of alleged legal codes. WORK FROM HOME SCAM #3. ENVELOPE STUFFING: Typical Ad -- "$350 Weekly Guaran- teed! Work two hours daily at home stuffing envelopes." When answering such ads, you may not receive the expected envelopes for stuffing, but instead get promotional material asking for cash just for details on money-making plans. The details usually turn out to be instructions on how to go into the business of placing the same kind of ad the advertiser ran in the first place. Pursuing the envelope ad plan may require spending several hundred dollars more for advertising, postage, envelopes, and printing. This system feeds on continuous recruitment of people to offer the same plan. There are several variations on this type of scam, all of which require the customer to spend money on advertising and materials. According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, "In practically all businesses, envelope stuffing has become a highly mechanized operation using sophisticated mass mailing techniques and equipment which eliminates any profit potential for an individual doing this type of work from home. The Inspection Service knows of no work from home promotion thatever produces income as alleged." WORK FROM HOME SCAM #4. MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING: Typical Ad -- "Our products make it possible for people like you to earn more than they ever have in their lives! Soon you can let others earn money for you while you and your family relax and enjoy your affluent lifestyle! No experience necessary." Multi-level marketing, a direct sales system, is a well-established, legitimate form of business. Many people have successfully sold the products of reputable companies to their neighbors and co-workers. These people are independent distributors who sell popular products and also recruit other distributors to join them. On the other hand, illegitimate pyramid scams can resemble these legitimate direct sales systems. An obvious difference is that the emphasis is on recruiting others to join the program, not on selling the product. For a time, new recruits who make the investment to buy product samples keep money coming into the system, but very few products are sold. Sooner or later the people on the bottom are stuck with a saturated market, and they cannot make money by selling products or recruiting. When the whole system collapses, only a few people at the top have made money—and those at the bottom have lost their investment. WORK FROM HOME SCAM #5. ONLINE BUSINESS: Typical Ad -- "Turn your Home Computer into a Cash Machine! Get computer diskette FREE! Huge Selection of Jobs! No experience needed! Start earning money in days! Many companies want to expand, but don’t want to pay for office space. You save them money by working in the comfort of your home." This is typical of advertisements showing up uninvited in your e-mail—an old scam advertised in a new way. You pay for a useless guide to work from home jobs—a mixture of computer-related work such as word processing or data entry and the same old envelope-stuffing and home crafts scams. The computer disk is as worthless as the guidebook. It may only list free government web sites and/or business opportunities which require more money. WORK FROM HOME SCAM #6. PROCESSING MEDICAL INSURANCE CLAIMS: Typical Ad -- "You can earn from $800 to $1000 weekly processing insurance claims on your home computer for health care professionals such as doctors, dentists chiropractors, and podiatrists. Over 80% of providers need your services. Learn how in one day!" Generally, the promoter of this scam attracts you by advertising on cable television and, perhaps, by inviting you to a business opportunity trade show at a hotel or convention center. You may be: - Urged to buy software programs and even computers at exorbitant prices; a program selling at a software store for $69 might cost you several thousands of dollars. - Told that your work will be coordinated with insurance companies by a central computer. - Required to pay for expensive training sessions available at a "current special rate" that will be higher in the future, and - Pressured to make a decision immediately. Most likely, the expensive training sessions are superficial, and the market for your services is very small or nonexistent. The promoter may delay the processing of your job, citing a backlog or mistakes in your work. There may also be no central computer as advertised. You may be left with no way to deliver what you have promised to your clients or customers—if you found any—and with no way to earn any money on you own. Avoiding Work From Home Fraud There is no substitute for closely examining any offer which promises or guarantees income from work from home programs. If it sounds too good to be true, chances are it’s a scam. Consider it a warning sign if a worker must buy something in order to start the program. Those interested also should take into consideration that, by becoming involved in a work from home scam, they might well be perpetrating a fraud by selling the program to others, and risk investigation by postal authorities. For a reliability report on a specific work from home company, check first with your local Better Business Bureau. If you become a victim of a work from home scam, ask the company for a refund. If they refuse or give you an evasive response, tell them you plan to notify law enforcement officials. Keep careful records of everything you do to recover your money. Document your phone calls, keep copies of all paperwork such as letters and receipts, and record all costs involved, including the time you spend. If the company refuses to refund your investment, contact: - Your local Better Business Bureau; - Your local or state consumer affairs agency; - The U.S. Postal Inspection Service; - Your state’s attorney general's office or the office in the state where the company; - The advertising manager of the publication that ran the ad you answered. Next logical step - Work from homeFor many of us, the next logical step towards creating our own income is to work from home, and an increasing number of these home based businesses are operated...Resources for Work From Home TipsFrom free-lance to full-time gigs, there is a range of fields and work from home tips and resources below. Only you can decide if a home business opportunity is right for you...More People Work From HomeMore and more people work from home every day. Not only that, more and more people don’t work from their offices, or "where they’re meant to work".....Working 9 til 5 at Home Worked for ThemWith visions of working 9 til 5 at home in their pajamas all day, many people dream of owning their own business or somehow finding a way to use their computer to make a living...Work From Home Business Tax DeductionsWork from home business has a number of unique advantages. But one of the best advantages is tax deductions. Understanding your business deductions will keep you on the right track for running a successful and profitable work from home business...Professional image matters, even when you work from homeEven though some brag about how they work from home, there are problems with work at home environments that are too casual. If you’re trying to establish a professional reputation, ...Other related Articles: Work Scams Information Sept. 5, 2010Avoiding work-at-home scams, both internet and in life, can be difficult. Here is some information to look for the following warning signs...FTC cracks down on work from home scammers Feb 19, 2009The Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ) has launched a new crackdown on workfrom home scammers who are preying on unemployed Americans....Starting a work from home business October 6, 2009A year ago I took time off to write a book. It was a terrific opportunity, but without the luxury of company-owned technology, a built-in support network, and all that top-notch office furniture, I was starting up a work from home business from scratch.....Find Work From Home Jobs August 23, 2009Everyone knows how difficult it can be to find a work from home job. With all the scams out there, how can anyone be sure if an opportunity is legit or not. ...Law Proposed to Ease Work from Home Business Tax Deduction May 26, 2009Proposed legislation would make it easier for small businesses to qualify for the work from home business tax deduction. ...Work from home offers new challenges May 6, 2009A growing number of unemployed residents are throwing caution — and sometimes their life savings — to the wind to work from home and start a business ...Mothers Work from Home March 26, 2009The 25 million people in the U.S. who work from home ( including mothers ) perform a balancing act more challenging than walking a tightrope ...Home Business Tax HelpAs would be expected in a struggling economy, more Americans are looking to work from home to supplement family income part-time or, in some cases, on a full-time basis ...It's a Good Time to Work from HomeIf you've ever wondered if you could work from home — whether you could earn real money from a job that satisfies and excites you, design your own office, and work ...Is Working from Home the Business?Fed up with dealing with colleagues? You’re not alone. One in eight of us have ditched the office to work from home in significantly more stylish surroundings ... |
. |
