Most people, when they think of working from home, think in terms of regular salaried employment, that they can do at home, working their own hours.



Unfortunately, work at home jobs are almost non existent, and most all work at home/online jobs you see advertised, are scams. Recently, (mid 2007) the Better Business Bureau has been receiving reports that even some online employment agencies, are being targeted by scamsters. The scamster's only aim is to steal bank details and other sensitive information about people seeking employment.

Scamsters target people looking to make money working from home in several different ways, for example:

Assembly Work (and Envelope Stuffing)

The scamsters invite people to assemble craft items, e.g. lamp shades, cell phone/computer cases, ornaments, chess sets etc. or to stuff and address envelopes. They ask you to send money (usually $50 to $100) to buy a so-called "starter pack". They offer to buy the completed items back from you. They also tell you that no experiences is required, and that anyone of average ability can do the work, using easy to follow instructions.

However, you will find these things are almost impossible to make using their instructions. And, if you do succeed in making any they are never up to acceptable standard or they don't like your handwriting etc. Either way, you will NEVER make any money.

Chain Letters

These usually arrive through the mail. They tell you to send $10 to the person whose name is at the top of a list. They use grossly inflated response data to show how you can earn thousands of dollars if you follow their instructions. They tell you to buy a few hundred names from THEIR mailing list company, and send off copies of the letter to all the names on the list.

If you fall for this, you definitely won't earn any money. But, you might receive a visit from the police, because taking part in chain letter scams is now illegal in most every country.

Data Entry

Many people are attracted by the idea of data entry, working from home. However, the only way you might find a data entry job is by putting your name down on a site like eLance.com.

Data entry often involves dealing with sensitive personal information e.g. bank details etc. No reputable company is going to entrust that kind of information to a person who they don't know, and who they have not checked out, e.g. contacted their previous employers or their college tutors (if this is their first job). (If you owned a company, would you employ a person you'd never met?)

The Good News.

It is entirely possible to earn money working online from home, but only working for your self. One of the easiest and fastest ways to make money online is to join a free affiliate program, and then promote the program using pay-per-click (PPC) search engine advertising.

You may be asking yourself - "what is an affiliate program?" Many established businesses have free to join affiliate programs in order to have people like you, promote their products or services. When you join an affiliate program, you get a link with your own unique affiliate ID. Each time you send (refer) a customer to the affiliate program site, and they make a purchase, you receive a commission of between 2 percent and over 50 percent. Many of the better affiliate programs pay you commissions on all that customer's purchases for up to 12 months.

Once you refer the customer that is your job done. You will never be concerned with product handling, storage, shipping or returns.

The two biggest affiliate networks each with several thousand free individual programs, are ClickBank.Com for electronic products (electronic- or e-Books and software) and Commission Junction (CJ.com) for physical products and services.

With practice, your entire income system can be set up in about 60 minutes. And when your income system is up and running, you can virtually forget about it, because it will generate a continuous stream of income for you 24/7, month after month.

Summary

Most all working from home/online JOBS are scams designed to steal money from you. You will only ever earn money working from home/online working for yourself. For example by promoting affiliate products.