One of the biggest problems with working form home is the number of scams around. Spotting something that is not real or out of the ordinary is easy in the traditional job market, but in the virtual world it can be very difficult to see the scam in the work at home environment. Weeding out these scams is a job that everyone wishing to work from home must be prepared to do.
Following are 5 easy steps that you can follow to help you to spot a work at home scam. I will give you things to look for when checking out these work at home opportunities. You will need to go through each of the 5 steps to see if the company passes or fails. To be a legitimate business it needs to pass all 5 steps. By using these 5 steps you should be able to avoid most scams without ending up losing lots of money or wasting valuable time on an opportunity that will not give you anything back.
Step 1:- The company gives no details. The company should give you details of who they are, what the company does and what the job is you are expected to do. This is not a covert operation and full disclosure should be made. It is more than likely a scam if they do not give this information.
Step 2:- The company requires payment up front to work with them. Although saying this, some cases of upfront payment can be above board. It is quite easy to get caught up on this. In a direct sales situation, paying for a sales kit upfront is okay, however paying an application fee or administrative fee is not okay. You should never pay just to get information about the job. If you are not getting an actual product (ebook etc.) or a sales kit then steer clear.
Step 3:- The company has no products or service. If you are not told what you will be selling then you will be selling nothing at all. Taking money without selling anything (whether tangible items or information products) has no place in the online world and is more than likely a scam.
Step 4:- the company is not known. It is rare for an online work at home business not to be known about by anyone. If nobody has heard about the business and after searching for this business (online is a good avenue for this) no information can be found, then it is likely a scam. People will be buzzing about a real business. People will be talking about it using blogs and social networking sites, telling others about their experiences.
Step 5:- Follow your gut instinct. If a business deal does not feel right then it probably is not right. Do not go with a company or work at home scheme if it does not give you a good feeling.
I have given you these 5 steps to help you weed out the work at home scams. They can help you to stop falling for these scams and will help save you a lot of time and money. People become despondent and give up on the work at home experience due to these scams, which is a shame because they can really be a lot of fun, and there are a lot of companies out there ready for people to make a good living.
Copyright (c) 2008 Mark Watson
While I must confess I don't know you, I assume that you are interested in home busies because you have seen a newspaper ad telling you of a very lucrative home business opportunity (I come across such ads every day), or maybe a friend told you about it. So probably you are a lot excited to start your own home business. Because finally, you can quit your 9-to-5 regular job and concentrate on something creative!
However, not everything is as rosy as it seems when it comes to home business. If you are planning to start your home business based on someone else's rules, you must be careful. Almost 99% of the offers out there are scams. Just think about it: if it was possible to earn thousands by investing just a few dollars, wouldn't everyone be doing it by now? Below I tell you of some of the industry's biggest scams, and how to avoid them.
1. Source of the advertisement: First, jog your memory a little. Can you remember where you got that work from home offer? Based on my experiences, I can say that: if you received that ad by email, or by post, then most likely it is not a legitimate offer, although there maybe exceptions. If you saw the ad in a popular newspaper then it is likely that the offer is legitimate, though not always. My advice is that always thoroughly check out any and every offer you receive and assume it a scam until you have solid proof to the contrary.
2. Stuff that envelop: Under this scam, you are sent a bunch of envelopes and ads similar to the one you responded to. You are supposed to earn some money when somebody responds to your ads. While this might make you some money in the short term, be assured that there is no established niche for this type of work and so you won't be making any money in the long term. Just get over it and find another job!
3. Charge for supplies: Under this scheme (read scam), the company asks you to pay a small charge in order for them to send you a certain 'home business kit'. What you eventually find is that the materials you receive are not worth the time or money, and that there is just no established market for that kind of business. Bottom line, if any company asks for money from you upfront, just run away from it. A well established company should b willing to deduct any fees from your first paycheck; if they don't do that, chances are that they're never going to pay you anything.
4. Craft and lose it: Let's say that a crafts company hires you to make clothes, toys, ornaments, and other types of crafts from home. When you finally submit the output to the company, they say that your products are not up to the mark and then refuse to pay you. Then they sell the products at a huge profit and then move on to trap the next gullible person.
Always make sure that you are the one who sell the products when it comes to crafts. You don't need to sell your products to the end-users (consumers); you can sell them even to wholesalers. Just make sure that you are the one deciding what you make and getting the money.
5.Home typing, Medical Billing, etc: I know this one much more better since I was also one of those who are lured into this scam but fortunately I fled from them before they could scam me! One example of such scam is the job of medical transcriptionist. You are told that there is too much work in this industry to handle and so the industry has outsourced the work. All you have to do is just type medical bills into an electronic database from home. And they assure you that you will get paid handsomely for it. All you need is just a computer (I was told that I don't even need a PC; I can work from their office) and buy a 'special software' which will teach you the skills needed for the job. You might notice that the software is from a different company altogether, but the truth is that the purpose of the ad in the first place was to market the software.
Granted that you get paid good money from your job, but when you are working from home for another company, you don't make as much money as you can do from your own home business. So there is no need to bother with them at all, at least, in my opinion.
Both Mark Watson & Arindam Chakraborty are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mark Watson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Network Marketing, Work From Home and Internet Marketing. Mark Watson of is a successful internet marketer working form home with some for the top marketers and leaders. For more information visit. Mark Watson's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.
Arindam Chakraborty has sinced written about articles on various topics from Small Business, Phoenix University and The Internet. A.Chakraborty is a home business expert.For more such Home Businesstips please join his free e-course at:. Arindam Chakraborty's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.