Work-at-Home scams skyrocket in tough economy
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Work-at-Home scams skyrocket in tough economy
If it sounds too good to be true, just hit the delete button and move on. Those words of warning about another round of email headed your way, that looks like it's sent from someone you know. It's all about three magic words that trick thousands of people every year by making their money disappear: "Work-At-Home."
When you've spent hours in line at job fair competing for face time and burned your eyeballs tracking leads on the computer, the promise of being able to make extra money working from home has powerful appeal.
But seriously? $1,000 a week with no experience? In this economy, work-at-home scams are skyrocketing. A quick internet search brings up dozens of warnings.
Barbara Brunner emailed me from Cle Elum about testimonials flooding her inbox, that appear to come from her friends. But they're not from her friends at all.
"They would talk about, if you're out of work and laid off. This is a way to make money and you could work 20 hours and make a thousand dollars. If you work more than that you could make $5,000," said Brunner.
Regardless of the come-on they're only out for your money and your personal information.
Some of the most common rackets:
"The first one would be that I got it unsolicited," she said. "The second would be how much money you could make and the third would be my sending money to an unsolicited email and me not even knowing anything about it, and giving my personal information."
As I've told you before, there are legitimate work-at-home jobs out there, but the competition is stiff. You must have experience, you must undergo screening in person, there are strict work guidelines and you will not make anywhere near thousand dollars a week.
Tips on finding legit work-at-home business
More Information on work-at-home scams:
http://www.scambusters.org/work-at-home.html
http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/work_from_home_scams.php
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/april/workathome_041709
http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/getting-started/avoid-work-from-home-job-scams/article.aspx
http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2011/12/13/16-work-at-home-scams-to-avoid
When you've spent hours in line at job fair competing for face time and burned your eyeballs tracking leads on the computer, the promise of being able to make extra money working from home has powerful appeal.
But seriously? $1,000 a week with no experience? In this economy, work-at-home scams are skyrocketing. A quick internet search brings up dozens of warnings.
Barbara Brunner emailed me from Cle Elum about testimonials flooding her inbox, that appear to come from her friends. But they're not from her friends at all.
"They would talk about, if you're out of work and laid off. This is a way to make money and you could work 20 hours and make a thousand dollars. If you work more than that you could make $5,000," said Brunner.
Regardless of the come-on they're only out for your money and your personal information.
Some of the most common rackets:
- Medical Billing
- Secret Shopper
- Internet Business
- Rebate and Application Processing
- Online Surveys
- Envelope Stuffing
- Assembly Work
- Social Network Jobs
"The first one would be that I got it unsolicited," she said. "The second would be how much money you could make and the third would be my sending money to an unsolicited email and me not even knowing anything about it, and giving my personal information."
As I've told you before, there are legitimate work-at-home jobs out there, but the competition is stiff. You must have experience, you must undergo screening in person, there are strict work guidelines and you will not make anywhere near thousand dollars a week.
Tips on finding legit work-at-home business
More Information on work-at-home scams:
http://www.scambusters.org/work-at-home.html
http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/work_from_home_scams.php
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/april/workathome_041709
http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/getting-started/avoid-work-from-home-job-scams/article.aspx
http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2011/12/13/16-work-at-home-scams-to-avoid
