Work at home jobs may not be all they seem

With high unemployment and a competitive job market, more people than ever are looking for a way to make money.  But before you apply online for employment or consider buying into a “work-at-home” job, think again.  Online job scams are out there and they’re dangerous! If you get scammed you can loose money, be the victim of identity theft, even find yourself legally liable for perpetuating fraud!

Before you apply or submit any information to an online job listing, ask yourself these four questions:

              1. Is the hiring company’s name mentioned in the job listing?

2. Do you need to pay to apply for or get the job?  To have a background check done?

3. Are you being asked to provide your driver’s license, social security number, bank or PayPal account information, or credit card number?

4. Does the job sound too good to be true?  If it does, it probably is a scam. 

No one is really going to pay you hundreds of dollars a week to spend a few hours stuffing envelopes from your kitchen table.  What you most likely will be expected to do is try and recruit other people to perpetuate the scam.  And people who perpetuate a fraud like the envelope scam can be investigated and prosecuted!

Watch out for any multi-level marketing “job” (pyramid scheme) where you are expected to recruit others to join the business instead of selling the company’s products.  You should also be skeptical of a work at home job doing data entry.  If you need to pay for information about the job, for training, or to get a data entry job – it’s a scam.  A job posting for rebate processor is another.  These so called “job opportunities” typically have you pay a fee to apply and train for a position that anyone and everyone who applies, gets.

The ads for these type “jobs” explain that charging applicants is a way to weed out those people who “do not really want to pursue ‘the opportunity’”.  Another example is a “job posting” for assembly work at home.  The first catch is you need to purchase the supplies to make the crafts.  Then once you do, they either tell you that the crafts you assembled weren’t done properly so they won’t pay you for them or you are expected to sell the crafts yourself (but the crafts are nothing anyone would want to buy).

Also be wary of companies that claim they can find you a job if you pay them a fee. Job placement businesses or headhunter firms usually don’t charge job seekers – typically they’re paid by the companies that are looking to hire.  If you are looking for a job and asked to pay a company a fee to find you a job, be careful.  It might be legitimate, but more likely it isn’t.  The Better Business Bureau reported that one placement firm advertising on Craigslist charged up to $195.00 and guaranteed it could find job hunters work.  When the job hunters never received calls back, never mind got any job offers, there was no way for them to contact the company that took their money.

One of the most telling signs of a scam is when the job title itself is only listed as “work at home” instead of a job title you would normally see on a business card. You need to be especially careful of these as you can end up in legal hot water for unknowingly laundering money and/or fraud.

You also should watch out for jobs that claim you will be a shipping manager.  You’ll receive packages of items that need to be re-packed and shipped usually to foreign addresses.   In other words, laundering stolen goods! Another legal nightmare is any job that has you doing wire transfers.  These jobs require you to deposit money sent to you into your bank account.  You keep a portion of it and write a check to transfer the rest to other accounts.  The check you deposit into your account eventually bounces because it is stolen or counterfeit.

Some scammers advertise in newspapers and magazines - many on the internet.  Scammers advertise by emailing you directly (spam), by contacting you through a message on a social networking site, by posting on Craigslist and Monster.com, and even by mail.  While there are safeguards and laws in place to try and protect the public – scammers are alive and well, and they’re looking to take advantage of people like you and me!  Scammers usually promise huge profits and big part-time earnings.  They’ll often use personal testimonials but never identify the person so you can contact them.  They also are notorious for claiming that no experience is necessary.

The most important thing you can do to protect yourself is to realize there are a lot of “work-at-home” scams out there, and to be very cautious.  Sure, you want to make money, but not at the expense of getting your identity stolen, ruining your credit rating, or getting involved in illegal activities.