Recognizing a Work at Home Scam
Work at home moms are the target of a lot of scams. Unfortunately, because we tend to be rather desperate to earn some cash, scam artists pull out a load of amazing offers to woo mothers who need to stay home and work. However, jumping on a scam will only cause you to lose time and money when you could be working on something far more productive.
Personally, I encourage moms who want to work at home to start their own business, but that isn´t always possible and sometimes you need to earn some money faster than you can by starting a business. In that case, you may be looking for jobs online and I can guarantee some of them are going to be scams. So, how do you spot work at home scams?
- Money is required. If at any point, you are asked for a payment to start a job, back away! There are some job listings, directories, etc. that require a fee and may be worth it, but if an actual job requires you to pay them, that´s almost always a scam.
- Read the fine print. You know those “Assemble Crafts At Home” deals? Well, you have to pay for the kit (see my first point) and if you read the fine print, they aren´t required to buy back anything that they think is unacceptable . . . and guess what? It´s all going to be unacceptable.
- Look for reviews without links. There are often plenty of reviews of a business that offers job opportunities, but if there is a link involved, particularly one with something like this at the end: ?2321414232, you´ll be getting a biased review. That link means that you click on it and if you buy something or upgrade, the person who referred you will be earning money. That doesn´t mean that affiliate links are a bad thing, it´s a great way to support someone you trust, but it does mean that the review may be biased and for the purposes of job research, you will want to look for unbiased reviews.
- Trust your instincts. If you aren´t sure and feel kind of weird about the job opportunity, listen to your gut. Amazingly, we are born with instincts to help protect us, but too many women ignore these and end up in trouble.
Work at home scams can really wreck your perception of the online work world, so please be careful.
What do you think of things like Tupperware, where you have to buy a starter kit or your own catalogues?
@Lorna, that´s a very good question. I´ve actually been involved in things like that, Avon, Creative Memories, etc. While these aren´t scams, they ARE designed to make the company money, even if the seller fails, so you need to be careful.
If you aren´t good at sales, it´s probably not a good idea to get into one of these companies, since you are usually required to start out with a small investment and then order a certain amount each month. For those women who are very good at getting sales, these can work just fine, but others who are shy can actually lose quite a bit of money. I think it really depends on your personality.
Anyone else care to chime in on this one?
Good post.
I’d like to add a couple of things to your list.
First, there should always be contact information. Phone # is preferable, but at least an email, and use it to ask a question to ensure someone is going to answer you. Also note how long it takes them to get back to you.
Secondly, check the company out with the Better Business Bureau. If there have been complaints issued against them, there will be a record of that. Take note of if the issues were resolved or not.
@Laurie, excellent additions, thanks!