How To Spot Work-From-Home Scams

Every Internet user is aware of the fact that the web is flooded with advertisements for “work from home” or “make easy money” jobs. While many of these offers are phony, there are some jobs that are 100% legitimate and represent a great way for certain individuals to make rent money and maybe even more.

Unfortunately, many of the offers promising loads of money in return for a few simple tasks are fakes, designed to dupe the unsuspecting user into handing over an account registration fee, or make him perform tasks that never pay off. Here are a few steps you can take to spot those scams:

Check out the company

This does not require professional detective work, instead a simple Google search can provide all the information you need. The thing about phony jobs is that once someone falls into the trap they set, the victim will start flooding forums and social media websites with complaints and warning messages. In the situation where a phony company changes its name a lot, you can search for the ad’s content. In most cases the fabulous story served to potential victims remains mostly unchanged. Usually, job offers that come via unsolicited email, or via a pop-up window that displays in big bold letters something like “single mom earns thousands from home” are scams.

Never trust jobs that offer big money for small tasks

Legitimate jobs, such as the ones I mentioned before, offer a decent amount of money for tasks that can’t really be considered to be a walk in the park. One thing I noticed about phony job offers is that in most scenarios they rely on the financial power of Google (or other well-known large organizations) to attract potential victims.  Another variation of this plot urges the “employees” to join a pyramid scheme in which they have to attract their friends into working for them.

Work, but not too much

First of all, even if everything is done remotely, genuine companies will offer you a contract for a limited or unlimited period. There is a chance that a phony company offers a contract just to make everything look genuine. So, to make sure you’re covered and you don’t end up wasting a week or a month doing a task for con artists, you can do some work, but not too much. If the company pays you after each week of work, it’s even better.

Have you been a victim of a Work From Home scam? How did you identify it as a phony?

 

Source: Softpedia

Image: Busta Thief