Is It A Scam?

Televisions commercials, magazine advertisements, and Internet websites all indicate working from home is easy. “If I can do it, so can you!” says the paid actor or copywriter.

You’ve heard or read the gimmicks a thousand times. Heck, you could probably recite them verbatim. Most messages go something like this: The benefits of working from home are endless. They range from being readily available for your children to working in your pajamas to being able to take time off whenever you’d like to no more long commutes. If you’re tired of that “just over broke” paycheck, give us a call and all your dreams will come true!

With so much hype, it’s hard to know who is telling the truth and who is simply out to get your hard earned buck. So where do you turn for advice and who do you trust?

If it sounds too good to be true, it is!  If it says “no experience necessary,” don’t believe it.  You will either have to learn something, such as medical terminology for a transcriber position, or you will have to learn about the company rules and procedures, in addition to federal and state laws.  If a company won’t tell you about their business until you attend a meeting, walk away.  If the company is persistent and pushy, get leery.  If you feel uneasy about anything, hold true to your gut feeling and look for something else.  And never, ever pay someone to hire you to work out of your home.  If they want to use your services, they should be paying you, not the other way around.

Oh, and the clincher of all clinchers, if they promise you that there is no work involved, that they will take care of everything, or that your downline will be provided for you, run as fast as you can in the opposite direction.  Nothing in life is free.  Everything takes work.  And that includes having a business on the Internet.

Be sure to check out this handy SCAM Checklist before venturing out on your own:

1. Check the company you are interested in with the Better Business Bureau  http://www.betterbusinessbureau.com/

1. Check the company you are interested in with the Local Chamber of Commerce

1. Check with SCAM organizations to see if there is any record of previous problems, and find out what those problems are. 

http://www.fraud.org/

http://scambusters.com/

http://scamcentral.com/

http://worldwidescam.com/

http://www.scamwatch.com/

http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/

1.       Don’t pay to become an employee or contractor.

2.       Say “No” to chain letters, envelope stuffing, sending bulk emails, assembly projects at home, 900 numbers, and get-rich-quick schemes that promise you tons of money.

3.       Never send money to people who contact you out of the blue for some service, plea for help, or business opportunity.

4.       If you are looking into a business opportunity, research the company before sending any money.  Check out their mentor program, training programs, products and services, company history, payment methods, what the average consultant in the company earns, etc.  Although it sounds great for a company to say that you can earn $50,000 a year, only 20% of the company’s consultants are top earners.  It’s the 80% that you want to get to know.  What are they making?