Working at home is such an appealing idea that an unscrupulous few have come up with an endless number of schemes to swindle those who just want to spend more time with their families. Learn to spot the scams.
Are the Google work at home job opportunities advertised on the Internet and in emails for real? While there are an extremely limited number of work at home jobs for Google, the Google work at home kits and other Google job opportunities are work at home scams. Legitimate Google jobs from home are extremely rare.
Work at home scams can be tricky to detect. And while many people may not have lost money to questionable work at home opportunities, some have. Others have lost time to a venture that never paid off. Some work at home jobs advertise big money for little effort. But in reality, a whole lot of time only brings in a small amount of money.
When getting started working from home, figuring out which work-at-home jobs are legitimate, and which are not legitimate, can be tough. But as you cull through the many Internet job postings and ads, a pattern of deception becomes clear.
Work-at-home scams typically fall under several variations on a few themes. Some are pure cons while others are simply poor money-making opportunities. This list of possible work-at-home scams outlines both types.
Using common sense and keeping in mind these tricks that Internet con artists commonly use to lure people to their work-at-home scams is the best way to avoid getting ripped off.
Google Ads, promoting work-at-home opportunities, appear on most pages of this website. Many of these ads are not offering legitimate opportunities.
Alison Doyle, About.com's Guide to Job Search, gives tips on how to tell the legitimate job opportunity from the scam.
Judy Hedding, About.com's Guide to Phoenix, advises readers on how to tell if a mystery shopper opportunity is legitimate.
Stay one step ahead of the con artists looking to separate you from your hard-earned money. Laura Schneider, About.com's Guide to Tech Careers, lets you in on their secrets.
Legitimate home businesses that often appeal to work-at-home moms, like Mary Kay Cosmetics and The Pampered Chef, are mulitlevel martketing (MLM) business opportunities. But so are fraudulent pyramid schemes. Susan Ward, About.com's Guide to Small Business/Canada, differentiates between the two.
Once you've determined that a multilevel marketing (MLM) business is legit and not a pyramid scheme, is it right for you? Scott Allen, About.com's Guide to Entrepreneurs, gives you 6 questions to mull before investing time and money.
While not all these hoaxes listed by Paul Gil, About.com's Guide to the Internet for Beginners, are work-at-home scams, many nonetheless try to lure those who want to earn money from home.
