Stop Being The Work At Home Scam Victim

[VW2010]

Stop Being The Work At Home Scam Victim
By: S McIntyre

The holidays are around the corner and the con artists are working full-time. More than ever there will be more work at home jobs or opportunities popping up on the Internet. It is crucial to stay one step ahead of the scammers and keep your guard up to avoid getting involved in an unfortunate and some times unpleasant situation.

Many are the same ol' work at home scams that have been around a long time. Some times they will change the wording so it may seem like something new, but basically it's the same scam worded differently.

Here are five common work at home scams that should be avoided in all circumstances.

1. Envelope stuffing is still and always will be a scam. It doesn't matter how the con artists change it up. There is no such thing as a legitimate envelope stuffing job. The only legitimate envelope stuffing job is you stuffing your Christmas cards.

2. Chain letters are illegal and they are certainly not endorse by Oprah nor was it ever discussed on the TV show 20/20. Oprah didn't make her millions by sending off $6 to six friends. She made it by working hard...like the rest of us. Some chain letters are fun especially if they don't involve exchange of money of any kind. I'm thinking more on the lines of recipe exchanging.

3. Payment processing has been around a long time and I have to reiterate, no one sends you money for no reason. Never accept jobs that require you to cash cheques, receive or ship packages, or transfer money from your account to another account. It's not worth the risk or the legal implication that can come with it.

4. Email processing/Ad typing scams always require upfront training material fees. The magic number per email processed is $25 and the magic number to earn per week for both email processing and ad typing is $300-$500. Whenever you see unrealistic numbers like these or higher, it's time to run for the hills and fast. Ad typing is often mislabeled as data entry jobs. Keep in mind, data entry jobs are very hard to find.

5. Phishing scams pronounced the same way as fishing are fishers (scammers) who are looking to steal your personal information. You will find phishing emails from eBay, PayPal and banks. Phishing emails most times will address you in forms of, "Dear Member", "Dear PayPal/eBay/Bank name and your name" or "Dear Cardholder". They will send bogus emails about an inactive or someone trying to hack into your account or there was a limit on your account. Whatever you do, never click on the link they provide in the email. I can't stress enough, always log into your account from the original company's website.

The holiday is the time of year the scam artists will prey on the unsuspecting and the vulnerable; the ones desperately seeking a work at home income. Don't be that person, but instead be vigilant, ask yourself some questions, use common sense and go with your gut when it comes to finding a work at home job.

To find a listing of work at home companies, visit WorkAtHomeSpace.com. We never ask for any fees! Looking for work at home support? Join us at our community forum where we also offer daily work at home job leads, articles, resources and more.

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S McIntyre owns Work At Home Space a free work at home resource focusing on telecommuting companies, daily telecommute job leads, articles, business resources and other work at home related topics.