List of Work at Home Scams Stealing Your Money

Pay Close Attention to This Article. It May Save You a Lot of Money & Especially Your Nerves

If you have used the web for 10 or more years, then you probably know what scam is and isn’t. You’ve learned to recognize spam. You’ve learned to avoid get rich quick or pyramid schemes. But you know what, even with years of experience, you may still fall into the dirty traps of online business scammers online.

Yes, they are getting savvier. They will use any option they have to trick you into buying. Replicating a social or news site, pretending to be just like you to make you softer and buy.

That’s why it’s important to stay up to date with the list newest work from home scams. Below I’ll show you what they are doing right now to make money. You may be shocked to see some of their tactics. Maybe you’ll notice that you’ve even fallen for one of their scams. Make sure they don’t fool you twice & let your friends know about dangers awaiting them online.

Top Work at Home Scams – New Examples

“Kelly Richards of YOUR CITY never thought she would have a job working at home until one day she filled out a simple form online. Before she knew it, she discovered her secret to beating the recession, and being able to provide for her family while at home with her two children.”

That’s how usually these new work at home scams start. And were you surprised to see that I mentioned YOUR CITY? Wow! Many people think that the person is actually from their local hometown, but in reality not. It’s just a little script that you can put on your site and it shows your location.

If you have browsed top news sites like MSNBC or USAToday you’ve noticed a bunch of work from home ads. When you click on them, you’re taken to a website like the one below (work at home sample scam):

(Sorry for the poor quality image. I also blurred the logo just in case, don’t want to get into legal hassle with these guys.)

This is a so called fake news article. (There are also fake work at home blogs, which look like real blogs, but aren’t. Sorry couldn’t find any examples, probably they don’t bring money to these guys anymore, lol.) They pretend to be some Channel10news or NY Journal. People click from actual news site like TheDailyMirror land on this fake news site and can’t even feel suspicious. You read the story of a single mom, lost job, etc… This is all not true!

Yep, all total BS.

If you look at the bottom, you’ll usually see something like:

“It is important to note that this site and the stories depicted above is to be used as an illustrative example of what some individuals have achieved with this/these product”

This legal stuff is required by law, FTC so they have to put it. As you can see the story should be seen as illustrative, but we think it’s real. Nothing else tells us it isn’t.

Basically, they lie to you and at the bottom to be compliant say that they just lied to you.

Funny isn’t it? It isn’t if your credit card statement shows $200 for a $2 free trial.

Yes, most of these fake sites promote Google biz kits or other bizopps that charge monthly fee. They say it’s $1 free trial, and then your card is charged $50 to $200 each month for participating in a monthly membership program WHICH YOU DIDN’T ASK FOR !!!

This is called “FORCED CONTINUITY” when ongoing fees are hidden under small text usually.

Now, to be fair and objective I have to say that not all of these sites are bad.

Let me explain. These sites belong to affiliates most of the time that get compensated whenever customer makes a purchase on the merchant’s website. There are cases when the merchant/product owner doesn’t know affiliates are using such tactics. And the product may be in fact legitimate work at home offer.

On the other hand, these fake work at home scams exist, because law still allows that. There are restrictions made, but not too many apparently, because we still see these sites everywhere.

Sure, one might say. You should read the TOS (terms and conditions). Yeah, correct. But in reality, who the hell reads huh? Nobody. We all rush through the order excited about the product and promises they gave us without reading all the legal stuff. And usually it’s complicated language, small text. Nobody wants to read that right?

A Little Note to the Customers

THINK !!!

I’m going to jump onto another side here for a second.

Why on earth are you ordering the product when it says FREE TRIAL? They don’t say FREE SAMPLE, they don’t say COMPLETELY FREE, they say FREE TRIAL.

It means that it’s going to be free for a short period of time. And what happens after that? Well you’re going to have to pay. Now one time fee or monthly, here’s the question. And you should read the terms in that case.

You probably think: “What on earth?”

Heh, I just had to let it off my chest. Whenever you see free trial, remember, it’s free for a limited time only, but later you’ll have to pay, period. So watch out ok.

Why These Scams Still Exist?

Simple answer – they work.

They help advertisers fool you.

In earlier days, when web didn’t exist, scammers did exactly the same thing with mail. Asking people to send $5 to this person waiting that $1000 will start coming in. Yeah, right.

And when internet showed up, they simple moved to another platform – online. And guess what? Advertising online is cheaper that offline. Of course, there are exceptions, but basically, it’s easier and costs much less and that is one of the main reasons it works.

Another thing, which I hate the most, is that these scam artists exploit those that need the most help in our society. Who are the main buyers of these bizopp kits? Obviously people who can’t afford that in the first place. Single moms who need to feed their three children, disabled people who can’t find any other job, so online seems like the only idea.

But some people have no morals and no shame. They even use pictures of moms taken from internet to make you relate to the story better.

That is why I urge you to do your thorough research, before applying to one or another business opportunity, especially when terms are hidden. You really don’t want to end up paying $200 like some moms for business kit and then having to cancel your credit card.

Common Working from Home Scams – Watch Out

Business opportunity scams are probably the most common, that’s why I talk a lot about them here. But there are many more work at home scams to watch out for. I’m not saying that absolutely all work from home jobs are scams. But from my experience, and many people I talked to experience, these are the ones you should watch out for and do your very best research before joining them.

Let’s try to take a look and briefly review each of them ok.

1. Data Entry Jobs – These are also very common type of jobs. While not all are. Advertisers promote some business opportunities, like Google by using the terms data entry. But in reality, you’re paying for a kit that teaches you how to place ads on Google or some job sites.
   
   Then you’re waiting until someone buys this exact same product you did from you. This way you get compensated. But at the same time, sucking in other ‘innocent victims’. Data entry is rarely what you think it is so be prepared.
2. Stuffing Envelopes – Who hasn’t heard about these huh? But even these days you can find ads saying you can make $2-$5 per envelope. Do you really think companies need you to sit and stuff envelopes all day? They have automated processes, machines to do that.
   
   And especially, don’t go for ebooks or information kits teaching you how to stuff envelopes, because these will only give you a list of few outdated, scam sites that offer these envelope stuffing jobs in the first place. Stay away from this at all cost!
3. Paid Surveys – Who hasn’t heard about paid surveys? You work at home, and get paid up to $75/he for filling out surveys. How great is that? Except, when it’s a total big fat B.S.
   
   In general, the idea of paying someone money for a job to later make money from them is kind of silly. Why don’t they make money of surveys you complete? And usually you just get a bunch of rubbish surveys into your email. And in many cases, they pay you with some points that you can buy stuff with later. I’d stay away from them, unless you know that they are legit.
4. Rebate Processing – This is pretty much like envelope stuffing except transferred to the online world. They require you to pay money upfront and if you don’t you’re called “not serious” prospect. This reverse psychology works on some folks and they get hooked. Don’t fall for this trap. Legitimate work at home jobs should not require you to pay upfront fees, unless it’s a business opportunity and not really a job.

Avoiding Work at Home Scams

Let’s talk about the main part of this article. How to avoid work at home job scams? Too many people are being caught off guard and swallowed into the oblivion of rip-offs and scams. I have prepared a basic list of things you can do to avoid being ripped off by these shady advertisers.

• Privacy Policies & Disclaimers – I know, you don’t want to read those, but if it’s your hard earned money about to be wasted, then you better take your time. Read legal stuff, and search for $ sign with Ctrl + F combo in your browser. See what prices, fees they’re talking about. If you notice a monthly fee, which you don’t want to pay even for the best home business kit promising you $1000/day, then move away. That’s it.
• Reviews, Forums, Consumer Reports – Ok, reviews are not always clean and reviewers many times make money by pushing highest paying product/service. But get the basic idea. Look at consumer reports and see what people say about it. Type in offer/product name into a search engine and add scam next to it. For example: “Google money tree scam”.
• Another FREE TRIAL? Your best bet – move on…
• Contact Details - These shady guys love to hide their information usually. If there’s no clear contact us page, or physical address of a company, then it’s a red flag. Some may post address, but fake one. Use Google Maps to see if the area is in fact real and what is that place. And no, P.O boxes won’t do for legitimacy.
• Upfront Fees – Be wary if they ask you for upfront payment for a job. Real jobs start with interview, not $8.95 S&H fee. If you get a job, you get paid for it. If you will get paid for it, then why you need to pay upfront in the first place? Unless, they are not planning to pay you. So think carefully when getting involved into this kind of stuff.
• SPAM – Ever wondered why this one still exists on this planet? Yep, people are clicking the links. And what do they do when they click a link? They buy. NEVER EVER buy anything from an email message sent by a stranger! Never buy anything from spam email. It’s never a good thing. Period.
• Look at URL – Look at the address bar at the top of your browser. If a site is a part of any popular free site building services like Angelfire, Geocities, then don’t go for it. Frankly, only the worst work at home scammers would use these services. But some do and some get caught, so just a warning here.
• Use Credit Card – Do not pay by check online. Better use your credit card. This way, if something goes wrong, you can dispute a charge. It’s much easier to get your money back when you get in trouble.

Where to Report a Scam?

More and more horror stories come up online each and every day. People become victims of work from home frauds and don’t know what to do or where to go. Most often they just keep quiet and move on.

Never ever do that. We have to fight these bastards and clean up the industry a little bit. Enough is enough. So the next time you become victim of a work at home scam, report it.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) – They need some accurate information from you before you file a complaint, but they do accept internet crime complaints, so that’s your first stop.

FTC – They gather information about ID theft, shady business practices and overall help consumers find justice in a case of fraudulent activity online. Include online business and work at home scams.

BBB or Better Business Bureau – This resource is one of the best if you want to check on the company before buying anything. BBB lists many companies, reviews, complaints about them and allows you to file a complaint yourself. You can find out if the company you dealt with has negative reputation in the BBB directory.

Tell Us About It – Lastly, share your experience here on this website. If you’ve been scammed by a company, unsuccessful job hunt, business kit didn’t arrive and you never got your money back… anything. Spread the word and this is a place to start. Don’t forget to include the company name that scammed you. Get dirty. We made this website to be a part of a community and connect people together. You are not alone! Let’s fight this and publicity is one of the best way to do it.

Lastly, if you have any comments or ideas to share on this website, don’t hesitate.