Work At Home Safari

“Internet giant Google filed a lawsuit against Pacific WebWorks and other not-yet named defendants for allegedly using the Google name and logo to promote work-at-home money-making scams.”

“Thousands of people have been tricked into sending payment information and being charged hidden fees by questionable operations,” Google said in a recent blog post.

“The Better Business Bureau has received 382 complaints about Pacific WebWorks in the last year, and 84% of them are related to billing or collection, refund or exchange, and sales practice issues.”

“The company, which rates an F on BBB’s scale of A+ to F, negleted to respond to 107 complaints filed, and did not resolve 45 of them.”

Read this entire article to learn more details.

According to the Wall Street Journal article by Sue Shellenbarger, many unsolicted job offers are scams.

These unsolicted job offers want something from you rather than offering something of value.  There are several steps you can take to ward off these work-at-home scams. According to the article, “first, do an Internet search by typing the company name, a plus sign and the word “scam” into the search box. This will quickly turn up any mentions of the vendor in the context of illicit pitches.”

Another piece of advice from the article is “check the address provided by the company, to see whether it is a physical office or a site with public mailboxes for many users.

Third, check with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org to see if complaints have been filed against this company.

These simple three steps can quickly help you determine if that unsolicted job offer is real or a scam.

THE CON.  The company will ask you to pay a hefty deposit to ensure that you complete and return the work.  Unfortunately, when you return the assembled products you will learn that your work did not meet their quality standards and be rejected.  The zinger, the company will keep your deposit too because your work was deemed unacceptable.

#3–
MYSTERY SHOPPERS SCAM. Who doesn’t dream of getting paid to shop?  This scam claims you can make big bucks rating customer service at your favorite stores.  The best part is you also get to keep all the clothes you purchased.

THE CON. There are some legitimate mystery shoppers out there, but in reality they only make about $10-15 per hour (and maybe a free lunch). Many times, you’ll be asked to pay for “training”, then once you’re sent on assignment and come home with loads of new clothes, you won’t be reimbursed for the money you spent.  Worst of all, these scammers are trying to acquire your Social Security number. Never give out this information unless you are absolutely sure the employer is legitimate even if they have a professional-looking website.

#4–
CHECK SCAM.  I’ve seen this scam on Craigslist.  Sometimes scammers will send you a paycheck and then contact you saying they overpaid you. They will ask that you mail them a personal check for the amount they overpaid you.  Steer clear of any type of “job” that requires you to use your own accounts.

THE CON.  A couple of weeks after you’ve sent your personal check, you will discover the paycheck they sent bounced.

#5–
STUFFING ENVELOPES SCAM. I think everyone has seen this ad: Earn extra cash stuffing envelopes!  Sounds pretty easy.  This scam promises to pay you big bucks for cramming paper into envelopes, all you have to do is purchase their supplies or training package.

THE CON.  All you get are worthless instructions on how to stuff envelopes or con your friends into signing up too.  In reality, companies have machines or some poor intern to stuff their envelopes at half the cost of what they’re claiming to pay you to do it.

#6–
BILLING PROCESSOR SCAM. This claim is advertised with the title of Medical Billing Specialist or Insurance Claims Processor.

THE CON: You’ll be asked to shell out big bucks for the required software and training.  Unfortunately, most companies have their own people to process their claims and bills. If they need to outsource they send the work to large companies not work-from-home individuals with little to no experience. You’ll end up paying for the training and software, but never see a cent.

CONCLUSION.  A work-from-home job is just like one outside the house, employers pay you to work, not the other way around.  If you are asked to pay for training materials, charged fees, or anything like that, get away!  These are most likely not legitimate work at home job opportunities.  Don’t get taken advantage of during this tough economy.  It only takes a few minutes to spot a scam.

If you are like me, you probably see work from home job ads that read ”Easy Work, Great Pay”, “No Experience Necessary”, and “Make $4000/Month Working From Home”.  Well, who doesn’t want to make a bunch of money doing very little?  But realistically, such a thing is only true in the land of make believe.  In this current economy, some of my friends and neighbors are getting laid off, seeing their retirement accounts disappear, or being forced to take unpaid vacation.  I am sure you know someone in that situation too.  Maybe it’s you, your spouse, or a friend.  The demand for work is high yet the supply of job openings is low, so many people are turning to work at home job opportunities.  Smelling the desperation, scammers are going out in full force, advertising what look like legitimate jobs, and preying on the unaware.

With all the work from home job opportunities lurking on the web, it is hard to weed out the true jobs from the scams.  The first thing to remember is, if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.  Secondly, always trust your gut.  If something does not feel right, get away.  Here are some additional tips to help you spot a work at home scam in minutes.

1.  Don’t pay for anything.  Are you being charged a fee, asked to pay for training, or required to purchase kits?  If so, this is a red flag.  Real jobs will pay you to work for them, not the other way around.    Pay close attention to application fees, administrative fees, start-up fees, and background check fees.  Most companies will cover these fees because it is the cost of running a business.

 2.  Don’t share your personal information.  Beware if the employer asks you for your Social Security number, bank information, credit card number, driver’s license number, or birth date very early in the hiring process.  If you do not have a job offer or even interviewed for the position, do not share any of this information.  Once you are hired there will be appropriate times when you will share some of your personal data, for example, you will be given an IRS tax form which will ask for your Social Security number or direct deposit form where it’s OK to provide your bank account number.  A company will never ask for your credit card number.  You do not want to be a victim of identity theft or be charged for anything you are not aware of, so be careful.

3.  Don’t be tricked by huge hourly, weekly, or monthly wages.  Outrageous wages such as the ability to earn $45 an hour, up to $2000 a week, or thousands per month — are most likely scams.  If they say you can make that kind of money with no previous experience required — they are definitely scams.  Those wages make you see dollar signs and lure you in.  Genuine jobs with that kind of money are not plastered all over the web and will require a special skill or previous job experience.

4.  Don’t trust the use of logos from news organizations or shows.  This one even gets me sometimes.  Work at home ads and sites often feature logos from news organizations and shows such as MSNBC, ABC, CNN, or the Today Show to make themselves look trustworthy and familiar.  Anyone can easily copy and paste a logo onto their ad or website, even though there is no affiliation whatsoever.  Most likely, those logos are being used without permission.

5.  Don’t gloss over the fine print.  Like with credit card applications, you must read the fine print.  I know reading all those paragraphs is boring and it doesn’t help they use the tiniest font size, but that is done on purpose to discourage you from reading the details.  Many ads will tell you there is a small fee of $1-$3 to start your business, but in the fine print is where you’ll find the monthly recurring charge of $50 for this and $75 for that.  They trick you into sharing your credit card information, immediately charge you for all these fees, and it’s up to you to notice it on your statement and dispute those charges.  Also, envelope-stuffing schemes are notorious for deeming work submitted as unacceptable quality and refusing to pay.  The clause about how unacceptable work is defined is in the fine print.

6.  Don’t buy into the high pressure sales tactics.  “Don’t miss this opportunity to make fast, easy money”, “The next 12 people to click …”, or “Free today only” are high pressure sales tactics designed to make you react without thinking.  It’s also a way to get you to feel a sense of urgency so you don’t look too closely at the fine print or even quality of the website.  (Bad grammar and typos are quick ways to spot scams.)

7.  Don’t be fooled by Christian business ads.  Just because a business advertises it is “Christian” is no reason to believe they are telling the truth.  Con artists are not above using religion to lure you in.  Same as with the use of logos, scammers are just trying to associate themselves with something worth your trust.

8.  Don’t see any contact information?  Then it’s probably a scam.  Click on the “Contact Us”, “About”, or “Company Information” pages of the website.  Can you find a business name, street address, and telephone number?  Or just an email address and P.O. Box?  Also, is the company located overseas?  Real companies will have a real physical address and phone number that you can call.  I recommend that you do.  Does someone answer the phone or is it a pre-recorded message or voicemail?  Those companies that dump you into a voicemail box should also raise red flags.

9.  Don’t forget to ask questions.  If you can locate the company’s contact information, call and ask questions.  Sometimes, a website may have a pop-up instant messenger (IM) window with a (supposed) live agent waiting to answer your questions.  Type in, “how’s the weather?” or “how are you?” and you’ll probably get a canned response like, “Act fast so you don’t miss this great offer.”  If you get an actual live agent, ask them questions about what kind of investment you’ll need to make to get started, how long the company has been around, and exactly what you will be doing.  Many times, the agent will not be able to answer these questions, revealing the scam.

10.  Don’t ignore your intuition.  Most times you’re gut is already telling you what you need to know — that the opportunity is too good to be true.  If something seems fishy, it probably is and you should walk away.  Don’t suspend your good judgement because the money sounds so good and there might be a chance the opportunity is real.  Walk away.  There are real opportunities out there.  They may require hard work for reasonable pay, but I’d rather be paid than wind up falling victim to a scam.

Do your homework and research the job opportunity and company.  It only takes minutes to spot a work from home scam.  Your time will be very well spent avoiding the many people out there trying to make a fast buck and taking advantage of job seekers.

Scammers are using Twitter to lure victims into work from home scams. During this economic recession, workers are desperate for job opportunities and not paying as close attention to potential scams, especially if the job posting is only 140 characters long.

According to the consumer alert, “The ads say “Twitter needs workers..so apply now,” or make cash with Twitter.  Twitter is a hugely popular site where people communicate with short phrases.  The ads promise big money and say they are trusted ways to make cash.  All you have to do is buy something first.”

“It’s the latest twist on the old work from home scam.  The Better Business Bureau says these websites have just surfaced, with names like TwitterProfitHouse.com and EasyTweetProfits.com.  They promise a risk-free trial period, but the time starts the day you place the order.  And if you don’t cancel in time, they charge you.”

There are many legitimate work at home opportunities out there, but equally as many scams. With a little research and careful reading, you can avoid the latter.

Read the rest of this article here.