Shun Those Work-At-Home Offers
Only Thing These Schemes Usually Offer Is A Dirty Deal
By Sharyn Alden, Contributing Writer
February 21, 2001, 3:54 p.m. EST
You’ve seen the signs posted on telephone poles and grocery store bulletin boards, on cable TV, and in Help Wanted ads in newspapers. "Make $4,000 a week by processing government refunds at home." "Work at home and make up to $5,800 a month stuffing envelopes." "Do assembly work at home and make up to $1,800 weekly, guaranteed!"
Whoa! Shouldn’t you quit your job and rush to take advantage of these incredible offers? If you’ve seen one of these work-at-home deals, and thought about calling the phone number in the ad, you’re like most of us. It’s an appealing thought, to stay home and get rich quick while we lounge around in our pajamas.
But wait a minute. There’s something wrong here, isn’t there, or wouldn’t everyone you know be doing just that? It may be why you never called, that in the back of your mind you thought that super offer wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny when you did a little probing.
Guess what? You’re right. Get-rich-quick schemes from working at home are usually scams. But for many people, it’s hard to tell the real thing (some offers to work at home are legitimate, but they involve skills, like accounting, in return for a regular paycheck) from the frauds -- particularly now that work-at-home scams now target Internet users in addition to their usual ways of attracting victims.
Are You A Target?
If you’re broke, out of work, a senior citizen, a stay-at-home mom, disabled or have few or any job skills, or is someone who wants to believe in get-rich-quick offers, you’re a perfect target. Work-at-home schemes have always targeted these groups of people -- the schemes have been around for decades -- but now the Internet plays a big role in reaching the scams’ prey. The Internet lets users deliver phony ads out to a big audience, fast, easy and cheap.
Stay Away From These Typical Work-At-Home "Jobs"
There are many work-at-home schemes. These are some of the most common ones:
- Assembly Work-At-Home: You’ll undoubtedly invest hundreds of dollars for materials to make things like signs or toys. So far not bad, because the company may have promised to buy the merchandise when you’re finished. Oops, did you think you were going to come out a winner? Chances are, when you’re finished assembling a small mountain of stuff, the company will change its tune, saying your work isn’t "up to standard." So there you are, left with a lot of craft items, and no immediate market to sell them.
- Stuffing Envelopes At Home: Usually this scheme revolves around placing ads in newspapers, not stuffing envelopes. If you took the hook, you’ll have spent possibly hundreds of dollars to get information about placing ads like the one you responded to. This deal works off the continuous recruitment of other people to send for phony materials, then spend more money getting others to respond to the phony ads.
- Processing Government Refunds At Home: This is one the government really doesn’t care much for. For a "kit" selling for about $40, you’ll learn that you’ll need to try to find, and convince, people to give you part of their U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development refund. Ads usually say something like this: "Earn $1,500 weekly for processing third-party government refunds." The thing is, no one needs to pay someone to process or collect their refund, so why should they bother with a third party like you? HUD advises that you can collect any refund you might have coming by contacting HUD directly.
How To Tell If A Work-At-Home Offer Is A Fraud
Here’s a list of red flags -- big clues that you should steer clear of that stay-at-home offer. Keep in mind that it’s wise to stay away from fraudulent schemes, not only because they may cost you time and money, but also because you could become a party in a lawsuit. Some of the schemes depend upon your successful solicitation of other victims, so be aware of the consequences.
Be Aware Of Schemes With These Red Flags
- Require money upfront to "get you started." If you have to pay for a kit of instructions--which can range anywhere from $30 or $40 to thousands of dollars, forget it. Legitimate employment offers don’t ask you to pay for instructions and materials upfront -- BEFORE telling you how their plan works. Be aware of someone asking for cash or a credit card number upfront.
- No salaried employment is offered. Many people do work as legitimate, self-employeed, independent contractors from their homes. If you take into consideration all of the other red flags, then find out there’s no guaranteed wage, assume this is probably a ploy to take you for a ride.
- No skills needed. Sure, there are unskilled people who obtain legitimate work, but work-at-home offers are usually not in this category.
- High pressure tactics and urgency. Oh, please. Can’t you see this coming? If you’re told the offer is going to expire soon, and to get in on it, you’ve got to act now, assume it’s a scam.
- Be leery of personal testimonials and references. Con artists often pay people for their phony success stories. If the company is unwilling to have you check out testimonials and references, consider the offer bogus. Always get written material, phone number and address from the company so you can check their claims out.
- Be leery of claims to huge earnings. If it sounds unbelievable, it probably is.
- Be aware of vague offers. If you can’t get specific answers to your questions, this is probably a scam veiled in vagueness.
What To Do If You’ve Been Scammed
First, do the obvious. Ask for your money back. If the company refuses or gives you the runaround, report the activity to your local law enforcement officials. If you take the reporting route, make sure you have a well-documented trail of deception. Keep track of phone calls, letters and receipts. You might also want to contact your local Better Business Bureau, your state attorney general’s office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the media or retail outlet where you spotted the ad.
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Sharyn Alden has written about consumer issues for two decades for publications including the Wisconsin State Journal.
Copyright 2001 by NewsNet5. All rights reserved.
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