8 Work-At-Home Scams To prevent

Here are some nasty work-at-home schemes we've identified over the past number of years. E-Commerce Con Creating a few extra bucks doesn't sound any easier than this: Simply pay an up-front, one-time fee (a couple of thousand dollars, perhaps) to have someone build and host a functioning website featuring various household goods for sale, from toothpaste to make-up; each and every time someone buys a product, you collect a slice of the transaction. All you need to do is persuade folks to search there-the rest (stocking inventory, shipping the merchandise) is handled for you. Or, much more likely, nothing is handled, as well as the thief providing you the ability is over with your earnest money before you've hocked one tube of Crest. Letter From Nigeria Also called the 419 scam (speaking about the content with the Nigerian Criminal Code managing fraud), this bait-and-switch has gained a lot of attention. The ruse takes many forms. One common flavor: An e-mail arrives from the man claiming to become senior civil servant of Nigeria (and other African country), who writes that he's looking for a reputable foreigner with whom he can deposit as much as $60 million for safe-keeping when he deals with some dangerous political strife. To acquire providing safe haven inside your checking account, the thief plans to provide you with 30% of the money once-as one email put it-"documentations are concluded over here." The emails may even have a (forged) seal of the Nigerian government, just for good measure. Of course, you will end up forced to pay up a first deposit allowing you to have a stake in the industry venture. Whenever your Nigerian friend later claims something moved awry, he can request additional funds to tide him over-never mind that they supposedly has huge amounts of money to start with. (Another non-work-at-home twist: The e-mail may declare that you are eligible to receive a hefty inheritance from your wealthy and recently deceased diplomat or businessman. Yet another: You could be promised a handsome fee for distributing a giant stash among various charities. Yes, confirms the federal government Trade Commission: People do are seduced by this. Dial-A-Crook Lonely hearts aren't the only fans of 1-900 numbers. Scammers use them to push bogus work-at-home gigs: Just call the 1-900 number for "more information." Whilst you wait on hold, you'll accumulate usurious charges, that your crook splits with the unwitting phone company. Foil the scam and, like a bet on Whack-a-Mole, the bad guy simply pops up within different name, with a different number. Driver Wanted This scam, recently advertised on Craigslist, has many variations. In one case, a person demands chauffer his wife, who is visiting your community. Pretty simple, although the payment terms are a tad convoluted. You are told that you will receive a check (or "money gram") for, say, $2,500 within the mail. You may deposit the check, then immediately pull out the cash- $700 to hide your fee and then for any ancillary expenses, along with the rest being mailed time for the scammer. Your bank probably won't know for the day or two which you have deposited an imitation check. Check Cashing Also known as "money-mule" schemes. The gist: Scammers recruit U.S. agents-dubbed "financial managers" or "sales managers"-to cash counterfeit checks (or deposit stolen funds), for the small commission, then wire those funds abroad, often towards the scammers themselves. Once the lender realizes the checks are bogus (2 to 5 days later), the money's been sent as well as the unsuspecting intermediary remains holding the bag. Medical Billing Many of these work-from-home schemes promise up to 1000s of dollars a week for processing insurance claims for doctors who will be too busy to handle paperwork themselves. You'll receive startup marketing materials, software, an exercise session plus a "lead" list of local doctors-all for a fee, needless to say. Too bad that software costs a lot less at Greatest coupe, your training sessions are postponed indefinitely, your leads are vapor and no one wants your merchandise. Mystery Shopping On this scam, an official-sounding entity, including the Mystery Shopping Club of America, promises assignments to aspiring marketing researchers. The way to get paid? Simply make anonymous purchases at various stores and evaluate your experience-right once you pay a "registration fee" to appear or make an application for assignments in the database. Legitimate offers won't need a fee or "certification" find companies requesting mystery shoppers. Typical prey: university students. Pre-screened Set of Jobs This could be probably the most heartless among all. Consumers pay a charge to register with all the business gain access to a pre-screened list of "legitimate" work-at-home job listings. The scammer's ads show up for the duration of a "scam free jobs at home" online search, and so they promise reimbursement to prospects who fail to land a career. After submitting payment, victims are summarily locked out of their accounts and not visit a single job opportunity.

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