Know who you’re
dealing with. The company may not be offering to employ you directly,
only to sell you training and materials and to find customers for your
work.
Don’t believe that
you can make big profits easily. Operating a home-based business is just
like any other business – it requires hard work, skill, good products
or services, and time to make a profit.
Be cautious about emails offering work-at-home opportunities. Many unsolicited emails are fraudulent.
Get all the details
before you pay. A legitimate company will be happy to give you
information about exactly what you will be doing and for whom.
Find out if there is really a market for your work. Claims that there are customers for work such asmedical
billing and craft making may not be true. If the company says it has
customers waiting, ask who they are and contact them to confirm. You can
also ask likely customers in your area (such as doctors for medical billing services) if they actually employ people to do that work from home.
Get references for other people who are doing the work. Ask them if the company kept its promises.
Be aware of legal
requirements. To do some types of work, such as medical billing, you may
need a license or certificate. Check with your state attorney general’s
office. Ask your local zoning board if there are any restrictions on
operating a business from your home. Some types of work cannot be done
at home under federal law. Look for the nearest U.S. Department of Labor in the government listings of your phone book.
Know the refund policy. If you have to buy equipment or supplies, ask whether and under what circumstances you can return them for a refund.
Beware of the old
“envelope stuffing” scheme. In this classic scam, instead of getting
materials to send out on behalf of a company, you get instructions to
place an ad like the one you saw, asking people to send you money for
information about working at home. This is an illegal pyramid scheme
because there is no real product or service being offered. You won’t get
rich, and you could be prosecuted for fraud.
Be wary of offers to
send you an “advance” on your “pay.” Some con artists use this ploy to
build trust and get money from your bank. They send you a check for part
of your first month’s “pay.” You deposit it, and the bank tells you the
check has cleared because the normal time has passed to be notified
that checks have bounced. Then the crook contacts you to say that you
were mistakenly paid the wrong amount or that you need to return a
portion of the payment for some other reason. After you send the money
back, the check that you deposited finally bounces because it turned out
to be an elaborate fake. Now the crooks have your payment, and you’re
left owing your bank the amount that you withdrew.
Do your own research
about work-at-home opportunities. The “Work-At-Home Sourcebook” and
other resources that may be available in your local library provide good advice and lists of legitimate companies that hire people to
work for them at home. You may discover that these companies hire only
local people and that there is nothing available in your area.
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