Taking the Risk Out of Work at Home Programs

By DoItYourself.com Staff

Ever considered starting a Work at Home career or business but been scared off by the many horror stories of scammers ripping off home-workers' time and money? Here are some general rules to avoid becoming a victim of such scams.

• The old adage "If it's too good to be true, then it probably is" holds true for home work offers. Common to most scams is the proposition of earning plenty of cash with minimal time and effort; life never works that way.



• Ignore Internet spam. All spam promotions are almost bound to be fraudulent or seriously defective. Find genuine companies who have made the effort to evaluate claims.



• Check a company's bona fides; do some simple but effective background checks. Does the prospective employer company have an address you can mail to? Will the company give you a telephone number which you can use to contact them? If so, try the number and see what your first impressions are; if unfavorable, why bother working with them?



• If you do manage to speak with someone at the company, ask them for the names of their owners or directors and details of their accounts. This type of information would not cause a normal business any problems, so at the first whiff of dissembling on their part, walk away.



• Beware of any company hiding behind web based telephone numbers, PO Box addresses, free email accounts and free web hosting (try "Whois" on a Google search). Scam artists never hang around for too long, so temporary and easily changed contact details are not a good sign of credibility.



• Do not be pressurised into making a decision or investment. Any company looking for decent home workers will not be employing arm-twisting techniques; they will be looking for folks genuinely committed to their concept.



• Check all claims made regarding memberships of associations. Are they real associations, and if so, who are they promoting and looking to assist? What sort of guarantees do they make? How long have they been around?



• As a bare minimum, make sure you do Internet searches on all the details you have gleaned about the company you are interested in working for. For example, if the company has a website, find out for how long it has been in existence. A simple "Who is:site name" will furnish you with all the details you need. Do an Internet search on the company name itself; if it has been around for a while you should come across numerous references, good or bad, and you should be able to ascertain whether they have been operating for as long as they say. You may even be fortunate enough to come across blogs in which they are mentioned by people who have bought into their program.



• At all costs, ask to speak to one or two existing homeworkers. But even with these, ensure you check their credentials and claims.

© Doityourself.com 2006