When I decided to leave my career after twelve years to stay at home with my daughters, I thought it would be fantastic to find a work at home career that would allow me to make a little extra income, as well as stay at home with my children. For three years I searched and searched the internet to no avail. All I found was scams and "get rich" quick schemes. All of which seemed to good to be true.
Unfortunately, I was not as "wise" as I am now about these scams, and I regret to say that I fell for many of them at the expense of our pocketbook. This was a hard lesson to learn, and so I decided to write about my mistakes, hoping for others to learn and be wary of these things, so they do not fall into the same predicament as I.
When looking online for a work at home career or a home-based business, please keep the following information handy at all times;
1. If it Sounds Too Good This might seem obvious, but it is amazing how many really good scam artists are able to enlist intelligent people into schemes that sound too good to pass-up! Be very wary of businesses that offer a lot of income in a short period of time with very little work involved.
2. Be Wary of Companies Wanting Money Of course, some legitimate companies want a fee from you to receive their start-up package, but personally I am very leery of any company who wants you to pay them money.
3. Beware of MLM and Pyramid Companies Companies that want you to purchase inventory up front, would be considered MLM in my opinion. If you have to house and store inventory in your home, more than likely it is not good. If you have to purchase so much product per month to maintain your status with this company, it is also not good. Some people fall for this and succeed, but my experience has not proven to be this way. I found that most other mothers and parents do not want to purchase these products from you, nor do they want to host parties so you can.
If you come across a work at home or home based scam, you can take the following actions;
1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
From the SEC, a good checklist to help you avoid fraud, especially online fraud.
2. Pyramid Schemes
From the Pyramid Scheme Alert site, a very detailed explanation about the harm pyramid schemes inflict on people.
3. About Internet Fraud Watch
Good information from Internet Fraud Watch, specializing in telemarketing scams.
4. United States Postal Inspection Service
From the U.S. Postal Site, some recent work-at-home schemes are discussed, as well as other employment schemes.
5. BBB online reliability program
Go to the Better Business Bureau online to see if the company in question is listed.
Overall, the best advice that I can give you is to start your own business through your own personal website, sell on Ebay, or find a reputable company in your area, contact them, and see if you can submit a resume for them to review and possible allow you to do some data entry or secretarial work from home. It doesn't hurt to just ask.
Robyn Johnson http://www.themomscafe.net
http://archives.zinester.com/83976