People who are eager to start a home business are often new to the Internet and filled with hope. Unfortunately, that can make them easy prey for con artists. The lure of easy money can serve as a difficult lesson for those who fall for it. If you are looking at job opportunities online, it's important to watch out for scams and get-rich-quick schemes. Many scams are cleverly packaged, making it hard to determine the legitimate work opportunities from the fraudulent ones.
"If you are looking at employment or business opportunities online, watch out for scams," Tamsevicius says. "Many get-rich-quick schemes are cleverly packaged, making it hard to sift legitimate work opportunities from the swindles." Common cons include Nigerian letter schemes asking for money, pyramid schemes, Ponzi schemes, and "work at home" offers that involve stuffing envelopes or assembling crafts.
Here are some tips for sidestepping scams:
1. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Any offer that promises to make you rich overnight with a business that works while you sleep is a rip-off. Watch out if a company promises large profits for little or no work, or claims no experience is necessary. If anyone can do it, why should you pay to learn about it?
For that reason, multilevel marketing (MLM) has gotten a bad rap. Granted, there may be some legitimate money-making programs out there, but there are also a large number of over hyped, over promising, under delivering scams too.
2. Be especially wary of any company that requires an initial investment to get involved.
3. Be leery of anyone who uses hard-sell tactics or pushes you to sign up right away. Take your time to think about opportunities. If you do find a program that intrigues you, do yourself a favor and check it out first.
4. Double-check the reputation of a company before signing up for its program. Get at least three references from people who are currently involved in the program to get the real story. Find out what strings are attached, how much money it will take to get started, and what the "fine print" says. Also find out how long they have been in business. Ask what their experience has been working with them. How long have they been in business? What kind of training will the company provide? Do they have a good support system for their sales representatives?
5. Read the fine print before you sign anything. If you don't understand an agreement, have a lawyer or an accountant review it before signing.
6. Make sure there is an out. Before you sign ANYTHING, find out what the procedure is to withdraw if you change your mind and what, if anything, it will cost you. If you have to pay startup fees, pay with a credit card rather than cash or check. That way if things go awry you can cancel payment or dispute your credit card charges.
HAVE YOU BEEN VICTIMIZED BY SCAM?
If you fall victim to a scam let others know so that you can protect them from falling prey too! If you don't know how, visit your local government website for information on registering fraud complaints.
PLR
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