Monday, December 31, 2007

Ten Tips on How to avoid Work at Home Scams and Home Based Business Scams


1. Never pay for the chance to work!
The reality of the situation is that any information that you have to pay for is obtainable for free on the internet. You might feel that it is worth a small investment of money not to have to do the research. However, you will probably end up with outdated information that is virtually useless.

Treat working at home as if you would treat working for an employer at their place of business. Imagine if an interviewer asked you for money before they could consider you for the job. Would they ask for a "good faith" payment to be sure you were interested? Nope.

Some home-based business might require money for start-up costs or to cover the costs of materials. If that's the case, know exactly what you are getting, how much the total costs will be, and their refund policy.

2. Check out the business before you pay anything.
Use my checklist to ensure you have covered everything in detail.

3. Use your credit card to make purchases.
Have a low limit credit card available for online purchases. Even better is a prepaid credit card. Never send cash, wire money, or give out your bank information. That way, if you don't receive the items, or if things go wrong, you can dispute the charges with your credit card company. It is wise to speak to your credit card company before you make the purchase to find out their refund policies.

4. Beware of vagueness and incredible claims.
What they don't say is just as important as what they do say. Companies that don't state their names, costs, or other important information in their ads usually have a good reason. They don't want you to know why they are or what they are really offering. If they can't be honest with you up front, what makes you think they will be honest with you later?

5. Put yourself in the employer's or client's shoes.
If you were an honest employer, think about whether you would make the same kind of offer you're being pitched. Think about why they are saying what they are saying. What is their motivation? It's generally not to earn you thousands of dollars a day or get you out of debt. Why would an employer pay someone a dollar per piece to stuff envelopes when it would be cheaper to use mailing equipment that can stuff thousands of envelopes in an hour?

For example, you've read an ad where you can earn $1-2 per piece stuffing envelopes. But companies nowadays have access to sophisticated mailing equipment that can stuff thousands of envelopes an hour -- why would they pay you so much more?

6. Never reply to spam or any other unsolicited emails.
Most unsolicited emails are fraudulent. The better it sounds, the less likely that it's legitimate. There is a reason that spam rhymes with scam. Be wise; delete spam without reading it--no matter how good the claim sounds.

If you get an unsolicited email telling you that a company you have never heard of wants to hire you for a job where you don't need experience or skills and can make a lot of money, trash it. There's lots of out there, some of which are personalized and sound quite legitimate.

7. Be patient.
If you're looking to start a home-based business, or looking for telecommuting work you can do at home, you may have a considerable search ahead of you. Don't let scammers use high-pressure tactics to sucker you in. If you're given a time-limited offer, there's usually a reason why -- scammers know that pressure brings in people!


8. Protect yourself from virus, Trojan horses, and identity theft.
Always invest in a quality virus protection and spyware protection. Never open attachments to emails unless you are sure what it is. Never download files for the same reason. Spyware can be attached to word documents and .pdf files. Never give out your social security number. It is also a good idea to use a secondary email account when answering offers, rather than having it all come into your primary account. Sure, they may claim they don't sell their lists, but play it safe.

9. Avoid signing up for anything in order to gain more information.
Why would they need to protect the information if it's free? Why do they want your name, address, email and phone number so badly? That's right. They probably have another purpose for it.

10. Don't trust anyone unless you know them.
Remember how I said don't trust me. Well, don't trust them either. You don't know them. Would you give a stranger on the street $30 and expect something in return? So why would you trust a stranger on the internet?

Work From Home Guide

Work From Home Guide: Avoid the Scams and Find Home Based Business Opportunties
Your first stop in finding legitimate work at home jobs.
If you've been looking for a legitimate, decent paying job that will allow you to work from home, then you've come to the right place.

I have tried my hardest to provide you with legitimate ways to make money from home and avoid steering you towards the numerous work at home scams that have flooded the Internet. However, I am just a guide. Your ultimate defense in avoiding scams is not to listen to me, but listen to yourself.

Numerous other sites promote the same service. They tell you that they have revealed the work from home scams and are providing you only with legitimate job opportunities. However, they tell you this in an effort to purchase one of the products that they are selling. You will notice that I do not promote any programs that require you to charge money.

You should never pay money to get a job—even a job that allows you to work from home.
I started this website to help others like me who wanted to be able to work from home or start their own home based business. My goal is to steer people towards the better offers or at least teach them how to recognize a work from home scam when they see one.

If you are new to work from home opportunities, I urge to skim through my advice pages first. You can find links to those pages on the left hand side of the page. This will give you the tools on how to recognize work at home scams and evaluate home based business opportunities for yourself.

Once you have accomplished that, your next step is to start looking at some of the possible jobs available. The section on types of jobs will give you an overview of the different jobs that are typically advertised and what the really mean.

When you are ready to look for legitimate work you can do from home, check out my experiences and other companies. I have tried to include the best that is available--but the choices are slim sometimes.

This section will help give you the tools and resources that you can use to analyze work from home opportunities and decide for yourself if they are legitimate or scams. I urge you to read all of the articles listed below before even considering any work from home offers.

Although I have tried to be thorough, realize that there is no way to cover everything. Use your common sense and that of your closest friends. Don't be shy about asking two friends for their opinions. If you're an optimist that refuses to see the negative in anything, chances are one of your friends isn't.

Unfortunately, more work from home scams exist than legitimate job listings. How do you determine which ones are frauds and which ones are genuine? First, you need to spend some time researching the program and getting all the details before you spend a penny. Don't rush into anything, no matter how short lived the position might seem. The time you spend in advance will save you in the end.

Here are some general rules to remember:

Use common sense. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Be carefully of listings that guarantee you wealth or financial success or that will help you get rich fast from home. They will probably do none of the above.
Take your time. Promoters of fraudulent business opportunities are likely to use high-pressure sales tactics to get you to buy in.
Consider the figures they present as the top 0.01% not the averages. If they say people are making $50-$100 a day, figure that only one out of a thousand people are making that. The other 999 people are making considerably less.
Get all the details before you spend any money.
Know who you are dealing with. Make sure you have an address and a contact number. Call the number and see if it is in service. Google the address. Is it a legitimate address, is it a postal mailbox, or is an empty lot?
Nothing will make you tons of money overnight. Sorry.
Be aware of legal issues. Some types of work require licenses or certification and cannot be done at home. Check with your state and local offices. Look for the nearest U.S. Department of Labor in the government listings of your phone book.
Know the companies refund policy. If you have to buy equipment or supplies, ask whether you can return them for a refund and under what circumstances you can do so.
Do your own research on all opportunities. There are many resources available to provide good advice and lists of scams as well as legitimate opportunities.
Find out about the frightening facts regarding most “Work from Home” Opportunities and which opportunities are legitimate.

document.write(vStr); July 08 2006
From the desk of James Jackson,

The internet is filled with “Work from Home” opportunities. Your local newspaper is plastered with advertisements for home business opportunities. You turn on your radio to hear another testimonial of how a person who was in debt became a multimillionaire overnight.

The notion of working from home seeps into your mindset. You have resisted starting your own home business for a variety of reasons, but you can no longer resist the incentive of easy money, especially when your corporate boss has you working on another mindless report, you think “Hey! I HAVE to find happiness through a work from home business! Where do I sign up?”

The good news is that a home based business can be very lucrative. You can set your own hours which gives you the flexibility to spend time with your children. Plus, the profits are virtually limitless as long as you put forth the effort in a well informed manner. Jumping into a home based business can be the best life choice you have ever made.

Home based businesses come in a variety of forms from stock investing to Internet marketing. You could create an online home based business built around what you are passionate about. This is where you need to be careful – while you are passionate about your business you need to be level headed about the way you go about starting your business. Why? The sad truth is that 99% of the “Work from Home” opportunities you see on the on the internet, TV, newspaper, and hear on the radio are scams. Scams with a capital “S”!

We are ingrained to expect people to be honest and have our best interests at heart. This couldn’t be farther from the truth for most of these programs. The fraudulent businesses prey upon our emotions and drain our bank account. I know people that have lost their precious savings because of poor judgment. Don’t let this happen to you!

When I started a work from home business I decided that I was going to investigate several different programs and companies to root out the legitimate businesses (yes, there definitely are some legitimate businesses!) from the dishonest businesses. My findings shocked me, but I did find a solution. The solution has made me thousands of dollars in profits.

My investigation included being a “Work from Home” program gumshoe. I made contact with “Work from Home” businesses through their websites. I scoured the Internet to find as many “Work from Home” businesses as possible. I pretended that I was interested in becoming part of their program. This didn’t catch their attention right away so I tried a more extreme tactic. I explained that I was interested in actually buying their business entirely. Wow! Did that bring a reaction! Suddenly they were interested in talking to me and allowed me to review their website inside and out. (You could never get access like this just by joining their site.) This allowed me to investigate whether the opportunity was legitimate or just bogus fluff.

I was dismayed at the number of programs that had poor business models, old information, and broken links on their website, a pathetic help section, and no sign of customer support. If I had paid for this program I would have been devastated to find this lack of resources and definitely wouldn’t be able to rake in the big money like they claimed. Guess what percentage of the businesses I investigated was similar to this business? 99%! Yes, 99%.

The owners of these businesses didn’t care that their programs were lacking because they already had your money. They had taken advantage of you.

Not all “Work from Home” businesses are a scam. Remember that 1%? Well, I’ve done the investigative work for you to find the BEST home based business opportunities. These businesses are not only legitimate, but WILL be profitable for you. I found these websites by contacting many happy clients that will attest to the benefits of this program. These testimonials were not coerced, nor were the happy clients compensated for their time. They truly believe in the program they have chosen.

The best “Work from Home” businesses I recommend is:

• Paid Surveys Etc

You will be charged a minimal fee to get started in this program, but it is well worth it. Plus, extensive support is available to get your business up and running. You need to act as soon as possible because I have heard from reliable sources that these two businesses are becoming popular. Other people have discovered the profitability of these companies and want a piece of the pie. Therefore, you need to act quickly to secure your spot because the open spaces are limited.

I hope that I have helped set you on the right course to a profitable home based business. I did all the detective work for you so you don’t have to waste time and your hard earned cash dealing with dishonest programs. Take advantage of the program I have mentioned and start your Successful Home Business Today!

From the news

By TORY JOHNSON
April 28, 2007 12:58:45 PM PDT
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Share Whether you're looking to contribute to your family's finances or earn some cash to cover special or unexpected expenses, many people want more ways to make money at home.

From freelance to full-time gigs, we have a range of fields and resources below to help guide you in discovering the options that exist. Only you can decide if an opportunity is right for you.

Don't limit yourself solely to responding to advertised openings. Sometimes the best way to land a home-based job is by calling someone you'd like to work for and offering your services.


Virtual Customer-service Agent
A growing work-from-home opportunity is to answer the inbound customer calls for companies like J. Crew, 1-800-flowers, Virgin Atlanta or Walgreens. These major players and many others like them outsource their customer-service calls to companies that hire U.S.-based virtual agents.

Story
Working From Home: Don't Get Scammed Set your own hours and pick an account that's ideally suited to your knowledge and interests. In addition to having a pleasant voice and strong customer-service skills, you must have high-speed Internet access, a computer, a landline, and a quiet place to work -- all of which you pay for on your own.

Expect to make an average of between $8 and $15 an hour depending on your experience, call volume and accounts. Be prepared to work a minimum of 20 hours per week, although some agents work 40 hours to 60 hours when their schedule permits.

Among the companies that hire inbound and outbound agents to explore:

Alpine Access hires virtual agents as employees. Other companies, including LiveOps, West and Arise, Working Solutions, Accolade Support, Customer Loyalty Concepts, Sci@Home, Reps for Rent, Overflow, ACD Direct.

Each company has different needs based on location, hours, clients, payment schedules, skills, knowledge, etc., so be sure to check with a few of them to determine the best match for you. Some pay hourly wages, while others require that you incorporate in order to work for them.


Create Your Own Product Line
Ever dream of seeing your slogans and artwork on T-shirts, mugs or hats? You can turn that dream into reality -- and into cash -- without investing even a penny in expensive start-up costs like equipment and stock.


Submit your original ideas and art online to Web sites like zazzle.com, cafepress.com and others, and you'll receive commission on all sales generated with your designs.

Do this for T-shirts, mugs, kids' accessories, housewares, posters, stickers and so much more. In addition to securing orders from strangers who visit those sites, you can also make money by doing some proactive promotion of your own. Encourage your friends and family to place orders, and get them to e-mail all of their friends, too, by forwarding links to your products.


Channel Your Inner Judge Judy
Instead of spending time watching the courtroom programs on TV, make money while determining verdicts as an online juror. Lawyers deciding whether or not to accept a case or looking for preliminary feedback on cases they're currently handling use various Web sites as a cost-effective tool for research and focus groups before heading into a real courtroom.

Sites including eJury.com, OnlineVerdict.com, ZapJury.com, and TrialPractice.com pay nominal fees to home-based e-jurors, ranging from $10 to $60, depending on the length of the e-trial. Research all of the sites and read the requirements before signing on to serve.


Home-Based Jobs for Americans with Disabilities
National Telecommuting Institute, Inc. connects Americans with disabilities to employers willing to hire employees and contractors for home-based assignments. The database is small, but it's proven to be a smart resource for many workers. They may also be able to refer you to other resources as well.


Transcribe Audio to Text
Speeches, lectures, television and radio programs and interviews must be converted to text that's delivered in a timely and accurate way. If you possess exceptional English language and grammar skills and you're an experienced typist with a speed of at least 75 words per minute, you could transcribe audio to text. Some businesses may require you to take a transcription test before offering you opportunities to work. Most assignments are handled on a freelance basis. Sites to explore include ProductionTranscripts.com, ModernDayScribe.com, TigerFish.com and AliceDarling.com. Find others by searching online.


Talk Tech
If you're an experienced information technology professional and you enjoy problem-solving and quality customer service, you may be able to work from home providing tech support via phone, online and in person to customers nationwide.

As an independent contractor or employee (this varies per company), you'd work from your own home office, set your own hours, and service clients in your area. ComputerAssistant.com, GeeksOnTime.com, PlumChoice.com, SupportFreaks.com are some of the companies to explore

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Driving for Dollars
I'm not talking about becoming a taxi driver or chauffeur -- you can make money by driving your normal route while allowing your car to feature advertisements.

Specially created decals are provided to drivers to affix to the back window. Depending on your location and the amount of driving you do -- usually a minimum of 1,000 miles a month is required -- you can earn $50 to $150 a month by "renting out" this space on your car. You can make even more money -- up to $500 a month -- by allowing your car to be fully wrapped with an advertiser's images and message.

Search online using keywords "car wrap advertising" to locate opportunities nationwide. Don't be shy about calling around to compare rates and advertising opportunities to find the best fit for you. Never settle on the first company you find since there could be a more lucrative option available to you.

How hard can this be/

I am not sure.. I am an intelligent person but I feels as if I am making too many mistakes. Could it be that I am receiving bad advice?

Work-at-Home Schemes

Work-at-Home Schemes

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Every day I find more creative ways to earn money from home. I never thought this would be this easy!

Work from home, is it posssible?

Not only is it possible but I work from home and make more money than I was ever able to earn working for some one else. Check back for further posts on working from home, be your own boss and earning high income