Work-At-Home Schemes: How to Identify the Warning Signs

(c) Copyright 2003, Angela Wu

Home based work scams prey on people's willingness to believe, a desperate hope that an opportunity will help them to achieve their goal of working from home. When the scammer runs off with their money, that's not all they steal -- they also steal their dreams.

Although it's hard to tell with absolute certainty which opportunities are scams and which are legitimate, there are several warning signs that can indicate you should proceed with caution. These include:

• Claims that you can make absurd amounts of money in a very short time or with very little work. Success isn't built overnight and it never comes without hard work and even some sacrifices.
  
  
• Claims that you don't have to work at all; the "system" is on "auto-pilot" -- "the only thing you have to do is cash your cheques!" Again, ridiculous.
  
  
• You are "guaranteed" to make money. No one can guarantee any such thing; first of all, they don't know anything about you, your skills, your work ethic, and the many other things that can affect success. Secondly, not every business opportunity is right for every person, even for legitimate offers.
  
  
• You don't need any skills or experience. That's silly; although you don't necessarily need extensive knowledge up-front to succeed -- after all, many things can be learned -- you have to have both the ability and the willingness to learn. To illustrate the point, consider that someone without technical aptitude is unlikely to become a computer programmer.
  
  
• There's no contact information, or attempts at contact are ignored. Why are they trying to hide? Legitimate businesses tend to welcome inquiries and feedback.
  
  
• You have to pay a fee just to find out what the oppportunity is about. Information should be provided to you up-front so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not you want to pursue the opportunity.
  
  
• Lots of hype but very little detail about what you'll actually be selling. People who are proud of the opportunity being offered should be more than willing to discuss it. Vague details could indicate that the oppportunity has a bad reputation.
  
  
• The opportunity places emphasis on recruiting others for a commission, rather than emphasizing the sale of a product or service. This may be what's known as a pyramid scheme. Read what the Federal Trade Commission says about them:
  http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/mlm.htm
  
  
• You are told that it's a limited time offer - you MUST join today! If it's a legitimate business, it will still be around tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. Don't feel pressured to join immediately.

A word of warning: many people become so jaded after being scammed that they assume *everything* is a scam. This is an equally nonproductive stance as being too trusting! There are many legitimate opportunities available... and keep in mind, too, that just because an opportunity doesn't work for *you*, that does NOT necessarily make it a scam. Each individual's skills, interests, and motivation will determine how successful he or she is with any business.

Finally, there's no reason why you should feel you "have" to join a prepackaged business opportunity. You can create your own opportunity by producing and marketing a product or service of your own.

Working from home is certainly an achievable goal. Research each opportunity carefully, work consistently towards your goal, and you could very well be able to join the ranks of home businesses in the near future.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Angela is the author of "So You Want to Work from Home!", a practical and informative report packed with tips and resources on how to begin a work-at-home career. Pick up your copy today at http://homebasedwork.com/report.html

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