10 Ways to Spot a Work from Home Scam
Many people desire to work from home but don’t know where to start or find such jobs, or aren’t sure if they’re legit. Companies that try to scam people with fake work from home jobs are also a deterrent for many. Have you ever found yourself wondering how to spot a work from home scam? If so, keep reading.
The good news is that there are plenty of work-from-home opportunities. You just have to know where to find them, and do your research when you do! The bad news is that yes, there are indeed also plenty of scammers out there advertising so-called work-from-home jobs.
Here are 11 ways to spot a work from home scam that can help you avoid being fooled.
No Contact Information
Any real business is always going to have a way for you to contact them. Ideally, the business should at least have an email address. Preferably you want to find a business that has full contact information and a website. If you see a non-professional email such as Yahoo or Gmail, it may not be legit. Little to no information about the business is another indicator that the “company’s” job listings and offers are not real.
Statements about Getting Rich Quick
No job or company should be making any claims about becoming rich period. It takes time and effort to build a steady income. The money is not going to just roll in doing minimal work and certainly not overnight. However, if you dedicate time to learning the skills and developing your craft the money will eventually come.
Initial Start-up Fees
Now there are some jobs that do require an initial start-up fee. These fees may be for materials, shipping costs, or even training. Some of these companies have true purposes for asking for money. Others are just trying to take your money and run. Again, this is where being diligent about investigating each company you want to apply with comes in handy.
Having said that, if you’re really adamant about not spending any money for a job where no money is required, they do exist. Just be smart, open, and flexible. You don’t want to miss a great work from home opportunity just because you had some up-front costs as long as they are reasonable. But on the other hand, if something seems off about a job go with your gut feeling and pass on it.
Feeling Rushed
If you feel stressed because a company keeps contacting you asking you to make a decision then beware! A real business will just move on instead of bothering you over and over again to sign up with them. A red flag is if they say the job may not be available soon so you need to “act now”. If that’s the case you probably don’t want the job anyway unless you’re only looking for temporary work. You want to go with companies who will be here for the long haul.
Too Good to Be True
You know the saying…”if it’s too good to be true it probably is”. Don’t let big promises influence your decision. Make sure the company can back up what they say. Don’t feel shy about asking them for testimonies and reviews from real people or proof of their claims. Anyone can design picture of a check or bank account deposits. Seeing those things doesn’t mean anything. Besides, most legit companies don’t use gimmicks to woo you.
An Offer Out of Nowhere
Do you sometimes get random offers in the mail and you have no idea how or why they sent it to you? The same concept applies regarding emails you may receive for job offers. More than likely, you signed up for something or clicked on something on the internet which triggered you to be added to someone’s list. So if you know you did not solicit a company just do yourself a favor and ignore the email, or better yet block them.
Maximum Pay for Minimum Work
You’ve probably seen these type of offers where they may offer you $45/hour for a data entry position. I don’t know about you but if those types of jobs really existed, we’d all be working them. This type of scam is one of the most common.
Getting Personal
If a company starts asking you for your personal information then run! Asking for your name and maybe even your address might seem fine in the beginning. But then next thing you know they want to know your bank info, and so on. Of course, this might be harmless, but I prefer companies that pay through PayPal. If they do ask for your bank information for Direct Deposit just be sure you’ve done your research first on the company before you do so. There are even websites that are set up whose sole purpose is to expose fraudulent companies.
Fake URL or Web Address
Some companies go as far as to have web addresses that look almost like other popular companies. This is to trick you into thinking that they are either a part of the well-known company or affiliated with it. They are relying on the association with the other company to make them seem on the up and up.
Spelling and Grammatical Errors
If you receive an email or check out a website that has bad grammar or misspelled words then don’t even bother checking them out. No legit company is going to have misspelled words or grammatical errors on their website on in their emails.
Last but not least, consider getting an employment identification number (EIN) with the IRS so you don’t have to use your social security number. It’s free so why not? Having an EIN is a safer practice than using your social security number when it comes to working from home or having your own business. The fewer people that have your social security number the better.