It’s a shame that there are so many people out there trying to rip off the work-at-home job seeker. It’s even more disheartening to see them targeting the stay-at-home mom, the retiree, and the disabled. But the fact remains; they’re out there trying to capitalize on your desire to stay home and earn an income. And they’re making good money while they’re at it, because there’s no shortage of people who want so badly to believe their claims of easy income and instant wealth.
Lynette Valdez, of Westbrook, Minn., thought that when she gave Pacific Webworks her debit card number last year, it was just for a $1.99 shipping and handling fee to get information about an at-home business offer supposedly connected with Google. But before long, she noticed two mysterious charges of $59.99 each on her card.
They took money out of my checking account twice, and I had to fight to get it back. That’s a big amount of money for me.
Like most work-at-home scams, advertisements for them rely on a grain of truth and depend on the recipients’ willingness to believe the grandiose claims, said Minnesota attorney general’s office spokesman Ben Wogsland. With the state’s highest unemployment rate in 25 years, he said, “there are so many people who are desperate, who are vulnerable.”
So beware. You may be attracted by offers for these jobs that seem cheap or easy. But buried in the “terms and conditions” is the fine print allowing scamsters to tap into your bank account. Or the job might be misrepresented.
So how are we supposed to separate the scams from the real jobs? The legitimate business opportunities from the schemes?
Your number one guide should always be your common sense (why would a lawyer in South Africa select you to handle his billion dollar account, I mean let’s be honest!). There are always warning signs, and here are the top seven.
1. Advertisements for “envelope stuffing”, “mail processors” and “home typists”.
In all my experience in online recruiting, I have never come across a legitimate job for an envelope stuffer. Nor have I ever, in my life, met someone who was an envelope stuffer. (And could you really say with any measure of pride that you are a professional envelope stuffer?)
These advertisements are always the same. They charge you a certain amount of money so that they can send you detailed instructions of how to advertise for envelope stuffers. You’re selling the very same packet that you just paid 30 bucks for, but you only get $3. There’s no product, just their self-perpetuating ads to sell more $30 packets.
Home Typists? What company needs 5,000 home typists? If a company needs some typing done, they’re not going to advertise it on the internet where they’re going to get 10,000 replies. They’re going to hire an administrative assistant who can type a report and hand it to them- while greeting clients and answering the phones.
That’s not to say that there aren’t legitimate Data Entry jobs available. Companies often find a need for specialized skills that can be done by a freelancer on a contract basis. Some examples would be database work, research projects and seasonal billing needs. But the key is that they involve a specialized skill that their existing employees don’t have.
2. They’re asking for a fee.
If it’s supposed to be a job, how on earth do they justify charging a fee? I’ve seen ads that say, “We have to charge a fee to make sure that you’re serious”. Why don’t they just post their job on E-Bay and give it to the highest bidder? Imagine going for an interview and the employer says, “Have a seat. Now, before we get started, I’m going to need $39.95 from you. We have to make sure you’re serious.” Would you pay them? Of course not! So why would you pay someone who is claiming to be hiring just because it’s on the internet?
Now, a business opportunity is different. You have to expect start-up costs for any business- but that’s a story for another day…
3. Job listings with typos and ALL CAPS.
These telltale signs should raise a flag right away. Do you really want to work for someone who can’t spell?
4. The job description says, “no skills or experience necessary!”
Really? Why not just have their kids do the job for 50 cents an hour? Managing remote employees is extremely challenging. Employers who hire and supervise telecommuters want highly skilled, experienced employees that they can trust. They have to be confident that they can perform their jobs with little or no supervision. This is why most telecommuters are required to work on-site for a certain period of time before they’re allowed to work from home.
5. Vague or non-existing job description.
The more vague a job listing is, the more likely it is to be a scam. There’s nothing more aggravating to a recruiter than getting bombarded by resumes from unqualified candidates. This is why most legitimate job listings read like a novel. They want to be sure that only the ones that meet their criteria respond.
This leads me to an important bit of advice for telecommute job seekers. Never, ever respond to a job listings that you are not fully qualified for. I spend a lot of time recruiting companies that have telecommute policies to post at my site. Many of them are reluctant to post their listings online because they are inundated with responses from people who aren’t remotely qualified. It gives all of us a bad reputation and cuts down on the number of jobs that are advertised. I just can’t stress enough how important this is.
6. No contact information.
If you can’t reach someone to ask a question, or ask for a reference, then there’s something wrong. A real employer wants to get the position filled, and if you are qualified, they want to convince you to work for them. You should be able to reach them (or someone in their company at least) directly.
And the number one sign of a scam:.
7. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
A case in point: A company posted a job listing for U.S. Representatives. Seems they needed people to accept shipments of computers and electronics and then ship them to international destinations. They were offering an outrageously high salary and reimbursement for shipping. They allegedly had offices in the United States, so why would they need John Smith in Hoboken, New Jersey to handle their shipping? Sounds fishy, right? It was. They had people ship the computers all right, but never paid them.
Many people rely on the website that carries the listing to screen out fraudulent listings, but the truth is that most of them don’t have the resources to screen every post. In fact, most sites carry a disclaimer stating that it is the job seeker’s responsibility to screen potential employers.
The bottom line is that you should let common sense be your guide. If something seems not quite right, don’t bother. At the very least, check out any company thoroughly before making any commitment.
Below are some excellent resources:
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Tags: Scams, work at home
Work at home forums can be a terrific way to get free traffic to your site, meet and network with other home business owners and make valuable connections. I’ve put together a list of great forums for you to visit (including, of course, my Work At Home Forums). A big thanks to Shelly at Classy Chic for giving me a great head start on this list.
Be sure to read the posting rules before jumping in as most communities have guidelines that you have to follow.
Home Party Plan and Direct Selling Community
How To Internet Marketing Forum
Idea Café’s Cyberschmooz Forum
Internet Marketing Mastermind Forum
Mommy’s Helper Networking Community
T.R.A.I.N. – Trade Referrals and Information Network
Work At Home Forums at 2Work-At-Home.com
If you have any other suggestions for active work at home forums, feel free to leave a comment with a link.
Happy Posting!
Tags: work at home, work at home forums
A new study has disclosed that half of fathers are choosing flexible or part-time working hours to spend more time with their families.
Research conducted by The Children’s Mutual, a U.K. provider of child trust funds, shows that as many as 14 per cent of the 2,000 fathers surveyed said they chose to stop working altogether following the birth of their children, while 26 per cent said they decided to work part-time and 24 per cent said they started working flexibly.
David White, chief executive of The Children’s Mutual, said:
The changing role of dads within families is a positive step towards the greater recognition of what dads can and do contribute to family life. Dads play a vital role within their children’s lives and their homes, so it’s great to see these changing family dynamics.
One of the most important roles for every dad is being a provider for his children, whether that’s as the main breadwinner or lead carer. Dads want to provide for their children now and will want to continue to do so as they grow up.
Craig Morgan is a freelance commercial copywriter, journalist and work-from-home dad. I came across his column recently and thought you other dads out there might appreciate his “call to brotherhood”…
I feel you, my stay-at-home brother.
I know your mixture of shame and wonder as you lead your kids into a sea of well-coiffed, well-toned moms at the local library’s puppet show.
I sense your hesitation when your daughter pleads to go potty in a public place.
We are pioneers in the field of stay-at-home fatherhood.
A silent minority that will change the world.
We are in this together, so I’ve got your back.
I smile as you brandish your Eddie Bauer diaper bag in quiet protest.
I give the thumbs up to your camouflage-colored BabyBjorn.
But I offer you a silent nod of acknowledgment and approval, before we lower our heads again, in humility and happiness.
Guys, I know you’re out there….and I ‘d love to hear from you. How has your family changed since you’ve stayed home with them? What are some of the challenges you face?
Tags: Parenting, work at home
Sheryl Hefner, director of management operations, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, began telecommuting to help cope with an unexpected health crisis. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, which required her to spend a month in the hospital followed by six months of chemotherapy. Her department sent a computer-support specialist to Hefner’s home to set up a computer, modem, and install an extra telephone line.
Hefner credits her ability to work from home with facilitating her recovery.
Sometimes with chemo, you can’t sleep. With this arrangement, I could go online and work at two or three o’clock in the morning. It beat walking the floor.
After she recovered, Hefner-who describes herself as a people person-returned to the office full time. But she is an avid advocate of telecommuting and helps other employees make the transition to telework.
When Cheryl Okcular was diagnosed with cancer, she worked in an office and thought she might have to go on short-term disability. But her boss at the time asked, “Can you work from home?”
Okcular had worked her way up the Kraft Food chain, going from a part-time clerical position more than 20 years ago to her current job as one of 16 “regional demand planners” in the country. She puts the title in simpler terms. She is a forecaster. She predicts trends in crackers and cookies.
I thank my boss every day. That was the biggest blessing for me.
She doesn’t say this just because of the usual benefits of having a job, the income and health insurance. She talks about how it keeps her busy. She even takes her laptop with her when she gets chemo. Working, she says, helps pass the time.
I never stopped working. I think when you don’t feel good and don’t have anything to keep you busy, you sit down and start worrying. People become consumed by it. I see it all the time.
When Mickie Casebier’s husband was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, she figured she would have to take a leave of absence from her job at Oregon’s State Accident Insurance Fund (SAIF).
I was saying, ‘I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to do this job. He’s going to be at a point where he can’t dial the phone. I have to be with him.’
Casebier, a legal assistant, worried that she might not be able to return to the same area she was in before. And she knew a leave of absence would be financially difficult for her family. SAIF made it possible for her to keep working. “They said, ‘Look, we’re going to put a computer and modem in your house. You’re a valued employee.’”
Casebier works part-time from her home, taking care of business and her husband. She interviews witnesses, organizes how they will testify at hearings, and requests investigations and surveillance. She goes to the Salem office most mornings to get documents and take care of photocopying, printing and mailing.
Working out of my home —I like it. I feel like I can get a lot done.
Telecommuting allowed another SAIF employee, Customer Billing Representative Jerri Abney, to keep working after she fell and broke her heel.
It’s enabled me to avoid using up all my sick time and not get so far behind at work. For someone working in an office like ours, who was off work because of an injury, I think it would be strategic for the insurer and the business.
Abney is a member of a team that sorts through the work that needs to be done and identifies what she can do at home.
I help keep them current, keep them moving. It’s helped all of us.
Abney figures she’s able to do 80 to 85 percent of the work she does at the office at her home in Oregon City. She calls customers to collect balances and payroll reports they owe and prepares transmittals, adjustment sheets and data entry forms. She communicates with the office by e-mail, and modems correspondence to a printer in the Salem office. A colleague does the mailing and follow-up.
I think productivity is higher at home because of not having interruptions. Work at home is possibly more error-free.
Tags: telecommuting, work at home
Telework trends
Could it be that the cubicle dweller is on the endangered species list? Current workplace trends seem to point that way. With the economic nosedive comes an increased need for companies to cut costs. This has driven the number of telecommuters up in a big way.
After employees, real estate is the second-biggest expense for many companies. This has caused employers to rethink their workplace strategy and more of them are allowing (or even requiring) employees to work from home at least part of the time. This dramatic change in the structure of the workplace was the subject of a report by architecture firm Gensler. According to Gensler Principal Joan Price,
Roughly 91 percent of employees do some work outside the office, and 67 percent of workers use mobile and wireless commuting, Gensler said. About 83 percent of organizations collaborate across different locations.
This is a trend on the upswing. It is no surprise that the estimates for the number of telecommuting employment opportunities are continuing to rise, year after year. Gartner Dataquest reported in 2008 that 25% of workers telecommuted in 2007, and in their recent 2009 projections, they estimate that number to continue to rise.
According to a report issued last Thursday, “Telework and the Technologies Enabling Work Outside Corporate Walls” by the Consumer Electronics Association more than 38 million people, or 37 percent of the total U.S. workforce, work from home at least once a month.
For some companies, offering telecommute options for their employees is nothing new. Jet Blue Airlines has had a telecommuting policy for over 10 years and and Google has offered what they call “Quality of Life Benefits” since its inception.
Even the government is promising to get on the telecommuting train. According to the White House website, Obama plans to
Expand Flexible Work Arrangements: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will address this concern by creating a program to inform businesses about the benefits of flexible work schedules for productivity and establishing positive workplaces; helping businesses create flexible work opportunities; and increasing federal incentives for telecommuting. Obama and Biden will also make the federal government a model employer in terms of adopting flexible work schedules and permitting employees to petition to request flexible arrangements.
Many states have already implemented telecommuting policies. Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia issued a Greening of State Government executive order that included the following:
….the Code of Virginia requires each state agency to pursue a goal of not less than 20 percent of its eligible workforce telecommuting by January 1, 2010. Wherever possible, agencies and institutions should use telecommuting to the fullest extent to mitigate traffic congestion and reduce emissions.To encourage employers to fully explore the feasibility of telecommuting, I hereby declare Monday, August 3, 2009, a “Statewide Telework Day” and request that the directors of state agencies and institutions as well as private sector employers allow as many citizens as possible to telecommute on that day.
Back in June, the Minnesota Department of Transportation rolled out a telework campaign, called eWorkPlace, allowing businesses and individuals to log on to eworkplace-mn.com for free training, tools and tips. For a limited time, employers can register to learn about participating in a pilot program. Qualifying employers for the pilot programs will also be eligible for free or discounted personalized professional consulting to launch or expand telework at their workplace.
If you want to get in on the telework trend, a good place to start is with your own employer. You can also look at a list of companies that allow telecommuting.
Tags: telecommute, telecommute jobs, telecommuting
Will there be no end to the Nigerian scam? Today I received an email that puts a creative new twist on this oldest of scams.
The subject was: Attn: Scam Victim
Attention Attention Attention.
I am Mrs. Mary .J. Jenkins. I am a US citizen, 58 years Old. I reside in District of Columbia 20534 . My address is as follows 320 First Street, NW Washington , District of Columbia 20534 , United States , am thinking of moving since I am now wealthy. I am one of those that took part in the Compensation scheme in Nigeria many years ago and they refused to pay me, I had paid over $42,000 while in the USA , trying to get my payment all to no avail.
So I decided to travel down to Nigeria with all my compensation documents and I was directed to meet Mr. Jonathan Roy, who is a member of COMPENSATION AWARD COMMITTEE and a Human Rights Activist (Lawyer), and I contacted him and he explained everything to me. He said whoever that is contacting us through email is fake.
He took me to the paying bank for the claim of my Compensation payment. Right now I am the happiest woman on earth because I have received my compensation funds amounting to $10,000,000.00. Moreover, Mr. Jonathan Roy showed me the full information of those that are yet to receive their payments and I saw your email as one of the scam victims, that is why I decided to email you to stop dealing with those people, they are not with your fund, they are only making money out of you. I will advise you to contact Mr. Jonathan Roy.
You have to contact him directly on this information below.
COMPENSATION AWARD HOUSE
Name: Mr. Jonathan Roy (Lawyer)
Email: barr_joeroy@someisp.com.hk
Fax: +2345551212
You really have to stop dealing with those people that are contacting you and telling you that your fund is with them, it is not in anyway with them, they are only taking advantage of you and they will dry you up until you have nothing. The only money I paid after I met Mr. Jonathan Roy was just $280 for the paper works, take note of that.Thank You and Be Blessed.
Mrs. Mary J Jenkins
320 First Street, NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20534 USA.
What is so amazing about this approach is how throughout the letter the woman keeps telling you “stop dealing with those people, they are not with your fund, they are only making money out of you” and “You really have to stop dealing with those people that are contacting you and telling you that your fund is with them, it is not in anyway with them, they are only taking advantage of you and they will dry you up until you have nothing“.
Oh, the irony. They might as well say, “Don’t deal with those people, let me rip you off instead”.
At least you have to give them a bit of credit for creativity.
Tags: Scams
Just in case you didn’t know, there’s a Telecommute Jobs folder at our Work At Home Forums. In it, you’ll find regular postings of work at home jobs.
There’s a lot more going on over there too. It’s a great place to meet other people, many of whom are successfully working at home. Come join in some of the discussions or just lurk for a while 
Tags: job searching, telecommute jobs, work at home forums, work at home jobs
Yesterday I received an email that looked like it came from the IRS. The subject was ominous:
Notice of Unreported Income
I can tell you, it gave me that hollow feeling in my stomach, like when you know you’re in for some really bad news.
In the body of the email it gave some official looking information and a link:
Taxpayer ID: support-00000174073547US
Tax Type: INCOME TAX
Issue: Unreported/Underreported Income (Fraud Application)Please review your tax statement on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website (click on the link below):
review tax statement for taxpayer id: support-00000174073547US
Internal Revenue Service
There was a link in the email that at first glance did look like it came from the IRS website. The link started with http://www.irs.gov….. which I know to be the actual IRS website. However, when I looked at the entire link, I saw that the domain was actually www.irs.gov.eu, which means that it is a European site. I took it a step further and plugged that “issue” into a search engine and the very first result was for news site that was reporting this as an identity theft scam. Another of the search results was from one of my favorite sites, Snopes.com.
The IRS website has a page where you can report phishing emails that appear to be coming from the IRS.
If you receive one of these emails, don’t open any attachments or click on any links in it. In face don’t even open it.
Tags: Scams
I’ve received many emails claiming to be offering me a job as a Freight Manager or some such thing. They’re always the same reshipping scam: You’re supposed to accept shipments and then forward them on to someone else (often overseas). The pay scale is usually in the thousands per month for what seems like such an easy job. Sound fishy? Yep, it does to me too. Let’s see what I can find out.
We have found your resume on one of the Job search sites. We believe your background fits our requirements of a FREIGHT RESOURCE MANAGER About us: DirectDelivery Inc., is one of the USA’s most successful cargo transporting and freight forwarding companies, we were established in 1999. During these years, our company proved its reliability and stability. We are listed in the Top 10 fastest and most reliable freight services in the USA. We have mutual partnership with such companies such as FedEx,USPS, DHL and many others. Currently we are searching for 230 new employees in all 50 states for our new stockrooms. About our Vacancy: We are seeking individuals who are interested in building a profitable and rewarding business with our help and support, while achieving a balanced lifestyle that offers both personal and professional growth. The Job itself is very profitable and easy, we need employees to get in touch with our clients and help DirectDelivery Inc. in forwarding parcels and bundles to our stockrooms or to their appropriate destination place. Compensation of employee: Employee will receive 40 USD per parcel received, proceeded and forwarded to its proper destination place. Even our least productive employees have a salary of 2,000-2,500 USD per month, all this and more - without leaving their houses. If you are interested in this offer, please visit our web-site: DirectDelivery.us and use the contact data presented on this site, or reply to support@directdelivery.us. Sincerely Yours, Alen Glans DirectDelivery Inc. Human Resource Department
When I emailed my letter of interest to the email address given, my message bounced.
I guess I was too late!
Next, I decided to find out who was behind the website. My favorite tool for doing this is to do a Whois lookup. Here’s what I found.
What’s this? The domain has been suspended because they used false information when they registered it! Would a legitimate company do that? I don’t think so. Strike two.
I figured that maybe by some chance they had changed their website address (yeah, right), so I did a quick Google search for “DirectDelivery Inc.”. Nearly every result is from a fraud reporting site. like this one. One scam alert site did a reverse IP lookup and discovered that this company has registered more than 50 other websites under this IP, including– you guessed it– Directdelivery.us.
Some of their other websites are Cialis-calis.com, Viagra-generika.com and, ahem…
Man-boobs.com. Somehow their claim of being “one of the USA’s most successful cargo transporting and freight forwarding companies” sounds questionable. Strike three.
Although the job may sound legitimate, the merchandise likely has been ordered with stolen credit-card numbers, say Susan Grant, director of the National Fraud Information Center, a nonprofit operated by the National Consumers League in Washington, D.C. “You are basically trafficking in stolen goods,” she says.
If you fall for the scam and forward the packages, they will be traceable to you. You could be held financially responsible for whatever was in the packages and could be charged with a felony for receiving, transferring or dealing in stolen property, according to Michael Bialys, an attorney with Chase Law Group P.C., a criminal-defense law firm in Los Angeles. If the “commission” checks are bogus — and many are — you will have to repay the amount to the bank where they were deposited or cashed. In addition, the value of the stolen goods you accepted as payment must be paid to the crime victims. If you are arrested for your involvement, even if the charges are dropped, your arrest may show up in a background check when applying for a new job.
I think we all knew that this looked too good to be true. Once again, your first instinct is usually the correct one. Use your common sense and you will avoid wasting your time (or worse yet– jail time) pursuing something that just doesn’t sound right.
Tags: Scams, work at home jobs
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