Learn How To Spot The Bogus Work At Home Jobs

Tired of wasting your time on work at home job leads that turn out to be scams?  Me too.

A big part of what I spend my time doing is looking for new clients who hire telecommuters who will post their job listings on my site.  One way I do that is to search for work at home jobs and then approach the employer.  Over the years I’ve learned to spot the work at home scam listings fairly quickly because they almost always have similar qualities.  Learning what they are can help you to save time, frustration and maybe even your hard earned money in the process.

There are several things I see in work at home job postings that turn out to be scams that are easy to spot in the listing itself.  When you see one or more in a single listing, don’t even waste your time:

1. Spelling and Grammatical Errors.  This is almost always a sure sign that either someone overseas that doesn’t speak English well has written the post or that the person is simply an idiot.  The overseas scenario often turns out to be a money-laundering and/or identity theft deal.  And if it’s just an idiot?  This is where they will at some point ask for a fee (and who wants to work for an idiot anyway?).
2. Very Vague Job Description. The best work at home job listings have very detailed job descriptions as well as what the requirements are.  I rarely (maybe never) see a legitimate telecommute job posting that says things like, “no experience required!” or “no special skills needed!”.   Would a legitimate employer actually seek out unskilled and inexperienced people to hire?  I don’t think so.  When an employer posts a telecommute job listing, they know that they may be absolutely inundated with applications.  Why would they not include very specific requirements in order to weed out unsuitable applicants?  In fact, most real work at home job listings have bullet point lists and bold text to really get the point across as far as who they are looking for.  The stronger the language, the more likely it is that it’s a real job.  No employer purposely wastes their time.
3. Outrageous Claims. I have been working from home, researching telecommute jobs and writing about this industry for over ten years.  Don’t you think that if I could really be making thousands of dollars a day I would be?  You bet I would!  This also goes back to the claims of “no experience required”.  Look out for the overuse of exclamation points as well!!!!!!!
4. They Ask For a Fee. Obviously, if they are requesting a fee right in the listing, run.  Run far and run fast.  It’s important to note, however that this applies to jobs, not business opportunities.  Just about any business start up requires some kinds of initial investment.  A job, on the other hand, should never involve a fee.

Aside from the obvious signs in the job listing itself, sometimes the listing looks okay and you are directed to a website.  I’ve found that there are also common threads here.

1. The Website Is Focused On the Job. At first glance, the website probably looks professional but the main page of the site is almost completely focused on the job they are advertising, not the company’s services.  A small area of the site might be dedicated to a vague description of what they do, but this seems almost like an aside.  The obvious focus is on the “career opportunity”.  Now, take a look at a few real corporate websites and you will see what they have in common.  Their websites are clearly focused towards their clients and what they offer them.  In fact, it can be a challenge to find a career section with job openings.  They are usually within the “About Us” area or via a “careers” link at the bottom of the page.
2. There Is No Contact Information. Real companies have contact information on their websites.  Some will use contact forms to prevent spam and that’s fine, but there should also be a postal address and/or a phone number.
3. Again, Spelling and Grammatical Errors. Refer back to number one.

You can usually go with your gut feeling.   If you have doubts (and especially if you’ve seen one or more of the above signs) you should steer clear.  If you can’t help yourself, at least do some research before proceeding.  The Better Business Bureau website is a terrific resource.  Sometimes it can be difficult to find a company in their database.  In this case, I use BetterWhois.com to do a domain lookup.  This can be helpful in obtaining additional contact information to plug into the BBB website.

Tags: home based jobs, job searching, Scams, telecommute jobs, work at home jobs