How to Avoid Home Business Scams 101
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Andrea Lewis
Jun 24, 2009, 4:32:44 AM6/24/09
to The CB Code
A number of years ago I started looking for a home business
opportunity. Unfortunately I fell into a couple of traps - there are
many scammers out there who prey on people (just like us), who are so
desperately looking for a way to make money from home, that they
forget to do their due diligence.
How can I identify a scam?
There are a number of things you need to look for, when trying to work
out whether a business is a scam, or a real live opportunity. Do they
have a number on the website? Is the website professional looking? Is
their website just screaming HYPE, and here's how to make ONE MILLION
DOLLARS in less than 3 months? How about big pictures of expensive
looking cars, boats, houses, etc.
I can't stand the amount of hype that is out there in the industry.
Truly I wouldn't trust someone who says that they can guarantee
executive level income. Why? Because working from home just isn't for
everyone. Not everyone will achieve success in a home business,
because it isn't as easy as they make it out to be! It requires
determination, guts, persistence, planning, and just plain old hard
work. Not everyone is cut out for that.
I receive at least one email per day from someone asking me whether
XYZ company is a home business scam, or if they can make money or if I
know of anyone who had success with ABCD company. People are just
never sure how to evaluate their options when it comes to
opportunities. I decided to write this article to inform people on
what type of scams to look out for, and what to look for in a
business.
What to look out for?
Letter stuffing jobs. Get paid to stuff envelopes. Guaranteed $1000 a
week full time at $2.00 per envelope. No risk. Does this sound
familiar? Funnily enough people like us buy into these schemes
everyday. Why? Because they are looking for a solution. These types of
sites build up such hype and excitement, that people think nothing
about shelling out $150 or so for a envelope stuffing kit, as they
just can't wait to be earning $1000 per week. They have no conscience
about cheating people out of their hard earned money.
Guaranteed Loans. This scam can be presented in a number of ways, but
the ending is almost always the same: they offer home equity loans
that don't require any equity in your home, or personal loans
regardless of credit history, age, job status, etc.All you need to do
is to pay the application fees, and then surprise surprise, you
receive a letter saying that your loan request was denied. Usually,
you will never here from these companies again, after they have gotten
what they wanted - your fees.
Email Scams. Business owners around the world receive many emails
every day, inquiring about their products, etc. A common scam is for
scammers from overseas to make an order with you (paying for these on
stolen credit cards). Then when you ship the product, you need to pay
for the shipping through a money transfer company. They take your
money, you post the product, and never ever hear from them again. They
got your product, they received the payment for shipping, and guess
what - the credit cards they used have been reported as stolen. It's a
lose lose situation. Be aware of anyone only contacting you via email
to purchase product.
Contact Information. Does the business or work from home job
opportunity that you're looking at have contact information on their
website? The most important of these would be a phone number and email
address. Call the phone number to see that it is connected. This can
save many dramas down the track, to see if it is actually a legitimate
biz or not.
Credit Repair Schemes.This is a scheme where you are offered 'credit
repair' in return for a nominal fee. These scams usually promise to
remove negative information from your credit file so that you can
apply and qualify for personal loans, home mortgages, unsecured credit
cards, etc. Trust me - It doesn't work. On top of that, if you do
follow their advice and put false information on a credit application,
you could get in big trouble with the Tax Office for committing fraud
and violating federal laws. Another type of credit repair scam is the
promise of a brand new credit file. Just don't do it.
All in all the best thing to do is to always do your due diligence.
opportunity. Unfortunately I fell into a couple of traps - there are
many scammers out there who prey on people (just like us), who are so
desperately looking for a way to make money from home, that they
forget to do their due diligence.
How can I identify a scam?
There are a number of things you need to look for, when trying to work
out whether a business is a scam, or a real live opportunity. Do they
have a number on the website? Is the website professional looking? Is
their website just screaming HYPE, and here's how to make ONE MILLION
DOLLARS in less than 3 months? How about big pictures of expensive
looking cars, boats, houses, etc.
I can't stand the amount of hype that is out there in the industry.
Truly I wouldn't trust someone who says that they can guarantee
executive level income. Why? Because working from home just isn't for
everyone. Not everyone will achieve success in a home business,
because it isn't as easy as they make it out to be! It requires
determination, guts, persistence, planning, and just plain old hard
work. Not everyone is cut out for that.
I receive at least one email per day from someone asking me whether
XYZ company is a home business scam, or if they can make money or if I
know of anyone who had success with ABCD company. People are just
never sure how to evaluate their options when it comes to
opportunities. I decided to write this article to inform people on
what type of scams to look out for, and what to look for in a
business.
What to look out for?
Letter stuffing jobs. Get paid to stuff envelopes. Guaranteed $1000 a
week full time at $2.00 per envelope. No risk. Does this sound
familiar? Funnily enough people like us buy into these schemes
everyday. Why? Because they are looking for a solution. These types of
sites build up such hype and excitement, that people think nothing
about shelling out $150 or so for a envelope stuffing kit, as they
just can't wait to be earning $1000 per week. They have no conscience
about cheating people out of their hard earned money.
Guaranteed Loans. This scam can be presented in a number of ways, but
the ending is almost always the same: they offer home equity loans
that don't require any equity in your home, or personal loans
regardless of credit history, age, job status, etc.All you need to do
is to pay the application fees, and then surprise surprise, you
receive a letter saying that your loan request was denied. Usually,
you will never here from these companies again, after they have gotten
what they wanted - your fees.
Email Scams. Business owners around the world receive many emails
every day, inquiring about their products, etc. A common scam is for
scammers from overseas to make an order with you (paying for these on
stolen credit cards). Then when you ship the product, you need to pay
for the shipping through a money transfer company. They take your
money, you post the product, and never ever hear from them again. They
got your product, they received the payment for shipping, and guess
what - the credit cards they used have been reported as stolen. It's a
lose lose situation. Be aware of anyone only contacting you via email
to purchase product.
Contact Information. Does the business or work from home job
opportunity that you're looking at have contact information on their
website? The most important of these would be a phone number and email
address. Call the phone number to see that it is connected. This can
save many dramas down the track, to see if it is actually a legitimate
biz or not.
Credit Repair Schemes.This is a scheme where you are offered 'credit
repair' in return for a nominal fee. These scams usually promise to
remove negative information from your credit file so that you can
apply and qualify for personal loans, home mortgages, unsecured credit
cards, etc. Trust me - It doesn't work. On top of that, if you do
follow their advice and put false information on a credit application,
you could get in big trouble with the Tax Office for committing fraud
and violating federal laws. Another type of credit repair scam is the
promise of a brand new credit file. Just don't do it.
All in all the best thing to do is to always do your due diligence.
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