Know the Signs

The Better Business Bureau notes that work-at-home scheme promoters

• never offer you regular salaried employment,
• promise you huge profits and big part-time earnings,
• use personal testimonials but never identify those people so that you could check with them,
• require money for instructions or merchandise before telling you how the plan operates,
• assure you of guaranteed markets and a huge demand for your handiwork,
• tell you that no experience is necessary, and
• take your money and give you little or nothing in return except heartbreak and grief.

Here’s advice from the National Consumers League:

• Don’t assume that because you saw an advertisement in a well-known newspaper, magazine, or Web site that the company is legitimate. Anyone can buy an ad. Do your homework if you see an ad that sounds enticing (see last item).
• Reputable companies don’t send unsolicited emails seeking people to work for them, so consider any such mail to be junk.
• Legitimate companies will provide information about what you’ll be doing and for whom, without requiring payment for this information.
• Paying money up-front—for so-called training or supplies—is a red flag. Get all the details before you give anyone a dime. If you have to buy equipment or supplies, ask if you can return them for a refund if you need to. Sometimes your money will just buy you a list of other businesses to contact or software that doesn’t work well. Or you may just get instructions to place an ad like the one you answered, asking people to send you money for information about working at home. (This is an illegal pyramid scheme because there is no real product or service being offered.)
• Find out if there really is a market for your work—whether it’s for services such as medical billing or products such as crafts. Ask who the company’s customers are and contact them.
• Get references from others doing the same work and ask them if the company has kept its promises.
• Don’t get involved in work that requires depositing checks in your bank account on behalf of your employer and wiring them money. This is a fake check scam.
• Ask your potential employer some questions: Will I be paid a salary, or is my pay based on commission? Who will pay me? When will I get my first paycheck? What is the total cost of the program, including supplies, equipment, and membership fees? What will I get for my money? Describe the steps of the job I’m being asked to perform.
• Do your homework at the Better Business Bureau, your local or state consumer protection agency, the Federal Trade Commission, your state’s attorney general, or your local consumer affairs department. The National Consumers League suggests reading The Work-At-Home Sourcebook as well as checking other resources at your local library for advice and lists of legitimate companies that hire people to work for them at home.