How to Avoid Work from Home Scams....

Unfortunately, one thing a newbie to the virtual world will find is SCAMS.... they're like a plague that never goes away, and they've infected the internet. To those of you who are new to the Virtual World, its quite hard to tell a scam from a real thing.

When I first started looking for "work from home" 2 years ago I was bombarded by WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITIES (yeah, right). I initially got caught up in one of those "Typing from Home" scams. How was I to know it wasn't real? I was new to this, and had no idea what to look for, or more importantly what to be careful of. I lost some money in the beginning, but learned quickly how to spot a scam a mile away:

1) A legitimate employer will NEVER ask you to pay money upfront. Never pay money to receive start-up materials, apply, or for more information. Just think, when applying for a job in the workplace, do they ever ask you to pay upfront? NO -- A legit job will NEVER ask you for money up front!!

2) You can tell a scam by the way the ad is written. An legit employer looking for someone will usually:
* List what he/she is looking for in a contractor (i.e. specific skills, not just "internet savvy", "good typing skills", etc. They will usually provide a specifics (i.e. Experienced with MS Office, ACT, Billing and Invoicing, Dreamweaver, MS PowerPoint presentations, etc)
* Provide an hourly rate for the position (not $300-500/week<--- SCAM!!)
* Provide a description of their company or who they are

A scam however, will:
* Almost always put "Work From Home" somewhere in their ad, either in the location or the description
* Will use "catch lines" like: Self starter, Ready to start immediately, Training provided, No experience necessary, and other vague words.
* Have a copy & pasted description of the "job". It just sounds like it was copied from somewhere else.

3) Anything that promises ridiculous amounts of money are scams. For example, "Get paid up to $75 for completing surveys!". Now honestly, use your common sense here. If you could get that much from completing survey's, there would be a LOT more rich people in the world ! You can tell when you're reading the ad whether it rings true or not. Don't fall for the "Jim Smith made over $89,000 in 2 days!". Complete bull...

Scammers are getting tricky. They're learning that people are watching out for these "hints" and changing their ways. They've now made websites and ask you to apply by filling out an application. They'll also try to hide it by posting the scam as an actual position (Looking for a Virtual assistant, etc) Just use the tips above, and your basic common sense, and you can be spared from losing money. I hate to use this overly used cliche, but it fits so well: If it sounds too good to be true, IT IS !!!!!!!!!!

There are PLENTY of legitimate jobs out there, trust me. It took me quite a while to find them, but I did - so will you. That's the point of this blog, to help you find the legitimate jobs and stay far away from the scams !!