AllDeaf.com - View Single Post

rockdrummer · 12-28-2007, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Work-At-Home-Schemes Now Peddled On-Line

Want to make fast cash while working from your home? Click a few keys and follow the instructions on your computer screen! Work-at-home-schemes are nothing new but now con artists who touted scams through newspaper, U.S. mail and telemarketing are using computers to reach potential victims. They can sit at their keyboard and reach hundreds of thousands of people, pretty much for free, in a short period of time. Getting a phony ad or message out is now cheap and easy.
On-line users need to be careful when browsing the Internet and responding to unsolicited offers. If an ad seems too good to be true, it probably is. Talented individuals can use a Web Page to create a company that looks very legitimate, but just because an ad looks legitimate on the computer screen, is no reason to assume it is.

Many questionable work-at-home offers are perpetrated through classified advertising. No matter where you find classified ads online, you are likely to find some false and misleading claims. For example, some classified ads promote quick and easy get rich ventures, traditional pyramid schemes, or the basic chain letter scenario. Traditional work-at-home schemes, such as making handicrafts or stuffing envelopes, have been replaced by offers to use your home PC to make money fast in your spare time. To evaluate tempting, on-line solicitations which offer a chance to earn money by working at home, follow the same signals that tip you off to potential frauds in print and other media. The BBB offers some warning signs to questionable online advertising:

Overstated claims of product effectiveness. Use of hype titles and frequent use of the word “hot” to describe an investment opportunity can indicate a scam.

Exaggerated claims of potential earnings, profits, or part-time earnings.

Claims of “inside” information.

Require money for instructions or merchandise before telling you how the plan operates.

Tell you that no experience is necessary.
Check on the reliability of the business offering you the work at home opportunity before sending any money. Anyone victimized by work-at-home offers over the Internet can file a complaint online or off-line with their Better Business Bureau. Consumers who remain silent allow others to be swindled by these fraudulent operators. But even more importantly, always remember to investigate before you invest. Call your Better Business Bureau to check out the reputation of any company, in cyberspace or the traditional marketplace.
2/2/2003