How to Avoid Home Business Scams

There are a lot of home based business opportunities out there, but there are also a lot of scams. Unfortunately, a great number of people think that it is ok to earn money by scamming someone else. Don’t be a victim, learn how to avoid home business scams.

The general rule that needs to be applied here is – “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” But let us elaborate a bit on the subject.

1. Colorful Mails

Absolutely no serious company will ever send you a colorful email. Those emails are a signature work of scammers. Whenever you see this, delete it right away – don’t even waste your time reading it.

You don’t even need to open these emails because, usually, the subject line will tell you what it’s all about. If you see caps lock in the subject line, just delete the mail. If you see words like “incredible opportunity,” “turn your computer into a money making machine” or anything like that – just delete the mail.

2. Initial Payment

If the “business opportunity” asks of you to pay some initial money, it is almost exclusively a scam. Don’t ever fall for this. Not only that you’ll lose money, it is also an incredibly stupid thing to do. I mean come on – can you really believe in something like that? You’re looking for a job to be paid, not to pay to someone else.

3. Pyramid Schemes

dollar risk

Not only that pyramid schemes are a scam, they are also illegal in many countries. If someone sends you an offer for a pyramid scheme, you should report them to the authorities, not fall for their trick.

Pyramid schemes work in a way when you don’t actually sell anything, but you recruit other people into the scam. You are promised a percentage of every person you recruit, but you can only recruit so many people. This usually makes a few people on the top very rich, while the rest don’t see a cent.

4. Envelope Stuffing and Home Assembly

These two are probably the oldest home business scams out there. They have been around for many years, and I simply can’t believe that there are still people who fall for this.

You are required to pay an entrance fee after which you will receive instructions for work. You will also receive the envelopes, or the toys, you’re supposed to assemble. In 9 out of 10 cases, after you send the envelopes/toys you will be told that your stuffing/assembling did not meet the requirements of the company. And you will never hear from the “company” again.

5. The “Call 1-900” Scam

This is a scam that only gives you a couple of information about the “job” you will be doing. You are then required to call the 1-900 number in order to get more information. And that’s where the scam begins.

Unlike 1-800, 1-900 numbers are not free at all. In fact, they are quite expensive, and the scammers earn the money by people calling this number. And the information about the job you were supposed to get is not much better, than those you got in the first place.

6. The “Becoming a Scammer” Scam

I believe this one is the worst. Not only do they scam you, they also want you to become a scammer, and fool others.

The scam usually begins with the aforementioned words “turn your computer into a money making machine” and it looks like this. You are required to pay the initial fee to receive the instructions. The instructions are to send the same email you’ve received to other people. Then you hope that some of them will be foolish enough to fall for the scam, and pay the initial fee of which you are supposed to get a percentage, which you usually never see.

7. Multi Level Marketing (MLM)

Multi Level Marketing Trap

Although you’ve probably heard about successful MLM companies (like Amway for example), most of those are scammers. The MLM works pretty much like a pyramid scheme. You are supposed to sell some products, and recruit others into the business in order to earn money.

The problem appears when an MLM business is only based on recruiting others, and not selling anything. That is a pure pyramid scheme and not only that you’ll lose your money, but you can also be charged with fraud, if you join this kind of business.

8. Medical Billing

To me, this home business scam was the one that looked most legitimate. However, it is still a scam.

You are required to pay initial money, and it’s a lot of money this time – between $300 and $900 in order to “receive everything you need to start your medical billing home business.” You usually get a CD with instructions, a list of potential clients, and software you’ll need to use, to process the bills. Sounds cool, right?

What you don’t know is that most medical institutes process their own billings, or outsource it to companies, certainly not individuals. The list of potential clients is usually just another scam, and the software itself is in most cases not meeting the requirements to process medical billing.

Now you know what the scams are, and which are to be avoided. Always remember the “if it’s too good to be true” rule and don’t fall for scams. If you happen to have an extra advice on how to avoid home business scams, please share it and help us all fight the scammers together.

About the author

Sarah

I’m a free spirit who likes to travel, cook and fly. Licensed paraglider pilot, I spend all my spare time flying. In the meantime, I like to share my recipes and travel experiences.

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