As many recent college graduates are struggling to find work the traditional route, they turn their attention towards emerging careers. An industry that has been on the rise for years is the work-from-home/make money online field. There are many legitimate work from jobs but the sad reality is that there are many work from home job scams around.
Last week I wrote about one of the newest work from home job scams, Goog Cash4u, and received a thought provoking sentence in a comment from a reader.
During this rough economic time I so wanted to believe the promises and fell for it.
This got me thinking and I decided to conduct some research on the work from home job market. After reading a few great resources I came up with a list of ways you can protect yourself and be cautious of work from home job scams:
Don’t spend a lot of money on a work from home job
If you have to pay $500 for some “online marketing guru” to show you how to make millions by working from home then you are better off using that money to send me on vacation. At least I would have a good story for you. These internet marketing gurus sell you the idea of a real work from job but they usually end up taking off with your initial payment. If they don’t take off then you are usually stuck with a get rick quick idea that does not get you rich nor does it even allow you to live above poverty standards.
Determine whether its a scam free work at home job
Ask important questions. Who will you work for? What type of work will you be performing? Yes I know they want you to think you will relax on the beach all day but how will you earn an income is the important factor. What credentials are required for this job? If they are looking for educated people and you fit the bill then it could be a great opportunity. If they claim “anyone can make thousands from home” then it may not be so legitimate.
Look into your pay structure
How the hell are you going to get paid? Will you earn a salary? Will you get paid on an hourly basis? Will you get paid commission? Someone can guarantee you will make tons of money by working at home but how will this money get to you? Will you receive pay checks? Will you get paid through PayPal? These are all important questions that need to be answered before you begin working from home.
Watch out for common work at home job scams
A newer work from home job scam such as Goog Cash4u may catch you by surprise. However, there are classic work at home job scams that have been around since the advent of the internet. As a new college graduate the onus is on you to educate yourself on the various work from home scams and how they have impacted others in the past.
Protect private information
Do not under any circumstances ever email anyone your social security number, social insurance number, passport number or any other number that is extremely private. I will take this one step further and say that you should not give out any private information unless you are 100% that it is not a work from home job scam. As a recent college graduate giving out private information could cause major grief for you early on in your working life.
Watch out for overseas work from home companies
If the work from home company is based overseas and a simple phone call is expensive, then that’s another negative sign. Not to say that you are guaranteed safety with a local company but at least you know where to go and who to call when problems arise.
That’s all I could think of for now in terms of how college graduates can watch out for work from home job scams.
Are there legitimate work form home jobs? Of course. I will do more research and get back to you guys with a look at real work form home jobs. For the time being, what’s your take on the whole make money from home business?
photo: digitalpoint1
I'm a 24 year old dude that studied finance in school and now wants to make it fun. Over the past three years I've been helping readers like YOU make more money and keep more cash in your pocket. I've appeared live on Fox Business News and I've been mentioned in the NY Times.
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As someone who legitimately works from home, I have to say that if a job seems easy, it’s probably a scam. The way I came into this gig was through slow, slow connections built over three years and a smooth transition from my previous salaried job. I didn’t sign up for any seminars or answer any online solicitations.
Now, I’m trying to determine if affiliate marketing and Google AdSense are actually just work-at-home schemes… that’s a whole other can of worms though.
I fell for the google work from home scam… I’m currently unemployed and thought I had nothing to lose with the $1.97 password and free access for 7 days. I did read the fine print and said I would be charged $69.99 if I decided to stay in the program, NOT SO! they charged my account without my knowledge as soon as I activated the password! in all it was useless info for me, it required you to make a webpage and link to other companies and post ads in forums and blogs to create traffic to your page and your affiliates and that way you would get money from them ( I doubt it). I cancelled twice online, called twice and got a refund. I thought the nightmare was over but one month later I’m checking my account and another phantom company alterfunds.com charged me $29.95! not even the same company I was dealing with but apparently partners in crime with the other one because they got my bank info. I called and a guy said he could not do anything about a refund and to call the next day and ask for the “customer resolution center” (probably just a recording that will leave me hanging there) so I’m going to close my account at the bank and see if their fraud dept. can do anything about these thiefs.