Make Money Scams Don't Work? No...You Don't.
Don't you just love money scams? I mean, they're so effective! They prey on all our deepest desires, which is, of course, to make more money. But the reality is that it's never as easy as the ads would have you believe.
But if there are these many scams out there with promises of riches and fortune just for lending your personal information to a shady company- well then something has to give. And most often it's not their wallets- but yours.
Scams like "Work At Home Dad" and "The Penny Discreet Package Company" are literally stealing from people when they offer something in exchange for private information like credit card number or social security number. But you don't have to get ripped off by a bad money making idea.
There are really some truly good work from home jobs out there, they're just not offered through these scammy ads. Here's how to find the real deal:
1. They aren't out of the country- or maybe even America!
The most obvious scam I've heard is often touted as, "With us, you can make money and still live in your country." Not only is this a red flag- it's a whole bulls eye on a target that's wrapped in red flags and then thrown into a swimming pool full of them. Stay away from work at home companies that require you to be anywhere but in the USA. Some companies will even require you to move abroad in order to get "The Job."
2. They aren't overly specific with their name or title.
You probably won't even notice it, but a really common way to scam people out of money is by providing too much information on the company and even their products. They'll tell you about their products and services- then list each in great detail- so much so that you might get a headache from all the information overload.
I'm not saying that there couldn't be legitimate work from home jobs that do this- but for the most part, if a company wants to give you all of these details, it's probably not worth doing business with them. They're just after your money.
3. They aren't asking for a lot of personal information- and you can contact them directly yourself!
There is no excuse for having to provide private information in order to work online. This is the main reason why companies have been around forever (and will continue to be around forever) without going out of business- because they consider customer service essential to their business model and growth. Don't chance it, try and go with a company that won't have to rely on making you sign any contracts or getting your personal information- they just want to make money.
4. They aren't selling you something that you don't need or don't really want.
If a company is selling you a product or service that was never mentioned in the ad- well then it's likely not good for their business long term. You may be tempted by a very tempting money making opportunity- but the reality is that there are more legitimate work at home companies out there than there are scammers out there, so always go with reputable companies. It'll save you headaches down the road!
5. They aren't scamming a lot of people.
Now, this can be hard to find out...but if the company has a history of complaints then there's probably a reason why they have so many. That reason is that they're in it for the quick buck and not for your well being or satisfaction. If you come across one of these types of companies, run away!
6. They shouldn't be asking you to work too much on any kind of "investment.
This is the biggest and most crucial tell-tale sign of a bad money making opportunity. Especially if it's an investment of your own cash or work that you could be doing in your spare time on sites like mTurk or Fiverr, then you should definitely avoid it. Because at the end of the day there's no way for you to make that money back, and this is usually just a gateway for them to take more of your hard earned cash. So be wary!
7. They shouldn't be asking you to send money in any way, shape or form.
No company should ever ask you to give them your money. This is just never the case. Accept the fact that there are scams out there and always make sure you purchase a work from home job through reputable companies or sites such as Upwork, Fiverr, etc. You can even accept the job being part of a group project- since that's what these types of jobs usually are. The other thing is to not purchase through an "escrow service" like Western Union. I'll talk more about this later in the article.
8. They don't give you a lot of information on a lot of things.
If they're selling you something- and they won't tell you the brand name- then it's definitely not the right kind of company for you. No company should be selling something that they don't know anything about. If they ask you to buy a product or say that it's easy to make cash with, then it probably is. But if they're trying to sell you something and won't provide any details at all- then avoid them! It's better to shop around before even looking at the site, because just from reading the reviews there could be many more legitimate work from home jobs than scammers out there.
9. They shouldn't be claiming to be a "private business" when they're not.
This is a red flag for many people- and I don't blame them. But honestly, this can be a difficult thing to figure out whether or not it's legit on your own just from reading it. If you come across something like this, then do your research and figure out whether or not this site has an address (especially if they are in another country). If they don't have one- avoid! Most legitimate work at home jobs will list their addresses somewhere- so you should see these if the company is any good.
10. They shouldn't be claiming to be 100% legitimate.
If a company is claiming that they're 100% legitimate- then it's very likely that they are not- especially if you've come across this on a work from home ad. There is no such thing as 100% legit, but there are plenty of companies that claim "Most" or "Some" legitimacy which is certainly better than making false claims right? Not always...but sometimes.
11. They shouldn't tell you that they're going to give you a "test project.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a lot of red flags here. I know that there are many different scams out there and it can be difficult to figure out which ones are the good ones- but just remember to always be wary of scams in the first place. You can easily save yourself a lot of headaches by staying away from them!
Have you come across any of these scams before? Or do you know of any that I missed? Feel free to share your experiences and help keep others from ever having them in the first place! Share this article with family and friends so they don't get fooled! Thank you for reading! 🙂
Twitter: @ejohnsoncomposer
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