Scam-O-Rama! -

During your search for income online you are bound to run into scammers of all types. Knowing some basic things will help you decide what is legitimate.

First things first: Don't pay for a job! A legitimate employment offer does not require any type of investment. On some occasions, legitimate companies do ask you to pay for a background check, but do NOT be fooled by ads asking for a "training fee" or "materials fee."

Legitimate employers NEVER expect employees to use their own personal bank accounts to transact company business. Don't accept jobs that are "processing payments" or ones asking you to receive packages and re-ship them. These are money laundering schemes that can land you in jail.

Check out potential employers with the Better Business Bureau.

If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

Check out the online work from home forums and seek advice from others who work from home. Message boards are great places to talk about opportunities and to alert others to scams.

Here is a perfect example of a scam email from a job posting:

Finetix manager vacancy 2600.00 USD per week.,

if you are interested in a well-paid part-time(2-3 hours a day) job in a large transportation & logistics company please contact me at usfirmgroup3@aol.com.

With best regards, Alice,
Project manager, EXPDEAL Company

Why is this a scam?

First of all - $2,600.00 a week for 2-3 hours a day. There's your first clue. An AOL email address. Doesn't look like a "real" company to me! Then googling and checking out the company name gives us nothing. This all adds up to one big fat scam. So please, people. Don't email Alice. Don't reply to these people.

Another common scam - package re-shipping.

You may get an email or see a job posting from someone who wants you to receive packages then re-ship them overseas. Once again, you're in dangerous legal territory here. It's probably stolen goods, or goods purchased with stolen credit cards. Bottom line is legitimate companies do not need individuals to do these services for them. If they are on the up and up, they can do their own shipping. Most times these job postings claim full time income for part time work.
There's always a catch when they say "easy money." Don't be the next victim!

A great way to keep updated on the latest scams while searching for work from home jobs is to get connected with an online community. WAHM.com is a wonderful resource. Read the message boards, post your questions and learn.

Good luck out there!