Searching for a Real Online Data Entry Job

As a new college student, I was desperate to make a little money, and I preferred (like most people) making it from the comfort of my own home. I decided to search the Internet to see if I could really make good money online. What I found initially was that people could make real money on the Internet by doing things like blogging or completing surveys, but it was little to no money.

After searching some more, I ran into something called data entry. It looked like easy work, and it would bring a lot of money. But I soon found out 99% of online data entry job websites are total scams. And of those 99% of online data entry jobs, 98% of them will ask you to pay them a fee so that "you will receive the necessary training" or that "you will need to buy certain software". Data entry is one of the oldest and most frequently used scams (type in "data entry" in a Google search and you get over 48 million results), and it still ripping off honest individuals looking for a real online job.

So, almost all data entry jobs are scams, but are there still legitimate online data entry jobs out there? Yes, there are quite a few, but they are overshadowed by all of the scams out there.

How can one be sure that a certain data entry job is legitimate?

1) The employer or website will not ask to pay fees --- Almost all data entry scams will ask you to pay a registration fee. You should never have to pay to get a job.

2) The website contains a Privacy Policy, FAQ page, and valid contact information --- Real data entry employers will give you an exact description of the job that you will be doing. Also, the employer can be reached at a 1-800 or 1-866 number, and the e-mail address given with the contact information contains a company domain name and is not a free e-mail account (beware of companies with e-mail addresses like support@hotmail.com or @gmail.com, for example).

3) The job is not a get-rich quick scheme --- Most scams will tell you that you will make something like $500/day while working 30 minutes a day.

4) The site looks professional, not decorated with palm trees and $100 bills everywhere.

5) Check with the Better Business Bureau for company information and legitimacy --- The BBB has all the information about every company's history and any customer complaints that might have been filed against the company of choice. Go to search.bbb.org and type in the website URL.

TIP: To find 100% real online jobs of any kind including data entry, visit sites like www.elance.com, www.guru.com or www.getafreelancer.com. At these types of sites, you are assured of being employed by a real employer looking for professionals and getting paid with real money without having to give away your credit card number.