Why Work-at-Home Scams Succeed so Often

You only have to turn on your computer to see ads like, "Data Entry -- $200/Day Working from Home." Or, "Earn $50/hour answering short online surveys."

Every time I see one of these ads I think, "Why do people fall for this? Don't they know that it's probably a scam." And, I shake my head and move on.

But, I think these ads shine a light on the culture we live in right now - much more brightly than we'd like to think. Following are three reasons I think these scams work so well - and they go beyond the requisite "most are just plain lazy."

3 Reasons Work-at-Home Scams Succeed

1. Time: As in, I think most don't want to dedicate the time to find legitimate work-from-home opportunities.

I've been a freelancer since 1993, and I can tell you, finding projects (eg, marketing for work) takes two to three times longer than completing the work. I was lucky when I first started out in that I had worked in publishing for 6+ years before I started freelancing. So, I had some industry contacts that I could tap.

But, eventually, those ran out and I had to "beat the proverbial pavement" to make a go of it full-time. I think most would contentedly work at home - and do darn good jobs - if the assignments came to them.

BUT, it's those who are willing to put in the work to find the jobs who achieve work-at-home success.

Lesson: If you are not willing to spend time marketing for work, don't expect to find work-at-home/freelance success - unless you are lucky enough to have an employer who will extend you this courtesy.

2. Business Acumen: When you work from home, you are, in effect, a small business owner. This means you are responsible for things over and beyond just completing the job you were hired to do. Like what?

Like negotiating contracts, project management, accounts receivable, accounts payable, etc. Who wants to take the time to learn to deal with all that! Most of us moan and groan about getting our taxes done once a year.

If you are a small business, you have to be extremely organized all the time -- not just pull some paperwork together once a year.