How to Avoid Work-From-Home Scams

There are literally hundreds of different web sites offering work-from-home opportunities. A casual search will reveal many web sites for the following:

* Taking on-line surveys
* Selling products independently by phone
* Writing academic essays

Many of these sites will appear very professional in nature, encouraging you to give your e-mail address so that you can be contacted by a member of the company. Many times, they will eventually ask you to pay some sort of up front fee, "just to get started."

Most legitimate business offers will not require you to pay out of your pocket for anything. It is up to you if you believe in that company, or that product, strongly enough to put your own money out up front without receiving anything from them first. It is not my advice that you do this.

Get it in writing. You still have rights even if you are an independent contractor working out of your own home. There's nothing wrong with asking for some sort of contract, and if they don't use a standard one then it's okay to ask if you can draft one. If they are going to pay you on a commission rate, or hourly based upon the time you work, then you absolutely should have a contract or some sort of paperwork to go along with their words.

If they do not ask for paypal identification or tax paperwork, don't expect to be paid. How could they pay you if they don't have your information? If you have to bring it up, there is probably something wrong. At the very least, there should be some request for your paypal ID.

Upon gross examination, it is almost impossible to discern the real work from home opportunities from the Internet scams.  Most of the web sites in questions will have names like “eeee-zee-monee-dot-com” and “get-payed-today-dot-com.”  The text will be lengthy, describing how simple the procedure is, how you can earn so much money (often with examples and dollar amounts), and how amazing it is to work from home.