How to Spot Work-From-Home Scams

How to Spot Work-From-Home ScamsHow to Spot Work-From-Home Scams One day, I received a message from someone on LinkedIn . A company Id never heard of offered me a work-from-home position. The pay was phenomenal. All I needed to do was turn in my first assignment quickly, Id get my first paycheck and then we could settle in for a more regular agreement.Now, Ive been offered legit opportunities through LinkedIn before and even done work (and been paid) as a result of connections through the site.Unfortunately, this was leid one of those situations.I re-arranged my schedule, turned down other work and found myself out $800 when the company, which called itself Write Stuff, disappeared after I submitted my writing assignment.Did my spidey-sense go off during any part of this interaction? Sure it did. But its easy to get swept up in the idea of making a lot of money quickly, and I ignored some red flags . Dont end up like me. Heres how to spot work-from-home scams.One of the biggest red flags is the idea that you can solve all your money problems with this one work-from-home system, said John Rampton, founder of the freelance invoicing and payment-processing app Due .In the back of our minds, we know theres no such thing as easy money, he said. But our common sense tends to flee when offered the potential for big gains.If someone offers you a large sum of money for relatively little work, or if they have a system that promises to replace your day-job paycheck within a few weeks, run the other way.Some work-from-home scams prey on the unsuspecting by asking that you foot the bill for upfront costs.According to Rampton, some of these costs seem reasonable. Maybe they tell you to pay for a hintergrund check , or insist that you send money for a special piece of equipment you need for your job, he said.But most legitimate businesses wont ask you to cover the expense for these things. They pay for background checks and send you any custom items you need for the job.Additionally, Rampton warned, dont send money via Western Union or wire transfer. Maybe youre told to wire $500 for a specialized headset, he said. You send the money, but the headset never comes, and the company disappears, leaving you poorer.The same is true of ordering special work-from-home kits. Back in 2012, the Federal Trade Commission helped consumers get back more than $2 million after they were scammed by fraudsters using names such as Google Money Tree and Google Treasure Chest.Consumers purchased $4 kits, providing personal credit card information, only to find out later they had also signed up for recurring monthly charges of $72.21. Consumers were told the kit would help them make $100,000 in six months.Stay away from work-from-home kits or systems. They cost money, and rarely work as promised.When you look at the contact information for a work-from-home opportunity , is it helpful? Or is it useless?Many scammers set up legitimate-looking websites, but wh en you look for contact information, all you end up with is a submission form, said Rampton. Thats a major red flag. There should be an actual schmelzglas address for a point person.You also have to watch out for scammers posing as real companies, Rampton added. Take the information you receive, and compare it to what you can find for the company through a separate online search.Another course of action - instead of taking a companys word for it - is to check the database on FlexJobs . These are legitimate companies with flexible work-from-home opportunities. You can cross-check what a company sends you with the database.Increasingly, scammers are becoming more sophisticated. They offer URLs that seem legitimate and spoof official websites, said Rampton. Some of the ways scammers do this includeCarefully vet the URLs of work-from-home jobs you see. If the work claims to come from a specific company, compare the listing with the careers section of the companys official website.Wo rk-from-home scams tend to provide scant detail about how the job works or what youll be doing. In my case, the recruiter just told me they needed something, stat, and that Id get more information after finishing the first piece. They dangled the fabulous payment as a carrot, and I went along.If you arent being offered full details ahead of time, take a step back. When someone is trying to hide whats happening or gets skittish about going into depth, thats a sign you could be dealing with a scam, said Rampton.This one is tricky. As a freelancer , Im often contacted with work offers. However, theres a difference between being offered a freelance job and a work-from-home scam where someone offers you a full-time job - without you applying.Its true that you might be headhunted, Rampton said. However, once the initial contact is made, you need to be alert for other red flags. Be skeptical of someone who just offers you a job you didnt apply for without asking for an interview or go ing through some other process youd see with a normal job.Beyond any specific warning signs, Rampton said, you should trust your gut. We all have this voice in our heads telling us something just isnt quite right, he said.If it feels a little off, it probably is. When something seems too good to be true, thats a sign you could be looking at a scam.Most work-from-home scams have at least two or three red flags , said Rampton. If something isnt sitting quite right with you, investigate further, he suggested. Theres a good chance you will find other signs that this opportunity really isnt one.Instead, if you are looking for a legitimate work-from-home career, check out some of our articles on real home-based jobsThis article was originally published on Student Loan Hero . It is reprinted with permission.