Job Seeker Beware: Work from Home Scams Abound

WORKING WORLD |

By Tamar Asedo Sherman

My last column on working from home was greeted with a great outpouring of interest that compelled me to do further research to try to help the many readers who wrote to me. I thought I had met with success in finding a Web site that claimed to have weeded out all the scams and found three legitimate work-at-home opportunities.

But then I realized that site was in cahoots with the three sites it cited as legitimate. All four have the same tone and the same approach. And if you try to close the window rather than sign up and send money, those sites won’t let you do it. They offer you a one-time only discount. If you still aren’t interested, and try to close that window, they offer you a still lower discount. It’s too good a deal to resist! But do try, or you’ll be throwing your money away.

You might see signs posted on telephone poles in your neighborhood or classified ads in your local Pennysaver to stuff envelopes or process rebates or take surveys at home and earn $$$$. But beware! No employer is going to ask you to pay him/her a fee in order to start working. That should be your first clue that the proposition is a scam.

If an application asks for very detailed personal information, watch out. It might be an identity theft scam. Never give your Social Security number online or offer your mother’s maiden name, since that is frequently the security code used by banks and credit card companies.

A consumer alert disseminated in February targeted a widespread scam that appears in classified ads to work for the U.S. Postal Service, but when you contact the phone number, a recording tells you to send money. Don’t be fooled! The government says that all jobs with the Post Office are based on Civil Service examinations, and hiring is done at the local level. In addition, all jobs with the federal government are listed for free at www.usajobs.gov. You should not pay for listings of government jobs.

The Federal Trade Commission’s Web site has a page devoted to Work at Home Schemes, entitled “Take This Scheme and Stuff It: Avoiding Envelope-Stuffing Rip-Offs” at ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/invest/workhome.shtm. It suggests questions people should ask before committing to a work-at-home program:

• What tasks will I have to perform?
• How will I be paid, an hourly salary or commission?
• Who will pay me?
• When will I get my fi rst paycheck?
• What is the total cost of the work-at home program, including supplies, equipment and membership fees?

I did find two sites that appear to be legitimate, that charge a membership fee to gain access to their job listing services. They are: www.MoneyFromHome.com, which also goes under the name, www.jobsformoms.com, and www.homejobstop.com. Moneyfromhome.com claims it was cited in Essence magazine, Fortune, and The Wall St. Journal as a legitimate business, although the Better Business Bureau gave it an F, having received 48 complaints in the last 36 months. Half had been resolved within 12 months.

The site lists 1,000 jobs in data entry, surveys, customer service, help desk, sales, clerical, human resources, creative design, writing, proofreading, and home business opportunities for $39.95 for 12 months membership with a 90-day money-back guarantee that you will find a job.

The Homejobstop Job Bank specializes in telecommuting and work from home jobs in the above categories as well as engineering, programming, finance, graphic art, sales, and marketing. It offers lifetime membership for a one-time-only joining fee of $24, reduced in February to $18.

A third site, www.gilgordon.com/hub lists many telecommuting sites for no fee.

It’s a good idea to check with the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) to see if any complaints have been filed against the company, or to ask for references, although those could also be set up to go along with the scam.

If you think you have been duped by a work-at-home scam, you can take action. The FTC suggests that first you contact the company and ask for a refund. Tell company representatives that you plan to notify officials about your experience. If you can’t resolve the dispute on your own, file a complaint with any of the organizations:

• The Federal Trade Commission 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
• The Attorney General’s office in your state or the state where the company is located.
• Your local consumer protection offices.
• Your local Better Business Bureau.
• Your local postmaster, if you get materials through the mail. Keep me posted about successes with any of these sites or others you come across.

Tamar Asedo Sherman is an employment specialist. She can be reached at tsherman@unitedspinal.org.