The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on work from home scams and is stepping up its enforcement by filing lawsuits against several companies it has deemed illegal.
While the vast majority of work from home ventures are legitimate companies offering entrepreneurs ways to make money, several companies are now in the federal spotlight. While several companies are facing hefty fines for duping unsuspecting people just looking to make a little extra money, there are hundreds of companies still operating.
To offer you a good idea of what to look for, here’s a checklist of sorts of scams just lately targeted by the Ftc:
—Recently-developed scams are taking advantage of the high jobless rate by running deceptive ads offering jobs with the federal government that do not exist.
Basically, the scam requires applicants to pay more than $100 for study materials so they can pass a non-existent test. The scam also offers “counseling” costing nearly $1,000, that would help applicants create resumes and prepare for exams.
In another scam, people were told they could earn as much as $500 a week assembling jewelry. They had to pay for materials, then assemble the pins and submit them for payment. The organization rejected nearly all the pins, so no one who signed up for this job ever got paid, but spent hundreds of dollars on materials. Similar assembly jobs have been the target of investigations in the past.
—Several scams offer a list of jobs for a fee, including jobs in the entertainment industry that require no experience or special skills. You should never pay for job listings, as there are many free job listing services online that offer legitimate work. One company actually listed jobs that didn’t exist in exchange for a fee.
—The FTC is suing several companies that offered money for stuffing envelopes, labeling postcards, and mystery shopping—all of which were proven to be scams. The fines for these crimes are pretty hefty, ranging from $75,000 to $414,900. While hundreds of thousands of people have fallen for such schemes, you can bet there will be more cropping up in the future.
Often be careful of any “job opportunity” that does not appear respectable, do your research and ask inquiries before sending anyone your hard-earned funds.
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