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The Work from Home Scam

Introduction

This is a very prevalent scam curently doing the rounds on the internet. This type of scam which advertises itself as an on-line 'Business Opportunity' or a 'Work-at-Home' scheme can arrive as an unsolicited email. But more and more often these are advertised on the internet either through programs such as Google's AdSense ad placements or via web pages specifically designed to entice people to sign-up for these kinds of schemes.

The enticement here is that the applicant for the scheme can earn from hundreds to thousands of dollars a month by employing the 'scheme'.

To become a member of the scheme an individual usually needs to pay from $35 to several hundred dollars usually through payment systems such as PayPal or ClickBank. Often the promised materials or information fail to arrive. In another version of this scam, after paying to join the scheme the applicant is sent to a web page which simply provides an eBook for download that tells the applicant how to place advertisements similar to the one that originally enticed them to buy into the plan in the firs place. What we have here is basically a pyramid scheme where the only way to make money is to entice others into the program. In the end only the scheme's originator makes any money from these kinds of cams.

It is unfortunate, as these schemes generally prey on those who are vulnerable and in financial difficulties. Unfortunately there is no easy way out of such financial difficulties using the internet. Making money on the web is a hard slog and anyone who tries to persuade you otherwise is lying.

A typical email is given below:

Scam email starts:

From: jackiety88@gmail.com
Subject: You could make $250-$2250+ per day working only 30 minutes
Date: 25 April 2007 18:00:20 BDT
Reply-To: jackiety88@gmail.com

Hi, It’s Jackie here!
Would you like to be your own boss and work directly from home? What if I told you that I have a system that runs virtually on autopilot where you could make $250-$2250+ per day working only 30 minutes?. Sound to good to be true? Check out my proof of earnings above. No experience or special skills are required!
What if I told you that you could walk in tomorrow and quit your job?
     • No more getting up at the crack of dawn,
     • No more sitting in traffic,
     • No more boss, and
     • No more bills!
Hard to believe? Well, I see people quit their jobs and make their lives better every single day. In fact, it's easy when you know how to do it...
Did you know that you can make over $1000+ per day! This is a system that is virtually 100% automated. Once you set it up, it will continue to pump out money day after day after day.
I tried so many "systems" and get-rich-quick schemes only to come up with less money than when I started. I was frustrated, broke, and ready to give up when finally I found the answer to a better life for me and my family. People all across the world are making thousands per day just from sitting at home typing out and submitting online forms.

To qualify for this job, you need the following:
     • A Computer
     • Internet Access
     • Can Read Basic English
This job is perfect for homemakers, students, retired workers, or anyone else that wants to earn cash working from home.
There are no deadlines and no boundaries--you can do this job from anywhere in the world at any time of the day! You will not need special training and with our step-by-step instructions you can get started immediately.
And Yes, You can make tons of money from this. Many of the people that joined are now making more money than me doing this. Its that easy. And the beauty is you can start part-time and keep your job if you have to, although it won't be long before you Fire Your Boss! The process is very simple--anyone can do it.
Please validate your acceptance of our email by clicking this link:
http://www.type-at-home.com/coupon/7704
http://www.paidsurveysetc.com/coupon/7704
http://www.dataentrymadeeasy.com/coupon/7704



Kind regards,

Jackie Ty
YIM: Jackie_ty88@yahoo.com
Email add: jackiety88@gmail.com
http://go2-url.com/aaeree

Scam email ends

Apart from the scams described above the most common variants on this scam include:

  • Assembly work at home — this scam requires that you invest hundreds of dollars on instruction manuals and materials that (with hundreds of hours of your time) allow you to produce items such as toy clowns, baby clothes, plastic signs or novelty pottery for a company that has promised to buy what you produce. Once you have spent the money and produced the items a sample is examined and the company decides not to purchase as the items are 'sub-standard'. You are left out of pocket and with merchandise that you cannot sell.
  • Envelope Stuffing — a classic scam that has moved from the free-ads pages and onto the internet. Essentially the ad or spam email tells you that you can earn 'Over £200 a week just stuffing envelopes'. Often if you join such a scheme you only get promotoinal materials or instructions for going into business by placing the same kinds of ads that enticed you in the first place. In addition you may find that pursuing this plan will cost you several hundred pounds/dollars in advertising, postage, envelopes, and printing.
  • MLM or Multi-level Marketing — although this is a well-established and legitimate form of business where people sell products to their colleagues and co-workers. But in internet marketing these become more like pyramid schemes. An obvious difference is that the emphasis is on recruiting others to join the program, not on selling the product. For a time, new recruits who make the investment to buy product samples keep money coming into the system, but very few products are sold. Sooner or later the people on the bottom are stuck with a saturated market, and they cannot make money by selling products or recruiting.
  • On-line Businesses — This is the classic 'Turn your business into a cash machine' ad or email. You are directed to a flashy website or to some impressive-looking advertising copy. You then pay-up for a useless guide to work-at-home jobs—a mixture of computer-related work such as word processing or data entry and the same old envelope-stuffing and home crafts scams. Or you receive a worthless CD that contains little more than a list free government web sites and/or business opportunities which require more money.
  • Processing Medical Insurance Claims — Here you receive an email of the type: 'You can earn from $800 to $1000 weekly processing insurance claims on your home computer for health care professionals.' You will be urged to buy expensive training materials or software programs and will be given a telephone number to call where you will be pressured for an immediate decision. Essentially the training materials will be superficial and you will find that there is no real market for the services you have been 'trained' to provide.
  • Email Processing — This is just a modern twist on the old 'Envelope Stuffing' scam. For a low on-line price (usually $40–60) you are promised that you can become a 'highly-paid email processor working at home for up to $25 per email'. This is anobvious scam — after all, why would a legitimate company pay up to $25 for simple email processing!
  • Companies looking for Homeworkers — In this scam a company promises to provide you (for a fee) a list of companies who are looking for homeworkers. The list, when and if you get it, is simply a generic list of companies; the majority of whom are definitely not in the market for homeworkers.
  • Ad Posting — This is an ad placed to get you to pay money for information that will tell you that you can make money by placing ads just like the one you responded to. Basically it's a scheme that's turning you into a scammer!

If you come across these kinds of offers just ignore them. There is no such thing as a 'get rich quick' scheme. This is just an invention of fraudsters and scammers. If an offer looks too good to be true then it is! All scams relie on greed and they attempt to entice you with unrealistic goals.

The latest twist on this scam is the website that offers to provide you with information on only legitimate work at home jobs with no scams. All for a small fee, of course. This is just another twist on the scams above — just ignore it!