You must ensure they are legitimate as you search for work from home job opportunities. Scammers may pose as companies or independent contractors to try to offer you bogus remote jobs. You can protect your identity, finances, and well-being by being careful. Today, we offer tips on how to tell if a work-from-home job is a scam and share common scams you may encounter.
What Is Meant By Work From Home Scams?
Almost all work from home scams are when dishonest people create fake job positions to benefit themselves. They may use these frauds to steal your personal information, bank details, or worse, financial assets. Since work from home jobs become more popular these days, scammers are starting to target this market with seemingly lucrative job offers. They may pose as a company or reputable person to get you to trust them.
Here are several general tips for avoiding scams:
- Do not ever respond to texts, calls, or emails from unknown numbers or suspicious addresses.
- Never share sensitive personal or bank codes or financial information via email, text, or phone.
- Do not click links in a text message from a number you do not recognize. If a friend sends you a text with a shady link that seems out of character, call them to ensure they weren’t hacked.
- Consider adding your number to the National Do Not Call Registry to prevent telemarketing calls.
- If you think you have been a victim of a coronavirus scam, contact your state consumer protection office and report it to the National Center for Disaster Fraud.
- File a report with local law enforcement if you have lost money or possessions due to a scam.
- Please use Report a Job to flag any fraudulent, fake, spam, or misleading posting on indeed.com.
How To Tell If A Work From Home Job Is A Scam
Follow these simple steps to see if a remote job offer is valid:
- The job is too good to be true.
- There is little information on the company.
- A second contact cannot confirm the legitimacy of the job offer.
- There are warnings online.
- The employer is overly eager to hire.
- You have to pay to work.
- The employer communicates poorly.
The Job Is Too Good To Be True
If you find a job offer that is unbelievable, it’s likely fake. Trust your intuition if a work-from-home opportunity seems too good to be true. For example, if a company is offering an extremely high salary or incredible perks, enter the situation with a bit of skepticism. Likewise, if the company is offering you an amazing job that you aren’t qualified for, this could be a sign of a scam.
There Is Little Information On The Company
When researching a company, they should have a website and some kind of social media presence. If you can’t find anything about it online, it may be time to move on to a different job application. If you do find a website but can’t figure out what kind of work they do, this is also a sign of a scam. Many scammers use vague descriptions to get a wider pool of candidates.
A Second Contact Cannot Confirm the Legitimacy Of the Job Offer
It’s a smart idea to contact someone else from the company. Rather than asking the employer for contact information, try to find it independently. You could ask this person for more information about the company. Remember that many scammers work with a team, so this doesn’t necessarily guarantee a legitimate job offer.
There Are Warnings Online
Use a search engine to look up the company or employer’s name. Search results may show you that other people have experienced this scam. This is often a red flag if you see job boards with warnings about a company. Likewise, if there are poor online reviews about the company, this can tell you to look for a job elsewhere.
The Employer is Overly Eager to Hire
One major warning sign of a work from home scam is when the employer wants to hire you urgently. Most legitimate employers are busy with their own work and don’t have time to respond to you right away. Real employers make candidates feel comfortable, so if a company is pressuring you to accept the job, stop responding to them.
Likewise, a good employer wants to screen candidates for the right fit. If they are willing to hire you on the spot or require little credentials for high-level work, it’s likely a scam.
You Have To Pay to Work
A common scam is when employers claim you need to invest money into your work to get started. Employers are the ones who are supposed to pay you, not the opposite. You may need to pay a subscription fee for various legitimate online job boards, so keep that in mind while searching for remote jobs.
The Employer Communicates Poorly
When emailing the employer, they should seem professional and well-spoken. This is a sign of a scam if words are misspelled or punctuation is off. When you receive an email from an employer, look at their email address to see if it seems like other employers.
Potential work from home scams
These are common work from home scams to look out for:
- The faulty check
- Part-time work for full-time pay
- Requiring you to recruit others
- Pay for training
- Medical billing
The Faulty Check
Scammers use a tactic where they send you a check for way more than they owe you and then act as if they made a mistake. They instruct you to send them the difference of the check before trying to cash it. After you send the check and try to cash the one they sent you, the check will bounce. This is one way they can take your money and leave you with a fake check.
Part-time Work For Full-time Pay
Getting paid a lot to do little work sounds like a dream come true, which is why many scammers use this job tactic. They claim that you can make a ton of money in a short amount of time and pay over the market average. Legitimate employers pay you for what your work is worth.
Requiring you to recruit others
Although some multi-level marketing (MLM) companies are legitimate, others out there promise you many benefits when recruiting others to work for them. Many of these companies require you to spend much of your money on their products. They often focus on the maximum money you can make rather than an entry-level salary.
Pay for Training
People looking to start their own business at home may encounter companies claiming to enhance their business skills. Their advertisements often show how their resources and lessons can help you quickly grow your business. Although there are online courses and resources to help you get started as an entrepreneur, there are also scams that promise instant sales and wealth for a large training fee.
Medical Billing
Medical billing can be a great work-from-home opportunity, which is why scammers often use this job opportunity to make some money. They will usually require you to buy equipment and promise reimbursement later. That’s why it’s important to only apply to jobs straight from medical facilities and hospitals. Reach out to a representative before agreeing to anything.
What is NetIncome?
