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How To Spot A Work From Home Scam
While there are plenty of legitimate work from home offers available on the web, there are many more scams.
When looking for a work from home job you need to be careful.
If you fall for a work from home scam you could end up:
- Wasting your time
- Losing Your Money
- Becoming a Victim of Identity Theft
- Involved in Fraudulent or even Criminal Activity
The FBI lists these common work from home scams you should avoid.
The Advance Fee Scam
This is where many business “opportunities” fall. In this scam you pay a fee and in return you are to receive everything you need to start your own (fill in the blank) business. You pay your money and end up with a bunch of worthless junk…if you get anything at all.
The Mystery Shopper-Counterfeit Check Scam
This scam seems like a no-lose situation…they send you money!
How it works: Your “employer” sends you a large check that you deposit into your bank account. You spend the money shopping at local stores and sending wire transfers. Some of the money you send back to your employer. But a few days later you find the check was bad, and you are liable for the funds.
Pyramid Schemes
My personal favorites are all the “gifting” programs out there. But the most common way this scam works is that you are hired as a distributor for some type of product. Many times the product you are selling is of low value and overpriced. You make your money by recruiting others to sell the product. Meanwhile you are required to purchase inventory and sales aids, all of which become worthless with the pyramid fails.
The US Agent Money Laundering Scam
In this lovely scam you are hired to be a US based “agent” for a company. This typically involves receiving merchandise and then reshipping it to another address. What you don’t know is the crooks are using you to launder money and/or steal merchandise, with no trail back to them.
The Phishing Scam
This scam may be the hardest one to spot. You apply for a job and it appears you are being considered, or even hired. The company then asks for your personal information and then the job disappears. The scammers now have all the information they need to steal your identity and and ruin your credit.
Tips to Avoid Getting Scammed
Watch Out For The Warning Signs
- You are offered large profits for only part time work.
- They don’t tell you exactly how the plan works until you pay them the money.
- They never actually offer you a job without taking your money.
- You need “little or no experience” to make “huge guaranteed profits”.
- You are pressured to make a decision immediately.
How To Protect Yourself From Work From Home Scams
Be suspicious whenever you are asked to pay money for a job.
First contact the Better Business Bureau to make sure the company is legitimate.
Don’t provide personal information until you are sure the offer is legitimate.
Do some research! Google the company name with “scam” and see if anything comes up.
Following these few simple tips can save you money and heartache.
For more information check out
FBI-Work From Home Scams
Better Business Bureau Work From Home Schemes
Federal Trade Commission Work From Home Schemes
Click on This “Ad” for a fun way to learn about Work From Home Schemes.
Make Lots of Money Now!
Make Money Writing for Hub Pages
Mostly I like to look at work from home jobs where you can earn enough to make at least a basic living. But is always nice to have a way to earn some extra cash. And when that way costs nothing to start, and has the potential to pay a decent amount, I think it is worth a look.
I signed up for Hubpages about 3 months ago, and didn’t do anything. Then about 2 weeks ago I went back to the site and wrote my first Hub. At Hubpages, a hub is basically a webpage. Just one page where you can write about any topic you like. The Hubpages interface is easy to use, and depending on your writing speed you can have a hub published in not more than the time it took you to write it.
You earn money on Hubpages through one or more of the affiliate systems they have in place. All Hubs have Adsense placed on them. You can also choose to participate in the Amazon, eBay, and Kontera affiliate programs. You make money when a visitor to your Hub clicks on an ad. You get 60% of the impressions, Hubpages gets 40%.
Why Hubpages is Better Than a Blog
I love my blogs, and I continue to write for them, but on a blog, it is best if you stick to one subject. That way Google knows which ads are relevant to your site. On Hubpages, I can write a hub about American Idol one day and a hub about credit card debt the next. Each page stands alone and Google will show relevant ads on the page.
Hubpages also gets Google traffic quicker. I wrote my first hub on getting out of debt, and I had Google search traffic on it the very next day. For making money search traffic is great! I also had my first adsense click the first day the hub was published. I have never had a blog start making me money the very first day it was published.
I also like Hubpages because I can make money by sending people to other hubs. When I link to another hub, I get 10% of the impressions that I send the Hub. This is taken from the hubpages side, so the author of the hub doesn’t lose anything.
Why a Blog is Better Than Hubpages
I like my blogs better than Hubpages because I have more control. I get to decide the look and the layout. I also get to keep 100% of the revenue I generate. I don’t need to share it with anyone. It might change after I have been with Hubpages longer, but right now I don’t really feel like the Hubs are mine. Even though I retain all the rights to my hubs, they don’t feel like they belong to me the same way my blogs do.
Why Hubpages and Blogs Are Great Together
I really like having both Hubpages and blogs. I can use Hubpages to send traffic to my blogs, and conversely, I can use my blogs to send traffic to my hubpages. (Like I am doing here) My very first Hub that made me money the very first day it was published, well it also sent traffic to another one of my blogs, and that made money too!
Will You Get Rich With Hubpages?
I suppose it is possible, if you wrote a lot of very popular hubs. However, no one has gotten rich yet. But you can make a little extra money each month. Many hubbers are making over $100 per month and I think a few are making $400-$500 per month. I haven’ made that much…yet. One of the best parts about Hubpage income is it can be very passive income. A well written hub can bring you income long after you have written it. You might need to tweak it now and then, to keep it current, but as long as your hub is published and getting traffic, you should be earning money.
I have really been enjoying writing for HubPages. I have made a small amount of money, and the community is fun. Sign up for Hubpages and start writing. Let me know and I’ll become your fan and help you to promote your hubs!
Happy Writing!
Work From Home as A Freelance Bookkeeper
Working as a freelance bookkeeper can be a very lucrative home based business. With hundreds of new businesses starting every day, there are plenty of small businesses looking to outsource their bookkeeping.
As a freelance bookkeeper, you take the receipts and invoices of a business, and enter them into an accounting system. It could be a paper ledger system, but most bookkeeper enter receipts and invoices into a computer based accounting software such as QuickBooks. You then print the reports for the business owner. As you gain experience and education you might also offer payroll and tax preparation services.
You don’t need to be a CPA to do bookkeeping for small businesses. Many businesses will hire a freelance bookkeeper to do all the data entry, and then just pay a CPA or professional accountant to review the accounting and prepare the taxes.
There are many places to learn how to be a bookkeeper. I took accounting classes at the local community college. The cost was quite reasonable, and I learned all the accounting I needed in just under a year. There are also many online schools that will teach you how to use accounting software.
The start up costs for becoming a home based bookkeeper are quite reasonable. You need a reliable computer and printer. I would suggest a good internet connection as there are now many ways to work remotely as a bookkeeper. Plus good accounting software. I like QuickBooks software because it is the most popular accounting software. Your customers will be familiar with it and there is lots of support available.
The hardest part of becoming a freelance bookkeeper is finding customers. People are reluctant to trust you with their financial information until they know that you are skilled at what you are doing, and that you will keep their financial information private. Get started by offering your bookkeeping services for free to a small local non-profit. Do a good job and you will have a reference for your potential paying clients. You can also find clients by joining your local chamber of commerce and going to the meetings. Lots of new businesses go to chamber meetings, and most new businesses need a bookkeeper!
The pay rate for home based bookkeepers can vary quite a bit from place to place. Most experienced bookkeepers charge their customers between $25 to $50 per hour. It may be tempting to charge less when you are first getting started. But remember you are responsible for all your expenses and your taxes. You need to charge enough to cover all your expenses and make a profit.