My son and sister have been looking for jobs using sites like Craigslist for some time, and while they are a good source (my husband and son have both found jobs using the site), they both tell me that many work-at-home business opportunists are using the site to fish for new people for their downline.
While I don’t think all ads posted are scams, which are generally defined as dishonest schemes for making money by dishonest means, or a way to trick somebody to obtain money or other goods from somebody by dishonest means…it may be a bit of trickery to post deceiving ads that look like they are salaried jobs when they are actually work at home opportunities for network marketing companies.
Do I have anything against network marketing? Not at all, a well run network marketing company that doesn’t make outlandish promises can be a good way to bring in extra income, but I do have a “pet peeve” about sounding like you are something you are not.
If you are posting an ad for a Work at Home job, be honest about what you are offering, and the how it will benefit the person, this way you can be sure that whoever “bites” on your ad is really interested, and not just a “lead” who is likely to be turned off when they hear what you are actually offering.
How do you decide whether or not a business it legitimate? I think many of us have a story we could tell (email me if you’d like me to post yours to this blog) of things we have fallen for in the past and lessons we have learned…it would be fun to have a series of posts like that. So do get in touch if you have a story to share, either by email or through a comment.
To get us started, here’s an article for you, and if you’ve made a SUCCESS of anything posted in this article, or tried it and FAILED, tell us about it:
Popular Work At Home Scams and The Gullible Home Business Opportunity Seekers
By: Kanaga Siva
The Internet is exploding with all kinds of Scams. Searching for a legitimate work at home business opportunity is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Some of the Work at Home Scams that capture the imagination of gullible people are, envelope stuffing, craft assembly, chain letter e mails, data entry jobs, and business opportunities. It is very unfortunate that the most vulnerable in society are the victims of the work at home scams. Stay at Home Moms, Retirees, Students and even the Disabled people, anxious to earn some quick money are the victims and often their desire to start a new home business is gone for ever.
Envelope Stuffing:
The Scammers promise you a dollar or even five for folding newsletters or broachers and sealing in an envelope. The whole thing appears so simple and attractive that you are determined to join up by paying a fee. To your utter dismay you will soon find out that there is no such company to do business with, except some useless advice on how you can make money by envelope stuffing.
Craft Assembly:
These schemes trick you to invest in a start up fee of a few hundred dollars to buy raw materials, promising to buy back the assembled products. Again to your utter dismay you will find out that payment for your products are not forthcoming. The excuse being that your products are sub standard.
Chain Letter e mails:
These scams tell you that you can make several hundred thousand dollars by sending an e mail along with a specified amount of money by mail to the top names in a list after adding your name at the bottom of the list. Your name is supposed to move up the list thus enabling you to receive money from new members. The trick here is to manipulate the names of the scammers to be at the top and fraudulently make money. Joining this can land you in serious trouble.
(MLM)/ Pyramid Schemes:
There are well known legitimate Multi Level Marketing (MLM) schemes while at the same time there are Pyramid schemes that pretend to be MLM schemes. If your financial success is dependent largely on recruiting others rather than selling useful products or services then this MLM business opportunity could be a Pyramid scheme and you should keep away from this. Pyramid schemes are illegal in many countries and you can be charged for participating in these schemes
Data Entry Jobs:
Here the scammers falsely promise you data entry jobs through which you can earn money working from home and without any need for traveling to an office. In order to get these data entry opportunities, you need to register online on the scammer’s website and pay registration fees, and only after you register you can get started. Once you realize that it is a scam and that there are no data entry jobs as such, you will naturally want your money back. Unfortunately you will not get a refund in spite of their money back guarantee . You can thus loose a couple of hundred dollars or even more. There is no denying the fact that there are genuine providers of data entry jobs.
Business Opportunities:
The advertiser offers the business opportunity to the gullible opportunity seeker to make huge sums of money for doing almost nothing. There is no need for selling, or promoting the product. They promise to look after everything. Most of these scammers do not have any address. They will provide only a phone number. There will be no one there to answer your call except a message requesting you to leave your message, name and phone number.
Conclusion:
Always read the advertisements carefully. If the business opportunity promoted, sounds too good to be true, then the sooner you move out and look elsewhere the wiser you will be. You will have probably saved yourself from work at home scams and continue to maintain your enthusiasm to start a legitimate home business.
Author Resource: Copyright © 2008 Kanaga Siva. Kanaga Siva is an experienced Author and Internet Marketer. For more Information on Scams and for a great Internet Marketing experience you are welcome to his Website and Blog. http://www.business-fromhome.com/article566.html http://business-fromhome.blogspot.com
Article From Selling With Articles
Here is a great article I stumbled on while surfing the net, about the coming wave of “mature women” entrepreneurs. It is from the http://www.grandmabiz.com website. Here’s the article, although I may not agree with every detail, generally, there is a lot to be learned from the article.
Introduction:
There is a growing trend in the field of the home based business which is retired female workers getting in on the massive amount of money to be made. The list of products and services that the older worker can provide is almost endless. Older workers usually come from the school of thought that if a job is worth doing it is worth doing properly and this gives them the edge in modern business. I know I would trust an older person to do a job a lot more than a younger person.
The empowering effect of a retired female worker augmenting a restrictive retirement income or better yet, getting off welfare and starting her own home based business, is spreading like wild fire as one person seeing the benefits tells another; the growth is exponential.
One of the biggest problems facing retired people is the amount of idle time they have when they leave the work force. It leads to depression and feelings of general worthlessness. Both of these things are combated quite effectively by a retired female worker starting her own work from home based business.
Avoiding Scams
It is not all smooth sailing though for the retired female worker who decides to take this route. Many obstacles that she has never come up against before will surely pop up and if she has no support or guidance in the ways of modern business it can be fraught with pitfalls. Some of the difficult things that the retired female worker is likely to encounter are the ever present internet scams that seem to raise their ugly head at every corner you turn. A person with no experience in the wicked ways of the internet fraudster is much more likely to fall for the riches they promise.
The most common of these is the multilevel marketing company that does not follow the government rules and regulations for how they sell their wares to the home based business operator. This can eat up the very limited capital that most retired female workers have to spend on starting up their home based business. One of the others is discrimination from young males in the business who deem the world of internet marketing as their own domain.
Handling Discrimination
Discrimination was not a major issue for most of the retired female workers when they were young for the reason that oppression of woman was just accepted. In this day and age discrimination and discriminatory attitudes can land a company or person in very hot water. There a few organizations out there that cater to the specific needs of the retired female worker who wishes to start her own home based business. These organizations will provide information on how to deal with discrimination and will also provide help with almost any facet of starting your own home based business.
Resources for the Mature Woman Entrepreneur
AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons, is an organization that caters not only to retired female workers but to older workers in general. AARP is a North American organization that caters to people over fifty and will help to provide information on pretty much anything that concerns older people such as health, investment and small business information, Medicare and where to find the best insurance.
There are however some sites that cater to the specific needs of the retired female worker and one of them is called WAHM. Work at home mothers is set up to provide support and advice to any female with children or grandchildren that has a vested interest in starting or continuing a home based business. This can range from financial backing without the discrimination hassle or just counseling for when things get too tough to handle on your own.
Another site on the net that is dedicated to women is the MLM woman’s newsletter. This reviews problems and solutions specific to the needs of the home based business woman that is involved in multilevel marketing. Any retired female worker that wants to start a home based business can rest assured that there is plenty of support out there and you do not have to do it alone.
by Ted Riley, (c) 2004 Android Technologies, Inc.
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