Work from Home Scams?

Discussion in Scams = To Good To Be True started by luigi • Jul 18, 2014.

  1. luigi

    luigiMember

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    I love freelance writing when working from home, and I usually hop around Craigslist or Google to see if any writing opportunities are available. I try to apply for positions with popular websites, but I've only gotten one call back. Luckily, I have not run into any scams yet, and I hope it continues to stay that way.

    On the down side, I know there are plenty of WFH scams running amok on the web. Have you run into any of these scams? If so, what were they?
     
  2. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    I've encountered a number of them on many sites. Some you can easily identify as scams but others [freelance opportunities] offered on legit work from home sites might seem OK but when then the client disappears once work is done without paying. The best way to stay on the safe side is to accept a job once you've done some research and found out that the person or site you want to work for has a good reputation.

    But then, sometimes you need to take risks too.
     
  3. Verity Darkwaters

    Verity DarkwatersActive Member

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    I have seen a number of scams or pyramid building schemes online. The things is, as long as you know what they look like you can avoid them. You usually have to sign other people up to make money, or the website looks iffy, or the person you talk to is iffy. If you get a bad vibe, you probably don't want to be there. I have actually never been scammed, and I hope to keep it that way.
     
  4. lindbergh

    lindberghWell-Known Member

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    Get Cash For Surveys is one biiiig scam. Take a look at this sales page:

    Log In



    You would pay in order to be able to join different paid survey programs which I think is very bogus. The initial price is $74 but if you keep on clicking the "x" button to close the window, you could push the price down to 12 bucks. Who would ever pay for something like this?

    This is one big scam. You don't need to pay money in order to join different paid survey sites.
     
  5. akiii123

    akiii123Active Member

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    I have come across lots of scam jobs. It is very easy to get lured by them. Most of the scam jobs are very easy to figure out, and a little research is what is needed. Some of the worst jobs I have come across is when they ask you to pay some amount of money to do complete the registration fee. When I first started browsing for internet jobs, I came across lots of these kinds of jobs. It is a shame that these kinds of job exist even now to reduce the hopes of the people.
    One must be very careful while searching for any kind of jobs as it is not very easy to trust any job very easily.
     
  6. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    Just google the company or website name to see if they're a scam and if they are, then you should see some results. And always remember that you don't pay money to be able to earn money, especially online. I used to see all these data entry sites asking you to pay a "membership fee", but I never bit their bait.
     
  7. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

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    As well as online, I have had a number of work from home scams brought to me by family members who have seen that I am out of work, and are just trying to help me out with cash. And the moment that I look at the paper with the work from home details on it, I instantly know that it is a scam. There was one scam that my mother's boyfriend saw in a shop window - or so he says - and it was an envelops stuffing scam, claiming to pay good money if I would stuff envelopes for them from home.

    Bear in mind that there was no phone number or address on it, so the supposed company couldn't be contacted. The only thing that they were asking for was for you to email them your bank details, which of course I didn't fall for. I was desperate for money too - I still am lol. But I have developed an eye, over the years, for scams.
     
  8. GemmaRowlands

    GemmaRowlandsActive Member

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    I would say that the majority of "work from home" opportunities are scams. Because so many people strive to work from home, they're willing to take risks in order to make that happen, and on the whole I would say that it doesn't really work that well.

    I am a full time work from home writer/editor, and have built my business up over the course of two years. I find my work two ways: on freelancing websites, and from long term clients who I met via these websites. I have noticed that even on websites which are perfectly legitimate, you will get clients who post jobs and then never release payment to their freelancer, so you have to be careful no matter how you find the work. So working from home is possible, but you have to be very lucky to find the work, and you should also always be careful that you are not scammed.
     
  9. sharpayvargas1

    sharpayvargas1Member

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    I believe the only secret to find out if it is a scam or not is to find it in Google. It's not even a secret. You can easily see the reviews of other people. You'll find it out base on the experience of other people who tried it. You'll see it also if how long's the company been running. Because if has been there for quite a long period of time then probably it's not a scam. If it doesn't appear in Google, don't trust it yet for it's a very big risk.
     
  10. eppie

    eppieActive Member

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    For me, these are the things that sends out a red flag:

    1. Job opportunities that ask for membership fees.
    2. Promise of high paying jobs for very easy work. and
    3. "Make big money in minutes/hours" claims.

    The one thing that I've learned when it comes to WFH scams is that >> If it's too good to be true then it probably is. :rolleyes:
     
  11. Forall

    ForallMember

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    One way to reduce the risk to some extent is to work through freelance websites
    having escrow facility.
     
  12. Katewon1

    Katewon1Member

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    There are a TON of scams out there. It's so depressing. I try and try to make money from home because I am a stay at home mom. My husband works two jobs and it still isn't enough. Since he works basically all day every day, there is no time for me to go out and get a job. The only thing that seems like it might work is something that I just found recently.

    Log In

    . Just copy and paste the link if it doesn't work. Yes you are trying to get other people to sign up, but it really truly is completely free. They do not ever ask you for a credit card or anything like that.
     
  13. LuckyGirl08

    LuckyGirl08Active Member

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    I have ran across a few scam while finding WFH jobs. I have even got ripped out of a few dollars. Now I always do a review search on any site before I even sign up. The reason I work from home is because it is hard to find a job in Mississippi. Our economy down here is horrible.
     
  14. Serenity Fay

    Serenity FayMember

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    I've luckily been on the internet long enough to recognize scams. If you're honest you'll notice that an offer is fishy but a lot of inexperienced or desperate people may decide to close an eye to red flags because they need the money so badly. As others have said, google is your friend. If the offer or site is legitimate, people would have reviewed it or blogged about it.
     
  15. wulfman

    wulfmanActive Member

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    I actually wanted to know how legit PandaAnalysisCenter was. All their mail goes to my inbox and I wonder if maybe it is worth looking into. Generally junk mail goes directly to my spam folder. Has anyone signed up or dealt with them before ? Some of the offers they send me are too good to be true, while others are believable.
     
  16. Katewon1

    Katewon1Member

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    Is that the same as Panda Research? I think I've signed up with every possible survey site, and I've never gotten a dang dime from it all. PLUS they just completely waste your time. At least that's how I feel. Like I said in my previous post, check out my link:

    Log In

    . It really is free, and I've made a bit of money so far. Nothing crazy but worthwhile so far.
     
  17. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    The scams seem to increase every day. Even when you try to use common sense and say that sounds to good to be true you can still be taken and lose some money. Even when you see other sites that offer a chance to make money their requirements to generate payout maybe hard to reach so you are not making any money
     
  18. DancingLady

    DancingLadyActive Member

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    I have encountred scam after scam after scam. Sites that I unfortunately waste time reading about the program only to realize a few minutes later it's scam obviously, it's way too good to be true. I wish people would just realize that we are intelligent and are not going to fall for their stupid stuff. What a waste of time and effort.
     
  19. vij

    vijNew Member

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    I have been scammed once, almost a decade back by some bogus company that asked for a fee in return for regular DTP work orders that involved converting books into digital copies using "scan to text" software. After a month of hard work not only did we not get paid for the work, the company vanished with my money and the money of about thousand more fools like me.

    I was naive then, I decided right there, THAT will never ever ever happen to me again!!!
     
  20. beccagreen

    beccagreenActive Member

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    I almost can spot a scam site once I see it, they're usually those sites that look really ugly and only desperate people would dare dabble with. But on my first venture when it comes to working online I did come across a survey site that sounds really promising but didn't pay me once I got to the $10 threshold.