The unfortunate truth is, while some entrepreneur ideas are legitimate, others are scams. Time and time again, it happens--the unwary home based business professional finds himself the victim of a get rich quick scheme. How can you keep this from happening in your case? By acquiring a good education about the top 5 work from home swindles and avoiding them at all costs:
1. Envelope stuffing
Envelope stuffing has been around since our grandparents' generation, and maybe even before. It was a scam then, and it's still one now. In this scheme, a company promises to send flyers and prepaid envelopes for you to stuff, but instead you wind up being asked to pay to join the service. Or you only get paid for recruiting other people to the service. In other words, it's a simple Ponzi scheme.
2. Craft assembly
This is another old-time favorite. In this scenario, you are given the supplies to assemble crafts and then you return the assembled crafts to the parent company for pay. However, the parent company will always find something wrong with the work you did and will not be able to sell anything you made. If you do want to turn crafting into a career, make your own baubles and sell them on websites like Etsy and eBay.
3. Chain letters
Originally, chain letters were actual letters that you had to forward to other people to earn money. Nowadays they are usually emails or text messages. No matter what format, though, they are still a scam. You won't get paid millions for doing it, and you'll just make a lot of friends and family members mad as you try to get them in on the scheme.
4. Anything involving a 900 number
A legitimate company will never provide information to you using a 900 number. It simply does not happen. Run screaming in the opposite direction if you are confronted with this scam.
5. Anything that involves your personal information
Though it seems self-evident, countless people become victims of identity theft because they willingly give their personal information (social security numbers, bank account information, computer passwords) to con artists.
Scammers prey on the desperate and the scared--do not become another victim just because you need money fast. Never give your personal information out to anyone without verifying the company first.
There are many fantastic money-making opportunities out there for the work from home professional. However, you have to be very careful that you deal with legitimate companies who can back up their claims.
And a final word of caution--if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Keep looking until you find a job worthy of your talents so you can become financially free!
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For more information about achieving wealth and independence, check out Niall Murray's website at http://www.niallmurray.ws.