Are All Work From Home Opportunities Scams?

Are all work from home opportunities scams? - The short answer is no, but it would be naive to think that there aren't any work from home opportunity scams. After all, we're dealing with money here, and where there's money, there are scammers and con artists after yours. So I've outlined some of the more common scams.

Stuffing Envelopes

Major companies usually have their own machines to do this automatically and cheaply. so why would they pay someone 2, 3, or 4 dollars and envelope to do the stuffing? They wouldn't, steer clear.

Data Entry

You pay a fee for "training material" which turn out to be the same ad that you responded to. You are then supposed to promote this email. In other words they turn you into the scammer!

Assembly Work

You pay a fee (sometimes hundreds of dollars) for supplies which you assemble and are supposed to get paid for. They will send you the supplies (they are never worth what you paid for them) but heres the catch: No matter how well you do the assembly work, it will never be up to their "standards". You don't get paid and they send back what you assembled. Its a very expensive hobby.

Nigerian Money Email Scam

I don't know about you but I get tons of the emails. The sender (usually claiming to be a member of a royal family or government official), write that they need your assistance in transferring millions of dollars to transfer money out of Nigeria. They will either ask for all of you bank account and personal information or will ask you to send money to release the funds. If you pay the money, they will just ask for more. People lose their entire retirement funds falling for this one. Some have even been lured to Nigeria and subsequently imprisoned. Don't pay any attention to this one.

Lottery Scams

Lottery scams will often use the names of legitimate overseas lotteries (often Spanish lotteries), so that even if you do some superficial research, the scam will seem real. Some examples of the real Spanish lotteries that the scammers falsely use are Loteria Primitiva and El Gordo. It is impossible for you to win these lotteries if you have not bought a ticket from an authorized distributor in Spain. Of course they will ask for a fee to transfer the funds which will never happen.

What About MLM (Multi Level Marketing) or Network Marketing?

The majority of MLM/Network Marketing opportunities are legitimate, but there will still be a few dodgy ones. These are BUSINESSES NOT JOBS, so if you are after a job look elsewhere. There is no such thing as a work from home job that will earn you 6 or 7 figures - only a business could potentially bring you that sort of money. Businesses have a degree of risk though, and you may not be able to produce an income from them.

As with anything some Network Marketing opportunities are better than others and will bring you better results. So make sure before you join anything, you do your research and make sure it is something that can benefit you.

Summary

So Are All Work From Home Opportunities Scams? - Definitely not, but avoid the common scams mentioned above and always do your research before joining anything. If you do want to go ahead with a legitimate MLM or Network Marketing company, make sure you realize that it's a business, not a job, because there is a big difference between the two.

About The Author:
Damien Willis is an online entrepreneur and mentor. He has his own blog specializing in helping people succeed in MLM and Network Marketing. You can view the original post at his blog here: Are All Work From Home Opportunities Scams?