Sunday, October 26, 2014

8 Warnings Signs for Work at Home Job Scams

CBS moneywatch did a recent article of 8 things to watch for work at home job scams.   Here are their tips
Few details: Real job postings include lots of detail about the actual job, the skills required and the title. If a job is short on requirements -- from hours and duties to the kind of skill required -- but talks repeatedly about the flexible nature of the work, consider it a red flag.  
High pay/low effort: Listen to your gut, says Durst. Is somebody really going to be offering you easy work and a flexible schedule for high pay? Promising that their "guaranteed system" will make you a mint, if you act now? Get real. Unless your skill set is in such high demand that you'd get as much or more from a brick-and-mortar position, a work-at-home opportunity isn't either.   If is sounds too goo to be true it probably is 
Burned applicants: Before applying for an online opportunity, type in the name of the company and "scam," suggests Fell. If it's one of the many bogus jobs, you'll quickly find web-based complaints. Durst also likes work-at-home forums, such as those at wahm.com and workplacelikehome.com. She suggests that anyone serious about finding good opportunities, register at these sites and just lurk in the forums to find out what other people are complaining about. "Hell hath no fury like a mom scammed," she says. "If somebody's been burned, they're going to tell you about it in no uncertain terms."   Agreed work of  mouth on these "jobs" is fast. I  will often type if company  name and scam into google and tons of stuff will come up 
Upfront cash: Real jobs pay you. You don't pay the employer. Unless you're buying a franchise (and that's another story altogether), you should not have to pay to get paid. Don't be fooled by slick claims, testimonials or "guaranteed programs" designed to make you rich. If they're asking for money in advance to get a job, they're likely to be crooks.   Dont spend your own money here there are some legit companies like LiveOps and Arise  that do a background check that do a small charge-do your home work here 
Too much information: Though most work-at-home scams seek cash payments from victims, a few appear to be going after the personal information that could make you a target of identity theft. You don't need to put your Social Security number or driver's license number on a job application. If the application asks for those identifying numbers or for a credit card number, back away.    Hold off on giving your social security number until you are fillling out a W-9 form
Anonymous emails: If you're dealing with a human resources manager at a particular company, their email address should be coming from the company's domain name, not an anonymous domain like Gmail, Yahoo or AT&T.   A real company is going to use a real email addy 
Unprofessional communication: Job postings and email communications with multiple exclamation marks, misspellings and grammatical errors are also likely to be scams.
Over payments: One of the pervasive mystery shopper scams provides big up-front checks to mystery shoppers, who are instructed to deposit the money in their own bank accounts; use what they need to buy an inexpensive product and pay themselves a fee. The mystery shopper is then told to wire the remaining funds back to the "employer." In reality, the check the scammer gave you is a forgery. But it may be a good enough fake to keep your bank guessing past the point when banking rules require that they "provisionally" provide the funds. What does that mean? It will look like the check cleared. But the bank will debit your account later if the check is a fake -- and that could happen weeks after you've spent the money. You're on the hook for the cost of the purchased products, whatever amount you refunded to the crook, as well as any overdraft fees that the fake check caused.

Friday, October 03, 2014

Freelance writing and blogging jobs October 3rd


We have an immediate need for sharp copy editors who can help with a few large projects. Copy editing teams are fine, too. 
Requirements include: 
* You MUST be able to follow very specific directives. These projects are big and come with lots of directives, like how long to make meta descriptions, keywords and HTML coding. 
* English must be your first language. Grammar and punctuation is vitally important. 
* You must be able to copy edit on a tight deadline. 
This is adult content (but not pornographic).

Are you an avid follower of the cloud industry’s latest trends and news? You are not afraid of the words cloud web hosting, online backup? Can you write 1,000 word post without tripping over common grammar mistakes and spelling errors?

If so, please get in touch with us at Cloudwards.net for a writing gig. 



Here are the qualifications you’ll need to join us:


1. A solid grasp of the English language, you will be tested over this more than once. 



2. Basic knowledge and understanding of the cloud industry. If you’ve never heard of Dropbox, and don’t how to use it, this might not be the gig for you. In order to be considered for this gig please add the words blue panda to your application. 



3. A healthy respect for deadlines. Seriously, no late party poopers allowed! 



4. A casual yet informative tone, that can engage readers without speaking down to them. 

We are looking for a blogger that can write 1,000 to 2,000 word articles 2x per week including photos on the following topics:
-Cooking & recipes
-Culinary practices
-Culinary fashion
-And restaurant business

Articles needs to be:
-Visual driven, including images to illustrate recipes and examples. (If you can provide photography, even better.)
-Have personality. Example: http://theelliotthomestead.com/2014/09/homemade-pesto-recipe/
-Backed with data and example for any claims. 

Freelance Copywriter Needed for eCommerce Store
Project: Web copywriting services for an ecommerce store that specializes in bags and accessories. Description: To rewrite and optimize the copy with heavy emphasis on the benefits of our products. The current copy is very features-heavy and we want it to be geared towards product benefits ..

Freelance Blogger
Peace Bicycles is a new brand and we need a Bicycle Expert/Enthusiast Blogger for Peacebicycles.com. Your job would be to write useful entertaining information like how to's and advice as a useful source for our customers and to attract traffic back to our eccommerce site ...

 Freelance Fact-Checker
Candidates must have experience fact-checking feature stories at a monthly magazine. Please include at least one reference in your cover letter. Responsibilities include fact-checking feature stories and essays on a semi-regular basis. Some additional research/sidebar work may be necessary .

 Freelance Copywriter
Mindhard is looking for a freelance copywriter with experience writing explainer videos for the tech industry. This is an offsite position working on one client project. You may be required to come in for one or two meetings. Please send resume, writing samples/portfolio and freelance rate card .

 Freelance Content Web Writer
We are looking for a Freelance Content Web Writer to help write content for our Web Site www.ciberspring(com). We are moving to a company more focused on Digital Marketing and Marketing Automation. Any experience with writing content for a company like that is a huge plus ...

 Freelance Writers
Apartment Ratings, the largest online rating community for rental housing, is looking for experienced writing professionals to become regular blog contributors. We’re looking for individuals who write with a friendly and conversational tone that can provide information to our readers ...


 Freelance Writer (NJ)
We are an outdoor and hiking, guidebook publisher looking for an outdoor enthusiast. We are looking for a person who is passionate about hiking in New Jersey. This is a paid job for an experienced writer who is passionate about hiking in New Jersey ...