Beware of these common work-at-home scams

Clark Howard local consumer guru shared some of the scam ideas 

“You’ve got to be careful if you’re looking to work at home. Be sure to avoid the ads in the back of women’s magazines about envelope stuffing, doing medical office paperwork and the like. The one area that has proven legitimate over time is becoming a call center worker from your home.”

Work-at-home scams are always in season, with scammers looking to empty your wallet at a time when it’s already light because of unemployment or reduced hours at work. Here are a few common warning signs to look for:

Social networks are a hot spot for work-at-home danger. 
One company called Easy Tweet Profits claims you can make up to $873/day online. They even claim one person earned $400,000/year using their method of tweeting your way to success. The catch? By signing up for their program you agree to be charged just under $50 per month! There are a whole host of other companies with similar names (usually involving “make money” or “make profits”) that suggest social networking can be a cash cow. But their game is all the same: Whether you’re talking about something you see on Craigslist, eBay, Facebook, Twitter or whatever’s the next hot thing, you’ve got to be wary.

Phony job listings on legit job-hunting websites. 
One fraudulent group was listing fake jobs on CareerBuilder, which is an otherwise respectable site. The group was charging a big fee for a background check before consideration of any applicants. Federal, state and local authorities received more than 17,000 complaints filed by people who were ripped off by this particular group. And that’s just the number of people who found their way to complain. Who knows how many others were taken?

Pitches to be your own boss. 
Our Consumer Action Center is hearing from a lot of callers who go to help-wanted sites, find an opportunity that looks good and then contact the supposed employer. It turns out to be a pitch for owning your own business, with promises of huge money. Unfortunately, the only ones making money are the people pushing startup kits and related costs.