Working At Home Scams – [Do Your Homework]

When people are looking online for work, they often get involved with working at home scams. Most either promise outrageous sums to be made, or advertise little or no work required. As tempting as these seem to be, they generally are not true. Here are some examples of working at home scams to avoid.

Beware Working At Home Scams Involving Little Work

One such company promising $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000 or more was MOBE. Unfortunately, the people involved with this company made little or no money. They had no products. They were selling a program to sell MOBE to more and more people. The program was to sell MOBE

The FTC reports MOBE scammed people out of more than $125 Million dollars. You can read the whole story in my article below

Matt Lloyd’s Mobe Scam was shut down by the FTC in June of 2018.

The claims Made by these scams are always the same.

  • You Make Big Money
  • You Make Your Money Quickly And Easily.
  • They Use Time Pressure –  Today Only! Buy in the next 24 hours, or it will be gone forever!

Five Separate Companies Ripped People Off

Another company that promised you could make $58,500 working 5 hours a week. Be very skeptical of these promises. Understand one thing, they are out to get your money. According to a complaint by the FTC, Gregory W. Anderson, Garrett P. Robbins, and five companies they controlled ripped people off.

An upfront fee of $97 dollars, allowed you to make money posting links on websites. Consumers soon realized it was not true.

They actually hired an affiliate network to promote their program. The program contained ad links that routed people to a website containing fake testimonials and reviews. The scam made it look like their business was endorsed by respected people.

They Made Money On Bogus Programs And Sold Bogus Coaching Scams

These websites linked to the owners website where people could pay for their program. The programs were marketed under the names of Online Cash Commission, Excel Cash Flow, and most recently Cash From Home. They made several million dollars from the bogus program and several million more directing people to other coaching programs selling for thousands more.

The FTC Charged them with violating the FTC Act, the Business Opportunity Rule, and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

Working At Home Scams – No Experience Needed

A work at home scam is described as a work at home scheme by Wikipedia, and referred to as a get rich quick scam. It doesn’t matter how you define it, the result is the same. The true purpose is to extort money from the victim. I have listed some common working at home scams here.

  • Envelope Stuffing – This is an older scam that has been around for decades. It originated during the Great Depression of the 1920’s and 1930’s. The scheme is simple. You are paid $2 to stuff each envelope. The fee is $2, and the victim receives a flyer to post and advertise for the same scheme. The victim stuffs the envelope with flyers of the same scheme and it perpetuates itself.
  •  Assembly Work – The type of items vary, including crafts and jewelry, or may require a purchase of a sewing machine to make clothing like aprons. After investing in equipment, you spend hours assembling the products. when you finish your work, the company tells you your products are “poor quality” and refuses to pay you. Nobody’s work is ever any good.

More Common Working At Home Scams

  • Rebate Processing – You answer the ad to earn money processing rebates. You pay a fee and promised to earn much more. Supposedly a qualified person will teach you how they did it. You actually receive useless training materials. The truth is, no rebates exist, and no one gets a refund.
  • Medical Billing – Ads promise substantial income with no experience needed. With an investment of hundreds or thousands of dollars, you will get all the training, equipment, and client lists you need to launch your own medical billing business. What you get are out of date lists, and doctors who haven’t asked for your services. Few people find clients or generate income. The investment is lost.
  • Multilevel Marketing –  Multilevel Marketing ( MLM ) is supposed to be legitimate, and many are. But, some MLM’s are not legitimate. Legitimate MLM’s earn commissions for the products they sell. and sales by people they recruit. However some are basically pyramid schemes. They get individuals to make a payment to join, and they receive a share from any additional members they recruit. The people at the top also receive a portion of every payment. It is in the best interest for the top people to encourage recruiting. The pyramid scheme eventually runs out of people and fails. There is just not enough people on the planet to sustain the math.

Work At Home Scams Video From The FTC- A True Story

FTC Rule Identifies Working At Home Scams- Keeping You Safe

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires businesses to use The Business Opportunity Rule. This rule allows everyone to evaluate whether a business is legitimate or risky. It covers people buying into a business opportunity. Sellers must give a disclosure document with 5 pieces of information.

The Disclosure Document

  • Identify the seller.
  • Disclose any lawsuits.
  • Explain any cancellation or refund policy and the terms.
  • Any earnings claim must be verified with an earnings claim statement.
  • List of references.

The Earnings Claim Statement

All earnings must be verified by the Earnings Claim Statement.

  • Name and date of person making the claim.
  • Specifics of the claim.
  • Designate time period when earnings were achieved.
  • Number and percentage of people who made the money
  • Where they live
  • Statement of written proof is available upon request.

This information offers you the best chance to evaluate the business and walk away if things don’t add up. This could prevent you from getting into any of these scams.

Misleading Claims

The revised Business Opportunity Rule lists practices that are against the law:

  • Saying anything that contradicts the disclosure and earnings documents.
  • Designate the position being offered. Is it a job or business opportunity?
  • Illegal to misrepresent the nature of the investment.

This revised Rule now gives greater protections for buyers. But, only if you understand the sellers requirements. If they did not offer any disclosure or earnings claim document, they are not complying with the law. This should be a red flag, and is likely a scam.

If A Business Turns Out To Be A Scam – Report It

Another working at home scams shut down by the FTC after receiving complaints of it being fraudulent businesses.

Text Displaying Vision Solutions Marketing With Red Text Scam Overlay For Working At Home Scams

Vision Solution Marketing LLC had temporary restraining orders entered into court on May 4th, and May 14th, 2018. respectively. The FTC froze all assets from Vision Solutions Marketing. All sales were halted.

The FTC charged Vision Solutions Marketing with deceptive claims. The ads referred to their business as a coaching service. It’s purpose was to help consumers start their own business. They also claimed this coaching program would enable the businesses to earn thousands of dollars a month. It was a scam.

People who were buying work at home programs for less than $100 were the sales targets. Then, these programs referred people to specialists who eventually sent them to Vision Solutions telemarketers. They sold the bogus coaching program for $13,995.

Consumers would use their credit cards to pay for the program, only to find out it was information available on the internet for free. They also racked up fees for separate financial services. People who purchased the program did not develop functioning businesses and ended up heavily in debt.

All the defendants in the case were charged with violating the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule

How To File A Complaint

Do Your Homework -There Is No Magical Solution

People looking for the magical solution to making money, need to understand it is not possible. The internet has made it possible for scammers to make a living, by painting this picture of instant wealth creation. The Internet has created many millionaires. But, not instantly. Most scammers lead everyone to believe it happens overnight.

Tired of scams?  Try a money making system that works. It is a legitimate program that will give you the opportunity to change your life forever. It is not a get rich quick scheme, and you can try it out for free. Take whatever time you need. Look over the training and start when you are ready. Interested?

===> Get Your Free Training Now –  Click Here! <===

Thank You for reading my post. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I answer all my readers ASAP.

Chas

 Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay


Covid 19 has ravaged the world causing the death of tens of thousands compromised family members and tens of millions of people worldwide. Millions of people in the USA have been thrown out of work do to no fault of their own. This has caused workers to rely on temporary state aid, and forced many from their homes. Something like this is how your life can be turned upside down in an instant. It doesn’t have to be that way

This stark reality is why creating your own business is so important now more than ever. Affiliate Marketing is something that cannot be taken away. Online business is thriving because people are shopping online more than ever!

There has never been a better time to cash in on this lucrative business and create your own financial Independence with online marketing.

Be your own boss, start your journey to financial freedom today.


Chas The Owner Of Help For Scams And Frauds

I am Chas, creator and founder of Help For Scams And Frauds. I started affiliate marketing and earning money online in 2015. And I can tell you, anyone can do this. But, in order to build a business the right way you must have the right training and avoid the get rich quick schemes.

Check out my #1 Recommendation For The Best Online Training in 2024

9 thoughts on “Working At Home Scams – [Do Your Homework]”

  1. Hi Chas,

    I agree with you, in the 90’s I bought a book that supposedly was to have a list of all sorts of companies hiring to work from home. As you can imagine, it turned out to be a mere scam. I bought the book which was worthless in terms of the listings as many companies were not hiring.
    I found one that wanted me to purchase the materials to put together angels, and then they were going to buy them from me. It turned out that they didn’t buy them and ended up with the pieces made. Lucky for me, I sold them to my friends who love the angels I made.
    I lost what I paid for the book, but I didn’t lose the product I created. My total losses were about $40, but after that, I became very skeptical. You are right about the list you have as I can share from personal experience assembly work is a scam.

    I like your article in alerting people because even though we should all know about the many scams going, still many people fall victims of scammers.

    Great article.
    Ana

    Reply
  2. Hi Chas, I must say that you are absolutely right. There is no magic wand or something that can make us rich overnight and the same is with the Internet. Most people think that it is easier to earn online than offline but that is the wrong mindset. Those “gurus” made us believe that earning $$$$ in one night is possible which is totally scam. There is no money without hard work and dedication. I am glad that you talk about that as people need and must to understand the real truth.

    Reply
    • Hi Daniel,

      Thanks for your approval, and yes there is no magic wand. Nothing on the internet became an automatic wealth machine, but the scammers want us to believe they have it! Everything done on the internet is done with hard work and dedication. But, people want easy money! And there will be someone to sell them that every time!

      Thanks for your comments, and stop back!

      Chas

      Reply
  3. I wonder how these people can be so heartless, but at the same time it is ignorance, naivety and the hope of easy money that creates oportunities for scammers. You mention observable signs or red flags to notice when a scam is around. I think they are very helpful and specific, because, actually, they seem to follow a pattern and are actually old, it’s surprising that they work on so many people. Thank you for the information, it is important to know this, because, sadly, it can make you lose money and time, ironically, people who are after fast money, end up losing money and time. Nothing can replace honest and hard work.

    Reply
    • Hi Neil,

      Thank you for your thoughtful comment. It would take a complete lack of morals, and the greed for money that turns their hearts to stone. Greed works for the scammers as well, the quick get rich scheme will work forever. People are the same everywhere, and certain traits will always produce the same results.There is no free lunch. 

      Thanks for your comments, and please stop back soon.

      Chas

      Reply
  4. After spending a few years searching for how to make money from home, I ran into several articles that I would have considered to be scams.  Luckily most of them scared me off before I got myself into too much trouble.  The sites I really try to stay away from are the ones that have the ticking clock telling you that your time is running out and that you need to act now or the offer won’t be available for you.  I would think that most legimate businesses wouldn’t have a run out time on their programs.

    I have never heard of the The Disclosure Document or the Earnings Claim Statement.  Is this something that I should be able to find on any company?  If so, how do you find it?  

    I have also used the Better Business Bureau before to check on companies in the U.S. and that has been able to provide me with some information on companies.  

    Reply
    • Hi Maria,

      I am glad to hear you avoided those scams. Yes, that ticking clock is a dead giveaway, but some people don’t know and they fall victim to scams. The disclosure document and earnings claim statement are available for any legitimate business upon request. If they don’t know what you are talking about, get away, it’s a scam.

      The BBB has a lot of scams, but they sometimes give recommendations to companies who are members, that have complaints against them. Here is an article for more information on the BBB Complaint Business Is Alive And Well

      Thank you for your comment, please come back!

      Chas

      Reply
  5. I’m glad I found this page. I’ve been looking into various ways to work at home but there are so many options, I can’t tell which are real and which are scams. I have tried a couple of MLMs in the past, back when they were still called “network marketing” systems, but I never found them to be a good system for me.

    There is a link at the bottom of the page to an online money making system, that isn’t a get rich quick scheme. What is it, and how does it work? Is it another MLM?

    Reply
    • Hi HipStar,

      I have only found a few MLM’s that I would recommend. One you could check out Is CTFO A Scam Or A legitimate Opportunity. I think you will find that a legitimate MLM. The MLM’s run with a down line team to make commissions.

      The link at the bottom of the page is not a scam or an MLM. It is a complete marketing system you can build your own business on that is not a get rich quick scheme. It is free to check out here. Are you interesting in building your own business for free? Then, check it it!

      Thanks for leaving a comment, and stop back!

      Chas

      Reply

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