Work at home scams - Home business scams

Leave it to WAHMTalkRadio.com's Kelly McCausey to step up and stand up for Work at Home Mom's. This is a great article warning Moms about Work at home scams.

Deceiving and being Deceived
By Kelly McCausey

I have been online for eight years and I have seen it all! I have zero tolerance for a scam artist.

A few years ago some friends of mine at church were taken in by an internet scam. A well dressed, fast talking fella shared an "internet mall" (A bundle of affiliate programs) with them that would only cost $400 to get into! He told them their income potential was sky high AND they could share the opportunity with others and earn "bonuses" for everyone who signed up.

The moment I heard of it I knew it was a thinly vieled pyramid scheme and I said so. But my non-internet savvy friends were convinced that they were buying an expensive web presense that would earn them lots of money and they wanted to share it with everyone. And they did. At least 20 families close to me signed up. Of course the first few made a lot of money. And of course, the last few to sign up lost their $400 and never saw a penny of return.

That is what breaks my heart. There are always so many people hurt by these scams. They see the previous few at the top of the scam making money and they jump in expecting the same results but soon realize there is noone else left to share it with and the whole thing collapses. The folks who made money at it walk away cheerfully looking for the next great idea to come along while the losers on the bottom feel nothing but used and abused.

Since that time I have watched so many other scams come and go. Nowadays, the scammers have gotten sneakier and more deceptive than ever.

The latest scams have aimed lower - at people will less money. Instead of requiring hundreds to join, they only require $69.95, $29.95 or even $8! They tell you it's for software so you can do a job at home or that you'll receive an ebook with priceless information. But what you end up with is careful instructions about how you can deceive someone else into sending you some money.

I don't care how good it sounds or how legitimate it appears, if someone asks you to give them money in order to get a job - it's a scam.

Typing ads for pay is just another pyramid scheme scam. And it burns my bottom that it is aimed at stay at home Moms who cannot afford to lose a precious $69.95 from their household budget.

Another scam to watch out for: Services that promise you tons of targeted traffic for your website. If you don't understand how it works - it probably doesn't work. I have read that many of these traffic services send artificial hits on our domains, making it look like we received visitors but in fact we did not.

If you are a stay at home Mom and you want to develop something to do at home, please do not fall for a scam. Don't send anyone any money for anything unless you have verified that there is a tangible product or service involved. Such us:

Becoming a Direct Sales Representative - It is perfect normal and reasonable for a new representative to pay for a start up kit. Still use common sense, don't send hundreds of dollars to someone you don't know. Check them out completely. Most opportunities will require less than $100 to get started. But don't even do that unless you are passionate about the product and willing to promote it with your time and energy!

Genuine eBooks - There are many genuine eBook that are worth a few bucks to gain the information they contain. A responsible eBook author/seller will be clear about what the book is about and give you a sampling before receiving any money.

Costs of Doing Business - Obviously if you are going to do business on the internet you will need to have a website and that will cost money. You will need a designer and/or a graphic artist to help you get it set up unless you are comfortable creating your own site. Again, use common sense. If you are a work at home mom selling a homemade product, please don't pay someone a fortune for a website! Neither will you want to let your cousin Susie build it if she doesn't know what she is doing. There are many other work at home Moms who offer web design services for very reasonable prices.

Remember - Don't abandon real life common sense just because you are online. If it sounds too good to be true...

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Kelly McCausey is a single Mom in beautiful northern Michigan. She is a freelance graphics and web designer as well as owning the USAWAHM family of Work at Home websites. She enjoys hosting her internet talk radio program and promoting Work at Home Moms!