Work at Home Schemes

Be cautious about work at home advertisements, especially those that promise large profits within a short time period. Home employment schemes are one of the oldest and most widespread kind of consumer fraud.

Among the many schemes are:

• Making money by addressing letters. These are generally letters to get others to enter the scheme and are similar to pyramid schemes.
• Making money by computerizing data such as medical forms. Success depends upon finding businesses willing to use your services. Before you pay money for this work-at-home plan, contact businesses to determine whether they would buy your services. Do not depend upon the seller's statements of your probable success.
• Making money by making products and selling them back to the company which is charging you to enter this work-at-home scheme or to others. Frequently, there is no market for the product or the company will claim the work is defective.
• Making money by selling recipes or ideas to others. Generally this information can be obtained without cost at libraries or at free Internet sites. Be very careful before accepting claims by sellers of work-at-home plans.

If the charge is $500 or more for products you must purchase or for instruction or for fees, the plan generally must be registered with the Attorney General's office as a Seller of Marketing Plans (SAMP).

See also Business Opportunities