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Scam
FAQ
by Angella Kay,
The Light Keeper.com
Unfortunately for us, there are many people in this world who have
one goal: to make money at any cost. They see a huge group of people
who want to be home with their children and still contribute to
the family finances. Instead of supporting these lofty, family-friendly
goals, scammers seek to profit from the desires of those who
want to be at-home parents.
If you know of a scam or are wondering if a certain site or opportunity
is a scam, please feel free to
e-mail me with the details (don't forget the URL). Before you
invest any money into an opportunity, please take the time
to read the information on this page and check out some of the links.
Don't be a victim to scammers!
Q. This company wants $5.00 for a list
of employers that will hire me. They say it's for administrative
costs, which sounds reasonable to me. Should I send them the money?
A. In a word, NO!! This is one of the oldest scams on the
books and one that the FTC warns about in their publications. Finding
a legitimate telecommuting or work at home job is just like finding
a legitimate "real-world" job - you should never ever
have to pay for it. These "lists" (also known as manuals)
are typically a compilation of employers in your area who may
or may not have hired telecommuters in the past 10 years. Many
of them are out of business. The list and accompanying materials
give you "advice" on how to send out resumes to these
companies stating your desire to work at home and your skills. Think
about it - you're paying them $5 (or $10 or $20) to look in the
phone book and tell you to send out a resume to a company.
Also, beware of "refund guarantees." They are suspiciously
worded and 90% of the time false. back to the
top
Q. I got an e-mail about something called
"Medical Billing." The company is offering a money-back
guarantee on their software program, which they say will teach me
how to become a medical biller. They also say it is a high-paying
job - is this true?
A. While it is true that a career as a medical biller can be rewarding
financially and professionally, as well as offering the opportunity
to work at home, what these companies don't tell you is that
Medical Billing is a difficult and expensive field to get into if
you don't have previous experience. There are no software programs
that will teach you everything about medical billing (although some
community colleges do offer courses), nor will they offer you the
experience that most doctors, leery of fraud charges and Medicare
billing errors, require of their billers. back
to the top
What
the US Federal Trade Commission says about Medical Billing
The
Truth About Medical Billing from the Electronic Medical Billing
Network
Q. What are these "Make Money Stuffing
Envelopes" ads I keep seeing? Can you really make money doing
this?
A. Again, the short version is NO. This is another "oldie
but goodie" scam, one that has been around longer than
the Internet thanks to the Classified Ads section of your local
newspaper. Essentially, these "programs" will send
you information on how to place an ad to get others to ask you
about envelope stuffing. Not only is this dishonest, it's also
illegal, according to the United
States Postal Service. For more information on specific
companies as well as other envelope stuffing scams, check out
and the Envelope
Stuffing Scheme Site.
back to the top
Q. I'm pretty good at crafts and I'm
thinking about responding to one of those "Assemble Crafts
at Home" ads I keep seeing in my favorite magazine. Is there
anything I should watch out for?
A. Yes: your checkbook. Yet another classic "work at home"
scam, these companies send you a "kit" containing all
you will need to assemble their products. Trouble is, your final
assembled product will never be good enough to pass inspection,
no matter how much experience you have or time you put into it.
They will send the finished product back to you with instructions
to re-do. One article in Family Circle magazine, where the author
investigated these types of schemes, estimated the total per-hour
wage of "at home assembly" schemes to be roughly 50
cents an hour! Your time and experience is worth far more than
that. back to the top
Q. What about MLM's (Multi-Level Marketing
programs)?
A. MLM's aren't for everyone. They require a great deal of patience
and tenacity, as well as good salesmanship and dedication. If you
have these qualities, and you believe in the product or program
- go for it! Be sure to investigate the program thoroughly and solicit
advice from others. If those in the program have everything positive
to say but refuse to give you a straight answer about the drawbacks,
be wary.
For more information about MLM's, check out your state's attorney
general's office, The
Bottom Line About MLM's from the FTC and Cagey's
MLM site, which offers information and feedback about different
MLM programs. back to the top
Other Scams
This page isn't long enough to list all of the scams out there,
but here are some links that might help you on your search. Just
remember - you will NEVER have to pay for a legitimate job.
You may have to pay for a start-up kit if you're involved in a sales
or party program, you may have to purchase special software if you're
in a highly specialized field like software writing, you may even
have to pay for courses at your local college to learn a field.
But any potential job opportunity that requires you to lay out money
to get "more information" or a "special information
packet" is a scam. back to
the top
Angella Kay is the webmaster
at The Light Keeper.com, a website for at home parents. Sign up
today for The Light Keeper's Journal,
a free weekly newsletter highlighting at home parenting!
Copyright 2002 by Angella Kay.
Reproduction without permission prohibited.
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