Residential Real EstateWork-At-Home Schemes Most Common Telemarketing Scam in "99
If the nation"s growing legion of telecommuters is any indication,
Americans are seeking flexibility both in their work schedules and their
work environments. While technology has been accused of depersonalizing our
society, it can also give us the luxury of spending more time with our
families -- that is, if you"re one of the lucky Americans working at home
on a part-time or full-time basis. In this kind of environment, then, it
has become all too easy to pull off scams that play on our desire to work
at home. Many of these scams literally arrive in your home -- dropped in
your computer"s Inbox via e-mail. You"ve seen those dangling carrots in
your Inbox; their subjects scream such headlines as "Earn Thousands from
Home," "Tell Your Boss Goodbye," or "Start Your Own Business." The
anonymity of e-mail makes it easier than ever for scammers to entice
vulnerable consumers. And for consumers, these false promises and the
prospect of being one"s own boss often prove to be too seductive to resist.
This isn"t to imply that all work-at-home businesses are illegitimate; many
are reputable and have helped families, retirees, homemakers and single
parents achieve greater financial independence. However, technology has
provided an environment in which thieves can pose among legitimate
businesses and remain relatively anonymous while they scam their way to an
early retirement. So what is an aspiring telecommuter to do? The
responsibility for protecting yourself lies entirely up to you and depends
upon your ability to pick up on red flags. Because it"s difficult to seek
recourse after an illegitimate company has taken your money, you"ve got to
learn to weed out the false promises from the genuine opportunities.
What do illegitimate companies have in common? The manner in which
consumers are asked to repond to the offer. They"re often given a phone
number and asked to call to find out more about the alleged
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
Not exactly. These numbers are sometimes 900 numbers, which can charge
consumers $2, $3, even $5 per minute for the privilege of listening to a
lengthy, prerecorded message. By the time you hang up, you"ve already
emptied your wallet, and without knowing it. Phony companies often ask
prospective employees to send in money in advance -- either for membership
or to purchase products up front that you"ll turn around and sell. In
extreme cases, consumers have paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars in
exchange for the promise of win-win business opportunities -- the chance to
sell products nobody would refuse, and the prospect of wealth. Any request
of advance payment should be met with skepticism and an immediate call to
the Better Business Bureau.
According to the Better Business Bureau, one of the most common "hooks"
attempted by scam artists is envelope stuffing (you"ve probably seen
roadside signs that promise big bucks in exchange for stuffing envelopes,
but you"ll often receive e-mails that make the same offer). Some
envelope-stuffing scams ask consumers to place ads in their local
newspapers that make the same get-rich claims. Consumers then profit from
other consumers, and the company at the root of the scheme reaps a hefty
chunk of the revenues. Other common schemes: asking consumers to purchase
software that allows them to work at home as so-called medical billers. In
theory, you"d be working as employees of medical professionals who want to
hire work-at-home billers. Unfortunately, many consumers have discovered
after purchasing the billing software that they can"t locate any doctors or
dentists who want to use this service. Or consumers find that the software
is inadequate, outdated and generally useless. Another common scheme asks
consumers to purchase craft-making kits, make the crafts and then sell them
either back to the company or to an alleged "market" of sure-thing buyers.
The illegitimate company will either refuse to buy the crafts back from
consumers, or consumers find that no market exists for these finished
crafts.
The National Consumers League (NCL), a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., has listed its top 10 most common
telemarketing schemes of 1999. Number one on the list was work-at-home
schemes, most often "kits" that dangle the prospect of wealth over
consumers" heads. Work-at-home schemes actually have moved from #5 on the
NCL"s list in 1998 to #1 in just one year. It"s an ironic statistic,
considering the relative vitality of our national economy and our national
unemployment rate, which continues to hold steady at a low rate.
Nevertheless, as many Internet titans have proven, our technology-driven
society has turned more than a few shrewd businesspeople into
multimillionaires and even billionaires overnight. This atmosphere is
intoxicating and can lead consumers down paths that sound promising but all
end the same way: with lost savings, frustration, little recourse, and
ultimately, cynicism and resentment.
The word "home" has led some of us to believe that perhaps this style of
work is easier. But working at home is a challenging venture, whether you
go into business for yourself or not. Let"s face it, if getting rich quick
from home was such an easy task, we"d all be home-based entrepreneurs. If
working at home is your goal, you don"t have to turn a blind eye to all
outside prospects. Do your homework, and align yourself with a legitimate
company. Go to the NCL"s Web site at www.fraud.org for more information, or
call your local chapter of the Better Business Bureau. Even if a company
sounds legitimate and promising, have the company investigated before you
respond to their pitch. You have nothing to lose and everything to save.