Employment

Work-at-Home Schemes

Magazines, newspapers and websites often advertise work-at-home jobs, promising hundreds of dollars each week for simple work. Many of these jobs are actually work-at-home schemes that require you to spend money to make money; typically, these jobs are too good to be true.

Watch out for common work-at-home-schemes.

Common work-at-home schemes include envelope stuffing, product assembly or craft work, rebate processing and medical billing.

In an envelope scheme, victims responding to an ad are told to pay a small fee to learn how to earn money stuffing envelopes. After paying the fee however, victims may never receive any instructional programs or information. Or victims may be told the way to earn money is to place a similar ad defrauding others with get-rich-quick schemes.

The product assembly or craft work scheme will ask for victims to purchase a company’s supplies and equipment and invest their time to complete an order for something like aprons, signs, etc. Once the victim sends the products off to the company, the products are rejected, and the victim is not compensated because the work supposedly isn’t “up to standard.” The victim is then left with equipment and supplies with no income to show for it.

Under the rebate processing schemes, victims respond to an ad that says they can earn extra money by helping large firms process rebates. In order to qualify, the victims must pay a fee for training, certification and registration. After paying the fee, victims may never receive anything or receive useless training manuals and no opportunities to process rebates.

Medical billing schemes often promise full-time work processing medical claims electronically with no experience needed. When you respond to the ad, victims are told that in exchange for hundreds or sometimes thousands of dollars to get the software they will need as well as a list of potential clients and technical support when necessary. However, the software sent may not work. The client lists may be out of date or simply a list of doctors that have never requested such a service. Many doctors process their claims in-office or outsource to large, established firms, not someone with no experience working from home.

Know what questions to ask before following up on a work-from-home offer.

Should you be considering a work-from-home offer, ask the following questions:

• What tasks will I need to perform?

• Will I be paid a salary or on commission?

• Who will pay me?

• When will I get my first paycheck?

• What is the total cost for this program – including supplies, equipment, fees, etc.? What will I receive for my money?

• What is the basis for the statements on my earnings? Do you survey those who have purchased the programs?

• Are there references I may call regarding the program?

Before signing up for any work-from-home program, look up the company online to see what others are saying. Try typing the name of the firm along with “complaints”, “scam” or “fraud” in your search engine.

File a complaint.

You may file a complaint against work-from-home company or promoter with the Attorney General’s Office online at MyFloridaLegal.com or by phone toll-free at 1(866) 9NO-SCAM. Additionally, you may want to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov/complaint as well as the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org.

You may also file a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which acts as the State's consumer complaint clearinghouse, at FloridaConsumerHelp.com.

Multilevel Marketing

Multilevel Marketing Plans require you to sell a product and enlist several other people to sell the same product. They promise you a profit on the products you sell and a "cut" on all products sold by the people you enlist. Before committing yourself to a Multilevel Marketing Plan offered by any company, consider the following:

Research the Company

Find out how long it has been in business and research its past successes and failures. Call your local Better Business Bureau and government agencies like the County Consumer Affairs Bureau, the Office of the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission to determine whether any complaints or lawsuits are pending. For an out-of-state company, you may wish to call the appropriate agencies and authorities in the state where the company maintains its headquarters.

Ask for References

Find out if the company belongs to any trade associations like the Direct Selling Association located in Washington, D.C., and ask the association whether the company is a member in good standing. Get the names, addresses and telephone numbers of other persons in your area who have joined the company and ask them about how long they have participated and what experiences they have had. Be sure to ask about their average monthly sales and commissions. Be wary of persons who make claims of enormous profits in short time periods; they may be set up by a not-so-legitimate company to make such exaggerated representations to lure you into parting from your money forever.

Ask About Safeguards

Find out what safeguards the company has in place to buy back unsold merchandise from you and whether you are obligated to establish a certain volume of retail sales before being able to move up the network of distribution. If the Multilevel Marketing Plan focuses primarily on the recruitment of new members, it may be an illegal Pyramid Scheme which should be avoided.

Be Wary of Too-Good-To-Be-True Claims

Be wary if anyone associated with the company says that you don't have to do anything to make lots of money. To make money through a legitimate Multilevel Marketing Plan you will have to work at selling products and selling the marketing plan to new distributors.

Ask About Market Saturation

Determine the saturation levels in your area of distribution. Legitimate companies do not have too many distributors in one area.

Start Small

If you do decide to become part of a Multilevel Marketing Plan, start with a small investment, and build gradually. Beware of companies that pressure you to invest large amounts of money upfront.

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