Work-At-Home Schemes
By: Jack Kehr
What are they?
A work-at-home scheme is a "get rich quick" scam, where victims are goaded into handing over money or personal information at the promise of quick and easy money. However, not everyone tells the truth (gasp).
How do we avoid them?
If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Make sure that you check any "offers" that you get very closely. If they are offering a ton of money for preforming mundane tasks, you are probably getting scammed.
Examples
Forum Spamming: You are told that you will make money by spamming online forums.
Item Assembly: The worker is told to purchase materials to build some sort of kit or craft, then have to sell the finished product back to the organizer. Only, the worker is told that the product "doesn't meet our specifications", and are left with no money.
Summary
Work-at-home schemes are offers to work at home for high amounts of money for doing almost nothing, and will often end with the victim completely out of money.