Is there a simple way to check if a website or work-at-home online job is legit?

Question

There are so many offers for work-at-home income. How can I check to make sure they aren't scams?

Answer 1

Try www.wahm.com. It's a work at home website for mothers. You can read the discussions about various legit opportunities on the message boards there.

Someone else suggested www.workathomedesk.com - the website looks like a great resource for work at home jobs. They list many of the same opportunities that are on wahm.com.

I worked for LiveOps before - you can find it on the wahm website or go directly to liveops.com. LiveOps is a company that hires independent contractors to answer infommercial calls. You get $0.25 per minute of talk time. They offer lots of support and give incentives for certain high volume call times. It's an ok job, just a lot of scripts to read. Pay is on time and can be direct deposited. They do require a $30 background check fee, but they are a legit company. You can work for them as many or as little hours as you want.

There are similar companies like www.workathomeagent.com (aka West), willow csn (now known as arise) and alpine access. They are all legit companies. But read the opinions and comments from people who work for them - wahm message boards.

There are many, many more companies on wahm. Read the message boards and look at the job postings.

Also try www.mommyessentials.com. They have many of the same jobs listed under telecommuting.

I also work for ETS - www.ets.org (click on scoring opportunities on the left side of the screen). They hire people with bachelor degrees and up to score standardized tests. It's also a great company. They are the ones who administer the SAT.

I know people who are medical transcribers, but you have to invest time and money into a transcription school. They work from home and are quite comfortable financially.

I wish you the best. If I think of any other sites or opportunities, I will pass them on.

Answer 2

Yes - they're all scams.

Seriously, there are three ways to work from home that I know of.
#1: Get hired by a company that requires a resume, interviews, etc., that will let you work from home. This can be hard unless you're disabled, but some places will let you.
#2: Go into business for yourself, or work for a close friend. You probably wouldn't be able to *afford* an office, so you'll work from home.
#3: Do something that's online only like affiliate programs or making money off of AdSense.

Occasionally there will be a post on Craigslist or some local forum where someone legitimately needs some at-home data entry. This is SO rare. My sister did at-home bookkeeping, but she got the job via the normal channels...NOT from a website or email solicitation.

Another good way is to take the name of the product and search for it along with "scam" or "fake". Many work-from-home schemes are totally fake, and the rest are usually MLM variants. You should NEVER have to buy anything in order to work for someone. I've had more than 20 jobs (what can I say, I worked a lot in school) and I've never once had to purchase anything other than a company polo shirt.

Oh, I forgot how to work from home #4: be a phone actress. It pays really well!

Good luck.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Not all of them are scams. You just need to do your reserch. The best thing to remember is if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If they make claims that you can make a ton of money and not do anything of course that is not true. And there is a difference between a work at home job and a work at home business. If it is a work at home job you should never have to pay a fee. You don't have to pay for a job. A job is where you will be paid hourly or on commsion for the services you provide. A home business is just that, "A business" and just like with any business there will be start up cost. So like I said just do your reserch and know what it is you are looking for.

Answer 5

This is what I do! I'm 21 yrs old have another FULL TIME JOB and live in Missouri. I just do this Whenever I need extra cash. The website is www.workathomeagent.com . ITS NOT A SCAM. A real company called WEST corporation. Check it out for yourself. I get paid 17cents a minute answering calls from people buying products from infomercials. (proactive,lypozene, etc) You do not have to pay ANYTHING.. You actually have to do an interview and background check.

Answer 6

The ONLY legit way to make money from home is to start your own home-based business. Nobody pays anyone wages or salary to work at home! If you only want something for summer, no point starting a biz. Get a job. Or else mow lawns, do gardening, babysitting, caddying at a golf club, help people clean out their attics and garages.

Answer 7

First, most of them are scams - as are many of the people who will answer this question and say they have a great job for you, blah, blah...

Second, find out where the company is, and ask them for references, and find local better business bureau or chamber of commerce.

Another place (Oprah just did this on her show) is just google "Work at home Scams" and you'll get lots and lots of results.

Good luck. BTW, if you do want to work at home, contact a local temp agency or companies in your area, ask about any work at home opportunities.

Answer 8

Some of them out there are scams but some of them are legitimate work from home businesses. There are also different types of work from home opportunities out there. Check with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.com to check if the business is the real deal or not.

Answer 9

I opened a few online stores here http://zlio.com/?r=60766
It is completely free and pretty much you are selling products on a page for amazon.com, petsmart.com, and alot of others. This is absolutely free! If you want more info just email me your email and I will send you one of my sponsor letters. I think you would really enjoy this website!

Vicki

Answer 10

Check with the BBB
I write articles, how-to's and reviews for websites, and make good money from home.