Ftc work at home schemes
Want to be your own boss? Earn thousands of dollars a month from home? Ads promote many different work-at-home jobs and businesses, but often the message is the same: So do some research, and learn about common work-at-home scams. But the reality is many of these jobs are scams. You end up paying for starter kits or certifications that are useless, find your credit card is charged without your permission, or get caught up in a fake check scam.
People tricked by work-at-home ads have lost thousands of dollars, not to mention their time and energy.
A “work at home” scheme that didn’t work | Consumer Information
Other work-at-home offers tell you that you can make money doing tasks like internet searches on prominent search engines and filling out forms. You just have to pay a small shipping and handling fee.
FTC Settles with Operator of Work-at-Home Scheme
If you pay them even a tiny fee online, they can use your financial information to put additional charges on your card. But after you pay, you find out there is no work. Instead, you get a letter telling you to get other people to buy the same envelope-stuffing opportunity or some other product.
You earn money only if those people respond the same way you did. You see an ad that says you can make money assembling crafts or other products at home for a company that has promised to buy them.
You may have to invest hundreds of dollars for equipment or supplies — like a sewing or sign-making machine from the company, or materials to make items like aprons, baby shoes, or plastic signs. The ad says you can earn money by helping to process rebates. What you get instead are poorly written and useless training materials.
There are no rebates to process, and few people ever get a refund. The ads promise a substantial income for full- or part-time work processing medical claims electronically — no experience needed. When you call the toll-free number, a sales rep tells you doctors are eager for help. But the companies rarely provide experienced sales staff or contacts in the medical community. The software they send might not even work. Competition in the medical billing market is fierce, and few people who make the investment are able to find clients or generate any income — let alone get back their investment.
Ads for mystery shoppers say they want people who are willing to shop at certain stores or dine at certain restaurants, and then report on their experience in exchange for money. While there are some legitimate mystery shopping jobs, many are scams. Scammers might tell you that you need to pay for worthless certifications, directories, or job guarantees.
You should never have to pay to get into the mystery shopping business.
Defendants Behind ‘Online Entrepreneur’ Work-at-Home Scheme Settle FTC Charges | Federal Trade Commission
Another type of work-at-home opportunity is a multilevel marketing MLM plan. But not all multilevel marketing plans are legitimate.
But are their claims for real?
Be wary and ask for written information about how much money most people make after deducting their expenses. MLMs that survive on recruiting new participants rather than retail sales are pyramid schemes.
Pyramid schemes are illegal, and the vast majority of participants lose money. It still could be a scam. Under the Rule, sellers have to give you a one-page disclosure document that offers key pieces of information about the opportunity. Use the information in the disclosure document to fact-check what the seller tells you. In addition to reviewing the disclosure document, here are some questions to ask:.
Read what others have to say. You also might try checking out a company with your local consumer protection agency , your state Attorney General , or the Better Business Bureau — not only where the company is located, but also where you live. Dishonest companies sometimes settle complaints and change their names or move to avoid detection. If you have spent money and time on a work-at-home program and now believe it might not be legitimate, contact the company and ask for a refund.
Let company representatives know that you plan to notify law enforcement officials about your experience. The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace.
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information consumer.
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