I hate a lot of office triggers. For example, fluorescent lighting, constant distraction from meaningless meetings and other colleagues, and it’s all about getting dressed in the morning to go there.
The last part is a joke, but it’s true. I’m pretty lazy. This is why I found a way to work more from home and even managed to find a couple of 100% homework in the past (but working in IT is perfect for that).
My last job before this was at a company that contracted VA and was actually a completely remote office. Everyone who worked for them worked from all over the country. The president lived in Miami, the vice president lived in North Carolina, the human resources department in Colorado, the engineer lived in Florida, and I lived in Missouri.
Do you know where I found this job? Really. This is one of the legitimate online job boards that you can usually rely on.
But not all advertisements on legitimate online job boards are actually legal. Yes, there are a lot of scams on the Internet. Especially job-from-home and scam ads. They squeeze onto every possible platform, and if you’re not careful, you might fall onto one of them.
Red flags to look out for
Let’s talk about what characteristics to look out for when working from home scams. It doesn’t matter if you want to work remotely part-time as a part-time job or find a remote full-time job, you need to beware of mean-spirits!
Job post and description are missing details
When I searched for remote work on Indeed, I was surprised to see how many jobs seemed … so empty. The name of the company was either familiar or felt right, so I clicked on it thinking it was going to be a cool concert.
Instead, I found lists that were arguably long and vague in detail. Of course, this was a little over 3 years ago, when there were fewer remote jobs on job boards like Indeed, and such scenarios are less common (but still happen).
If you see vague job listings anywhere on the Internet (not just job boards) that lack details, are generic, or seem suspicious in some way, it’s best to stay away.
They require prepayment
Okay, we’ve all heard of a site called FlexJobs where they really require a monthly subscription to use their remote and remote job board. They are an exception to the rule that you should never pay upfront for work because they are selling their platform as a product (not actual work).
If working from home ever requires you to pay in advance in order to get started, that is an immediate red flag.
Don’t pay for work. Work to get paid.
You cannot find any information about the company
On job boards where you view their jobs using the “remote” location filter, you will see a ranking under the name of each company in each list. Pay attention to this.
Glassdoor also does this by allowing employees to rate how well they are doing for a particular company and post reviews. I love this feature as it gives us additional insight into what to expect from a job listing.
If the company doesn’t have any reviews or any information about it, do a quick Google search. If they don’t have internet and you can’t find anything else about it, chances are they are not a legitimate employer.
Always do your research and fair due diligence on the company where you want to apply for a job!
When something is too good to be true, it usually is.
If this position pays $ 100,000 a year for 20 hours a week (this can be done from home), no work experience, start off duty tomorrow and choose your own schedule, please don’t. This is a bad sign.
I’ve never heard of a job like this where you can work remotely, part-time, earn six figures, and be inexperienced. It just doesn’t happen, because if it did, I’m pretty sure the unemployment rate in the United States would be much lower.
If you see aspects of a job posting that seem too good to be true, go back to the trusted internet and start researching. The Better Business Bureau is great for researching them.
Specific fake jobs
Along with looking for specific red flags on the internet and job boards, there are also a couple of “home jobs” that are just completely fake.
Medical billing
While medical billing is actually a legitimate job, it is not done remotely. Healthcare professionals usually work directly with doctors, healthcare providers, or
insurance companies and usually have to be in place.
Envelope filling
Ah, I’ve seen it too many times. The idea behind filling envelopes is that you send some money to get your envelopes and whatever you were told to send. Then you “get $ 2” for every envelope you mail, but you’re really just trying to get others to send you $ 2. I don’t understand, but the claims of high returns from these opportunities are completely false.
Mystery shopper
While some mystery shopping jobs from companies like Bestmark are legitimate, there are many that just aren’t there. The scammers are the ones you haven’t heard of, they offer fake certificates and ask for money to “wire”. This is when they ask you to deposit money so they can get it back, which is actually a fake check scam.
How to find legitimate work at home
Apart from the tips mentioned above, the following employment tips and websites are generally safe for finding work from home opportunities.
- Really
- Glass door
- FlexJobs
- AngelList
- Stack overflow
- Working nomads
- Virtual lessons
In addition to that, you can also contract your skills as a freelancer using sites like Fiverr and Upwork (which are also 100% free to use and get started). Or, set up passive income streams that you can generate from anywhere, such as a blog, course, ebook, podcast, and more.
Conclusion
The point is, the Internet is as shady as it is awesome. There will always be people trying to fool the trick.
If you know what to look for and have realistic expectations when looking for jobs to work from home online, then you can avoid most of them.
However, if you find yourself in the middle of one of them, you can take the following steps:
- Notify all your financial institutions.
- Report it to BBB Scam Tracker.
- File a complaint with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).
- Contact your state attorney general’s office to find out if you are protected by any homeworker laws.
If you are in this place, take action immediately.
And if you start your job search remotely, good luck!
Looking for legitimate ways to work from home?
If you’re looking for legitimate work from home opportunities, try this list of legitimate ways to make money from home.
And if you want some side ideas to make some extra money, here are some great ideas to make an extra $ 500 a month that really work!
This article originally appeared on The Money Mix and has been republished with permission.