How to Avoid Work From Home Scams
What is Real?
Sometimes, it may be hard to tell if a remote work listing is legitimate or not. Since the Covid 19 pandemic, a large portion of the workforce began working from home. Some people who were not already working from home began looking for remote work opportunities.
Work from home scams have always been around, they are certainly not new. Rising interest in remote work opportunities have also created scam artists with the opportunity to scam people looking for those jobs.
With more and more people searching for remote work opportunities, it can be hard to tell the difference between what is real. While there are tons of legitimate work from home jobs available, there are also scams.
It’s important that you remain vigilant when looking for an applying for remote work opportunities.
What Are The Scams?
Work from home scams can come in many different forms. Some scams involve creating a company that doesn’t exist while others mimic legitimate companies. Most of the time, scammers are trying to steal your personal information by luring you in with a great opportunity.
Some scams involve asking you to pay an application fee or asking for money up front for training. Other scams require you to help the company recruit others when you join by promising some type of bonus or reward.
There are also scams that involve asking you to pay for money in order to get work from home job leads. Scammers might also ask you to purchase things from them with the promise of being hired.
It is an unfortunate reality that these situations exist – but there are ways to recognize and avoid them!
Protect Yourself From Scammers
There are many was for you to protect yourself from work from home scams. The first step is to verify the information you see. @TranscendGoals we will often verify work from home opportunities by reaching out to the employer. Contacting employers directly by phone or email allows you to have a point of contact and speak with someone to verify that the job is, in fact, legitimate.
@TranscendGoals also listens to feedback from people who have had experiences applying for or working for various employers. Being able to talk to someone who has experience with a certain employer can help you find out if a job is real or not. If you don’t know anyone who has worked with an employer you are interested in applying to, you can check out the Better Business Bureau (1) website to see if any complaints of fraud have been filed against an employer. *Note: Just because a complaint of fraud is not listed on the BBB website, doesn’t guarantee it is not a scam. It is still best to be cautious and avoid applying for jobs that make you suspicious.
Avoid applying to jobs that offers limited information about the company. A work at home job with vague contact information or a personal email address, is most likely a scam. Avoid giving too much information when applying for a job posted. Most jobs will ask for general information in their applications but avoid disclosing sensitive data online, unless you can verify that you are applying for a legitimate work from home job.
While we do screen our work from home jobs before posting any links on our site, we still suggest that you reach out to employers and verify that job posting is correct and legitimate. We also suggest that you contact us to report any concerns about a work from home job on our job board. You can email us at: [email protected]. You can also report any work from home scams directly to the Federal Trade Commission online or by calling: 1-877-FTC-Help (1-877-382-4357) TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Fraudulent work from home jobs could should also be reported to your state’s attorney general.
Scammish, But Maybe Not?
It is essential that you take all the necessary precautions when looking for a work from home job. With that being said, there is a gray that often causes quite a bit of confusion. For the most part, there should be no cost to you when applying for work from home job. With that in mind, there are some legitimate work from home companies that do ask applicants to pay for their own background check and/or training for certain projects.
Companies such as LiveOps, ACDDirect, Arise and a few others hire work from home customer service representatives. Individuals are hired as independent contractors and not employees. These are legitimate work from home companies that have been verified through communication and feedback from current and previous contractors. They often hire often, throughout the year and are great options for people with no experience.
They also do charge for background checks and training. ACD Direct charges between $18-$20 for their background check conducted through KarmaCheck. They do offer a discount for military personnel. LiveOps charges $24.99 for their background check conducted through Sterling Talent. Both companies offer the option of receiving a copy of your background check by email. Arise charges for certification courses that prepare you to take calls for different companies. There are times that the course fees are reduced or dropped, however, they generally begin at $9.99 and go up.
These companies service calls for many well-known brands across the country. They have been around for many years and have established themselves in the work from home world for quite some time.
So, with these companies as examples, how can we tell if a company is legitimate even if they require applicants to pay for training and background checks? A great way to find out more about a company is to visit Glassdoor. You’ll be able to look companies up and see what previous workers have to say. You could get an idea about the work culture, salary and even interview expectations. Reading reviews left by people who have worked in a company you are interested in will help you figure out if a company is legitimate or not. It will also help you decide if you should apply for a company that is asking your to pay for your own background checks or certifications.
To Pay Or Not To Pay
What You See
It’s not always easy to tell if a work from home opportunity is a scam or legitimate. Ultimately, it’s best to do your own research, contact the company directly and try to find out what current or previous employees are saying about the company. Don’t respond to emails claiming to have a job offer if they are not from a trusted company. Check the sender’s email address to see if it matches the company’s email. If it doesn’t match the company’s email address or is from a personal email, it is probably a scam. If something sounds too good to be true – it’s probably a scam.
It’s in your best interest to always investigate and verify job leads to ensure they are legitimate.
How has your work from home job search been going? Have you encountered any scams? Are you suspicious of any job offers you’ve seen? How have you handled these situations? Leave us a comment or visit us on social media and let us know!
