More Than A Number

With the current state of the economy being a contributing cause as well, more and more people are looking for online jobs which would act as a supplementary income or even become their primary jobs. These jobs look very attractive as most of them are very flexible and offer decent if not great returns on investment. The fact that you can stay at home and work in your pajamas is the thing that seals the deal.

Whatever you do, when it comes to internet-based jobs, just follow the old adage “all that glitters is not gold”. There are many predators out there that will just take your money and run. The following are three common scams which you should watch out for.

The Fake Investigator – When you are out looking for an online job you might suddenly encounter a website with a long list of potential jobs. This site will claim to have investigated all of them for legitimacy and offer recommendations as well. To appear trustworthy it might even have some sob stories where it has got scammed by people as well. Do not buy this story. Usually they are running a scam where you will have to pay to buy this list or e-book only to find that it contains bogus leads or even garbage.

Payment processing – This is a common email scam as well. The site will ask you to process some of their checks due to some inability or technical problem that is hindering them. You will be asked to collect the money and wire it back to the company after retaining a small amount (5% to 10%) for yourself as a payment. Do not fall for this. This is a money laundering scheme and you will only find yourself in deep trouble with the law.

Package forwarding and re-shipping – This may seem innocuous but is again a criminal activity. The scam involves you receiving goods which are shipped to your address in bulk. Once you receive the goods and a list of shipping addresses you are required to re-ship individual items to addresses on that list. What is happening here is that the scammer has stolen credit card details and is using you as a drop-off location for items he has purchased. You are unwittingly acting as an accessory and re-shipping the goods to another party who will not be traceable.

As mentioned earlier in this article, be careful with your choices. Research as much as you can before you engage in any online jobs. Otherwise you may find yourself in more trouble than you can handle.