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Being an entrepeneur and starting your own business or working from home is the American dream. It can be achieved,
but unfortunately some unscrupulous people have figured out a way to make a buck by taking advantage of that
entrepreneurial spirit. We have compiled a list of some work at home scams that you should avoid. Some are
familiar,
but others are new. 1. Processing Claims: Here is one that you frequently find in the want ads of the newspaper, but has now made its way to the internet via SPAM e-mail:
"Be part of one of America's
Fastest Growing Industries! These ads tend to omit the fact that you may have to work for many hours without pay. They also don't disclose all of the costs you will have to pay. Hundreds of work at home schemes require you to place newspaper ads with your own money to, make photocopies, or buy office supplies such as envelopes, paper, stamps, etc. that you need to do the job. The companies that sponsor the ads may demand that you pay for instructions or "tutorial" software. Consumers who have been deceived by these ads have lost money, time, and energy. 2. Billing Centers: Ads for these pre-packaged businesses can be found in newspapers, on television and on the Internet. If you respond to the ad you will get a sales pitch that may look like this: There is a crisis in the medical health care system, due in part to the overwhelming task of processing paper claims. The solution is electronic claim processing. Since only a small percentage of claims are transmitted electronically, the market for billing centers is wide open. The sales promoter may also tell you that many doctors who process claims electronically will want to contract out billing services to save money. They will promise that you can earn a substantial income by providing services like accounts receivable, billing, electronic insurance claim processing and practice management to dentists and doctors. Promoters may also assure you that you only need work part time, no experience is required, and they will provide clients who are eager to buy your services. The reality is that you will have to sell your services as promoters rarely actually provide sales staff or contacts within the medical community. The promoter will send you materials that usually include an application, brochure, contract, sample diskettes, and disclosure document. In some cases they will also send testimonial on letters or videocassettes and lists of references. You need only pay $2,000 to $8,000 to receive software, training, and tech support. The company will encourage you to call its references. Make sure that you get lots of names to chose from. If there are only one or two names given, they may be "shills". (Shills are people who are hired to give favorable testimonials.) It is always best to interview people in person to reduce your risk of being fooled by shills and get a better sense of just how the business works. Very few consumers who purchase a medical billing center business are able to find clients. Which means that not only can they not start a successful business and generate a substantial income, but don't even recover their investment. In the medical billing scams market competition is fierce and revolves around a number of large well-established firms. 3. Stuffing Envelopes: The advertisements for thes scams usually read that "for a small fee" they can tell you how to earn big money stuffing envelopes in your home. You later discover, after it's too late, that the promoter never had any actual employment to offer you. Instead you are likely to get a letter telling you that you should place the same "envelope-stuffing" ad in newspapers or magazines, or send the ad to relatives and friends. The only way that you will earn money is if people send "a small fee" to you just like you sent to them. 4. Craft Work or Assembly Work: These programs usually require that you spend hundreds of dollars in supplies and equipment, or they require that you spend hours producing merchandise for a company that has already promised to buy them. For example, you may be asked to buy a machine for making signs or a special sewing machine from the promoter, or other materials used to make aprons, baby shoes, etc. But after you have purchased the equipment and performed the work, the companies don't pay you, often claiming that you work didn't meet their "standards of quality." In scams like these, no work is ever "up to the standard," which leaves workers with the expensive equipment they purchased - and no income. To sell the merchandise that they produced, the workers must find customers themselves. Questions You Should Ask:
The answers that you get to these questions should help you to determine whether a work at home program is appropriate for you and whether or not it is legitimate. You might also want to research the company at the Better Business Bureau, your local consumer protection agency, and the state Attorney General. Be sure to check not only where you live, but also where the company is based. These organizations can inform you of any complaints they have received regarding the work at home program that you are interested in. Keep in mind that the absence of complaints does not necessarily mean that the company is legitimate. Unscrupulous scams companies may settle local complaints, change their business name, and move to avoid this kind of detection. Where you can go to Complain about scams
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