By Elliot Wright, 17th February 2010
Work from home scams have become one of the most common cons in
Britain as fraudsters target the vast number of jobseekers.
One in four adults has been contacted by work from home scammers
at some point in their life, according to a survey by the Office of
Fair Trading as part of their Scams Awareness Month campaign.
Work from home scams are attempts to swindle money from job
seekers by offering so-called profitable business opportunities or
start-up advice. The survey shows that 17% of the adult population
in the UK has been targeted in the last year, and the incidence of
such scams is rising.
The work from home scam typically operates by advertising paid
work from home in a local newspaper, shop windows, online
classified ads or even on a lamppost offering the promise of fast
cash for minimal effort.
The catch is that you have to pay upfront fee to the organiser,
for example, for materials of for them to reveal their "secrets".
They take your money but are unlikely to pay you for any work you
do, or you may find that there is no work and instead only
commission for getting other people to sign up.
People who are struggling financially may
be particularly vulnerable to these types of scams.
Heather Clayton, Senior Director of the Office of Fair Trading's
Consumer group, said: "We are seeing an increasing volume of work
from home and business opportunities scams. People who are
struggling financially may be particularly vulnerable to these
types of scams.
Genuine work from home schemes should tell you in writing
exactly what you will be expected to do, how much you will be paid
and how and when you will be paid."
The OFT-managed advice service Consumer Direct offers the
following advice about how to protect yourself from home or
business opportunity scams:
- If you reply to a job ad and are asked for money in advance,
walk away.
- Before signing up to a work from home scheme, find out as much
information as you can.
- Do a web search on the company and ask to speak to current
workers.
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