Work at Home Job Board Scams

It's not uncommon to see advertisments for work at home job boards. These claim to have legitimate listings of work at home jobs; all you have to do is pay a fee to join. Sometimes the fee is monthly or annual; other times it is a lifetime membership.

Some of these sites are legitimate. Home Job Stop is one that comes to mind. They offer a lifetime membership.

However, many more are not legitimate. They may or may not have started out as good sites, but now they offer nothing more than outdated leads. Some offer lists of companies that have had some sort of telecommuting policy, with no care for whether or not said company still allows telecommuting. In addition, many of these companies only allow experienced employees to telecommute; they do not hire people specifically to work from home.

If you are considering buying membership in a work at home job board, ask around first. You want to hear from current customers, not just people who liked them a year ago. People do lose interest in running such sites, yet do not always take them down or stop accepting payments. You want a company with current listings. Some even get special deals with employers and will be the only source for the jobs on their boards.

Even with a good work at home job board, don't assume that you will get a work at home job immediately, and don't assume that just because none of the jobs work out for you that it is a scam. Your ability to get a work at home job depends in large part on your own skills, your resume and how you present yourself in a telephone interview.

Some people consider all work at home job boards that require a membership fee to be scams. However, it does take work to run an honest board, so the rare genuine article does have the right to charge. It is the high number of scam sites that makes this appear to be a problem. Do your research before paying for any board, and know the refund policy before you buy.

If You Get Scammed

First try to clear it up with the company. If they are uncooperative, let them know that you will be contacting officials about the matter. Then do it.

• If you found out about the company on a website, let the site know so that they can take it off their site.
• Post your story on the Ripoff Report, so that others can see your story.
• Contact the Attorney General in your state or the state the company is in.
• Contact the BBB, both your local office and in the company's state.
• Contact the National Fraud Information Center if this was a "get rich quick" or "easy money" scheme.
• Your local Consumer Protection Offices.
• The Postmaster if you recieved the offer in the mail.
• The Federal Trade Commission. Although the FTC does not handle individual complaints, they are on the lookout for patterns of deception and unfair practices. To register a complaint, write to: Correspondence Branch, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580.

 

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