In these tough economic times, with real unemployment hovering around 15 percent, job scams are popping up everywhere. This is particularly true in the clerical field, which attracts those hit hardest by unemployment--people with little or no college experience, GED-only applicants, and the "outplaced" elderly.
Most of us have seen the ads: “Earn money typing from your home,” ”Make hundreds a day just filling out forms,” or “Stay-at-home mom earns hundreds typing.” While there are some legitimate data entry jobs out there, job postings in the paper and on the Internet are filled with scam entries. So how do you spot the scams from the real jobs? Here are some tips:
There's an application fee. This is a big red flag. These fees usually start low, around $15, and can be as high as $49. Higher fees are usually masked by offers of “online training,” “educational CDs,” or “training manuals.” The entity offering the job will insist that these are necessary to “bring you up to speed” with “their system.”
They ask you to buy their equipment. This is a veiled attempt to get you to buy or rent their transcription or data entry equipment or software. It’s similar to the red flag above, except now you’re anteing hundreds of dollars. In most cases, these companies are just trying to unload old, outdated equipment that they picked up from an auction or going-out-of-business sale. The data entry job offer is simply a ruse to unload this outdated equipment. After a week or so, they will simply say that the job market has dried up and there’s no more data entry work for you—leaving you with the overpriced, outdated equipment. A legitimate company will give you the option to buy or rent the equipment you’ll need from other sources.
They offer 50 cents per name and address. Address an envelope or label and earn 50 cents per address. Really? Sounds like a “hundreds of dollars a day” opportunity, right? Wrong. These days, computers and inexpensive label printers can do the same thing for pennies per address, and at the rate of hundreds of addresses per minute. Why would they pay you hundreds of dollars a day for the same job?
Look for a square deal and avoid the pyramid. Many of these data entry “jobs” are simply pyramid scams in disguise. Like the popular envelope-stuffing scam, after you’ve paid your “application” or “training” fee, you’ll get instructions on how to set up the same scam, enticing others to send you money to start them on their "road to riches" in data entry.
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