As you search for work-from-home opportunities, it’s important that you make sure they are legitimate. Scammers may pose as companies or independent contractors to offer you fake remote jobs. By being careful, you can protect your identity, your finances and your well-being. In this article, we offer tips on how to tell if a work-from-home job is a scam and share common scams you may encounter.
What are work-from-home scams?
Work-from-home (WFH) scams are fake job postings intended to benefit the poster. They may use these as a means to steal your personal information or financial assets. As WFH jobs became more popular, scammers started targeting this market with seemingly lucrative job offers. They may pose as a company or a reputable person to get you to trust them. Here are several general tips for avoiding scams:
- Do not respond to calls, text messages or emails from unknown numbers or suspicious addresses.
- Never share sensitive personal or financial information via email, text messages or phone.
- Do not click any links in an email or text message from an address or number you do not recognize. If a friend contacts you with a suspicious link that seems out of character, call them to make sure the message is legitimate.
- Consider adding your number to the National Do Not Call Registry to prevent telemarketing calls.
- If you think you’ve been a victim of a scam, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or your state consumer protection office.
- File a report with local law enforcement if you have lost money or possessions due to a scam.
How to tell if a WFH job is a scam
If a job posting meets any of the following criteria, treat it with suspicion:
- The job is too good to be true.
- There is little information on the company.
- There are warnings online.
- The employer is overly eager to hire.
- You have to pay to work.
- The employer communicates poorly.
The job is too good to be true
If you find a job offer that is so good it’s unbelievable, it’s likely fake. Trust your intuition if a WFH opportunity seems too good to be true. For example, if a company is offering an extremely high salary or incredible perks, enter the situation with a bit of skepticism. Likewise, if the company is offering you an amazing job that you aren’t qualified for, this could be a sign of a scam.
There is little information on the company
When researching a company, they should have a website and some kind of social media presence. If you can’t find anything about it online, it may be time to move on to a different job listing. If you do find a website but can’t figure out what kind of work they do, this is also a sign of a scam. Many scammers use vague descriptions to get a wider pool of candidates.
There are warnings online
Use a search engine to look up the name of the company or employer. Search results may show you that other people have experienced this scam. If you see job boards with warnings about a company, it may be a scam. Likewise, if there are poor online reviews about the company, it may not be a good place to work, whether it’s a scam or not.
The employer is overly eager to hire
One major warning sign of a WFH scam is when the employer urgently wants to hire you. Most legitimate employers are busy with their own work and don’t have time to respond to you right away. They also want to take the time to make sure candidates are qualified. Real employers make candidates feel comfortable, so if a company is pressuring you to accept the job, stop responding to them. Likewise, a good employer wants to screen candidates to find the right fit. If they are willing to hire you on the spot or require little credentials for high-level work, it’s likely a scam.
You have to pay to work
Employers claiming that you need to invest some money into your work to get started is a common scam. They are supposed to pay you, not the opposite. You may need to pay a subscription fee for various legitimate online job boards to search for job listings, but never to land a specific job.
The employer communicates poorly
When an employer emails you, they should seem professional and well-spoken. If the message includes misspelled words or incorrect punctuation, it could be a scam. When you receive an email from an employer, make sure to look at their email address to see if it follows the format of other employers’.