Working at home sounds like a dream come true for those who are adept at working with their hands. Watch out! You could be working to fill the pockets of the scam artists who "hire" you to do the work.
Nothing could be more fun than earning a living by making crafts on your own kitchen table. Some home assembly opportunities promise as much as $ 30 per hour for this kind of work. The work description requires that you make baby clothes, jewelry, plastic signs, toys, Christmas ornaments, or any other item you can think of. Unfortunately, many people jump at this opportunity only to find out that the whole thing is a rip off. Whoever succumbs to these home business opportunities end up forking over a lot of money for the equipment and supplies to make the items for a company that has promised to purchase them. One way these hucksters get you is by insisting that only certain materials and tools be used so that even if you have them in your supply closet, you will need to buy their. They also insist that you use only the materials that they provide to insure the quality and consistency of a product. Once you have paid your money, the materials and instructions you get will be of shoddy quality than anything else you could have bought on your own.
Following the assembly of the product with the materials and tools you bought from your "employer," you will find it next to impossible to get paid for all the hard work you put in. The "company" will tell you that your work does not meet their quality control standards. No matter what you do or say, they will have some excuse for not paying you for your work because it does not measure up to their standards. Even if there is a money back guarantee, you will find it difficult to get your initial investment back. Scammers are very skillful at covering all their assets so that nobody gets their money back. Pretty slick, huh? There are real home assembly jobs out there, but the real ones do not ask you to send them any money for start up. This is the big difference between legitimate home businesses and scams. If they ask that you pay money upfront or buy something first, it is time to turn away and look for something else.
Warning signs of crafts assembly scams
o They promise you a high income. This is perhaps the number one reason why people fall for home business scams. As the old adage goes: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Do not allow greed cloud your common sense.
o The "employer" uses a post office box. Using a post office box is a classic tell-tale sign of a potential scam. Although not all post office box users are scam artists, these cons depend on them to easily part people with their money. They are easy to get and easy to abandon when it is time for the thief to embark on another new home business scam.
o They require that you purchase a "starter kit." These kits are almost always junk, and the very fact that they called it a "kit" should raise red flags on your part.
o They require you to pay a deposit. Very few legitimate home business opportunities require that you make a deposit. If they ask you to make a deposit, you should be really concerned. These deposits are when the scam artists make their money. Once you send in your "deposit," you have become a victim of a scam, and you will never see your money again.
There are lots of consumer fraud schemes out there. It is up to you, the consumer, to educate yourself to recognize what is and is not legitimate. By doing so, you can minimizeize becoming a victim to the crime of theft by deception.