August 24, 2009
Work at Home Scams
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Work at Home Scams
It is important to be vigilant when seeking employment online. There are many scams targeting people who want to work from home. The work at home scams cover a variety of opportunities that can include jobs requiring you to "process payments", "reship products", or "transfer funds".These job scams involve you receiving and cashing fraudulent checks, transferring illegally obtained funds for the criminals, or receiving stolen merchandise and shipping it to the criminals.
Another common job scam is the "mystery shopper", which usually involves you receiving a fraudulent check with instructions to cash the check and then wire the funds so you can test the company's services.
You are advised that you will be compensated with a percentage of the check or the merchandise.
Work-at-home schemes attract innocent people who then can become part of criminal activities without realizing they are engaging in illegal behavior.
A further aspect to consider is that these job scams often provide criminals with the opportunity to commit identity theft when you provide your personal information, sometimes even bank account information, to your potential "employer".
The criminal/employer can then use your information to open credit cards, post on-line auctions, register websites, etc., in your name so they can commit additional crimes.
Remember, do not open e-mails from unknown senders because they often contain viruses or other malicious software [malware], or click on links in e-mails received from unknown senders as this is a very popular way of directing you to phishing websites.
Remember - always watch for scams!
Steve