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SCAM ALERTWorking-At-Home: A Growing TrendIf you want to work at home, you have reason to be optimistic. There is a rapidly growing work force of government or corporate professionals who work at home one or more days a week. Other people are operating their own successful businesses out of their home offices. Computer technology and ease of communication makes this possible. More and more people are enjoying new opportunities to cut back on commuting time, stay in closer contact with their families, or simply enjoy the independence of working on their own. Those who succeed by working at home have several things in common: They have training or experience in what they are doing; they work hard and efficiently; they work for a salary; or they spend time and money developing the market for their work. They have not stumbled onto a magic formula for getting rich quick. Even in this new world of telecommuting, the same old rule applies; to be successful, you must work hard and work smart. Working-At-Home: The Perpetual SchemesIf you want to work at home, you also have reason to be cautious. Many people are victimized by work-at-home schemes, and they are losing more money than ever. The old schemes in which a consumer can lose ten or twenty ringgit are still around, but now there are new schemes that rob their victims of thousands of ringgit. Work-at-home scam artists have always preyed on senior citizens, the disabled, mothers who want to stay home with their children, and people with low incomes and few job skills. These days they also target people with computer skills and higher incomes. They use technical terminology and new ways of reaching people, such as the Internet or cable television, but they deliver the same old false promise: "You can make big money with little effort!" Work-at-home businesses consistently generate inquiries received by the federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA). If you are tempted by work-at-home promotions offering "easy money," remember -- you have a lot at stake. You can:
Working-At-Home Schemes Alert!Be skeptical about work-at-home promotions that state:
Where Schemes AppearNew variations are continually appearing in:
You may have seen advertisements for work-at-home schemes similar to the following examples. What all of these advertisements have in common is the promise of quick and easy money. On-Line Schemes
This is typical of advertisements showing up uninvited in your e-mail -- an old scheme advertised in a new way. You pay for a useless guide to work-at-home schemes -- a mixture of computer-related work such as word processing or data entry and the same old envelope-stuffing and home crafts scams. The computer disk is as worthless as the guidebook. It may list government web sites and business opportunities, many of which require more money. Mail-Order Scams
Most new business ventures are risky, and the mail-order business is no exception. Even the most successful mail-order promoters are likely to have experienced failures along with their successes. No one can reasonably promise that you can make quick and easy money in the mail order business. Your "token investment" will bring you catalogs, instructions, and what purports to be mail order "secrets." And the promoter may supply you with shoddy products of little or no value to yourself or others. Envelope Stuffing Schemes
When answering such ads, you may not receive the expected envelopes for stuffing, but instead get promotional material asking for cash just for details on money-making plans. The details usually turn out to be instructions on how to go into the business of placing the same kind of ad the advertiser ran in the first place. Pursuing the plans may require spending several hundred ringgit more for advertising, postage, envelopes, and printing. This system feeds on continuous recruitment of people to offer the same plan. There are several variations on this type of scheme, all of which require the customer to spend money on advertising and materials. Another reason why this scheme is fraudulent is in practically all businesses, envelope stuffing has become a highly mechanized operation using sophisticated mass mailing techniques and equipment which eliminates any profit potential for an individual doing this type of work at home. Assembly Work At Home
These schemes require you to invest hundreds of ringgit in instructions and materials and many hours of your time to produce items such as baby booties, toy clowns, and plastic signs for a company that has promised to buy them. Once you have purchased the supplies and have done the work, the company may decide not to pay you because your work does not meet certain "standards." You are left with merchandise that is difficult or impossible to sell. Multi-Level Marketing Distributorships (Direct Sales)
Multi-level marketing, a direct sales system, is a well-established, legitimate form of business. Many people have successfully sold the products of reputable companies to their neighbors and co-workers. These people are independent distributors who sell popular products and also recruit other distributors to join them. On the other hand, illegitimate pyramid schemes may resemble these legitimate direct sales systems. One obvious difference is that the emphasis is on recruiting others to join the program, not on selling the product. For a time, new recruits who make the investment to buy product samples keep money coming into the system, but very few products are sold. Sooner or later the people on the bottom are stuck with a saturated market, and they cannot make money by selling products or recruiting. When the whole system collapses, only a few people at the top have made money--and those at the bottom have lost their investment. Chain Letters
The only people who benefit from chain letters are the mysterious few at the top of the chain who constantly change names, addresses, and post office boxes. They may attempt to intimidate you by threatening bad luck, or they try to impress you by describing themselves as successful professionals, knowledgeable about non-existent sections of Steps to Take Before You Sign Up:Ask the company's representative the following questions. Remember, a reputable company will respect you for being careful and will not pressure you to make a fast decision.
Do your homework and your own research.
Before you sign a contact or spend any amount of money you cannot afford to lose, get all information in writing.Read all of the contract's provisions carefully and make sure you clearly understand them. As a general rule, sellers of some types of business opportunities must supply certain information in writing before a contract is signed. You should insist on getting the following information in writing, signed by the company's authorized agent. After you obtain the written information, have it reviewed by an impartial person such as your lawyer or an accountant. Ask for:
Tips to RememberIf you become a victim of a work-at-home scheme, ask the company for a refund. They may be willing to give it to you. If they refuse to give you a refund, or if they give you an evasive response, tell them you plan to notify law enforcement officials. Keep careful records of everything you do to recover your money. Document your phone calls, keep copies of all paperwork such as letters and receipts, and record all costs involved, including the time you spend. If the company refuses to refund your investment, contact:
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