A Work From Home Job scheme is a get-rich-quick scam in which a
victim is lured by an offer to be employed at home; very often doing some
simple task in a minimal amount of time with a large amount of income that far
exceeds the market rate for the type of work. The true purpose of such an offer
is for the perpetrator to extort money from the victim, either by charging a
fee to join the scheme, or requiring the victim to invest in products whose
resale value is misrepresented.[1]
Work-at-home schemes have been around for decades, with the
classic "envelope stuffing" scam originating in the United States
during the Depression in the 1920s and 1930s.[2] In this scam, the worker is
offered entry to a scheme where they can earn $2 for every envelope they fill.
After paying a small $2 fee to join the scheme, the victim is sent a flyer
template for the self-same work-from-home scheme, and instructed to post these
advertisements around their local area – the victim is simply "stuffing
envelopes" with flyer templates that perpetuate the scheme.[2] Originally
found as printed adverts in newspapers and magazines, variants of this scam
have expanded into more modern media, such as television and radio adverts, and
forum posts on the Internet.
In some countries, law enforcement agencies work to fight
work-at-home schemes. In 2006, the United States Federal Trade Commission
established Project False Hopes, a federal and state law enforcement sweep that
targets bogus business opportunity and work at home scams. The crackdown
involved more than 100 law enforcement actions by the FTC, the Department of
Justice, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and law enforcement
agencies in eleven states.[1]
Legitimate work-at-home opportunities do exist, and many
people do their jobs in the comfort of their own homes, but anyone seeking such
an employment opportunity should be wary of accepting a home employment offer.
A 2007 report in the United States suggested that 97% of work-at-home offers
were scams.[3] Many legitimate jobs at home require some form of
post-high-school education, such as a college degree or certificate, or trade
school, and some experience in the field in an office or other supervised
setting. Additionally, many legitimate at-home jobs are not like those in
schemes are portrayed to be, as they are often performed at least some of the
time in the company's office, require more self-discipline than a traditional
job, and have a higher risk of firing.
Article Source :- Wikipedia
