I’m in the process of researching the many work-at-home offers out there online for a future column, but I wanted to alert people to one that I’ve been seeing pop up often lately.
This is how it goes: You get an email and the subject line says, “I’m leaving Internet Marketing and Giving Away My Business,” and the email is supposedly from Dr. David Lee Anderson. The actual email says:
For the next 3 days we’re allowing a select group of individuals
take a sneak peek at a brand new Online income program.
Only the first 500 to response will be eligible.Hurry To Our Site
When you click on the link you end up at a page that says, in big letters:
“Give Me Just 5 Minutes & I’ll
Show You A Brand New
Underground Instant Cash
System For Generating Up To
$29,955.38 a Month Online!”
The site also asks you for your name and email. And be careful when you try to navigate away from the site. A supposed agent is IMing you but to answer the agent you have to hit send, which may mean they end up picking up your email even if you don’t want them to. So don’t click on anything at this site!!
I did some snooping and figured out that the site is owned by Digital Paper Products in Geneseo, N.Y., and it turns out the Better Business Bureau of upstate New York had some interesting information on the company.This from the BBB website on Digital:
In September 2005, the Bureau sent a letter to the company requesting background information as well as the names of consumers who have made money using their program.
The company has not responded to the Bureau’s request and therefore has an unsatisfactory business performance report for failing to substantiate that consumers are getting paid to work at home as a result of their services.
“We’ve identified them as a work-at-home company and because of that we’ve raised red flags about their operation and what they’re doing,” says Peggy Penders, a spokeswoman for the BBB.
That’s right, just because they are offering work-at-home work, the BBB cautions consumers to beware.
“Not one of these companies actually generated any income for people who fall prey to them,” she says.
So the bottom line, stay away.
April 15th, 2008 at 6:36 am
Are there any work at home businesses that are reliable!
April 15th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Hey Sheri,
I don’t like to recommend specific companies for employment, but yes, there are reliable home businesses. My story next week for my MSNBC column will deal with a bunch of scams in this area, but basically, finding a real work at home gig is not very different from finding a regular office job. Go to the job boards and type in work at home. You’ll get a host of companies offering this perk. Your job is the separate the real from the bogus. Here is where finding a work at home job is different from other jobs. You have to do some due diligence. Call references who work for the company, check the Better Business Bureau to make sure the company is reputable, never, never never pay money upfront to get a work at home job. They should be paying you, and training you.