Work-at-home scams proliferate in poor economy

Work-at-home hucksters are busy looking for victims in 2009.

Don't become one of them.

Christine Durst, chief executive at Staffcentrix LLC, a company that screens work-at-home job ads for the federal government, said scam artists come out of the woodwork looking for victims whenever there is a sense of hopelessness.

"Right now, there is definitely an air of desperation" because of the poor economy, she said.

The National Consumers League warns about work-at-home scams, too. It said of 15,000 consumer complaints in 2008, work-at-home scams was the 11th most reported Internet fraud.

Not only do many people fail to make money from work-at-home opportunities, many lose money in scams, the league said. Average losses for Internet work-at-home scams in 2008 were $135.44 per person, it said. The largest loss was $1,300.

There are many legitimate work-at-home opportunities out there. But watch for these scams, consumers:

Rebate processing: That was the No. 1 scam for Staffcentrix in 2008, Durst said. It's a believable opportunity because "at some point in everyone's life, people have sent in rebates."

The rebate-processing scam leads victims to believe that they will type in information that consumers hand-write on rebate forms, and then get paid for doing it. Victims typically pay about $197 to participate, Durst said.

But it's a classic bait-and-switch scheme, she said.

Victims eventually find out that they'll actually be doing affiliate sales, which result when consumers see an ad for a product or service on a Web site of a person affiliated with the company doing the actual selling.

Consumers click and buy, and the affiliate gets a percentage of the sale. If they don't sell, they don't get paid.

Auction listing processors. Victims think they will be typing in details of items to be auctioned online. They soon find out they must find the items to list, and then manage the auction.

They must pay a fee to participate. "You discover you'll actually be a salesperson and you won't make a penny unless you move products," she said.

The instant online business. You'll see business programs advertised that promise high income quickly, she said.

"Typically, the bait is big money for basic work" such as typing and data entry, which most Web users can do.

"The truth is you'll be selling everything from diets and vitamins to dating services, Web site hosting services and even other work-at-home scams."

The kit to start the business may be hawked as free. But victims' credit cards will get hit with monthly ongoing consulting or other fees.

Online pyramid schemes. Watch out for home "business opportunities" such as gifting clubs, a type of pyramid scheme that promises big profits in return for small investments. Ninety-nine percent of people who join pyramid schemes receive no rewards and often lose money, the consumers league said.

In a telephone survey conducted last month, 33 percent of the respondents reported being approached to join some type of fraudulent pyramid scheme, the league reported.

Contact Iris Taylor at (804) 649-6349 or .