Working from home is becoming very popular nowsdays. There are stories about people making thousands of dollars a month by just sitting in front of the computer a few hours a day. Are these stories true? Few are but majority are make-ups to lure you into a trap. Nothing in the world is for free. Many home-based jobs are just too good to be true.

Everyone wants to earn big money without going to work. Most students or stay-at-home moms want extra cash to pay their fees or bills. Because the number of home based jobs is increasing everyday, it is no surprise that work-at-home scams offering online work that reap big financial gains have also grown in popularity. With the advance of technology, we can now contact people easily by email without revealing who we are and that is what most scammers do today. Scammers love to lay their bait through emails because it is very easy hard to be caught.

In this article, I would like to identify a few features of a scam job email so that you will not fall into the trap if you happens to see one next time.

1. Transfer Money

Some jobs will ask you to be the middle man to help transfer the money over to your bank account with you getting a huge percentage of it. However, when you proceed to ask more about the deal, you will be asked to provide your bank details and that is when the catch comes in. NEVER GIVE YOUR BANK DETAILS TO ANYONE!

2. Upfront Investment

Many home-based jobs actually ask you to pay first. Whether is it a signup fee or for whatever purpose, it works like an MLM and your job is to get as many people involved as possible. If you are paying for something, make sure you are getting something usable back. It is illegal to pay for something without getting anything usable.

3. Not Specific / Too Good To Be True

Jobs that offer great rewards with you putting in the minimal effort are usually scams. I got an email recently about a job in flowerland. The email stated that you do not need to be skilled in anyway to earn high wages. The description of the company was obscure. Also, the email did not say what you are required to do. I have attached the email as follows:

FlowerLand International is an American trading corporation. We specialize in all kinds of plants and decorative greenery that can be used for home or office. We are not a Multi-Level-Marketing company nor any similarity. You are never required to buy nor invest anything to work with Flowerland International. We are not a (MLM,Multi-Level-Marketing) organization nor any similarity. You are never required to buy nor invest anything to work with Flowerland International.

CAREER POSITION:
This is an entry level opportunity in the field of banking services.

MAIN ADVANTAGES:
- Really High Wages.
- Ability to work at home.
- Flexible shedule.
- No sign up fees, no investment is needed.
- All expenses such as phone calls, webtraffic, etc will be fully covered by
our company.
- Illness\Disability friendly team.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYEES:
- Basic knowledge of credit principles, financial services and operations.
- Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously along with meeting
deadlines.
- Ability to work independently or in a team environment.
- Having no problem with the Authorities.
- Having a cellular phone.
- Having a deep desire to achieve financial success.

DEGREE:
No degree required.

HOW TO Begin:
Please send your resume to our personnel manager.
It must be sent in a TXT, MSWord, RTF or PDF format.

Please write to the following email: flowerlandint[a]yahoo.com. In order to receive our response, please provide us with your valid email address.

3. Unknown Source

This is the most important and critical check - that is why I left it to the last. If someone tells you that they found you through the internet, you better not believe them. The scammers probably send the same mail to millions of people hoping for someone to reply. Check the sender's email. If the email is an yahoo, gmail or some free mails, you can delete the mail immediately because a reputable company will never use a free email address. The flowerland scam shown above just reflected that. If the email is from a company, go the url and check out the website. You can do so easily by extracting the text after the @ symbol.

Conclusion

I hope this email can shed some light on how to identify a home-based job fraud. There are many more ways to do it and I've only listed a few important ones. With fradulent emails growing everday, more people might be cheated. Many people deceived by job scams have lost alot of their hard earned money, in addition to effort and time. Lets hope you are not one of them.