“There is always a few that will try to take advantage of you.” Have you heard that before? Sadly, it is very true and many people have learned this through the scammers that have attempted to maximize on the work from home craze that was perpetuated by the pandemic. Scamming has been on the rise in the US because the opportunity to work from home has created a new method of attempt to obtain personal information from unsuspecting job seekers looking for a work from home position.

It has become very easy to develop a website and build a platform that seems very convincing. Individuals actually believe that they are dealing with a genuine employer or work from home business. However, there are a few things you need to watch for. If you learn the red flags, it will make all the difference.

1. Interviews via text message. No legitimate business entity is going to make a hiring decision based on correspondence within a text message.

2. Don’t respond to businesses that reach out to you and you never reached out to them or applied for a position within their company.

3. Don’t fall for the high hourly rate of pay. Companies will never offer you hourly rates of $40 or more unless you are providing a service which requires professional licensure. Most of those positions are not feasible work from home positions.

4. Companies that are going to send you payment so that you can buy the equipment that they want you to use are not legit. A real company will simply provide you the equipment if you are coming onboard as an employee. If you are a contractor, they will make recommendations of the kind of equipment that seem to work best for the role you will play for their company.

5. Companies that do not have a direct phone number to reach out to a live individual may be a potential risk. If I can’t reach you then you won’t be able to reach me.

While it is unfortunate that we have to deal with this level of deceit, please keep this things in mind to protect you and your family.

Wishing you all the best!!!