The number of home business opportunities (aka scams) that were bombarded with today is astoundingespecially given the state of our economy. Unfortunately, I became a victim to one myself since I lost my job several months ago and was feeling the pressure of not having a regular paycheck. Ive since decided to investigate the legitimacy of these jobs as theyre listed on so many job listings.
Many of the work-at-home jobs include data entry or accepting diet orders. The biggest draw of all (and what makes them seem legitimate) is a guarantee. If it doesnt work, your money will be refunded. The testimonies appear promising so what could go wrong? Thats what I thought!
I looked at several listings. I wanted to find one where I was actually an employee and had real tasks to perform. I didnt want the type where I was sold software or instructions on how to make money at home. I thought it would be simple.
Again, there was the guarantee. If I wasnt happy, Id get all of my money back and besides, I was also getting a special deal since I was one of the first 100 people to respond. What I got versus what was promised was completely different. I had no longer entered my personal information, including my credit card data, when I realized Id become a statistic: Id been scammed.
My job was to promote credit cards on a website that I was to enter into hundreds of search engines and through other online media. I hadnt been told that before, nor had I been told I had to apply for several credit cards and that only after I was approved for them would I get paid $20 for each of them. Even that turned out to be elusive since I had to earn $500 first.
I was not eligible to receive any money until I generated leads for them. It always seemed to be some reasoning for them not to pay. There is no help forum or any way to contact them except through email which rarely received replies. When there were replies they were automatically generated and rarely ansered the question asked.
I repeatedly requested a refund to no avail and finally tried to call the number that was on my credit card bill. It was based in Australia and the voicemail requested to leave a message and someone would get back to me. This never happened as well. I ended up filing a fraud complaint with my credit card company and currently await a credit to my account.
Im a college graduate. Im embarrassed to have fallen for this scam. I know being desperate for a paycheck is stressful though and I was in a place where I was susceptible to the lure of easy money. I am ready and willing to work hard, I just couldnt do that through opportunities like this that are based on deception. I really want others to realize that a job probably isnt legitimate if the promises are too good to be true; research carefully before you take a chance on a work-at-home business.
About the Author:
To see where I found legitimate, profitable work at home businesses, check out Scott Edward's refreshingly honest legitimate business reviews site.
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