What is a Business and Employment Opportunity Scam?
A business opportunity scam is when an email, phone call, or letter is sent to you, offering you the chance to start your own business and make lots of money quickly and easily. Usually, these notices will be offering a special start-up kit for you to buy. When they’ve finished their job and have convinced you to purchase their offer, they’ve scammed you.
How Do I know if the Offer is a Scam?
There are a lot of business opportunities that turn out to be scams, but that doesn’t mean that they all are. However, there are signs that you can look for to figure out whether the offer is real, or whether it is a scam.
The biggest and clearest sign warning you of a business opportunity scam is when the offer is “Guaranteeing” that you will 1) make lots of money and that you will 2) earn it quickly and easily. Everyone probably wishes they could make money by doing nothing, but it rarely becomes reality. The fact is that people have to work to earn their money, and there is never any “guarantee” that their new business will work out.
There are other signs that can warn you of a business opportunity scam too. Some of these signs are:
1) When you are being charged a low, yet costly, amount of money for a start up kit. If the opportunity isn’t free, you may want to watch what you’re signing up for.
2) When the letter isn’t directly written to you, but is written to many people.
3) When the only information you’re given about the job or business is that you need to transfer money to someone else. Often times the letter will offer you to learn more about the business opportunity if you pay a fee first. Stay away from these!
4) When you are told that all you have to do is a small job using a computer program. Technology advancements do help create jobs out of the office, but earning $50 per hour just by clicking some buttons is simply ridiculous and fake.
What Can I Do to Protect Myself from Business Opportunity Scams?
The best thing that you can do to prevent being scammed by a business opportunity offer is to ignore the message sent to you and delete it. Do not reply to an email about an offer; even if you’re telling the people off, it might push them to continue contacting you. Identity theft protection services do not protect you from these situations.
Just because most business opportunities are scams, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any real business opportunities. If you come across a business opportunity that you are interested in, just be sure to do your homework and research the offer first. If you find enough positive information about the offer, it might actually be legitimate. However, you should still watch your step carefully. In the end, the decision is up to you whether it is worth the risk. However, if you discover you’ve been scammed by a business opportunity offer, immediately contact your local authorities and report it.