The Internet has given rise to many numbers of ways of working from home. And the bad part is that, it has also opened big doors for scammers to reach people worldwide. Indeed, a high percentage of the advertisements you have come across concerning home-based business opportunities on the Internet are actually scams. So how will you know whether what you are getting involved in is legitimate? There are a number of indicators that should trigger your warning signals.

Any pyramid scheme is illegal, whether you can use something from it or not. A pyramid company is that which has uplinks and downlinks. In other words, those who are ahead of you in the referral program are your upline while those you refer, or are referred by them, are your downline. The concept is that you get a percentage of what your downline generates with the hope that the bigger your downline gets, the higher your income will be. Even for the most successful pyramid schemes, those who benefit are the ones at the very top of the ladder. Saturation point soon reaches and the company quickly stagnates.

If someone tells you to pay for some piece of information or registration that will open a gold mine then watch out. These anonymous people usually have endless offers. For example, they will say that for a very limited time, the cost of that wonderful e-book or registration has been lowered to a very small percentage of the actual price. When you visit the web site, or receive yet another email, six months later, the 'offer' will still be valid. And even when you pay for and download that e-book, you will probably find out that the information contained barely adds any value to what you already know. Perhaps you could have made a better job writing it.

Then there are some statements that should make you take great care. Ask any successful businessperson the secret of success and you will find that hard work takes a prominent place. Therefore anyone telling you that you will have to work only 2-3 hrs a day in your pajamas or while asleep with no work, is a blatant liar. When you come to think of it, that person works pretty hard to try and convince you to join and be scammed. In order for them to have such a wide online presence, they must work really hard and invest in the process. We can come to know that they do not put into practice what they preaching to others.

Another signal is when you are offered a very lucrative job but no experience is required. Are you going to become their robot? Yet even a robot is programmed with very specific 'skills'. The get-successful-quick schemers often use cachy phrases and word like: have successful business in 1 day, work in your part time easily etc.

Some people will not tell you to buy anything, but you need to call a 900 number for more information. Calling a 900 number is more expensive, which means you are paying indirectly.

- Last Updated on April 28, 2010, 4:12 pm