Consumer Fraud Reporting
Work from Home
Reporting on the Latest Frauds, Scams, Fake Lotteries, Spams and Hoaxes

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Work from Home Scams

"Crazy like a Fox?"
No, They're "Thick as a Brick"

What are work from home scams?

"Imagine owning your own business, being your own boss, working only a few hours a week, but still making lots of money - all from your own home ..."

"Are they crazy? Yes, crazy like a fox!"

"This billionaire spent months researching his next big investment! Go here next!"

Advertisements from work-from-home schemes like Crazyfox (Crazy like a fox) and other scams are bombarding TV, radio and the internet. The general public has the naive belief that these must be true because "there are laws against false advertising" and "the government wouldn't let them say it on tv, if it weren't true."

Those beliefs are simply not true. There are many scams and outright lies being advertised on television (see Kinoki foot pads for an example!). The government has to become aware of the scam and see it as serious enough to take action, and as slow as government is, that could take years. Scammers know this and feel safe in spreading their scams on major television networks!

It is up to you to protect yourself! Be wary of ‘work from home’ schemes where people are offered the possibility of working from home with the potential of earning thousands of dollars. An employment opportunity to work from your own home earning a great wage which may be no more than stuffing envelopes, but to get the material to stuff the envelopes you have to send money away, often to nothing more than a PO Box address. In return you receive the information that you have to photocopy at your own expense and then stuff the envelopes. Recently reported work from home schemes offer you the opportunity to earn thousands processing emails.

Work from home schemes may also be promoted through newspaper advertisements, direct mail drops or through unsolicited emails asking you to visit a website for more information.

Types of home-based business schemes

Common work-from-home schemes are:

stuffing envelopes
medical transcription
buy and selling real estate, "with no money down!"
Investment schemes
data entry,
processing applications
selling or reselling the schemes themselves

Other work from home type schemes require you to:

make gift items from home or
grow flowers for the export market,

but then require you to also sell these products yourself.

One characteristic common to these schemes is that you are required to invest or send away money before you can start work.

As good as the "wages" sound, the promoters don't give the full story. The schemes are often no more than phony get-rich quick schemes - where you're not the one getting rich! In fact, our own investigations show that almost ALL work-from-home schemes, "passive residual income", make-money-in-your-spare-time and other get-rich schemes are pyramid schemes, scams or simply worthless.

Are there legitimate work-from-home opportunities?

Yes, but you need to evaluate each carefully! This page lists some that we believe are legitimate.

How to check out a work from home scam

Contact the Better Business Bureau to determine the legitimacy of the company.
Be suspicious when money is required up front for instructions or products.
Don’t provide personal information when first interacting with your prospective employer.
Do your own research into legitimate work-at-home opportunities, using the “Work-at-Home Sourcebook” and other resources that may be available at your local library.
Ask lots of questions of potential employers—legitimate companies will have answers for you!
- Ask for a street address, not just a PO Box, and find out as much as you can about the company and its operations.
- Ask to talk to other employees - and to ensure they are for real, visit them to see what type of work is involved and how they are organized.
- Ask to see examples of the final product and the work required.
- Ask what materials are supplied, or not supplied.
- Ask how you will be paid - and in what currency.
- Ask where the business is incorporated and where it's business license is filed.
Research the product - is it a viable money-maker, and are the proposed returns achievable?
Do the math - ask yourself whether the time required to do the job, in conjunction with the start up or material costs, match the returns to be expected.
Use common-sense: if you have never heard of the product, or their products are very expensive or there is a fee to sign up as a "distributor" or "consultant", those are tips that it is a multi-level-marketing scam.
Click here for the United States Postal Service's pdf explanation of work from home scams.

The most common work-at-home scams.

Advanced Fee Frauds: They claim that starting a home-based business is easy! Just invest a few hundred dollars in inventory, set-up, and training materials, they say. Of course, if and when the materials do come, they are totally worthless…and you’re stuck with the bill.
Counterfeit check-facilitated "Mystery Shopper:" You’re sent a hefty check and asked to deposit it into your bank account, then withdraw funds to shop and check out the service of local stores and wire transfer companies. You keep a small amount of the money for your “work,” but then, as instructed, mail or wire the rest to your “employer.” Sound good? One problem: the initial check was phony, and by the time your bank notifies you, your money is long gone and you’re on the hook for the counterfeit check.
Pyramid Schemes: You’re hired as a “distributor” and shell out big bucks for promotional materials and product inventories with little value (like get-rich quick pamphlets). You’re promised money for recruiting more distributors, so you talk friends and family into participating. The scheme grows exponentially but then falls apart—the only ones who make a profit are the criminals who started it.
Unknowing involvement in criminal activity: Criminals—often located overseas—sometimes use unwitting victims to advance their operations, steal and launder money, and maintain anonymity. For example, they may “hire" you as a U.S.-based agent to receive and re-ship checks, merchandise, and solicitations to other potential victims…without you realizing it’s all a ruse that leaves no trail back to the crooks.

Add identity theft to the mix

As if these schemes aren’t bad enough, many also lead to identity theft. During the application process, you’re often asked to provide personal information that can be used to steal from your bank account or establish new credit cards in your name.

Where to Complain

If you have spent money and time on a work-at-home program and now believe the program may not be legitimate, contact the company and ask for a refund. Let company representatives know that you plan to notify officials about your experience. If you can't resolve the dispute with the company, file a complaint with these organizations:

If you think you’ve been the victim of a work-at-home scam, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel or the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
The Attorney General's office in your state or the state where the company is located. The office will be able to tell you whether you're protected by any state law that may regulate work-at-home programs.
Your local consumer protection offices.
Your local Better Business Bureau.
Your local postmaster. The U.S. Postal Service investigates fraudulent mail practices.
The advertising manager of the publication that ran the ad. The manager may be interested to learn about the problems you've had with the company.

Read the fine print on the commercials!

Almost all of the scam work-from-home schemes advertised on television have fine print briefly superimposed along the bottom of the screen, usually while something distracting is being shown, like a pretty blond in a bathing suit talking about how she bought the mansion behind her with the money she earned. Crazyfox.com and other commercials typically say:

"There are no guarantees of specific income nor are there any representations of actual income.

Amounts stated are for illustrative purposes only and are not typical.

Persons depicted are paid actors."

The Crazyfox31.com website has this at the bottom:

The incomes depicted are not typical and represent a small percentage of actual participants. There are no guarantees that participants will be able to achieve the income levels depicted. Each individual's success will be determined by his or her desire, dedication, effort, ability to follow directions and personal talent. The actual contents of success kit may vary than what is depicted.

On another Crazy like a fox alias website, www.49chance.com you will find this statement (seen on May 5, 2008):

There are no guarantees of specific income, nor are there any representations of actual income. Amounts stated are for illustrative purposes only and are not typical. Persons depicted are paid actors.

Those statements ought to be a BIG clue that they are selling you an illusion... in other words, a scam. Read the statements again. Essentially they are saying that everything you hear the paid actors saying is NOT typical and will not be backed up by anything.

ther printed small print negates almost everything the actors are saying.

Generally, you're paying for a pretty worthless booklet which tells you how wonderful it would be to be your own boss and make big money, set your own hours, etc., but no plan or details on how to achieve that.

Of course, when you ordered the "kit" you gave the scammers your name, phone number and address; which they will promptly sell to many other companies who will then start calling you to sell more services and schemes.

Examples sent in by visitors:

Copyright CFR 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 - Definition of scam, fraud, etc. - Legal disclaimer / corrections / complaints - Privacy Policy
Names used by scammers in the examples on this page and others often belong to real people and businesses who often have no knowledge of nor connection to the scammer's use of their name and information. Sample scam emails and other documents are copies of the scam to help potential victims recognize and avoid it. You should presume that any names used and presented here in a scam are either fictitious or used without their legitimate owner's permission.
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Consumer Fraud Reporting Work from Home Reporting on the Latest Frauds, Scams, Fake Lotteries, Spams and Hoaxes