When I first started exploring home business opportunities a few years ago, I learned right away to be careful.  There are tons of get-rich-quick schemes out there and scams running rampant out there.  I think the Better Business Bureau and federal authorities have their work cut out for them trying to regulate and control the scam artists.  Most of them are operating outside the country in hard to track areas and move around frequently. 

They are getting more and more creative and clever in their attempts to lure innocent, naïve, and desperate individuals into their money making traps.  Have you gotten these emails claiming you have been a beneficiary to some inheritance or someone in some far off place like Africa needs your help to process some funds?  All you need to do is wire them some processing money?  Uh… yeah… right!  Or you have won the lottery in Europe that you did not even enter to win?  Let’s use some common sense.  Those are easy email requests to immediately delete and do not even entertain.

A little more deceiving is a fabricated company advertising an opening on job boards.  They respond back that you have been selected for a position in so many words to conduct money laundering and check fraud.  They just need you to process payments and checks through a US bank account for faster customer service.  You take a nice percentage for your processing fee.  What’s that saying?  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  This is another illegitimate business to immediately ignore and do not send them any personal information.

Do your research before divulging your personal information.  Get as much information on them as you can.  It is risky applying for jobs online.  Companies want to limit their information just as much to better manage the responses they receive.  Nevertheless, they should be willing to share about themselves and provide you with all the information you want, especially in an interview process.  If they are vague and only interested in your information, then halt the process immediately.  They should also never require any application fees or any tasks that require your credit or debit card information. 

The sophisticated scammers and spammers may also misuse your information to spread viruses and capture information.  Be careful opening up emails, especially with attachments.  It is a wise investment to maintain a good anti-virus program on your computer constantly updating with the latest viruses to protect your computer.

If you get pulled in through their increasingly creative and deceptive practices, you can report them to the proper authorities and file complaints:

·         Federal Trade Commission:  https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

·         Internet Crime Complaint Center:  http://www.ic3.gov

As Craigslist is frequently misused, they have a great resource page to help you understand the types of scams:  http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.