Work from Home Scams

Commerce Commission warn public about "work from home" scheme

The Commission is alerting the public to 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.

Director of Fair Trading Deborah Battell said that the Commission is investigating what it believes to be a scam operating in the South Auckland region. The scheme is promoted in letterbox flyers and offers work stuffing envelopes. People are asked to send off $24.95 payable to a ‘DG Astle’, but as far as the Commission is aware, no work or reply from DG Astle is then received.

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 ..."

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 be promoted through newspaper advertisements, direct mail drops or through unsolicited emails asking you to visit a website for more information.

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 often don't give the full story. The schemes are often no more than phoney get rich quick schemes - where you're not the one getting rich!

How to check out a work from home scam

• 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 organised.
• 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.
• Research the product - is it a viable money-maker, and are the proposed returns achievable?
• Do your sums - 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.

Report it!

Scamwatch does not receive reports on this type of scam.  If you have been approached by a betting scheme which you think is a scam you can report it to the New Zealand Commerce Commission.