4 Red Flags That Can Help You Spot a Work-from-home Scam

There are those instances when a job offer might seem just too good to be true. In cases like these, it always good to be skeptical.

In the remote-jobs industry, there are, albeit few, bad actors on the lookout to scam people. Getting the chance to work from home is a dream come true for many people. The opportunity, however, can quickly get shattered if the offer turns out to be fake.

That is why when you’re applying for a remote job there are four red flags you can watch out for that may indicate if it’s a scam.

1. Contact Information Is Missing

When you’re browsing for job offers, the first thing you should do is to certify the validity of the employer. After all, if the company posting the jobs turns out to be fake, then you shouldn’t even bother looking over its listings.

If you are dealing with a business that seems fake, research it online. Look if it has any presence on social media or posted reviews. If the company turns out to be a scam, then the chances are other people already have written about it.

If you happen to find a suspicious company website, then the first thing you should do is to scroll to a “Contact” or an “About us” section.

If the information seems unreliable or completely missing, then you should steer away from applying.

2. Requirement to Pay a Fee

Scammers will often hide their valuable working opportunities behind a paywall, requiring candidates to pay an upfront fee before even getting the chance to see the jobs.

It is illegal to ask for money in exchange for a job. And stumbling on scenarios such as this should automatically wave a red flag.

It is illegal to ask for money in exchange for a job.

3. A Pot of Gold

You should be doubtful when companies go out of their way to promise big things.

Most work-from-home scams will oversell the “fact” that people who worked for them became wealthy and their careers are immaculate success stories. Be leery of such claims.

If a company’s offer seems too good to be true, then most likely it isn’t real. So, beware.

4. Company Will Hire Anyone

Another common practice among scammers is to aggressively recruit people—often the wrong people. This is pushed to a point where it will seem the employer is willing to hire pretty much anyone, without putting much emphasis on experience or qualifications.

Legitimate work-from-home jobs are competitive. Job requirements are reasonably made in order to find the right candidates to fit the positions.

Getting a remote job is not impossible, but you should be careful if the job seems too easy to get.