Ah, employment. What a minefield. Some of us work ourselves silly for low wages, whilst the rest of us sit in offices, numbing our brains with spreadsheets and databases. However, there are now all sorts of ways to earn money from home, whether that’s filling in surveys, or reviewing websites. Some of these sound too good to be true, and unfortunately, that is often the case. So, if you want to avoid being stung, then be wary of the following jobs.
Online surveys
Completing online surveys has become popular with students and busy people because they don’t require much effort. Unfortunately, some can end up costing you money. There are many legitimate sites that, although they make you wait, do pay you money. Survey Says reviews most of these online survey sites so can learn more in their review of InboxDollars, Swagbucks, or MySurvey. Other sites will charge you ‘membership fees’ so that you can access lists of surveys to fill in. However, by their nature, these surveys are usually easy to find elsewhere, and, by paying, you’re making sure that the middleman company turns a profit. Furthermore, whilst some survey companies say that they offer big money, that’s usually in the form of goods and services, not hard cash. Others are complete scams.
The company contacts you
Whilst some legitimate employers may do this after reading your LinkedIn profile, it’s just as likely to be a scam. Be especially wary of any that offer unfeasibly high wages as well, especially for a flexible part-time job. These could be scams designed to get your personal details, or bank details from you. That could easily end up costing you a lot of money, simply because you were too trusting. Whilst you may well be contacted about high-paying work, it always pays to look into the company before you even consider the offer.
Paying before starting
There are people who get really excited about seemingly genuine job offers, only to find that they have to pay a joining fee. That isn’t how jobs work! Sure, paying for your uniform is different, but not making transfers through MoneyGram and Western Union for software that is apparently necessary for you to start your new ‘job’. You’ll transfer the money and never hear anything back. This is the same as any other job that asks you to cash cheques and transfer the money elsewhere, after taking your cut. Spoiler alert: the cheques aren’t real, and you’ve just transferred a slice of your own money to a fraudster.
So, if you don’t want to end up losing money on part-time online jobs, then it pays to do your research. If you haven’t heard of the company, then make sure you research them thoroughly. Whatever you do, don’t part with money! At best you’re unlikely to never see or hear of it again, but at worst, you could end up unwillingly involved with money laundering. If a job sounds too good to be true, that’s usually the case.
