2007
Consumer Direct East Midlands is warning consumers to be wary of bogus money-making schemes that make wild promises of huge and unrealistic earnings of up to £24,000 a month. Last year Consumer Direct East Midlands received over 100 complaints from consumers that had fallen victim to these type of scams.
15th October 2007
Work at home scams and get rich quick schemes promise an easy and fast way to earn a lot of money, without needing any qualifications or experience. They can be advertised in shop windows, on lamp posts, in magazines and local newspapers or the internet and target those who want to earn extra cash with minimum effort.
Thousands of people have been caught out by these schemes by falling for the trap that they are genuine opportunities to work from home. But all too often these opportunities to 'Make money – fast!' are nothing but scams designed to make fraudsters rich - not you.
There are legitimate home working schemes but be on your guard if you are asked to pay a registration fee up front, or a refundable deposit for materials or an administration fee.
The one thing all get rich quick schemes have in common is the fee you have to pay. Consumer Direct East Midlands advises that you should not have to pay to get work. Genuine home working schemes won’t ask for money in advance.
If you do send off a registration fee you may not hear from the company again or there will be excuses to not pay you for any work that you do.
Sara Barry, Consumer Direct East Midlands Manager says:
'Don’t be lured into promises of earning big money for very little work. These get quick rich schemes are scams intended to rip people off and will leave you out of pocket. When you see something promoting an unbelievable home working opportunity remember that you don’t get something for nothing. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.'
Consumer Direct East Midlands has some top tips to help you protect yourself:
• Never send any money upfront. Genuine home-working schemes will not ask you to do this.
• Be wary of offers to buy back items you make, as the conditions attached will be impossible to fulfil.
• Don’t be taken in just because the advert appears in a reputable magazine or newspaper.
• Be wary if you need to ring a premium rate number in order to find out more details.
• Find out more about any company you want to work for. A legitimate company will not mind you requesting further details from them.
• Beware of PO Box addresses or companies only contactable via a mobile phone number. It will be impossible to trace them once you realise it is a scam.
• Contact NGH (National Group on Homeworking) for information on finding genuine home working opportunities.
If you think you have been the victim of a home working scam, or would like further advice call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 or visit www.consumerdirect.gov.uk. Available six days a week, callers are connected to specially trained consumer advisers.
-ends-
MEDIA enquiries:
Georgina Barton
Tel: 01522 535792
Mobile: 07768 840239
Email: georgina.barton@consumerdirect-eastmidlands.gov.uk
NOTES
1. Consumer Direct is a telephone and online consumer advice service funded by government and managed by the Office of Fair Trading. It operates in partnership with Local Authority Trading Standards Services to offer consumers clear, practical and impartial advice and information.
2. Consumer Direct has around 350 trained advisers in 11 contact centres across England, Wales and Scotland.
3. The information and advice helpline is available on a single national telephone number - 08454 04 05 06 from 0800 – 1830 Monday to Friday, and 0900 – 1300 Saturday, excluding bank holidays and public holidays.
4. A Welsh-speaking Consumer Direct service is available on 08454 04 05 05. Minicom users should call 08451 28 13 84.
5. Calls to the Consumer Direct 0845 numbers are charged at no more than four pence per minute from a BT landline. Call charges from other landline providers or mobile phones may vary. Please check the rate with your phone service provider.
6. Northern Ireland has its own service called ConsumerLine (available on 08456 00 62 62) which is similar to Consumer Direct. Visit the ConsumerLine website.
