Work From Home: 3 Tips to Avoid Email Scams

Nowadays, jobs allowing you to work from home abound.  However, as they become increasingly popular, so do inventive ways to deceive job seekers. Be cautious of offers to make you rich quick and promises of tons of money in exchange of little work.

Keep in mind that a legitimate job looks for particular skills and requirements and never over-promises. A lot of “!!!!!" or "$$$$” must keep you alert that it’s most likely not a trustworthy job opportunity. Here are some useful tips to stay away from such sneaky schemes. 

1. Scrutinize the URL.

Be cautious of misleading URLs. For instance, you might think you're on the website of CNBC when in fact, you're just on a bogus page that looks so similar. Also, you need to have keen eyes because there are web addresses that look so real, like the one site caught just recently “http://cnbc.com-index.in/.” It may appear like a “.com” at first to make you think that you're on the site of CNBC but if you look carefully, it’s actually a “.in,” which doesn't have anything to do with CNBC.

2. Never pay money. 

Be watchful of companies that claim to hire you but will charge for certain things. Remember that your purpose to get a job is to earn and not to spend money. Double check the reputation of the company you're applying to because these scammers are very clever.  For instance, they may tell you that you're hire but you just have to pay for the laptop that the company will give you. 

3. Ask Google. 

A red flag for beginners is the contact details of the person you're communicating with. Make sure that the email address and the company's URL are legit. It's not safe to provide your personal details to joe@gmail.com.  In general, your new employer should have an email address that is associated with the firm that's hiring you. But still, never be satisfied with it. Ensure that you talk to someone from the company on the telephone before you accept the job. There are scammers that conduct interviews using IM. Just the same with false email address, it’s so easy to make a phony IM account. You can check for these scams on Google anytime to be sure of what you're getting into.